Roslyn Broder of Red Ava Designs

I came across Roslyn Broder of Red Ava Designs, at the Handmade Market last month, and she has recently begun metalsmithing jewelry. She's a good example of someone taking a craft and applying a professional designer's skills to the products, and to the self-marketing she has developed.

Tell me a bit about the things you've been making and selling...
Well, I started a little over a year ago, just doing beads and wire - I taught myself how to do it. I work as a graphic designer, and my work wasn't super busy, and I had this idea I wanted to do a craft -


Did this coincide with the economic slump, by chance?
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And I really liked making the bead and wire jewelry - it's very therapeutic. So then I decided to try the metalsmithing, and now I can do more elaborate things.