Q: What inspired you to shift from using the craft as a hobby to starting a business?
A: I’ve always liked fun jewelry,  and I needed a hobby. I liked arts and crafts, so I just started. I started this business during quarantine last year when I was inside and had nothing to do. I was in online school, and I was home at the time. I was really bored. That led me to starting to sell online, and I’ve just been doing that since then. I started doing the actual resin and experimenting in the summer of 2020, and I started selling it online in August 2020.

Q: What was the first piece you made?
A: It’s been a while, but I think it was a pair of plain star earrings, because I had a simple basic shape and I started from there and it just got more complex.

Q: What is your favorite piece you’ve made?
A: I have a lot of pieces I’ve made, but I think one of my favorite things was a wand shaker, because it really showcased the growth in my creations. It was a larger scale and it incorporated a lot of different things I’ve learned, so I think it was really representative of my growth.

Q: How much profit do you make from this business?
A: I’d like to say I make a solid amount. I don’t make a whole lot, but that’s OK because I reinvest it into my supplies and materials.

Q: What materials do you use?
A: When it comes to resin jewelry, I have the resin I use, which is epoxy, and I have the molds I use and pour it into, and I use liquid latex to help dome stuff. I also use lots of glitter, pigments and dyes. When I work I have my gloves and my respirator mask.

Q: Who inspires you?
A: It’s not really a specific person, but when I started, it was more like self taught, like “figure it out myself,” but since I started the business, I’ve met a lot of people along the way. My shop friends are super nice, and kind and I look up to them because they’re just great people to be friends with and we grow together as shops.

Q: Are there artists like you?
A: Yeah, on my Instagram it’s a great way to meet other people that are in the art community and from all around the world or the United States. There’s just so many people out there, and it’s great to meet them and be inspired. They’re awesome people.

Q: Is there anything else you want readers to know?
A: As I continue to try to grow as a business and as a hobby, I’ve been trying to incorporate more of my own original designs instead of buying premade molds. I’ve been completely starting from scratch as I draw the designs and get them printed into molds. That way I can say this is completely 100% my creation, and it’s really good to be able to say that. Follow my Instagram @resin.byleah 

by DOMINIC D’ADAMO, LAUREN JAMES & AIDAN RATHBUN