By Ron Evans & Sarah Sims
Amanda Northwind has been creating handcrafted jewelry for almost a decade. An indigenous artist born and raised in the Wenatchee Valley, Northwind manages to find time for her passion and craft somewhere in the process of raising twins.
“I first started creating jewelry after my daughters were born. It’s crazy to look back now and see how much it’s evolved and how long I’ve been making wearable art.” Northwind says.
Wearable art is a perfect way to encapsulate what Northwind is doing with her Mystic North jewelry line. Each piece has a unique form and flow with a delicate touch of a fine painter, fusing metal and stone with softer elements of nature. We reached out to the artist to learn more about what compels her to create.
Can you tell us a little about your brand and what inspires you to make your style of jewelry?
I get a lot of my inspiration from nature. I’ve been hand-hammering and wire wrapping since I first started making jewelry. Most recently I started working with electroforming and it’s been amazing creating items that look like you might find them out in a magical forest, pulled from an old tree, or out of the earth. Electroforming has been a goal of mine for the last three years and I’m super excited to finally be doing it! Last year I started making hand-stamped jewelry as well. That was a lot of fun, and a couple of years ago I got into resin work. My daughters and I would go on hikes and respectfully harvest local wild flowers for resin pendants, and it was nice to mesh my passion of hiking and being with my kiddos into making jewelry. I know there are so many people here in the valley who love when the flowers around the foothills and mountains bloom, and I thought it would be a cool idea to have a bit of that all year round. That avenue of work also led me to making cremated remains/memorial jewelry, and working with clients to make one of a kind pieces to remember a lost loved one. It is truly an amazing experience that takes a lot of trust and care.
What led you to this artform?
When I first started really getting into making jewelry, it was right after a childhood friend of mine passed away. He really lived the heck out of life and did what made him happy; traveling the world, exploring, and sharing his knowledge and love for nature. It really opened up my eyes to what I wanted to get out of life and to follow what made my heart happy.
Some of your work involves electroforming. Can you describe that process a bit, in layman’s terms? And how does this technique feed into the conception phase of your work?
Magic! It’s all magic! Just kidding. It’s quite a process and takes a good amount of time. To break it down, you start with what you’re working with; organic materials: bones, flowers, leaves, sticks, and crystals. I’ve seen people electroform all sorts of things. After figuring out what you’d like to work with, you start the process of sealing it and painting it. From there it’s placed into a bath to electroform the copper to it, the time frame for it to work its magic can range from a couple of hours to 24 hours. Like I said, it’s quite a process. After that, you do your sanding, polishing, and patina if needed, and finally sealing it all to prevent any further tarnishing. It usually takes me about 3-4 days to get items made depending on what else is going on, but it’s been well worth it. The best part is while it’s electroforming I can do my day to day chores/run errands and hang out with my kiddos, or work on other jewelry like wire wrapping!
Electroforming has definitely opened up a new door of opportunity for what I can work with material wise. Recently my fiancé and I have discussed collaborating on some projects together. He runs a shop called Wicked Wildcrafts. I’m pretty excited to start working with him on stuff.
Do you have any favorite stones or materials that you like working with?
Ohhhhh, that’s a tough one! I’ve always been drawn to labradorite. I love the different colors of flashes every stone has! Moonstones are another fun one to work with. Recently I worked with some blue kyanite to make a necklace and matching ring. I love how those turned out.
Do you do any rockhounding or have you incorporated any found stones into your work? Where do you get most of your materials?
I haven’t had a chance YET to go rockhounding, but it definitely is a goal to get out and do that! I have used treasures that have been locally sourced by Ty Stevens who runs Crystal Chameleon. I like to source my materials from other small businesses whether it’s locally or online.
Do you have a favorite part of the creative process? (The dreaming up of ideas, the actual crafting, seeing the finished product, etc).
Probably the creating portion for sure. I did some bead work for a while and I loved the quiet, calming process of everything. It was almost therapeutic. Seeing the finished product by far is always the best feeling. I’m pretty lucky to have an amazing circle of friends and family who have been so supportive of my work. I usually send everyone a picture after things are finished to get everyone’s opinion.
Where can people find your work locally?
Currently I have displays at Ye Olde Bookshoppe which is located down off Wenatchee Avenue, The Bubblery up in Leavenworth, and out at Wenatchi Wears which is located at the north end of Wenatchee. I’m in the process of expanding to a couple of other out of town and possibly out of state locations which is crazy awesome to think about! I feel pretty darn lucky to have these local shops take a chance on my work and have my displays in their shops, I’m very grateful for that.
Do you do trade shows, farmers markets or fairs to sell your wares? Or strictly boutiques?
I’ve done a couple of booths inside Pybus before, but it was hard with my daughters’ school schedule. Occasionally I’ll do trunk shows at Ye Olde Bookshoppe which are always fun, especially if other artists join in as well. I do sell items online through my Facebook and Instagram pages, shipping items within the U.S. and doing local meet ups as well.
Any shows or events coming up that we should know about?
Yes! I have a trunk show coming up July 17th at Ye Olde Bookshoppe. I’m super excited for that!
Instagram @mysticnorthjewelry
Facebook @mysticnorthhandmade
