Featured Seller: Bijou Savvy

Who are you?

Susan (Boo) Reynolds with Bijou Savvy

Why did you choose your shop/company name?
This is such a hard thing to do because it identifies your work. It's like naming your child. I loved it when Jack Sparrow would say "savvy" in the Pirates movies so I wanted to use that. My daughter came up with bijou (a small delecate bead).

Where are you located?

Smithfield, NC

What do you create?

Jewelry to sell but I also do watercolors, needle work and knit.

What is your favorite place to visit in your town?

Antique stores. It's like going on a treasure hunt.

What inspires you?

A new CD really gets me busy. I could stay in my studio all day if the music is good. Many people say nature but it's true. There are so many textures and colors and it's always changing.

Where do you create?

My upstairs is one large room. It used to be my oldest son's who is in grad school. It is my sanctuary. There is no phone up there and the music is usually so loud I can't hear a thing when I'm up there. It has tons of wooden shelves for supplies,sewing machine,felting machine,drafting table, enamel top table,retro chrome table and my main station is a huge old oak teachers desk that had to be taken apart to get it upstrairs. When my friends get stressed they say they need "Boo time upstairs."

What are your goals?

Right now I just do this on the side. I teach 3 & 4 year olds in a half day preschool program. I love my job! I get to be creative with kids and play every day. One day I know I will burn out and then I hope to be a full time artist.

There are some great people in my town who are trying to get an arts center going. I would love to teach there. My husband is very involved in mission work in Haiti. Sometimes we talk about having a shop with art from all over the world to help support an orphanage he visits.

What do you do when you are not creating?

I'm digging in the dirt. I have massive flower beds and a small vegetable garden. I also love cooking and reading books for older kids. I didn't like reading as a kid so I'm making up for it now. I'm always asking kids what the latest book craze is. I love Potter, Narnia, Inkheart, Inkspell, Peter and the Starcatchers, all those books about mystery, magic and far away places.