Artist Spotlight, Caged Designs
PoCo Inspired: Tell us a bit about yourself
Carly: My name is Carly Kliewer. I’m a mother of two and owner of Caged Designs. I love hiking through nature, playing pool and singing karaoke. My favorite genres of movies and books are fantasy and comedy. I drink coffee until it’s an acceptable time of day to drink wine.
PoCo Inspired: When did you first start making jewellery and what was the first piece you ever made?
Carly: I started making bead jewelry as a child when my parents would have garage sales, but my first real jewelry experience was in summer of 2018 when I picked up wire wrapping supplies to play with during a week at the lake. My first three pieces of jewelry were wire wrapped labradorite, two of which were for my kids and one of which was sold to a friend who encouraged me to do more.
PoCo Inspired: What inspires your creativity when making a new piece of jewellery?
Carly: I’ve been a rock hound since I was old enough to walk, and a lot of the inspiration for my pieces come from the rocks themselves, whether it’s wire wrapping or metalsmithing. I love the look of molten metal, which I’m currently trying to translate into its own style of jewelry.
PoCo Inspired: What is the single most important skill you have learned and why?
Carly: I think the basic metalsmithing skills were some of the most important I’ve learned to date. It opened a whole new world of creativity to me and allows me to manipulate metal in a whole new way.
PoCo Inspired: What challenges do you face in your work?
Carly: One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is finding my dream audience. People who love what I make and are willing to pay for the time and effort that goes into creating something.
PoCo Inspired: What is your biggest achievement so far in your business?
Carly: My biggest achievement for me was paying back the initial start up costs of my business. I worked hard to make sure that my business could support itself by happily learning how to do custom work, and teaching others the beginnings of wire wrapping. My next big goal is to learn how to pay myself, lol!
PoCo Inspired: Where can we find you to shop online or in-person?
Carly: by contacting me at
cageddesigns.info@gmail.com
www.cageddesigns.ca/contact
I also teach wire wrapping classes through Poco Inspired and I will be at the Vegan Handmade Market on April 9th at 980 Palmerston Ave, from 11am-4pm!