Shop for Eilisain in Seattle at Ghost Gallery

Seattle holds a special place in my heart. I visited many years ago on a work trip and I loved the energy and vibe of Seattle. It’s so different from the East Coast cities.

Well fast forward or backwards to ten years ago when I just got started with Eilisain as a business I somehow became connected to Laurie Kearney (owner of Ghost gallery) through Etsy. Laurie and I worked together for about five years with my jewelry in her shop.

Eventually Laurie shifted her business model and still kept Ghost Gallery which is now a beautifully kept gallery and event space. Ghost Gallery is located on Capitol Hill and very cute neighborhood I used to stay when I’d go for work events.

Thus Laurie has been with Eilisain for over ten years and I love that fact and I love that Laurie has stayed committed to sharing and promoting independent artists across the country.

Next time you’re in Seattle I HIGHLY recommend you visit her gallery, you will NOT be disappointed!

I’m OBSESSED with the art work Laurie stocks at her gallery. Laurie has exquisite taste!

The classic owl talon ring which is currently stocked at Ghost Gallery.

How elegant and gorgeous is Ghost Gallery?!

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Friends are the key to happiness and Eilisain Jewelry

Earlier this month I celebrated ten years in business and I truly felt like a queen and honored as if it was my birthday. All my closest and dearest friends in Eastern North Carolina came out and I felt so BLESSED!

How did I end up with such a supportive group of friends? I’m not sure but I count myself lucky because I’ve worked with these beautiful people since I started Eilisain at Art Avenue back in 2012 in Uptown Greenville.

Let me tell you that a small business growing does not happen in a vacuum, it happens with connections, relationships and care for these relationships.

From left to right: Aileen Devlin (my favorite photographer), Nikki Lee Dixon (sexy model and friend), me, Khristi Dixon (I mean, what a HOT couple - both models might I add), Janie Askew (talented artist & stylist) and Claire Edwards (my bestie and biggest supporter).

My dear friend Sim Asher (and also photographer for the Momentary Myth collection) snapped these photos and I’m so grateful he was able to capture the joy and celebration.

Here’s a little throwback story, it’s early 2012 and I had wanted to get professional lifestyle photos of my jewelry and I didn’t know that many people yet in Greenville, so I reached out to Sim and he connected me with all the beautiful people you see above. You see Sim, well he’s practically an honorary mayor of Uptown Greenville. Sim knows EVERYONE. And he’s alot of fun so it did help to connect with Sim Asher.

Claire Edwards and I cheesin’

Claire Edwards is special to me in that she was the gateway to having a studio space to create my jewelry at Art Avenue.. Art Avenue was the brainchild of Claire and our friend Sarah Setzco. They wanted a space to nurture artists from East Carolina University art school. Myself and a group of other artists which included Aileen Devlin, Jeremy Fineman, Andy Denton, Autumn Brown and Sim Asher organized and rallied with Claire and Sarah to support the space for live music, art and more. It was a big dream that I believed in and it was critical to the success of my business.

Thus my relationship with Claire was friendly in 2012 but we’ve grown closer and I count her as one of my closest friends whom was there with me from the beginning of Eilisain Jewelry.

Kristie King, one of my mentors and dear friend

Sid and Aileen (another hot couple)

My amazing husband, Bobby Pittman and my friend Jett Harrell.

Celebrating ten years gave me perspective and incredible gratitude for my friends and community. Building relationships with my friends and customers has created lasting bonds and memories that I cherish.

When I sell a piece of jewelry it is created with incredible intention, love and care. When I sell to you I am not a factory but a person that has made jewelry from a part of our world, part of our history and story.

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Why You Should Invest In An Oracle Deck

Happy New year earth angles!!! It’s about dang time I do a blog post AND let’s kick this 2021 off year with ORACLE DECKS.

I got several new decks and I want to share them with you. I gotta tell you when I began my journey with divination and oracle cards over 20 years ago, it was NOT AS common and popular as they are today. Some people buy decks like lattes! They’re that addictive.

Ok so how do oracle decks differ from tarot? Well there aren’t as many cards as there are in a tarot deck and each oracle deck differs from each other. The one commonality is that it’s used as a tool of divination, oracles are more broad and touch upon the bigger themes in life.

For example my newest oracle deck, Dreamscape features themes that span from animal patronus to deities from across cultures. I’m really in love with this deck as it features stunning Art Novueau style illustration and design plus the messages are so deep and intense.

When/how to use oracle decks - I like using my decks as part of my morning alignment session. So after I meditate and pray I’ll close my eyes, shuffle my cards and ask the spirit realm what lessons I need to think about for the day. You can do readings just as you would with a tarot deck, for example laying out three cards to represent mind/body/spirit or past/present/future etc. You can also chose a card of the day. There truly are no rules to how to use an oracle deck.

Oracle cards provide a deeper meaning and understanding to our lives AND it grounds us in the present moment to listen, get quiet and dig deeper into our dreams and desires and fears.

Here is a brief list of my favorite oracle decks:

!. Dreamscape Orackle deck by Matt Hughes - As I stated above Matt’s art work is absolutely dreamy, gorgeous and harkens to the art nouveau period. I also love that Matt incorporates Goddesses and themes across all cultures.

2. Healing with Angels Oracle deck with Doreen Virtue - This is probably my first oracle deck, I can’t recall as I purchased it over 20 years ago. Doreen has a more christian view on the deck however these cards are so encouraging and provide a beautiful guide to tapping into our unconscious.

3. Threads of Fate - The ladies (Blaire Porter and Brit June) behind this oracle deck did a beautiful job of incorporating several elements in one card. For example with the patience card it features a turtle and a gemstone and herb. You get three in one teachings! The designs paired with gold embossing adds an ephemeral quality to them that is just divine.

4. The Celtic Tree Oracle - Being the Celt obsessed pagan that I am, this deck has been with me for awhile. Trees are ancient and across cultures & religions have been connected to the divine so it makes sense that they would be incorporated into an oracle. What I love about this deck is that they provide a notepad and guide on how to lay out your reading.

Just as there are many, many tarot decks available so are oracle and my best recommendation is to purchase one that resonates with you and treat them as you would any other divination tool, with curiosity and reverence.

I hope you enjoyed my post and you subscribe to my email list so that I can share more of my references and resources with you. Tapping into your inner teacher can have a profound impact on your life and is never time wasted.

How Being Part of an Art Collective Taught Me About Business and My Community

Having a community, especially in the art world, is like a warm fuzzy blanket. You feel supported, nurtured and warmed by the commraderie.

While I was studying at East Carolina University for my degree in jewelry and metals, I honestly didn’t have a plan for a studio or where I would work, it all kind of came together the year I graduated in 2012 when I moved into my studio space at Art Avenue. And it’s safe to say, I don’t think I would’ve been as successful in my city had it not been for my friends and companions at Art Avenue.

“I tell this story a lot because I want others to know how much it helped my artistic development and I hope that others in the art field have the same kind of experience. ”

— Lisette Fee

Plant and Fug head by Andy Denton. Photo by Aileen Devlin.

I helped manage the gallery and retail space as well as the metals studio.

The concept of the art collective/incubator came about from my friends Claire Edwards and Sarah Setzco. Claire’s father owns the building in which Art Avenue began. Claire and Sarah wanted to showcase local musicians, bands, artists and more. They began with several ‘pop up’ shows, I curated my first exhibition, Preyed Upon at Art Avenue and so within two years Claire and Sarah finally ordained the space Art Avenue. It worked out so smoothly because there was a good group of us ECU graduates that truly needed a place to grow and flex our skills. We had Aileen Devlin a photographer for the local paper, Andy Denton a sculptor and teacher at Pitt Community College, Jeremy Fineman a ceramicist and also instructor of ceramics and art, Autumn Brown set up the metals studio that I eventually inherited. While Claire and Sarah managed the business and finances of our collective the rest of us worked towards promotion of events, installing exhibitions and studio rental spaces.

Mind you, none of us were paid. It was a labor of love as well as perhaps some of our own self interests in understanding the mechanics of running a gallery space. Art Avenue was part of a new revival in Uptown Greenville, there were graduating artists from ECU that needed space to show and sell work.

What did I learn from my experience at Art Avenue?

• I understood how partnering with local businesses helped expose each other and generate awareness and sales.

• I learned how HARD it is to get the community and people in Pitt County to attend art events. In a strange we (the art community) lived in our own bubble, so it took extra exposure to get attendance.

• Working with local press, influencers and social media is HUGE to generating excitement and appreciation for art.

• My friends and fellow artists contributed to the success of my jewelry company. Aileen Devlin is still my go to photographer and she shares my jewelry with all her friends and family. Andy Denton and Autumn Brown helped set up the casting studio in which I created my jewelry.

• I co-created my first fashion show event with my friend Paula Chrismon and began shooting videos and lookbooks because of the space and talent I had to work with.

• Not everyone is cut out for an art incubator space; it takes an artist at a certain point in their career to work in a shared space.

• when you have a community with you; the sky is the limit. Seriously, there is so much at your fingertips that you may not be aware of.

It was a complete volunteer effort in creating designated studio spaces.

Andy Denton preparing our new studio walls.

In the end Art Avenue struggled to survive (many of the original Art Avenue board members moved to new cities and opportunities), but the basis of what we created was a haven and space to share our art and that of others which provided so much culture and vibrancy to Greenville. And now there are new spaces popping up and I”m sure there will continue to be art havens. For example, The Art Lab run by the Pitt County Council of the Arts which pretty much has the same concept that Art Avenue had except this endeavor is funded by an already established nonprofit.

Art Avenue was very instrumental in getting my business off the ground, and I will forever be grateful to the community and support it provided me. And as it is with these kinds of posts, I urge you to support your local artists, makers and entrepreneurs because they are so vital to the health and happiness of your community.

Beauty of the Beast

I don't often participate in exhibitions so when I was invited to submit several pieces for the Greenhill Gallery at the Greenhill Center of the Arts exhibition Beauty of the Beast, I was extremely honored and thrilled to participate!   Below are the details and concept behind the exhibition.

So many amazing and talented artists from North Carolina and abroad. 

What I love most about the concept behind the exhibition is merging art with the wild - because when you truly think about art - nature and the wild is the ultimate creation, the ultimate form of art.  And North Carolina has such a rich history of both art and appreciation for wildlife.  I truly became in touch with animals and my own inner strength because of them when I moved to Eastern North Carolina.  I hope that the exhibition brings attention to preserving our parks, rivers, streams and oceans.   Now more than ever we need to be aware and also be active in our wild environments.   If you live in Greensboro, I hope you can attend the exhibition and events the amazing staff at the Greenhill Center of NC Arts have organized.

The Bast One of Kind necklace will be on display along with other signature EJ pieces. 

Dia de Los Muertos Exhibition - Love In The time Of Cholera Theme

When you think about the year and how the months of May and October mirror twilight - that in between time of magic, the point where light and dark meet - it is so absolutely beautiful.  You also begin to see how both these times of year celebrate life and death.  May is the conception and October is the finality of life.   So here we are at October, where we look into the dark and honor the lives of those past.  Dia de los Muertos has always been one of my favorite days because it celebrates the way the Spanish honor the dead and celebrate in the only way Spanish people do - with vibrancy, music, food and reverence.  I was invited to submit a one of a kind piece for the annual exhibition at Equinox Gallery in San Antonio and I was really excited with this invitation because it'd been awhile since I'd created a statement piece. 

Of course I had to go back to one of my skulls, specifically the cat skull my mother gave me awhile back.  And I used the bird bones as the necklace part as well as the cat jaw bone to adorn the necklace.  I really wanted this piece to evoke awe and wonder at bones themselves and how they celebrate the dead by giving new life as adornment.  I also used labradorite as the third eye piece, seeing into the soul and having far-sightedness into the future.  

It really is an honor to submit this piece to the exhibition and if you are in the San Antonio area I hope you visit Equinox and see the exhibition and wonderful events they are hosting for this special celebration.