Staying Creative: Ellison James February 2, 2015 | Hi Friends! Happy Monday! Whew, can you believe that it’s already February?! I’m excited about how crazy busy and fun this month is going to be, so I was excited to get started! Today I want you to meet Preston, the owner and designer of Ellison James, a local jewelry line hand-made right here in Charlotte. I discovered her gorgeous line via Instagram and fell in love with her beautiful work. I asked her to share a little more about herself and how the line came about and here’s what she had to say: I was born and raised in Charlotte, went to boarding school at Virginia Episcopal School and from there attended Appalachian State University. I have always been interested in the arts and the design aspect of things, I make craft home decor, refurbish old furniture, as well as painting and charcoal. I simply love to create anything with my hands…creating is my therapy. “About two years ago I started to become interested in jewelry. I already made simple things like leather headbands for shows and concerts, but I really found my passion when I decided to make a pair of Carolina Panthers earrings to wear tailgating. I had several people come up and ask me where I purchased my shimmery accessories, to which I replied “I made them!” The rest is history. I was encouraged to sell my designs, and thanks to my amazing friends and SEC graduates, my sports collection escalated quickly! I was always amazed at how finding the style or jewelry that I liked in the appropriate team colors was always so difficult, so my main mission for Ellison James was to design custom quality pieces for girls like myself, interested in football and fashion! The name of my company comes from family. My mothers maiden name is Ellison and I never met my grandmother, my fathers father’s name is James and I never met him either. I loved the two names combined and as a tribute to them I thought it appropriate to carry on the southern family names. As to where I see my company going, my goal for this year is to be featured in at least 3-5 boutiques and for my website to really take shape and function as an online platform for my custom designs. There is still so much to be done, but I adore this process and I have found a passion in creating things that I love & hopefully others love as well!” Preston was sweet enough to send me these gorgeous earrings and bracelets. You all know that I am a sucker for a great pair of gold earrings and these certainly did not disappoint! My ears are actually exceptionally small (my husband makes fun of me all of the time!) and are therefore pierced a little funky. I have a hard time wearing gold hoops because they end up facing outward instead of hanging correctly. Since these are suspended from a separate earring piece, they hang perfectly in my ears and make me love them even more! I have seriously been living in them lately and have found them very easy to dress up or down! If you’ve been to a Hornets game lately you’ll notice that they Honeybees are all wearing custom Ellison James earrings and they look fab! I am totally getting Preston to make me some purple and gold hoops in time for the Fall and LSU games! Don’t you guys love her stuff? I hope that you enjoyed meeting sweet Preston and getting to know her brand a little better. Check her out of Instagram and say Hi!
Beth of designPOST Interiors says February 2, 2015 at 4:55 PM I just recently found her on IG too (maybe through your page?) and I love her stuff!!
Anonymous says February 5, 2015 at 3:42 PM I don't see any creativity in the designs, they look all the same with a different bead or crystal. I got a pair from a friend and it looks flimsy and cheap, it bend easily, so be careful. I wont buy this product, you see it everywhere, I can probably have a craft day making this with my daughter and her friends at home just for fun. I guess quality will make the difference, but I have seen this ones and is a cheap wire wrapping a bead or whatever the "designer" wants to wrap on. Sorry for the bad comment but it was disappointed to see this on your blog.
charmingincharlotte@gmail.com says February 5, 2015 at 7:19 PM Dear Anonymous (sad we aren't on a first name basis!). I am so disappointed by your comment. This series was put into place to celebrate creatives that I adore and is not a sponsored post, but truly meant to lift someone else up and help to grow their business. I LOVE Preston's work, found the quality EXCEPTIONAL, and have been searching for the perfect gold earrings, which I didn't find until I was introduced to Ellison James, making her designs (in my opinion) absolutely and beautifully unique. I encourage you to (like Preston has) use your abundant free time to be creative and would love a sampling of the pieces you make so that I can also use this blog to lift you up. Please teach your precious daughter that us women need to stick together and use our words and talents to promote each other. Cheers! xo
Anonymous says February 9, 2015 at 6:09 PM Cheers!!! – lift me up? Darling, you are totally wrong if you think I need your help. Abundant free time is what you have, and you should take the comments on your blog in a better way, That's why you have a comment space right? I'm giving my opinion of a product maybe to encourage the "designer" not your blog. Oh and my precious daughter thank you for the advice. An old follower, Britt.