July 4, 2025 • 16 mins
What makes Jessica Blissett with Ignite Jewelry Studios a good neighbor?
Ever wondered what happens when passion, craftsmanship, and community intersect? In our latest episode, we journey into the gleaming world of Ignite Jewelry Studios with founder Jessica Blissett, who's redefining accessibility in jewelry-making through her unique three-pillar approach.
Jessica reveals how Ignite serves as a retail gallery showcasing local artisans, a communal workspace where members access professional tools (think "gym membership for jewelers"), and an educational hub offering hands-on workshops for all skill levels. What makes this story particularly compelling is Jessica's phoenix-like resilience—having opened her business in 2019, simultaneously starting a family, weathering the pandemic, and then losing her River Arts District studio in Asheville's devastating flood last year. Rather than surrendering, she secured a new downtown location and completely rebuilt within just eight weeks.
The conversation shatters common misconceptions about jewelry making being inaccessible or requiring extensive training. Jessica welcomes students as young as 13 to work with torches and has mentored beginners in their 70s who've gone on to launch successful businesses. Her passion stems from her own journey, starting with childhood fascination at bead stores and community college metalsmithing classes that introduced her to the transformative power of working with precious materials. The most captivating insight? How even reluctant participants discover unexpected joy when they create something beautiful with their own hands.
Ready to explore this fascinating intersection of craft, community, and entrepreneurship? Listen now, and if you're visiting Asheville, mark your calendar for Ignite's workshops where you can experience the unique satisfaction of metalsmithing firsthand. Book your seat through ignitejewelrystudios.com and discover why Jessica believes everyone deserves the chance to feel that special sense of accomplishment that comes from creating wearable art.
To learn more about Ignite Jewelry Studios go to:
https://www.ignitejewelrystudios.com/
Ignite Jewelry Studios
(775) 338-3880
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
So I hope everybody's doingwell.
We've got a great show for youhere today with a very, with a
unique guest and business herein the studio.
So I'm really psyched to learnall about them and what they do,
and I'm sure you will be too,because today I have the
pleasure of introducing yourgood neighbor, ms Jessica
(00:34):
Blissett, who is the owneroperator of Ignite Jewelry
Studios.
Jessica, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We're glad to have you.
Like I said, you got a prettyunique business.
I'm excited to learn all aboutit.
So, if you don't mind, whydon't you kick us off by telling
us what you do?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
So Ignite Jewelry Studios is a communal jewelry
space, all-inclusive.
We have a retail gallery wherewe feature local and regional
artisans' jewelry for sale,where we feature local and
regional artisans jewelry forsale.
We also have the studio side ofthe space where we have
residents that can access thespace, kind of like a gym
(01:12):
membership, but they come in andcan use the tools and the
equipment for, you know, justcreative hobby or maybe their
own jewelry businesses.
And thirdly, we teach workshopsand classes here.
So kind of the three partsright there the gallery, the
studio residence side, and thenthe workshops and classes.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Wow, I didn't know there were jewelry workshop
classes.
That's very cool.
Yeah definitely Are there a lotof businesses like yours.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Are there a lot of businesses like yours.
There's probably a few morekind of popping up around the
country.
I first opened Ignite back in2019.
And even today, most people say, oh, we don't have anything
like this in our town and I feellike I've got.
When I designed it, it wasreally something that I thought
(02:04):
a lot about, just for the reasonbeing I've been in the industry
a long time and it was thethings that I always felt I wish
I would have had back in theday when I was first learning or
trying to learn things, alsotrying to sell stuff.
There was always just it was achallenge within the field.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Wow, so you're giving back to other folks to give
them what you didn't have?
Well, you kind of touched onthis, but how did you get into
the jewelry business?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
You know I first started back as a little girl.
I just wanted to go to the beadstores and make things, and so
that kind of led into as I got alittle older, learning doing
some little classes at some ofthe bead shops and learning some
.
You know different skills withlike wire wrapping and you know
how to attach a class anddifferent ways of doing more
(02:57):
beaded style jewelry.
And then in my early 20s I justwas still curious and always
wanting to do new stuff and so Itook a jewelry arts class at a
community college and that wasmy first introduction to more of
the metal smithing side of thefield.
So torches and you know all thebigger equipment, you know
(03:17):
sawing metal and so putting itall together.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Oh wow, very interesting.
Well, what are some?
And I'm sure there are somemyths or misconceptions in the
jewelry business.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
You know, I guess, like the idea that you know it's
maybe an untouchable thing,that it's something that can be,
you know, too expensive or justyou know there's nowhere to
access it.
I think a lot of people, ifthey've only had experience more
in like fine jewelry or walkinginto a jewelry store, it
(03:54):
doesn't feel very communitydriven, it doesn't feel like
somewhere where you knowsomebody is going to, you know
talk or share about some of thetrade stuff, and so you know
there is ways around it.
There are community colleges,there are some other schools
that are offering stuff outsideof, you know, going through like
more of a traditional, like BFAdegree in metals or something,
(04:29):
lot of smaller spaces that youcan start to learn things, and
then, once you get a little bitof a foundation, you know, then
it opens up a lot more avenueswhere you can, you know, just
sign up for smaller classes atyou know other teaching
facilities or even learn online.
Now there's a lot, especiallywith COVID, a lot of the.
The instructors had to switchand so they did things like
recordings and YouTube andthings like that, and so so
(04:51):
there is a you know there is alot of access to it and anyone
can do it.
I have.
You know I bring in young kidsto.
You know, to a degree you knowit's gotta be safety, but I do
have, you know, I say I say 13and 13 and up, and you know, as
long as they're listening andpaying attention and they have
an adult, you know, taking theclass with them.
(05:12):
Like they'll actually get touse the torch in some of my
classes and you know I've hadfirst just some fun stamping
classes.
You know, get that all the waydown to six years old.
But I have, um, you know I haveresidents.
I'm in it.
I'm in a new phase we can touchon it because I was part of the
disaster in Asheville, which iswhere I'm located, and so I'm
(05:33):
in a new space now because mystudio did flood last year,
storm, and so a lot of my priorresidents and such they had to
move on and do things.
So I'm just now bringing peopleback.
I just opened about two weeksago in the new space in downtown
.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
But prior to that, I mean, I had a resident in her
70s and she didn't even startdoing it until she was almost 70
years old, and so you know, andnow she's got her own business
in the field and loves it, soit's something that everyone can
do.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Wow, Now were you in the River Arts District prior.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
I was.
I was in the River ArtsDistrict.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I was.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Fortunately I was on the second story of you know of
a really old building.
It was built back in the 1800sso it did stand.
But the water.
Even in my upper studio, whichwas about 24, 25 feet up in
there, it still got about a footof water through my space.
Wow, wow so everything had to beremoved in a hurry and just
(06:37):
stored, and we all have been,you know, in our different forms
.
But eventually I found a newspace in downtown, my old
building.
As much as I loved it and I hadno intention of ever leaving,
it's still not.
It's not ready, and there'sreally no date yet on when it
even might be ready for peopleto inhabit it again.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So wow, I know the River Arch district just got
hammered.
I mean hard.
I've talked to a lot of folksbut you know Asheville and all
the folks that live in thisregion are very resilient.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
We are.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Look at you.
Yeah, I mean you're here,you're in a new spot and just
reopen, so that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, you know, you just have to keep going.
And I know this.
I, you know, I thought about,well, what if I didn't do it?
But it just, you know, it seemslike it's what I do.
It's what I've been doing formy whole life.
It was working great.
I just had to find a new spaceand shift a few things around.
Here I am.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Got to pivot.
Got to pivot Absolutely.
Who are your target customers?
I imagine you talk about with atorch, that young guys would be
very interested if you get toplay with a torch.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
That's the thing.
It's funny because, you know, Ithink for as far as like what I
call my weekly workshops, andthose are usually Thursday,
friday, saturdays, but withsummer coming on, I also
probably add a few more in hereand there during the weeks.
But, those ones are gearedtowards people with no
experience at all, basicallylooking for something to do they
(08:09):
want.
And then they're going to,they're going to see that and
they're going to say, oh look,we can make some jewelry.
And you know, usually the womenare like, yeah, let's make some
jewelry.
And so they sign up, and so alot of times it'll be couples or
you know whoever comes in.
But it's funny when you see,you know sort of some of that.
(08:30):
Like, some of the men will comein and just at first be like,
ah, you drug me to this jewelryclass, like, and then by the
time they walk in the door theylook around and they're like,
wow, this is, this is prettyneat, there's a lot of tools in
here, and you know.
And then they get to use thetorches and so it's.
It's diverse, I would say.
You know, I get a lot ofdifferent groups.
So I don't think there'snecessarily a type, but I think
(08:51):
you know people that enjoy doingstuff with their hands and
feeling, you know, kind ofaccomplished.
Now you know, I can get anyonethrough a class and they're
going to walk away with theiryou know their piece of jewelry.
I always say that and knock onwood at least I have, and you
know a lot of people may thinkthat it's something that's
beyond their ability, but it'snot.
It just it has to do with justtaking it one step at a time.
(09:13):
So I would say you know anyonethat's looking to come for a
visit in Asheville and wants totry out something new or maybe
they've even had a littleexperience in it, but it's been
a while they can come makesomething here.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Very cool, love it, love it, love the productivity
of it too.
It's fun and you can make stuffyou know.
Yeah, so outside of work, ifthere is outside of work, what
do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Oh, I play soccer sometimes.
Right now we're kind of in anoff season, but I've played
soccer my whole life too, sothat's a fun one.
Just some local rec leagues.
We've got a pretty good soccercommunity here, also very
heavily hit by the storm,because the uh, the fields were
completely flooded.
They were right there inSwannanoa by that bridge that is
(09:59):
gone, and so we've scattered,you know, every field you can
find in the whole area.
But it it came back, so that'sbeen nice and, um, you know,
trying to get out in nature abit.
That's been a bit challengingpost-disaster because a lot of
places are still getting cleanedup and such.
And then I got two little onesand so we play a lot and doing
(10:23):
fun things with them, doinglittle festivals and stuff like
that on the playgrounds.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Very cool, yeah, Best answer.
Always time with familySoccer's good too though.
Swan and Owen Black Mountain.
Yeah, got hit hard too.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
They did.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
It's very unfortunate , but they're coming back too.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
They're coming back too.
Yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
So what you already kind of touched on this I was
going to say, what can youdescribe a hardship or a life
challenge that you've overcome,either personally or
professionally?
But you mentioned the flood,obviously is a big one.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Yeah, you know, mentioned the flood obviously is
a big one.
Yeah, you know, the flood thatwas uh.
That one felt like it was sortof sort of just like a real
punch in the gut.
Um, when I opened this businessactually I was I also met what
became my future husband andstarted a family at the same
time, and so it's been a wildride really.
Since the day I opened mybusiness, I felt like, whew,
(11:18):
it's been a lot of hurdles toclimb and negotiating of you
know time and energy and youknow capacities, and COVID did
not help.
So there was that one and Ireally it felt like I'd kind of
come, come to the other side ofall of it and things were
getting pretty smooth and awhole bunch of things were
falling in place, withscheduling for young kids,
schooling and all that, only tohave the disaster hit and I was
(11:41):
like, oh, and that was reallyreally something.
Initially I didn't know if I wasgoing to come back.
I mean, it just is hard to wrapyour head around something like
that.
It takes a lot of time, and soit was.
It took me a couple months toeven really have a clear picture
of what you know life lookedlike and you know, even for
anything of like what ourcommunity looked like, what our
(12:03):
town looked like, you know wereally nobody knew because there
was so much, you know,destruction and devastation here
and so but yeah, I feel likeyou know, I've made it to the
other side.
I've opened in a new space.
The amount of work that'shappened over the last seven,
almost eight weeks since Isigned a lease in a new space in
(12:25):
downtown has been unreal and Ijust have to take deep breaths,
a lot and take, you know, thetime.
There's still a lot of littlethings, but my grand reopening,
this might be done or not, putout there.
I don't know when this goeslive, but uh, that's next
Saturday, um the 21st, from fourto 8 PM and so that's sort of
like hey, I'm back and, you know, would love to welcome anybody
(12:48):
who wants to come see and ifthey're interested in
metalsmithing, you know I alsooffer skills classes.
I have a metalsmithingone-on-one course that I offer
four to five times a year andthat gets you all all the skills
to kind of have a goodfoundation in metalsmithing and
and so you can learn and eitherstart setting up, buying tools
and setting up at home or, youknow, join as a resident in our
(13:11):
space as well.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Very cool.
I'm so intrigued, like themetalsmithing, I would love to
you know.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
You'll have to come take a class, yeah definitely,
definitely.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So, jessica, if you could think of one thing you
would like our listeners toremember about Ignite Jewelry
Studios, what would that be?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
It's a fun and very.
It's one of those things thatmakes you feel accomplished.
Um, you know you overcome a lotof tiny little challenges with
everything you make and so it'sreally, really, really um
ignites a place where you canreally come and um just get into
the flow and do something.
(13:53):
That, even with frustrationsand all like it, can really make
you feel like accomplished,that you've done something and
yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Very cool, very cool.
Well, for those of us who areinterested, we'd like to come
check it out.
How can they learn more?
Speaker 3 (14:08):
They can go to the website ignitejewelrystudioscom.
You can, you know, read aboutthe different things.
You know we've got our galleryhere with lots of amazing
jewelry for sale.
We've got the workshops andthere's a calendar on there.
You can sign right up and so.
And then you know, there's someinformation on there about
residencies and such.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Okay, awesome, awesome.
And can you book a class onyour website?
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Yep you can go right through that and you can book a
class, and so Awesome, awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
And can you?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
book a class on your website, yep, you can go right
through that and you can book aclass, and so Awesome, awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Well, jessica, I know you're busy and we managed to
get through the interviewwithout somebody coming in the
store, I think.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I know it's been a bad thing.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
We want to get you some customers in there, but I
do appreciate it.
I appreciate you know what youdo and the time you took to be
on our show and to talk to ourlisteners.
And speaking of listeners, Iwant to remind everybody June
21st, from 4 to 8 pm.
This podcast will be out beforethen.
So I want to remind everybodyto make sure and check it out.
(15:10):
Come to the re-grand opening ofIgnite Jewelry Studios on.
That's Saturday, june 21st,correct?
Yep All right Sounds good.
Thanks again, and we want towish you and your family and
Ignite Jewelry Studios all thebest moving forward.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
All right, well, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
I'm meeting some people from up around the
Tri-Cities.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
All right, awesome.
Well, very good, and maybe wecan have you back on the show
sometime.
Sounds good.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
All right.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
All right, thank you.
Thank you for listening to theGood Neighbor Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnptri-citiescom.
That's gnptri-citiescom.
That's gnptry-citiescom, orcall 423-719-5873.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Skip Monty.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
So I hope everybody's doingwell.
We've got a great show for youhere today with a very, with a
unique guest and business herein the studio.
So I'm really psyched to learnall about them and what they do,
and I'm sure you will be too,because today I have the
pleasure of introducing yourgood neighbor, ms Jessica
(00:34):
Blissett, who is the owneroperator of Ignite Jewelry
Studios.
Jessica, welcome to the show.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
We're glad to have you.
Like I said, you got a prettyunique business.
I'm excited to learn all aboutit.
So, if you don't mind, whydon't you kick us off by telling
us what you do?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
So Ignite Jewelry Studios is a communal jewelry
space, all-inclusive.
We have a retail gallery wherewe feature local and regional
artisans' jewelry for sale,where we feature local and
regional artisans jewelry forsale.
We also have the studio side ofthe space where we have
residents that can access thespace, kind of like a gym
(01:12):
membership, but they come in andcan use the tools and the
equipment for, you know, justcreative hobby or maybe their
own jewelry businesses.
And thirdly, we teach workshopsand classes here.
So kind of the three partsright there the gallery, the
studio residence side, and thenthe workshops and classes.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Wow, I didn't know there were jewelry workshop
classes.
That's very cool.
Yeah definitely Are there a lotof businesses like yours.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Are there a lot of businesses like yours.
There's probably a few morekind of popping up around the
country.
I first opened Ignite back in2019.
And even today, most people say, oh, we don't have anything
like this in our town and I feellike I've got.
When I designed it, it wasreally something that I thought
(02:04):
a lot about, just for the reasonbeing I've been in the industry
a long time and it was thethings that I always felt I wish
I would have had back in theday when I was first learning or
trying to learn things, alsotrying to sell stuff.
There was always just it was achallenge within the field.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Wow, so you're giving back to other folks to give
them what you didn't have?
Well, you kind of touched onthis, but how did you get into
the jewelry business?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
You know I first started back as a little girl.
I just wanted to go to the beadstores and make things, and so
that kind of led into as I got alittle older, learning doing
some little classes at some ofthe bead shops and learning some
.
You know different skills withlike wire wrapping and you know
how to attach a class anddifferent ways of doing more
(02:57):
beaded style jewelry.
And then in my early 20s I justwas still curious and always
wanting to do new stuff and so Itook a jewelry arts class at a
community college and that wasmy first introduction to more of
the metal smithing side of thefield.
So torches and you know all thebigger equipment, you know
(03:17):
sawing metal and so putting itall together.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Oh wow, very interesting.
Well, what are some?
And I'm sure there are somemyths or misconceptions in the
jewelry business.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
You know, I guess, like the idea that you know it's
maybe an untouchable thing,that it's something that can be,
you know, too expensive or justyou know there's nowhere to
access it.
I think a lot of people, ifthey've only had experience more
in like fine jewelry or walkinginto a jewelry store, it
(03:54):
doesn't feel very communitydriven, it doesn't feel like
somewhere where you knowsomebody is going to, you know
talk or share about some of thetrade stuff, and so you know
there is ways around it.
There are community colleges,there are some other schools
that are offering stuff outsideof, you know, going through like
more of a traditional, like BFAdegree in metals or something,
(04:29):
lot of smaller spaces that youcan start to learn things, and
then, once you get a little bitof a foundation, you know, then
it opens up a lot more avenueswhere you can, you know, just
sign up for smaller classes atyou know other teaching
facilities or even learn online.
Now there's a lot, especiallywith COVID, a lot of the.
The instructors had to switchand so they did things like
recordings and YouTube andthings like that, and so so
(04:51):
there is a you know there is alot of access to it and anyone
can do it.
I have.
You know I bring in young kidsto.
You know, to a degree you knowit's gotta be safety, but I do
have, you know, I say I say 13and 13 and up, and you know, as
long as they're listening andpaying attention and they have
an adult, you know, taking theclass with them.
(05:12):
Like they'll actually get touse the torch in some of my
classes and you know I've hadfirst just some fun stamping
classes.
You know, get that all the waydown to six years old.
But I have, um, you know I haveresidents.
I'm in it.
I'm in a new phase we can touchon it because I was part of the
disaster in Asheville, which iswhere I'm located, and so I'm
(05:33):
in a new space now because mystudio did flood last year,
storm, and so a lot of my priorresidents and such they had to
move on and do things.
So I'm just now bringing peopleback.
I just opened about two weeksago in the new space in downtown
.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
But prior to that, I mean, I had a resident in her
70s and she didn't even startdoing it until she was almost 70
years old, and so you know, andnow she's got her own business
in the field and loves it, soit's something that everyone can
do.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Wow, Now were you in the River Arts District prior.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
I was.
I was in the River ArtsDistrict.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I was.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Fortunately I was on the second story of you know of
a really old building.
It was built back in the 1800sso it did stand.
But the water.
Even in my upper studio, whichwas about 24, 25 feet up in
there, it still got about a footof water through my space.
Wow, wow so everything had to beremoved in a hurry and just
(06:37):
stored, and we all have been,you know, in our different forms
.
But eventually I found a newspace in downtown, my old
building.
As much as I loved it and I hadno intention of ever leaving,
it's still not.
It's not ready, and there'sreally no date yet on when it
even might be ready for peopleto inhabit it again.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So wow, I know the River Arch district just got
hammered.
I mean hard.
I've talked to a lot of folksbut you know Asheville and all
the folks that live in thisregion are very resilient.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
We are.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Look at you.
Yeah, I mean you're here,you're in a new spot and just
reopen, so that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, you know, you just have to keep going.
And I know this.
I, you know, I thought about,well, what if I didn't do it?
But it just, you know, it seemslike it's what I do.
It's what I've been doing formy whole life.
It was working great.
I just had to find a new spaceand shift a few things around.
Here I am.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Got to pivot.
Got to pivot Absolutely.
Who are your target customers?
I imagine you talk about with atorch, that young guys would be
very interested if you get toplay with a torch.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
That's the thing.
It's funny because, you know, Ithink for as far as like what I
call my weekly workshops, andthose are usually Thursday,
friday, saturdays, but withsummer coming on, I also
probably add a few more in hereand there during the weeks.
But, those ones are gearedtowards people with no
experience at all, basicallylooking for something to do they
(08:09):
want.
And then they're going to,they're going to see that and
they're going to say, oh look,we can make some jewelry.
And you know, usually the womenare like, yeah, let's make some
jewelry.
And so they sign up, and so alot of times it'll be couples or
you know whoever comes in.
But it's funny when you see,you know sort of some of that.
(08:30):
Like, some of the men will comein and just at first be like,
ah, you drug me to this jewelryclass, like, and then by the
time they walk in the door theylook around and they're like,
wow, this is, this is prettyneat, there's a lot of tools in
here, and you know.
And then they get to use thetorches and so it's.
It's diverse, I would say.
You know, I get a lot ofdifferent groups.
So I don't think there'snecessarily a type, but I think
(08:51):
you know people that enjoy doingstuff with their hands and
feeling, you know, kind ofaccomplished.
Now you know, I can get anyonethrough a class and they're
going to walk away with theiryou know their piece of jewelry.
I always say that and knock onwood at least I have, and you
know a lot of people may thinkthat it's something that's
beyond their ability, but it'snot.
It just it has to do with justtaking it one step at a time.
(09:13):
So I would say you know anyonethat's looking to come for a
visit in Asheville and wants totry out something new or maybe
they've even had a littleexperience in it, but it's been
a while they can come makesomething here.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Very cool, love it, love it, love the productivity
of it too.
It's fun and you can make stuffyou know.
Yeah, so outside of work, ifthere is outside of work, what
do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Oh, I play soccer sometimes.
Right now we're kind of in anoff season, but I've played
soccer my whole life too, sothat's a fun one.
Just some local rec leagues.
We've got a pretty good soccercommunity here, also very
heavily hit by the storm,because the uh, the fields were
completely flooded.
They were right there inSwannanoa by that bridge that is
(09:59):
gone, and so we've scattered,you know, every field you can
find in the whole area.
But it it came back, so that'sbeen nice and, um, you know,
trying to get out in nature abit.
That's been a bit challengingpost-disaster because a lot of
places are still getting cleanedup and such.
And then I got two little onesand so we play a lot and doing
(10:23):
fun things with them, doinglittle festivals and stuff like
that on the playgrounds.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
Very cool, yeah, Best answer.
Always time with familySoccer's good too though.
Swan and Owen Black Mountain.
Yeah, got hit hard too.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
They did.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
It's very unfortunate , but they're coming back too.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
They're coming back too.
Yeah, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
So what you already kind of touched on this I was
going to say, what can youdescribe a hardship or a life
challenge that you've overcome,either personally or
professionally?
But you mentioned the flood,obviously is a big one.
Speaker 3 (10:54):
Yeah, you know, mentioned the flood obviously is
a big one.
Yeah, you know, the flood thatwas uh.
That one felt like it was sortof sort of just like a real
punch in the gut.
Um, when I opened this businessactually I was I also met what
became my future husband andstarted a family at the same
time, and so it's been a wildride really.
Since the day I opened mybusiness, I felt like, whew,
(11:18):
it's been a lot of hurdles toclimb and negotiating of you
know time and energy and youknow capacities, and COVID did
not help.
So there was that one and Ireally it felt like I'd kind of
come, come to the other side ofall of it and things were
getting pretty smooth and awhole bunch of things were
falling in place, withscheduling for young kids,
schooling and all that, only tohave the disaster hit and I was
(11:41):
like, oh, and that was reallyreally something.
Initially I didn't know if I wasgoing to come back.
I mean, it just is hard to wrapyour head around something like
that.
It takes a lot of time, and soit was.
It took me a couple months toeven really have a clear picture
of what you know life lookedlike and you know, even for
anything of like what ourcommunity looked like, what our
(12:03):
town looked like, you know wereally nobody knew because there
was so much, you know,destruction and devastation here
and so but yeah, I feel likeyou know, I've made it to the
other side.
I've opened in a new space.
The amount of work that'shappened over the last seven,
almost eight weeks since Isigned a lease in a new space in
(12:25):
downtown has been unreal and Ijust have to take deep breaths,
a lot and take, you know, thetime.
There's still a lot of littlethings, but my grand reopening,
this might be done or not, putout there.
I don't know when this goeslive, but uh, that's next
Saturday, um the 21st, from fourto 8 PM and so that's sort of
like hey, I'm back and, you know, would love to welcome anybody
(12:48):
who wants to come see and ifthey're interested in
metalsmithing, you know I alsooffer skills classes.
I have a metalsmithingone-on-one course that I offer
four to five times a year andthat gets you all all the skills
to kind of have a goodfoundation in metalsmithing and
and so you can learn and eitherstart setting up, buying tools
and setting up at home or, youknow, join as a resident in our
(13:11):
space as well.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Very cool.
I'm so intrigued, like themetalsmithing, I would love to
you know.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
You'll have to come take a class, yeah definitely,
definitely.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So, jessica, if you could think of one thing you
would like our listeners toremember about Ignite Jewelry
Studios, what would that be?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
It's a fun and very.
It's one of those things thatmakes you feel accomplished.
Um, you know you overcome a lotof tiny little challenges with
everything you make and so it'sreally, really, really um
ignites a place where you canreally come and um just get into
the flow and do something.
(13:53):
That, even with frustrationsand all like it, can really make
you feel like accomplished,that you've done something and
yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Very cool, very cool.
Well, for those of us who areinterested, we'd like to come
check it out.
How can they learn more?
Speaker 3 (14:08):
They can go to the website ignitejewelrystudioscom.
You can, you know, read aboutthe different things.
You know we've got our galleryhere with lots of amazing
jewelry for sale.
We've got the workshops andthere's a calendar on there.
You can sign right up and so.
And then you know, there's someinformation on there about
residencies and such.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Okay, awesome, awesome.
And can you book a class onyour website?
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Yep you can go right through that and you can book a
class, and so Awesome, awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
And can you?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
book a class on your website, yep, you can go right
through that and you can book aclass, and so Awesome, awesome.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Well, jessica, I know you're busy and we managed to
get through the interviewwithout somebody coming in the
store, I think.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I know it's been a bad thing.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
We want to get you some customers in there, but I
do appreciate it.
I appreciate you know what youdo and the time you took to be
on our show and to talk to ourlisteners.
And speaking of listeners, Iwant to remind everybody June
21st, from 4 to 8 pm.
This podcast will be out beforethen.
So I want to remind everybodyto make sure and check it out.
(15:10):
Come to the re-grand opening ofIgnite Jewelry Studios on.
That's Saturday, june 21st,correct?
Yep All right Sounds good.
Thanks again, and we want towish you and your family and
Ignite Jewelry Studios all thebest moving forward.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
All right, well, thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
Well, thank you.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
I'm meeting some people from up around the
Tri-Cities.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
All right, awesome.
Well, very good, and maybe wecan have you back on the show
sometime.
Sounds good.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
All right.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
All right, thank you.
Thank you for listening to theGood Neighbor Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnptri-citiescom.
That's gnptri-citiescom.
That's gnptry-citiescom, orcall 423-719-5873.
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