Folksy Celebrities - Maxine Veronica

Name: Maxine Pring

From: Llantrisant, South Wales

Occupation: Payroll Manager and part time crafter

Favourite colour: Green

Favourite animal: My (my daughters really, but you’d never know lol!) Guinea Pig Ophelia or FiFi to her friends (bearing lettuce)

Favourite band: My Sons Band Pandamonium - this is Sam my little drummer boy

Favourite book: The Island by Victoria Hislop

Shop / Business name:

Maxine Veronica

What you make:

Jewellery, one off unique designs, especially with polymer clay

How did you know you were crafty / artistic?

Forever, since I was tiny, my Nickname at work is “Blue Peter”and I had the best dressed Sindy ever!

What was the first thing you ever made?

This is the first item of jewellery I made which is a sculpted rose I made from polymer clay and use as my avatar. But I also made my wedding dress (and no I can’t get into it now, well it was over 20 years ago! Lol)

Do you have any formal training or who taught you what you know?

No formal training as such except an O’Level in Art and Design. My Gran who sadly died in 1987 taught me how to knit and sew when I was tiny and I was hooked, been making things ever since, from baby clothes when my two were tiny and now jewellery.

How did your craft business come about?

My daughter bought me a jewellery kit for my birthday last August and it has now become my passion as well as a hobby.

Where and when do you do your crafting?
At home mostly at the weekend or at my caravan in Broadhaven, West Wales, it’s so restful there and a beautiful part of the country.

Tell me something surprising about yourself:
I can roller skate, and I have a yellow belt in Judo!

Which Folksy / Etsy shop can you not get enough of?
Sian Bostwick on Folksy her jewellery is amazing. I just love the simplicity and elegance of her work. This is my current favourite in her shop.

Why is handmade / crafting important to you?
I think that handmade is very important, especially the love and care that goes into making an item from scratch. We live in a world where mass produced rules. I don’t want to be a clone I’m an individual and I like it that way and I hope my jewellery helps others to feel that way too!

Is it just me or is crafting really hot right now?
Crafting is Definitely hot right now. I think it’s a combination of things happening in the world right now, such as the credit crunch which I think has helped people to focus and take control of their lives by standing up and saying I am an individual, a survivor and I’m fed up with big companies telling me what I want, need or must have!
Crafting is also, in my mind a person’s way of fighting the ‘machine’ and making a statement by being individual and making things that show the world that. It’s also about finding ‘lost’ skills and celebrating our uniqueness as creative beings (or is that a bit too deep!)
Tell me why I should buy something from you!
I love my work as a designer and jewellery maker, I absolutely love (and be scared at the same time) making commissions for people, I listen to what people say, ask them to draw me a picture of what they want if I can and try my best to make beautiful items that they want to wear and will cherish and I pride myself on providing unique items, with quality and value for money.

Ok you’ve got me convinced! Where can I find you?
You can find me here:- http://www.folksy.com/shops/maxineveronica13