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Click to Enlarge 		Carolyn Fiene
From Stateline, NV


Tell us your story.
About 4 years ago, through a variety of circumstances, I ended up with a piece of jasper that I had found in the Mojave Desert, a couple pair of pliers and some wire. That very first piece still gets rave reviews. I believe God ‘dropped’ this talent on me. It just all came so very naturally. Friends would see what I made and they would want it. I gave away a lot of pieces early on. Then my son, Jonathan, urged me to have a website. I told him I’d be real happy if he would design one for me. The result was: www.lordstreasures.com. Other than the website I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing with the prolific jewelry that I had designed and created. I just kept on making, and asking God what I should be doing with the talent he so freely gave me.

Where do you sell your jewelry? Do you have any tips on selling there?
This past summer my husband, Don, and I heard a sermon by our pastor and we immediately knew what we were to do. This sermon talked about giving our talents to further the Lord’s work. We talked with our pastors and the result is what we call ‘Nehemiah’s Wall’, since the sermon we heard was based on Nehemiah. Every Sunday morning between and after services we sell my work … with 100% of the money going to the church. We started this on Fasther’s Day 2007 and since then have raised almost $4,000! We average about $300 a week … and that is with less than three hours of sales time.

If anyone wants to really feel fulfillment and joy from their work the best way is to give it to the Lord … whole heartedly … 100%. I can’t even begin to express the thrill I get each Sunday. This is ever so much more rewarding than when I kept the proceeds for myself!

What's your biggest selling piece and why?
? My biggest selling pieces are crosses and pendants with small crosses dangling from the wires. I do a lot with colored wire and folks are really excited to get a cross in their favorite color. I also sell quite a few donuts and go-gos with tiny crosses dangling in the holes.

Recently my husband and I went to Morro Dunes on the California coast. There I found (I believe the Lord sent to me) over 250 perfect sand dollars! What a marvelous response I’ve gotten when people see these. I also do these sand dollars with colored wire ... they are spectacular!

What one piece of advice can you give to other aspiring jewelry makers?
Let your wires dictate the final design. Many times I’ve started a piece with a special design in mind and found that the wires seemed to have a mind of their own. My best pieces are ones where I did not fight the wire but went with the flow.

And don’t be too quick to throw away something that did not work the way you wanted it to. I once had a wire wrap pendant setting that just didn’t work right. I removed the stone and just gave those wires a somewhat angry twist. I included this ‘mangled’ piece at one of my local art shows and it sold for over $70! What doesn’t appeal to you may well be just what someone else is looking for.

Have you quit your day job yet? Can you give us any idea how much income your jewelry is making?
I had been working in educational research (summers and holidays off) so I had some good blocks of time to make jewelry. Since then I have retired … and now I can spend as much time as I want working on wire sculpting. It was like as if God gave me this talent shortly before retirement age so that I would have something wonderful to do during retirement.

What would you say to someone that might be hesitant to invest in Preston's course?
Though I feel God freely gave me this talent, I know it is my responsibility to develop that talent. Preston’s DVDs have been invaluable in this regard. I would highly urge wire artists to invest in Preston’s courses. I especially like his Name Writing course.

Has jewelry making changed your life in any way?
All my life I have collected rocks and for years I’ve been tumbling them just to see how pretty they are. Now I can turn those gems into wonderful pieces of jewelry. Since starting wire sculpting I’ve don’t more rock hounding than ever before.

Also, selling my jewelry at our church has opened many opportunities for sharing with others what Jesus has done in my life. I always tell folks that God gave me the talent and all I’m doing now is just giving it back to Him.

Another witness opportunity is what I call my Gospel Jewelry line. These pieces have gemstones, beads and crystals in the Gospel colors. The colors convey the Gospel message of love and hope: Black (sin) ~ Red (Jesus' blood) ~ White/Silver (forgiveness) ~ Green (growth) ~ Gold (hope... now and forever).

So, jewelry making has changed my life in that I’m becoming more bold about sharing God’s love for us and Jesus’ sacrifice that I might be forgiven and might grow and have hope because of this love.

My husband has MDS, a bone marrow disease, and I have arthritis/firbromyalgia and osteoporosis. Without our relationship with the Lord we would live in fear and dread. Thanks to Jesus we enjoy each day, knowing that God is with us and if this is our last day on this earth, so much the better ,.. when we die we will be with the Lord!

What's your plan for the future?
We plan to continue selling my jewelry on the web and at Nehemiah’s Wall. We are always open to the leading of the Lord and if He leads us out, we will follow. I am addicted to jewelry making and will continue as long as I am able.