Meet Melissa, a devoted musician and creative who designs beautiful jewelry and has lived all over the map! Read about her day to day life and check out some of her work here.
Tell us who you are, what you do, and a little back ground info about yourself.
Hi! My name is Melissa, and I’ve always loved stretching myself creatively. Most of my life has been devoted to music until I discovered another creative passion: designing and creating jewelry! I am the founder of Melissa Miles Designs, where I sell my resin earrings, bracelets, barrettes, and more. I live in Puyallup, Washington, a town not far from Seattle. I’ve lived here most of my life, although I’ve also spent time living in NYC, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Martha’s Vineyard, and Prague! In addition to making jewelry, I also teach and write music.
Creativity has always been a passion of mine, whether I’m sketching a portrait of a friend, sewing a skirt made out of ties, or writing a song. I guess it makes sense, considering I was raised by a seamstress/designer mom. I’m thankful I get to use my passion for creativity and love for encouraging others in what I do for a living.
I love hearing stories from customers about how my jewelry has brought them encouragement or comfort. One customer bought pansy necklaces for herself and her daughters as a memory of her late mother-in-law, whose favorite flower was the pansy. Another customer ordered matching necklaces for her and her mom, since she had just moved to another state. A third customer purchased a forget-me-not flower necklace for a friend who experienced a terrible loss—she shared with me that the necklace made her friend smile, and it means a lot to know one of my creations could help someone in a small way.
Something I’ve been striving to do lately is to slow down and get out in nature more. Nature has been a huge inspiration for me, and it’s so cool that resin allows you to capture the beauty of nature so it can be worn. I have a friend who has a huge garden where she lets me pick plants, and it’s always fun exploring it! I love discovering new plants, pressing them, and putting them in resin.
What’s a typical day in the life for you?
Being my own boss allows me the flexibility to work around my other activities, such as teaching my piano and violin students. I set aside a couple days of the week for teaching or composing projects, and the rest of the week is devoted to jewelry-making.
I’m an introvert and enjoy calm mornings of breakfast, coffee, and catching up on emails. I often spend the time after breakfast packing up orders and dropping them off at the post office. While it’s still light outside, I’ll also take product photos, edit them, and add them to my website. Then, I’ll try to take an afternoon stroll to clear my mind and give myself a break.
The evenings are typically when I get the most resin work done. I prioritize making orders first, but if there is extra time or resin, I’ll use it to try something new. Some of my favorite designs have been created during this time of experimenting. After working on jewelry for a few hours, I’ll usually take a break, order more jewelry materials, and post on social media. I’ll then get back to a second round of working on jewelry if I have energy, which I often do, since I’m a night owl!
Right before bed, I love looking at Pinterest and Instagram, seeing what other creatives are doing. This is something that greatly fuels my creativity.