We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stacey Shevlin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Stacey, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
From an early age I was required to self motivate. I started competitive figure skating in elementary school. My mother was a very sheltered child and she wanted to give me every opportunity to explore my interests. Turned out that was ice skating when I was a kid. I dove in head first. We joined a local club and I got a coach. After a few months my coach saw that I had talent and encouraged us to really go for it. This involved me getting up at 5am by myself – getting ready for the rink and getting my things together for school. My mom worked nights as a nurse and wasn’t home when I had to leave for the rink — so my skating coach picked me up. I got a few sessions and lessons in the early morning then headed off to elementary school. After school it was back to the rink. At the time I didn’t give it much thought I was so young and it was just what I needed to do to pursue my goals… but looking back I’m like wow I was a pretty spectacular little person – haha. That work ethic prevailed after I decided to discontinue my pursuit of competitive skating. That drive and motivation has stayed with me all of these years in all of my endeavours.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My current endeavour is in the world of jewelry design. To be honest, I don’t have any formal training in this area. I consider it an artistic career that I am trying to flesh out into a full fledged business.
A bit of background: I have a very varied background. I went to school for business then decided to pursue a career as an actor. I started in Philly and eventually moved to LA. I was in LA from 2010-2018. For various reasons, I decided to switch paths. I had always worked in production as well , as a producer for commercials and print projects – which I did continue to do and still work part time in that world when I am in the states. Which brings me to my current situation.
I live 1/2 of the year in Philadelphia and 1/2 of the year in Croatia. I am working on 2 DIY home projects at the same time, which is A LOT. This renovation side hustle lead me to working with wood in the finishings of my homes. The jewelry business was born out of an interest in design and a plethora of scrap wood 🙂 I try to use upcycled wood in my designs whenever possible.
I love being busy and having my hands in many projects at the same time. I love coming up with an idea and taking the steps to make that idea a full on tangible expression of what I saw in my mind. All of my pursuits allow me to realize this and it’s awesome ( thought difficult at times)
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Don’t take no for an answer ( even if it’s you saying no)
I not sure if this is a skill or a quality 🙂 but never give up on an idea or dream, it is possible – it may be hard, it may take time, or help but you can do it.
2. Inquisitiveness
Always be learning. There is a huge world out there to learn about – If you have an interest in something – go read about it, watch videos about it, find those who do what you want to do and reach out to them, learn from them.
3. Work Ethic
Do your best always. Always give 100%. If you can’t or don’t want to then change directions — nothing is set in stone. If your heart isn’t in your work — there’s new work out there for you. Find it. Do that. You don’t have to stick to one thing or be one thing – you can always be changing – that’s a beautiful thing if you can embrace it.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes!!! I want collaboration to be a huge part of my business. I really don’t believe in competition ( which is funny coming from a childhood competitive figure skater) – but I believe that every person, and every object or lesson that person has to teach is different. No two people or things are the same, and everyone has their fit with someone. I make handcrafted jewelry, but I am developing a page on my site to feature other jewelers and other artisans. I want my site to be more than a shop for my goods, I want to help other brands that are starting out that have a fit with my customers. I want to showcase other artists whenever possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.maderadesignstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maderadesignstudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maderadesignstudio
Image Credits
@georgerosephotography
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
