ChickSpeak

Graduate college, pack your bags and buy a one-way ticket to LA. Start with a clean slate and some seed money from graduation gifts. Begin designing and creating jewelry (because it’s what you love to do) and watch as this hobby organically grows into a viable business.  Sound like a fantasy?

Meet Liz Law.  

CS:  What inspired your move ‘cross country to LA after graduation and did you at any point in your trek, did you feel compelled to forget it and turn around?

LL:  I moved to LA after graduation, simply put, for something different.  i’d lived in Richmond my whole life, and then traveled just 2 hours west to Lexington for college.  I was young, educated, and unemployed, and figured there was no time like the present to try something new and do something for myself. 

While I knew I loved being creative, I didn’t have any specific career aspirations at W&L.  I majored in European History and never really found my career path at the small liberal arts college.  Unlike most of my peers, I had no job lined up after school, and therefore had the overwhelming freedom to head in whichever direction I chose.  I decided to head West to seek new experiences and a fresh perspective.  

I had a one-way ticket to LAX, so I never really had a chance to look back during my trek.  For better or for worse, I tend not to over think big decisions like this…  Instead, I just WENT.  Sometimes you just gotta go for it.  

CS:  What was the hardest part about establishing yourself as a designer? What made it seem like cake- ie: sweet and easy?

LL: I never really sought out to establish myself as a designer.  I just started putting earrings together as a creative outlet in the two-week span I had between college graduation and my move to LA.  I realized I really loved it, and carried my newfound hobby with me to LA in two plastic fishing tackle boxes.  I’ve just done what I love and let the process grow really organically.  

Of course, there are always challenges along the way- money, credibility, that pesky little fleeting combination of practicality and self-doubt that creeps up on an individual from time to time…  It’s hard to establish yourself in the cut-throat fashion industry in a city so driven by famous labels and celebrities.. But on the flip side of the coin, LA is a very fashion savvy city and people are more interested in non-traditional fashion here than in other parts of the country.

CS:  Tell us about three things that inspire your work and creations.

LL: My pieces are mainly just inspired by the beads themselves.  I get a feel for the beads and their meaning and just work around a general theme.  I use a lot of vintage pieces, so a lot of times I let these exotic vintage finds breathe life into the rest of the piece to produce something totally unique and one-of-a-kind.  My pieces will often reference a time period, a mood, or a feeling. I strive to give every piece its own personality.  

CS: Do you have a favorite Liz Law piece to date?

LL:My favorite piece is always changing as I grow and create more.  But I think I’d have to say the piece that has remained closest to my heart for the longest is ”Decadence.”  It’s a one-of-a-kind piece I created around an old costume pearl necklace of my grandmother’s.  I added 2 strands to make it a 3-tiered necklace of 14k gold-filled chain, pearls, Swarovski crystal, and a giant gold lucite flower that falls on the collar bone.   I made the flower by securing 2 separate tri-petaled lucite flowers back to back with gold wire and a round Swarovski crystal shining front and center.  The whole piece is so unique and like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  It literally drips with crystal and gold, and I love it.  The best part is that it will complete ANY outfit.  It can be worn with the dressiest eveningwear or with a wife-beater and jeans.  A good piece of jewelry should complement YOUR personal style while making a bold, can’t-be-ignored statement of its own.  

CS: If you had to describe your jewelry in one word, it would be…?

 LL:  EXPRESSIVE
 

Thanks Liz. Check out her work at ByLizLaw.com