PEARLS BIJOUX

INTERVIEW with April Rentzsch, founder & indie designer for Pearls Bijoux.

_Where do you live? 

I live in Lombard, Illinois.  It is 30 miles west of Chicago, one of the greatest cities.  There is so much to do here from much fine dining to major league sports (Chicago Black Hawks won Stanley Cup this year, Bears nearly in the Super Bowl).  Many museums, great shopping.  Rollerblading on shores of Lake Michigan, great fun, great people watching.  The list is endless.

The Chicago winters are brutal.  Just had a 23 inch snowfall with peak drifts up to 5 feet in places.  Summer is much more enchanting with all the parks, summer festivals, art fares and such.  Lake Michigan is a great place for people watching and just hanging out.

_Inspired by?

From within.  I love to create and I have always been involved in artistic pursuits.  My mind is tossing around new designs all the time.  I love to day dream.  There is so much room in the world for the mind to roam.

_What's the message that you want to communicate?

I have a saying that I add to my jewelry making.  

Define yourself, wear beautiful artisan jewelry.  Women like pretty things and to accessorize.  

I love to see them wear works of art.  Jewelry is such a personal choice and can really make a statement.  I love statement pieces.  That is why I make one of a kind and occasionally limited edition items.

_Recycle or Re-used, Vintage or eco-friendly?

I do reuse every materials I can.  I do not waste my raw materials.  So many wonderful items can be made from small bits of material left from a bigger project.

I love creating jewelry from vintage buttons.  Each button has its own personality and they are fun to create.  I have recently started using nickel.  It cleans up nice and is a reasonably priced alternative to sterling silver.  Pearls are another one of my favorite materials. 

I think a simple strand of pearls that are hand knotted with a sterling or gold fill clasp make a timeless piece of jewelry.

_You typical day?

I think jewelry very much throughout my day, go to sleep many nights designing a piece in my head that I work on the next day.  

I spend hours in the studio looking at materials,  putting one with the other and just "playing " until I get what I like.  I pay much attention to detail and my pieces must be quality crafted and solid in their construction.

_What is creativity inside you?

Creativity is a state of mind.  Sometimes macabre and sinister, sometimes lighthearted and optimistic. Sometimes nothing at all.