Interview With Sharla Oliveri from Sharma Designs

Sharla Oliveri, mother of two and jewelry designer extroidinaire, is the creative force behind Sharma Designs. If you look through her many pages of beautiful jewelry, you’ll notice strong tones of natural and feminine qualities. Sharla’s jewelry has a warm personality and ranges from simple chic to intricate designs – both of which have a special elegance of their own.

In order to get a glimpse of the woman behind all these gorgeous pieces Sharla recently answered some questions about herself and the “work” she loves.

Why did you decide to start creating jewelry? Have you always had an interest?

I actually started out making seed bead bracelets. They were very popular at the time and I wanted to make my own so I could have the colors of my choice. I was working at a very high stress job and jewelry making became an outlet for me. I think I made a million of those bracelets!

I tend to be a bit obsessive about my hobbies and soon the seed beads that the craft stores had to offer were not enough and I walked into a bead store. As soon as I saw the strands of gemstones and endless choices of glass beads I was hooked! I left the seed bead bracelets behind and started making necklaces. When I started selling them right off my neck I decided to open a business.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I draw my inspiration mostly from the pendants and beads themselves. I love to search out unique pendants and I have an endless supply of beads in all kinds of colors. If I run into what I like to call “beader’s block” I like to take a walk and take in all the beautiful color combinations found in nature.

Is there an overarching theme to your jewelry?

My jewelry tends to be earthy or bohemian. I am obsessed with wood beads so they are incorporated into most of my designs giving them an earthy feel. A little bit of a retro flair tends to pop in every now and then too as I am a big fan of 70’s style.

There is a lot of use of carved pendants and charms in your work - do you do that yourself?

Sigh..no. I would love to have the time and resources to make my own pendants but until my girls get a little older and I have a space that is way out of the way of curious hands I have to depend on my super sleuthing skills to search out the fabulous pendants found in my designs.

Have you ever made a piece that you were unable to part with?

When I first started out, I couldn’t part with most of my jewelry. After selling 1000’s of pieces of jewelry over the years it is now much easier to part with something because I enjoy seeing my favorite creations on my customers even more than on myself.

What’s the best part of the business?

There are so many things I love about it! I actually shut my business down when I was pregnant with my second daughter but I started up again after a year because I missed it so much! I love making jewelry. I love finding the perfect combination of beads to make a necklace or bracelet come together. I also love hearing feedback from my customers about how much they love their jewelry. The best part is seeing my customers wearing something I made. Can you tell I love what I do?

To see more from Sharma Designs please visit here.

Sharla also has her own blog which can be visited here.