Hi, my name is Deanne Watson. Here’s a little backstory on how I built my jewelry making business.
As well as being a single mom to 2 girls, Rose who is 18 and Lily, a precocious 14 year old; I’m also mom to 5 dogs including 2 Great Pyrenees – Douglas and Aurora (be sure to follow on their instagram page @douglasandaurora) who are currently four years old and weigh in at around 100 pounds (gulp). Olive is our 11 year old “Momma” Cockapoo, the smallest of the gang but the most mature. Then there’s Oreo, our Cocker-Papillon – can you guess her colors? ha ha. We recently added Red, a mini retriever/corgi mix who was a “foster fail” on my part but very happy about that!
We have 4 cats, and it seems a revolving door of coming and going and lots of asking “are you in or out?” Let’s just say it’s a cute and furry mad house.
Over the last few years I added six alpacas to the zoo, but unfortunately due to divorce and having to downsize, I chose to sell them to a nearby farm.
So obviously, with so many animals, we have acreage – 4.5 beautiful acres in Beausejour, Manitoba – smack bang in the center of Canada.
Now many years ago, when my girls were still toddlers I found myself feeling a little housebound, isolated and in need of a creative outlet. Why you ask?
Well, If you’ve ever experienced a winter here, you know they’re long – and when I say long – boy, do I mean long!! 6 months of minus 30-40 degrees celcius cold and snow compared with very mild, warm and sunny winters where I grew up in Brisbane, Australia. Never having seen snow until coming to Canada was to say the least, a challenge.
When a friend took me to my first wire wrapping class, I was hooked and never looked back. What started out as a hobby, quickly became an obsession and I soon realized that if I wanted to continue, I’d better come up with a way to pay for all these supplies I was continually buying or my poor husband would have a heart attack!
I started selling at markets and hosting jewelry parties and by the time I opened up my Etsy shop I had somewhat figured out my niche style. It has changed a little over the years, but it’s always centered around wire wrapping.
When I get a little free time (I know, what’s that right? especially when you’re a mom), I like to play around with some new ideas. Usually it’s something simple – an everyday piece that I would enjoy wearing or I could picture my customers wearing.
I’m very grateful for this life, one where I’m working from my home in the country – being creative – present for my kids and tribe of animals, and just generally feeling excited to wake everyday and make beautiful, meaningful items for my customers.
Thanks for taking the time to get to know me a little better!