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I had the honor to obtain an interview from Helen Breil. For those who don’t know her, Helen is a talented and well known Canadian artist in polymer clay. I think everybody from the handmade field knows her for the unusual and spectacular shapes, folded beads, tutorials and many other pieces of art. The discussion I had with her was a very helpful one, for me as an artist, and I hope it will be the same for you. I always look up to the best and to the ones that succedeed in this market and I try to find how they did it. Helen was very comunicative and shared with me some advice and opinions. I invite you to read an interesting interview and admire true pieces of art. Looking at the pictures Helen sent me, I was once again shocked and realized how much I have until I will reach this level. Is a superior level and I invite you to discover once again why I love this magic material.

Hello Helen! Thank you for this interview. Please tell us something about you.

I’m a Canadian living in Southern Ontario.  My work career was in Information Technology. I am now self-employed, working full time on my polymer clay business (textures, tutorials, workshops).  I’ve had no formal art education and am basically self-taught.

How did you discover the passion for handmade? How did you discover polymer clay and why did you stick with it?  

The 1997 summer issue of American Style magazine introduced me to the new and wonderful medium of polymer clay. The magazine featured Kathleen Dustin, Elise Winters, Rebecca Zimmerman and many others. Their work and the possibilities of the medium fascinated me and continues to fascinate me to this day. Polymer is so versatile that I never tire of it and I am continually inspired by what others are doing with it as well.  I am truly obsessed with polymer!

Why do you think people should appreciate polymer clay jewellery?  

I think people should appreciate any unique, well crafted handmade jewellery, regardless of what it is made of.

Do the Canadian people appreciate polymer clay jewellery? Is this material popular there?

Polymer clay is slowly becoming more popular in Canada but still many people are not familiar with it and what it is capable of.

I know you have published many books regarding polymer clay. Please tell us something about this activity. How does it feel to be a publisher in the handmade area? 

I’ve had articles published in many jewelry magazines, I have a line of popular tutorials and have self-published an eBook „Shapes – 25 Inspirational Jewellery Designs in Polymer Clay„.  I enjoy writing tutorials and feel very proud when I see people inspired by my work and using my techniques.

What type/brand of polymer clay is your favorite? 

My preference is Kato clay because it is strong and stiffer and less sticky than other brands.  But I needed a softer clay for a recent technique I’m working on and have been using Premo clay for this.

What is your favorite technique?

Usually it’s whatever technique I am currently working on!  It’s very hard to pick a favorite.

Also, you are famous for folded beads. Tell us how you discovered this technique? 

I actually started developing designs with this technique many years ago and it was published in a magazine (Sept 2006 Step-by-Step Beads). I can’t remember how I got started with it. I love to play with shapes and generally all my ideas are explored and developed in this „play” process.

The handmade market is continuously growing in Romania. What advice do you have for us to succeed in this market? 

There is so much competition in the jewellery market, I’m sure it is very tough to be successful.  My advice is work hard at offering something unique and different from all the others. You need to stand out. Be sure your pieces are top quality, unique and a style that is yours.

What advice would you give to an artist at the beginning of the road?

Often I go through galleries of peoples work and I will see a piece that has a real WOW factor. There is just one in that style and then you can see they have moved on to the next technique. My advice would be to find a style or technique that you love and stick with it for awhile. Really explore it. Try variations. Keep improving it. Create a collection of pieces in that style. Keep at it until you’ve exhausted all your ideas for it. You will learn a lot through the process and you will end up with something really special you can be proud of and that really reflects you.

Also regarding the previous question, what qualities do you think any handmade artist should have? 

Creativity, patience, perseverance, business-sense, photography, computer and marketing skills. If you want to get a reputation as a serious artist here are some suggestions:

• Work on your photography skills. Quality images are very important. People can’t fully appreciate your work when it is not presented well. I have seen many nice pieces poorly photographed, and this negatively affects the image of the artist.
• Only show your best work. Every time you show inferior work it does not reflect well on you and what you are truly capable of and negatively effects the image the person has of the „body of your work”.

Use social media (Facebook, Flickr, etc.) to get your name and work known. You can have the most wonderful work but if no one knows you exist, it will not help you. You can’t just put work on Etsy or Dewanda and hope it sells. Marketing is time-consuming and not great fun but is very important if you want to successfully sell your work. You need to become known in the community and position yourself as an artist if you hope to sell pieces at a price that reflects your talent and skill.  Otherwise you will be seen as a hobbyist and be forced to sell your work for a very low price.