Enjoy a visit to Mel's Art Buffet, a unique shop filled with wonderful treats for your eyes. Mel's Art Buffet offers unique designs for your unique taste.
"So if your eyes are hungry come on in and enjoy the visual feast of handcrafted jewelry."
by Mel's Art Buffet
My name is Melissa and I am the proud & hopeful owner of Mel's Art Buffet. Opening my Etsy shop was a huge step for me. I have enjoyed the site for so many years but was intimidated to take the leap. Mel's Art Buffet opened at the end of January 2010 & I couldn't be more pleased. The community has been so welcoming & friendly. It's a lovely home. 
I have always had the need to make something, anything. Over the years I have concentrated my creative juices to focus primarily on jewelry. I started going to bead shows & making pieces for myself. And, one day it occurred to me, as my personal stash began to grow out of control, maybe someone else would like to wear this? I am self taught & anticipate learning the next technique which will undoubtedly lead to a world of possibilities.
Polymer clay is currently my medium of choice. I have been working with polymer for over a year now & have not even begun to push it to its limits. It does everything I ask and never argues. Polymer clay is a flexible blank canvas and has completely changed my jewelry designing. A whole new world has opened right in front of me, so exciting! I have been combining polymer clay with my signature thread inlay that I have been developing. The thread inlay evolved from my infatuation with light shades made from string, popular in the 70's. My jewelry is definitely different. But I hope that my unique style will catch on.
Inspiration comes easy to me & feel so lucky for this. My main inspiration is derived from food. I know this sounds crazy but stick with me...Quite a few years ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, which means no gluten – a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, & oats. So, being on a restricted diet I eat visually what I'm not allowed physically. I love to read recipes but more so I love to look at food pics! Alluring food pictures & blogs are where I find major inspiration. I think food is beautiful & the colors are simply pure & inspiring. I can look at a picture of pizza & draw three jewelry sketches. So this is how Mel's Art Buffet blossomed, by combining my greatest loves in life, food & art.
I don't have much luck with organization in my work space, see photo... but I do have one idea to share - I recently purchased 50+ small bags of seed beads from artbeads.com that were on sale for a $1 each. Seemed like a great idea at the time. Still excited when I received the package. Unwrapping, unwrapping, still unwrapping. Where in the world am I going to put 50 small baggies of beads? If I put them a small drawer organizer, I will rarely sift through to find the right color. After several days of contemplation, I found a solution that would work for me. I took a large Rubbermaid lid from a storage bin that had been sitting in the corner and drilled two holes at the top. Once I ran string through the holes, I was able to hang from the wall. I love velcro & can't seem to keep enough on hand. I placed a circle dot of velcro on the back of each baggie adhered the other end to the lid. Now all 50 bags are displayed for easy use & visibility :)
Links:
Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/melsartbuffet
Ecrater Shop (my beaded jewelry): http://melsartbuffet.ecrater.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/melsartbuffet
Blog: http://melsartbuffet.blogspot.com/
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Great interview.
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