My name is Amy Wing and my business is Amy Wing Designs. I’ve been making jewelry since I was a little girl but in 2006 having just moved to Portland, OR and feeling a bit lost about what I wanted to DO for a living led me to take a variety of classes based on creative occupations. The first meeting of my metalsmithing class was so engaging and I was hooked.
I decided that this art and process that I loved so much could be a business and I delved into making it happen. I had a day job at that point and juggled working at a paper store with starting my own business. After my business started taking off, doing both got to be too much and I decided to focus solely on my own work.
My creative process is a fluid one. I am inspired by nature, by travels, by fashion. I am not much of a skilled 2D artist so frequently I will sit down to create with my hands something in metal that has just popped into my head as an idea. But other times the things I see will sit with me for a time slowly being refined. My latest work, the Venetian Shadow Collection, is based on the iron work of Venice. Along the canals and passeggiatas of Venice one can find beautiful examples of decorative iron work gates, grates, doors and windows. I was inspired by these centuries old designs while I was there a year ago, and these beautiful shapes stood out for me but it was over the course of a year that I played with what forms I wanted to use, how I would make them, and what the color palette would be. I’m so glad I took that time because I absolutely love how they came out.
I
love so much about what I do. I love creating with my hands, I love interacting with customers at shows, I love putting together photo shoots and look books, I love coming up with concepts for new lines. I even love trade shows, although I would love to find a rep to work with so I could expand the number of stores that carry my work. I think the only thing that is hard is that there is just so much to do as a small business owner and not so much time to do it in!