The Sunday Sparkles introduces you to another heroine of the Etsy community. Maressa Garner, a native of Santa Barbara, has a fondness for what is old, organic, ethnic, and natural. Maressa believes that a bead holds a story, and has a great passion for weaving, wrapping, collecting and assembling a design to convey a new tale for the beads. Kiss of Venus has a collection of vibrant, earthy necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The artist herself has put thought into selecting each unique bead for their quality, energy and beauty.
Visit Maressa’s esty site HERE and her facebook HERE.
Q&A:
The Sunday Sparkle: When did you start your etsy shop? (Include, any interesting stories that lead you on your path to an etsy shop)
As a full time student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I had a difficult time balancing a job with academia. After a prolonged negative experience working for a local Lebanese restaurant, I was feeling decidedly anti-establishment at the time and thus, Kiss of Venus was born. I had just started wire wrapping and began adding my pieces whilst versing myself in the etiquette of online mercantilism. My fascination with beads and assemblage came next. The nature of my designs has truly been a natural & expressive evolution of the self combined with those who take an interest in my work.
TSS: How would you describe your shop?
Refined primitivism with organic, mystic, and metaphysical roots. Bohemian, surely, with a healthy dose of whimsy.
TSS: Describe a typical day in your life?
My cat, Merlin has become my early morning alarm clock. After breakfast (and coffee) I’ll generally check up on my Etsy shop before heading off to campus. I work (very) part time as a research librarian at the UCSB Classics Library. Here you can find me for a few hours either reading or cataloguing. Class follows. This quarter its Ancient Greek (we’re reading Homer’s The Odyssey in the original language), Literature of Chivalry, Medieval Literature in Translation, & a seminar on Hellenistic Greece. As of right now I’m a Classics major, although I continually feel tugged towards the Medieval period and more specifically, Celtic studies. Who knows where graduate studies will whisk me. After a long day of academic I unwind with either a run or yoga and then return home. Here I enjoy spending time with my kitty and my boyfriend, Ted.
TSS: What is your favorite thing to do on a day off?
Be in nature, listen to music, create, daydream, Etsy, read UN-assigned literature, cook, and hang out with Ted & Merlin. Of course, I manage to sneak in most of these even on my busiest of days 
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TSS: What inspires you?
Mythology, folklore, runes, language, literature, primitivism, landscapes, crystals, natural geometry, Pre-Raphaelite paintings, faerie tales, ‘old world’ paganism, herbal medicine.
TSS: What is your favorite thing in your home?
A book entitled Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece, given to me by Ted. It was ritten by his great-grandfather (Edward E. Barthell Jr., whom Ted shares a name). How cool is that!
Maressa’s beloved cat Merlin and the artist and her boyfriend.
