Artist Spotlight: Gabriella Cruz
📸 Betsy Y
Each month, we highlight one of the talented artists in our reuse community. This month, it's jewelry artist, Gabriella Cruz!
Gabriella began their jewelry line, JOYería, during the pandemic as a way to give back to communities affected by natural disaster. They quickly discovered how much JOY and calm creating brought them so they continued to make!
Continue reading to learn more about Gabriella, their inspiration and process behind JOYería, and why they love ACR!
When did you start making jewelry?
Summer 2021. The day prior to hurricane Ida’s New Orleans landfall, I’d decided I knew how to make earrings and made nearly 20 pairs of very cute (albeit cheap) mixed-media earrings with a recent ACR haul. Wanting to help donate to mutual aid groups on the frontlines, I attempted to sell them online with a $10 suggested donation. Nothing sold ̄\_(ツ)_/ ̄ BUT I had so much fun making, I knew I’d found something to help curb my pandemic pains.
Which aspect of jewelry-making is your favorite?
I love the process of making. The quiet I need to cultivate in my mind allows me to shift into a space of quiet exploration and curiosity. As a parent with two young ones at home, the calm I create when I’m creating is other-worldly. A real step out of my day-to-day head space. The whole process feels magical in that creative space I occupy. I start with a lone head pin and watch it become something with a personality, not knowing what it’ll be until suddenly it comes forth.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I’ve loved and rocked bright, bold jewelry since I was 14. I shamelessly admit Lizzie McGuire and her BFF Miranda were by far my biggest initial inspirations. JOYería still exudes that same playful and youthful energy in it’s design extending to minimal and even avant-garde structures. The jewelry line by Moth Mysticals is called JOYería; a Tex-Mex take on the Spanish word for jewelry. Emphasis on JOY. When earrings exude a feeling you want to embody, then joy can be as accessible as your earlobes! I’m already experimenting with making hair accessories, necklaces and keychains to spread a little more joy. Stay tuned!
What is your preferred way to engage with your customer?
Markets allow me to see the joy that my handmade items ignite. People passing by my table can’t help but smile. They have to stop and touch the vibrant poms and get a closer look at the vintage, clay, glass, and hand painted ceramic beads. Seeing smiles is almost just as sweet as selling... almost.
How does reuse play a part in your creativity?
Almost all of my materials for JOYería are reused. I love shopping at ACR to see what I’ll find! With such a vast, consistently rotating supply of items, I’ve been able to add amazing details like feathers, sequin, decorative gems and natural stones, crystals, handmade yarn pom-poms, chains, vintage beads and charms to make my pairs extra YOUnique. I even found clip-ons so everyone can wear JOYería, pierced or not. I also boast to customers that buying JOYería is actually good for the earth! JOYería helps keep nonbiodegradables out of the landfills, in use, and lookin’ extra cute!
What compels you to donate to ACR?
ACR gives back to the community in so many ways. First, they give people an earth friendly and low-cost way to get creative and explore different outlets and means of expression. They donate to schools, offer classes for community interaction and opportunities for local makers to network, sell their work and build relationships. ACR is for the people and the planet.
Do you have a favorite ACR find? How did you use it?
My favorite find has got to be a big ol’ brass colored, sun-shaped wind chime. It hangs on my tent during markets. That goes to show what kinds of treasures you can find outside of craft supplies at ACR.
Where can we find out more about your work?
You can find me, my tarot cards and JOYería on Etsy and Instagram @mothmysticals. Search #MMavailableJOYería on Instagram for the most up-to-date availabilities.
