Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Davison.
Hi Stephanie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I have been creating most of my life, whether that be making doll outfits out of paper pill medicine cups, drawing out designs on paper, or stringing beads together on a string. What started as a birthday gift to a friend in 2013, turned into a passion by 2014, when I launched Gothic Allure.
At first, I was doing mostly beadwork with spooky components, such as skulls or spiders. I still love making choker style necklaces with dramatic chain draping. Eventually I started dabbling in wire wrapping, and enjoyed the challenge of wire wrapping a guitar pick.
After a successful art crawl, I was shopping a going out of business sale at J ring glass, which was a local glass supplier with an amazing selection of beads. To my disappointment, beads were not on sale but glass supplies were, so I took a leap and decided to buy a couple of ceramic jewelry molds for fusing glass, along with a bunch of glass frit, (which is various sizes of glass pieces, from mosaic sized pieces all the way down to powder).
After trial and error firings in our community ceramic kiln, I discovered the magic formula of frit size plus the right temperature and hold times, to produce a shiny, fused glass pendant.
Fast forward to 2015 and 2016, and I was taken off my path as I fought breast cancer. Thankfully I was diagnosed as stage 1 but I also had a rare, aggressive subtype of triple negative, so I had an equally aggressive treatment plan, including chemo, surgery, and radiation, which took most of 2016. I was thankful to have a supportive husband, who took me to every treatment and helped me to accept the changes that were happening to my body.
Cancer changes you and I felt side swiped by the experience. I became very anxious and depressed, and it’s been a journey to process everything I’ve lost, and everything I gained through the experience, even with therapy.
It affected my jewelry making as I took breaks longer than planned due to the trauma of going through the experience. Like a sapphire pressurized from deep within the earth, I’ve came out stronger, but I can still fracture under the right conditions.
In 2021, I started dabbling with sterling silver clay and made my first sterling silver ring, which was the result of a commission a friend had me make for his wife’s and his 42nd wedding anniversary.
Flash forward to 2023 and prices on kilns dropped. I always wanted my own dedicated jewelry kiln because my ultimate goal with jewelry making has been to incorporate glass enameling into my work, as I’m greatly inspired by the Art Nouveau era and the use of Cloisonné and Plique-á-Jour in my jewelry designs.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s definitely not been a smooth path. One of the biggest struggles was (of course) cancer but I’ve definitely struggled with my mental health, as that’s the eternal curse of the artist and the creative brain.
You’re always dreaming up new scenarios that put you in a funk. That’s why it’s also SO important to continue to seek help, in the form of therapy and find other creative outlets for your pain, lest you cut off your own ear and offer it as a gift to your beloved. 🥀
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My work is focused on whatever my heart tells me to make. From beadwork to chokers to chandelier style necklaces, I make things that please my darker tastes.
I have dabbled in leather, and making glass O -ring necklaces, whether for day wear or for play.
Recently, I was so moved/angered by what’s happening with the current administration, that I made my 2nd latex piece, a full military-style outfit with messages of defiance on the front and back of the skirt.
It is a true show piece and I look forward to creating more bespoke pieces out of latex.
As I mentioned before, I love the Art Nouveau era and am especially inspired by memento mori jewelry.
My first Cloisonné piece was a bat, with the phases of the moon going around the necklace, designed with some of my remaining Swarovski crystal stock and with a single black baroque Swarovski Crystal hanging beneath. I hope to have pictures on my website soon of it.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Wow, I’m not sure how to completely answer that question but it’s a good one! With the rise of A.I. and how to quickly things can be mass-produced, I’m fearful that handmade, bespoke jewelry will become confused with mass-produced pieces. For instance, Etsy used to be a Mecca for one-of-a-kind pieces and now there’s so many resellers that don’t make their own jewelry, that it’s becoming harder to stand out as an individual artist without the fear of a bigger, mass-producing entity copying your design and running off with the market. I think the individual artist needs to be agile and explain processes, so you can create value and stand out from any copybots.
Thankfully latex is glued, so it’s a lot harder to copy it on a mass-scale and it’s less marketable, because it’s a niche customer base. You have to truly have a passion for it, in order to work with it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.gothicallure.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gothic_allure
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1B2c8mADdT/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GothicAllure
- Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GothicAllure
- Other: https://bsky.app/profile/gothicallure.bsky.social
