plastique*

First, a few basics

My name is Jen Murse. My company is called plastique* I am from San Francisco but I have lived in Los Angeles for 10 years now.

What’s your story? How’d you get involved in your hustle/hobby/business? How long have you been doing what you do?

I started making acrylic jewelry about a year and a half ago. It started as a hobby. I saw a few random necklaces and rings I liked and thought I could do the same thing, maybe even better. I found a place to cut acrylic for me and I was on my way. I sold a couple pieces here and there but it was mainly a way for me to make the jewelry that I wanted to make. I threw some of it up on Etsy and slowly it started to grow. It’s not my primary source of income. I’m a graphic designer by day. That’s where I get a lot of my inspiration for my pieces actually. I would love to quit my day job and just make jewelry, but I don’t see that happening any time soon!

What are some resources you’ve found invaluable to your work?

I read a LOT of design-related blogs everyday. They help get the creative juices flowing in all aspects of my life. I also get inspired by the people around me and their creativity.

How do you get the word about about your hustle?

This is actually what I need to focus on more. I have been doing this for over a year now but mainly it’s just been a very small thing. Only recently did my work start to get noticed. People started blogging about my pieces and it got the word out a bit. I started a Twitter account (@plastiqueshop) and made a Facebook page but I need to do more. I want to reach out to more blogs as well as contact various online and brick and mortar shops about selling my pieces. I also need to build a proper website – the one up at www.plastiqueshop.com is only temporary.

Where do you find your inspiration and/or motivation?

As I said before, I read a lot of blogs and get inspired by other creative things I see. Even if it’s not related to jewelry. I get inspired by my peers. I work with a bunch of talented people and I have a lot of talented friends. I also get my inspiration from my own life. The places I have travelled around the world and the music I listen to are great bits of inspiration for me.

What are some challenges to your dreams? How do you deal with them?

Oh…my dreams… My dreams vary from day to day I swear. I dream of having my own company and doing creative things that I want to do. Not having to deal with “the man” keeping me down and telling me to do things like “make the logo bigger.” It’s hard getting even close to that dream. I find it hard to make time to do all the things I want to do on a daily basis. Everything from just going to work from 9-6 and getting some gym time in while eating a sensible dinner and having time to make new pieces and fill orders. I barely have time to market my products! I can’t grow my business successfully without marketing. I can’t get my own personal design work to a level even close to own my own firm without time to work on my own portfolio pieces. Basically there just aren’t enough hours in the day! That and the internet is highly, HIGHLY distracting.

What are some things you wish you had that would make your work easier?

I wish my little stuffed animals would come to life and pack all my items for me for shipping. Seriously, I wish I had a 3rd hand. I have streamlined my process about as best I can. At first I used to hand make each chain. Now I modify existing chains. I used to handwrite all the addresses for the envelopes. Now I print address labels. etc etc But it still all takes time. There really isn’t much I could do to make work easier other than to literally have another hand.

How has this so-called recession affected the way you conduct business?

Considering this isn’t my primary income and I didn’t really start selling a LOT of pieces til recently, I have no idea if the recession is affecting my business. I don’t know if I’d be selling twice as much if people had more cash. I kind of doubt it because my pieces aren’t very pricey. I don’t think the recession has affected people from dropping $20 on a necklace. But who knows.

Which people or organizations do you look up to? Why?

In terms of my jewelry business, I look up to Alissia Melka-Teichroew because to me she kind of pioneered this acrylic jewelry idea. Her diamond ring inspired me awhile back. Her work is awesome and she’s known world-wide for it. So I aspire to be like her in that regard. Of course there are a million designers and organizations I look up to in terms of graphic design, but this isn’t really about that part of my life.

What is the work you’re most proud of?

As much as I love my turntable necklace and ring as well as my helvetica necklace, I think it’s the inverted diamonds I am most proud of. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to get a diamond nestled snuggly in plastic upside down. And now I offer the ring in 3 thickness which makes me even more excited about the rings.

What are you working on currently?

I have some new designs I want to roll out soon. Skyline necklaces to go with my landmark ring sets. More landmarks to expand the ring set. I also have a new set of kawaii-style horoscope necklaces that I am going to launch soon. And I think I am going to do a limited run of helvetica and apple-z necklaces in stainless steel.

What is your dream project? Where do you plan on going with your business/hustle?

My dream project would probably be to design a piece for my favorite band, Radiohead. If they came to me and asked me to make necklaces for their upcoming tour or something, I’d probably just die.

I plan on trying to get my work into stores online and off and see where that takes me. I don’t plan to give up my day job so all I can hope for is for my business to kind of run itself a bit more if I am able to sell items in bulk to stores and let them sell it for me.

How has your dedication to your hustle affected your personal life?

I live with my boyfriend who now has to live with boxes, envelopes, and plastic all over the place. He loves me but he doesn’t love this business. It takes time away from me hanging out with him. But I hope to figure out a way to get my inventory down to a precise level where I don’t have to continually waste time counting things and placing things here and there. etc, etc. Things that take time away from designing pieces and also just relaxing. I haven’t relaxed in months.

What is something you know now that you wish you’d known before?

How to streamline my work. It was a process to get to where I am in terms of how long it takes to produce each item. If I knew all the little things I know now such as making custom stamps to stamp the envelopes and printing postcards that double as thank you cards so I don’t have to make them by hand, life would have been a lot easier a few months ago.

What is something you’ve learned on your path that you would share with anyone just starting out?

Don’t give up! It takes a LOT of work but it’s very gratifying to see people enjoy your pieces. That’s mainly why I do this. I don’t make a ton of money but I think it’s awesome that people are wearing my jewelry all over the world!