Meet ccdesigns

Corinne from oneadaychallenge at Etsy

Who are you?

My name is Corinne Portalatin. My friends all call me Cori. My business name is CC Designs. ( Cori's Creative Designs).

What do you create?

I love to create jewelry for all occasions. I have a wide range of jewelry that includes bridal jewelry and hair accessories. I find wire wrapping jewelry the most enjoyable technique. Maybe because it takes a long time to create a piece of wearable art. My business is evolving from beaded to artisan wire wrapped jewelry.

How long have you been doing your craft?I have been making jewelry since 1995. I first started out wanting to earn some extra money when my son was a toddler. I found an ad about making money and quickly found out it was a scam. I was so taken by jewelry making that I had wanted to pursue it more. My husband had also passed later that year and I knew I was going to be a stay at home mother for my son. I relocated to my hometown and found out that in- home jewelry parties were a lot of fun and profitable. I took a couple of years away from jewelry making in 2003 for a change of pace,and went work in an office for a couple of years. In 2005, I found a small shop to consign my jewelry and wanted to return to creating jewelry full time, because I was missing it. I also never had enough time to complete the custom orders that I was receiving from the consignment shop. In 2007 I found etsy.

What do you like about creating?

Creating helps me relieve stress and depression. I love spending time creating wearable works of art. I have dreams at night about different designs, even the bead colors. I wake up in the morning thinking about that piece of jewelry and can't wait to get started on it.

What do you like about your business?

I love that I can choose my own hours, even though I'm a workaholic, some days I just don't have time to work. I love to see people wearing a piece of my jewelry, even more people I don't know. My first experience with that was one day in church shortly after moving back to Missouri. I saw a lady wearing a necklace that I knew I had made. I remembered the person bought it as a gift for her mother at a jewelry party.

How did you find out about Etsy?

I found etsy doing a google search trying to find places to sell my jewelry. I wasn't happy with selling only on consignment. Do you sell your products anywhere other than Etsy? I sell my jewelry locally at a wonderful home decor store in Troy called the At Home Outlet. I also sell in a FTD Florist Gift Shop in Warrenton. I sell online at Ecrater, and Icraft.

What do you do when you’re not creating products for your shop?

I enjoy playing bingo with my fiance (Kevin) and when I visit my family we usually play Scrabble. I really love to work large jigsaw puzzles, but etsy has taken that time away from me for now. I think I may take a vacation soon just to work a puzzle. I keep saying that. I love lighthouses!

What are some other sites to find out more about you and what you love to create?

(Blog, Flikr, MySpace, etc.)My blog is http://www.designsbycori.blogspot.com/My flick'r is http://www.designsbycori.flickr.com/