Meet the Artist - Lourdes of Tyss Handmade Jewelry

~ Meet the Artist ~

Lourdes of Tyss Handmade Jewelry

Interviewed by JeannieRichard

It's 2012 and here we find ourselves with the lovely Lourdes of Tyss Handmade Jewelry.
Her work is chic as well as cute, a lovely mix of styles for any sweet lady out there!
Let's find out how Lourdes as a Chemistry teacher, make chemistry for you to wear ;)


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~ Charcoal grey leather wrap bracelet ~

ISD: Who/what inspired you to start making jewelry?
Lourdes: I really love jewelry. During my high school days, I would save all my money to buy earrings. I have more than one hundred of different and bigger ones when I start University. When I finished my studies, I saw in some shops in the cities bigger than mine and you can buy supplies to make your own pieces... OMG I was totally in love with that! Now with the internet, I would purchase a lot of supplies in bigger quantities and sell as a way to reduce the amount of stock at home. At first I started with selling to my family, friends and finally at Esty.

~ Agata (left) and Irene (right) ~

ISD: You have a day job. How do you manage both your day job and etsy shop?
Lourdes: I'm a Chemistry teacher in a high school. I spend my free time is for this hobby, and it's not much of a free time because my priority are for my two little daughters, Agata and Irene, three and one years old. But with tremendous help from my hubby, I have more time for myself.

~ Black leather wrap bracelet ~

ISD: Do you have a specific/favorite artistic style to cater to a specific market of ladies?
Lourdes: I really love vintage style. I always dream to wear the jewelry like that of the princess or queen of old times... it's would be great that it could be matched with the actual outfit. I'm really an addict to Swaroski rhinestones and other bright pieces. I started at Etsy with this idea, the style I love for myself but from experience, I sold more of leather bracelets than earrings. I don't wear them, but Spanish leather is of really good quality and appreciated in many countries. So I'm focusing on leather bracelets and as you know, it's in trend.

~ Beaded sparkling bracelet ~

ISD: You work with a variety of materials, namely beads, leather, felt, etc. Is there a favorite and why?
Lourdes: My favorite technique is bead weaving... a lot of work and time for a piece. I would focus all my mind to stitch the little beads to give each piece a touch of personality. Unfortunately, this kind of work takes up a lot of time which I don't have much thus I can't produce a lot of them.

~ Peridot Green Swarovski Crystal Earrings ~

ISD: You come from a very rich culture of music, architecture ~ does these influence your designs?
Lourdes: I suppose spanish culture is in the pieces, the leather represents so. The filigree findings with lot of rhinestone are specially typical in european jewelry. But I'm really a on-line woman, and would browse a lot of webs, blogs or photos looking for fashion trends or new techniques.

~ Braided leather bracelet ~

ISD: What kind of ladies do you envision wearing your jewelry?
Lourdes: Women like me, living the present, causal wear (special for ocassions) that want to be unique in their accessories. Looking for a touch of personality in every little thing.

~ Scotty Dog Felt Brooch ~

ISD: Besides enjoying making jewelry, what other creative pastimes do you engage in?
Lourdes: Not so very creative actually,  gaming on-line is my pastime I enjoy so much. Long time ago, when I didn't internet (about 8 years ago) I used to do a lot of cross stitch, that my walls are aplenty with "my art" and my family/friends.... so I have left all my thread and fabrics in a drawer, waiting for a future occasion. When my daughters were born, I made for them a lot of bibs, towels but not anymore.

~ Stephanie button brooch ~

ISD: Talent versus hard work - what is you opinion?
Lourdes: Relax time is beading for me, this is not a "work" and less "hard". So I'm looking always for a idea, matching colors, find the special piece, the combination of materials.


ISD: What genre of music are your favorite, any recommendations to expand our horizons? :)

~ Black Leather Bracelet with Swarovski Rhinetone ~

Lourdes: Sorry to say, I'm not much of a music lover, I always turn on the radio and listen to the songs that are top seller in that time, not selected. I like pop and rock, mainstream music, so I suppose I haven´t any new recommendations for you: Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, David Bisbal... There are lot of Spanish groups or artist to name, but not any one special for me. I don´t like Spanish (folk) music. When I was younger I was fan of Bon Jovi.

~ Triple wrap mustard leather bracelet ~

ISD: Which movie have you watched that made a positive impact on your perception of life, and why so?
Lourdes: I'm not really a cinema lover where I would actually watch films at cinema. I'm more of a TV series lover, especially CSI, House and other series are the only ones I use to watch. Other of my favourites is the spanish version of BIG Brother, "Gran Hermano" what is going to start the 13th edition with big aduence here. So I´m really more of the mainstream TV series and not a fan of films, nothing that would impact my life.

ISD: You come from Zamora, Spain. Where you born and raised in Zamora, or moved there to reside? Tell us a bit about beautiful Spain! :D
Lourdes: Zamora lies on a rocky hill in the northwest, near the frontier with Portugal and crossed by the Duero river, which is some 50 km downstream as it reaches the Portuguese frontier. With its 24 characteristic Romanesque style churches of the 12th and 13th centuries it has been called a "museum of Romanesque art". Zamora is the city with the most Romanesque churches in all of Europe. The most important celebration in Zamora is the Holy Week (Intenational Culture awarded).
It's nothing like the South of Spain cities like Sevilla, Zamora is really diferent.

Personally, I love how peaceful Zamora is, you can walk between Romanesque churches while shopping at Zara, go to the post office, to the bank or to the park with children. It's a stunning mix of the modern life and the old buildings. For example, I got married in the church which is placed in the manor house of the city!


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We hope you have enjoyed the interview as much as we did!
Lourdes is currently having a giveaway on our blog from Jan 4 to 18, so enter now! :D
PLUS PLUS! Lourdes is also offering a 10% discount of during this giveaway period - simply code 'INDIESTYLE' at checkout!
Visit her shop to browse her entire collection, or follow her blog, Facebook, flickr, or twitter :D


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