Rachel Norman, owner Tai Knots, photo by Mark Holleron

The idea of making a living from something you've crafted yourself would be a dream job for many people, but in reality turning your creativity into a viable business can be problematic.

Two local women who work full-time making their own jewelry have taken on that challenge and each has carved her own path towards success.

For Rachel Norman, the reality of starting a business selling her own line of hand-crafted necklaces, bracelets and earrings grew more from interest and necessity than from a pre-determined business plan. While living in Taiwan in 2000, she took up the hobby of ancient Chinese knotting to make jewelry, which she then combined with Asian-inspired pieces featuring semi-precious stones and soft nylon fiber.

"In the past I had experienced skin irritation from metal jewelry," she says. "I'm able to make gorgeous pieces without gold and silver and they are hypo-allergenic. All of my friends and family loved the pieces so I started to get excited about doing this as my business."

Ms. Norman says her experience is similar to many women who pick up an artistic hobby that is rewarding and relaxing, then realize they could make money from the product. She started her company, called Tai Knots, in 2002 and she now sells her pieces at two local stores, on her website and to wholesalers. However, she soon realized many of the business demands were more complicated than she had expected.

"I was thrown into this role of being a businesswoman where it turns out that I needed more than just crafty talent and charm to sell my jewelry," she says. "I needed skills in marketing/advertising, accounting, training, managing people and staff and lots of PR to back up my product. Then there is the biggest challenge for artists – the dreaded systems to keep you organized and running smoothly."

Ms. Norman says she has learned a lot of valuable small business advice from a popular book called the E-Myth Revisited and she hired a business coach to help develop her focus and target market.

"I also used to do a lot of custom jewelry, but I don't anymore because I found it was too time consuming and I don't know it's something you can charge enough for, in my opinion, to make a really good living off of," she says. "It turns out that producing more and selling wholesale has been the right road for me."

Ms. Norman finds that her business is rapidly expanding with increasing demand from sales representatives who are interested in her jewelry.

"I'm sitting at a rock and a hard place right now with the idea of expansion looming because I'm feeling the pressure that I need to get a bigger space and hire some employees. I have to decide at what point do you take that leap?"

One of the places in town where the Tai Knots jewelry line can be found is Runway, a clothing and accessory store on Richmond Road. Owner Sharon Packman, who has a degree in fine arts herself, says she likes to use her store to support local artists.

"I try to give local artists a break, so I'll look at anybody local who wants to show me stuff and if I think it's going to be viable then I'll go ahead with it," she says. "But it has to be good stuff – I don't want junk that won't sell just because they're local."

Ms. Packman says she thinks Ottawa is a difficult city for artists to maintain full-time careers because of the city's conservative reputation and its high cost of living.

"I empathize with their plight and that's one of the reasons I like to do what I can," she adds.

Finding success as an artist is a dream come true for former high tech worker Jane Christie. After working in Ottawa's tech industry for many years, she quit in 2003 to pursue her love of jewelry making on a full-time basis.

"For me, it was about taking a chance because I was sick of working in tech and I had drawn up my business plan to get ready," she says. "My husband suggested I take a year before I quit so we put aside my whole salary and it didn't hurt us. So, I gave in my notice and I haven't looked back. It's been awesome."

Ms. Christie creates one-of-a-kind pieces using sterling silver, 14K gold-filled wire and precious metal clay for her company, Twisted Sister Creations.

She sells her bracelets, earrings and assorted other creations primarily in area galleries, as well as at a number of art shows and studio tours.

Teaching jewelry making classes also makes up about 50 per cent of her income. Ms. Christie offers workshops at her log cabin studio in MacLaren's Landing, mobile home classes and for boards of education, art schools and stores, such as Dragon's Lair Beads in Stittsville.

"The jewelry industry in the area is very competitive, so I compete by making one-of-a-kind pieces and that puts me into a different niche," she says. "I also think it's an advantage being a woman making jewelry because I'm more approachable and I have a line on what's fashionable."

Ms. Christie says despite the competitive environment in Ottawa for hand-crafted items, most local artists have been invaluable when it comes to career advice about her business operations.

"I was a hobbyist before I quit work so I was surprised at how helpful the established artists are," she says. "I did a lot of my own business research, but many of the artists have been very open about which galleries are the best, which are having financial problems and where to get supplies. It's actually a great network in Ottawa."