Behind the Magic
The Artistry of Creative Magick's Unique Jewelry
Lisa Patrick
The Ashland Beacon
Clare Nemeth was a teacher in the Greenup County school system for twenty-seven years before retiring in May 2024. But for the past 10 years of that time, she has been working on building her own little business. Nemeth started designing and making jewelry and handmade greeting cards. Nemeth explained that she was just looking for something to keep her occupied after retirement that would let her have fun with her more creative side. This is where Nemeth’s “creative magick” came into play.
Nemeth began by selling her jewelry under the name, “Creative Magick Designs,” at various local vendor shows. She would set up once a month outside of Callihan’s back when it was located at what was then known as the KYOVA Mall. She then branched out into more shows at Shriners and the Boyd County Convention Center.
Nemeth describes herself as an “eclectic designer” because her jewelry ranges from one-of-a-kind pieces that can be worn out to dinner or given as a gift to the “minimalist designs that teenagers prefer” where a necklace may be a pendant on a chain.
Nemeth has an eclectic mix of materials she uses to make her jewelry. She uses semiprecious stones, crystals, Czech glass, vintage acrylic, and unique metal pieces and beads from Greece. She has also sourced some hand-fired/ hand painted beads and pendants from a woman in Scotland. She enjoys using unique items such as these because it lets her take a piece and make it her own as she designs the jewelry.
At first, she only designed one-of-a-kind pieces, but she later realized that she would need to make up at least 10 of each piece if she was going to launch her own website and Etsy shop. Although most of her business is through local vendor shows; she has worked on adding more to her website and her Etsy shop during the day while babysitting her three-year-old grandson, Peyton.
Nemeth enjoys the wide range of customers that she has because each one has their own unique taste, and it is interesting to see what each of their likes and dislikes are. She noted that her biggest sellers are usually the $10 stretch bracelets she offers. Earrings are also a big seller for Nemeth. Her earrings are also made for a wide variety of customers-from freshwater pearls and Blue Willow designs for older women and boho-type designs for teenage girls and women in their twenties. “I really like the challenge of designing unique pieces for people of all ages.” Nemeth shared.
Nemeth is very attentive when she is at shows and always makes an effort to listen to her customers when they are sharing things that they would to see in her shop. She writes it all down and then goes home to her studio with their ideas to see what she can create from their ideas.
Mourning jewelry is also part of Creative Magick Designs. Nemeth has made jewelry with a locket of hair for someone mourning a loved one. Mourning jewelry represents a connection to a deceased loved one. Mourning jewelry often features a tribute to the subject, commonly with an inscription, their initials, an eternal knot, lock of hair, a cameo or silhouette of the subject.
Nemeth loves to make custom work for specific events. She has a lot of teenage customers around prom time looking for jewelry to match their dresses. “I really enjoy seeing all the different colors of the dresses and being able to create something that matches.” Shared Nemeth. Nemeth has invested a lot of money into her colors so it is rare that she can’t find something in her own studio to match. In the rare instances that she doesn’t have the perfect colors on hand she can typically obtain them within a week’s time.
Nemeth has also been working on a male-oriented line of jewelry. She has designed bracelets and necklaces using bigger sized beads and pendants with dragons and in tribal designs. She recently designed a one-of-a-kind necklace for a man using dark tourmaline and tiger’s-eye beads with some pieces of hematite. She shared that, “He absolutely loves it.”
“I’m not trying to get rich by doing this. I put all the money made from the sale of my items back into my business so that I can be sure to keep everything affordable for my customers.” Nemeth shared. Custom work can be priced from $30 up to $150 per piece depending on the materials used, how much work went into the piece, and how much time it took to make it. Most of her pieces are priced from $35 to $50 but she keeps all price points at her vendor shows so everyone can afford to buy something.
Creative Magick Designs can be found at www.creativemagickdesigns.comand at creativemagick2.etsy.com. Clare Nemeth can be contacted at clare@creativemagickdesigns.com or clarenemeth2@gmail.com.
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