Featured Etsian... MariaLuna!

Sally: What brought you to Etsy?
Maria: I have been making jewelry for quite some time now. I started creating them for friends and family as gifts. After I lost my job, I started making more and more since I have all this time on my hands...lol. I started posting them on Facebook where a friend of mine suggested selling them. I told her she was insane. She led me to Etsy and everything was history. If you were to tell me a couple of years ago that I would be selling them, I would not believe you. 

Sally: Who or what inspires your creations?
Maria: My creations are influenced by my education as a graphic designer and my upbringing in Indonesia. Indonesian art is very rich and organic. Lots of curves and movement, very emotional. My nature as a graphic designer, however, is totally on the opposite end of the spectrum. Everything is clean and controlled, down to the dot. Working with my jewelry, I found myself to be drifting back to my own culture where everything seems to be an explosion of the senses. My instinct as a graphic designer keeps this explosion in check though. You can feel it when you see my jewelry, they are organic and rich, but not crazy. You can say that I am trapped in between cultures and trying to make the best of it :)

Sally: What time of day do you work best and why?
Maria: I found night time after my son goes to bed to be the most inspiring time of the day, it seems like. I have to make myself sit and work most of the time, but once I start, nothing can stop me...lol. Mostly, I think because it is so quiet, nothing else needs to be done for the day...when I can let go of my worries and just chill. Just me, my music and my beads.

Sally: Who do you market to? Who do you see buying your work?
Maria: I see a person who is full of love and spirit wearing my work. I am marketing them to women who wear jewelry everyday so that they have something special to wear everyday. Therefore, I make them to be easy to wear. They are light and flattering, not to mention exotic!! I feel like I'm a super hero with a mission to make women feel special one woman at a time...hahaha. 

Sally: What item do you like to work on the most and why?
Maria: I love working on my leather necklaces the most. They are so warm and so much fun. I suppose it's because I wear lots of leather necklaces :)

Sally: What is your favorite beverage while you work?
Maria: A nice glass of red wine :)

Sally: What is something that you don’t do well that you’d like to do better?
Maria: Definitely painting!!

Sally: If you could interview your main influence who would it be and what would you ask?
I would love to interview the famous graphic designer Paul Rand. I'm not sure what I would ask him, but I am sure we would have a great time.

Sally: What do you listen to while you work? While you don’t work?
Maria: While I'm working, I listen to classical music. Whatever Pandora plays on my Bach station :) I find them to be soothing and it helps me focus. That or my meditation music.
While I'm not working, I listen to 80s and 60s music, punk, Otis Redding kinda jazz, pop...etc.

Sally: Do you have any deals or promos to share?
Maria: Sure, I would love to offer your viewers 15% off their Maria Luna purchase with keyword "NightOwl."


Maria, Thanks SO much for taking the time to let my readers get to know a little bit more about you.  Your work is astounding!!!  You are doing a wonderful job!  


Readers,  I love doing the feature posts.  Maria is a great seller, and hopefully has a ton of success with her shop in the very near future.  I would like to point out one thing that jumped out to me when looking through her shop.  It is very browser friendly.  I try often to change the way I arrange my shop... but Maria has it down!  Take note... and use your offer code!  I think everyone should have one of her delicate & blissful pieces... and just in time for valentines day!