Featured Seller: Padaysia

Who are you?

My name is Manal Fakhoury and my shop is "the 27th element."

Where are you located?

I am currently living in Greensboro while finishing up my Master's degree in Speech Language Pathology, but I am a native of north Raleigh and plan on returning next year.

What do you create?

Right now I handcraft jewelry, but I'd love to expand to other things eventually. My favorite materials include gemstones, freshwater pearls, Czech glass beads, copper, sterling silver, and gold plated metals.

What is your favorite place to visit in the "triangle"?

While living in Raleigh, I loved to visit Ornamentea, a wonderful shop filled with fine craft ingredients!

When did you start creating?

I was bored one weekend in high school, so my dad took me to Michael's Craft store to find stuff to make. So that was probably 8 years ago.

Why did you choose your medium?

I have to credit my dad for encouraging me to get involved in crafty stuff!

What is your next project going to be?

My next project is to start learning chainmaille. It looks so fun and relaxing to make!

Why did you choose your shop name?
Well, I was born on the 27th day of February. And the 27th element on the chemistry table is Cobalt, which is my favorite Czech glass beads. So I just kind of put those together!

What are your goals?

Once I finish graduate school, I hope to move back to Raleigh and get a job doing speech therapy with children. In my spare time, I hope to expand my creativity when I am not working. I have all sorts of projects in mind I'd like to start, such as knitting and crocheting, and felt work.

--Read more from Manal on her blog and you can follow her on Twitter too!