Where are you located:
New Orleans, LA
What do you make:
Fearlessly colorful art and jewelry inspired by nature, culture, & world travel
Part time or full:
Full-time artist, running IDJV all by myself
3 words that summarize your work:
Fearlessly-Colorful-Art
A typical day in your life:
My day usually starts with spending time with my Pomeranian named Milo: he’s my little moral support assistant. Throughout the week I brain storm & draft future designs for my jewelry line, package & mail out orders, find time to paint, and work on items that need to be restocked. My days are usually flexible, which I love, but when I know I really need to get ready for a busy market season my work day can run until past midnight. I’m both an early bird and a night owl depending on the week, but I try to make sure I catch up on rest and self-care when I need it. I love being a full time artist because it really allows me to live a creative life. I could be working on earrings one hour and then on a painting the next 3 hours. The project constantly change and that makes me look forwards to every day.
Your favorite color:
This is hard since I have 3: lavender, hot pink, & marigold yellow
Best advice you ever received:
There’s always a lesson in every opportunity
Favorite place on earth:
Edinburgh, Scotland
Best compliment you received:
“Your work makes me so happy and no one can resist smiling when they walk by your booth!”
How you got started:
I am a Filipino-American artist & have always been creative, even as a child. My brand, IDJV, started when I was working as a sushi chef during graduate school. I started experimenting with polyclay to make sushi earrings to wear to work and people loved them. Since then, I’ve added different elements to my IDJV jewelry line, but I always go back to making food inspired earrings because it combines two things that I love.
The best part of what you do:
Connecting with people. Whether it’s a person seeing my art and jewelry for the first time & telling me how much they love a particular piece because it reminds them of a fond memory or meeting fellow creatives with different concentrations & creative processes, each person I meet inspires me in their own way.
The most challenging part of what you do:
Primarily operating IDJV by myself comes with it challenges, but I know I have to budget my time to make sure I cover everything I need to do to keep it running. Within the last few months travelling by myself to different markets have a been a bit draining with loading and unloading, so I look forward to restructuring my market schedule for 2022!
Where can we buy from you?
Many Louisiana giftshops (such as Home Malone & Fleurty Girl) & on my website
