About I B Wired

My name is Irma Bushong.  I am a retired veteran from the National Guard and I started making jewelry to help as a way to cope and maintain my mental health.  After serving in Iraq as Army Combat Medic, making jewelry helps to keep my mind occupied.  Not only does it keep my fingers busy, but my mind as well since I'm constantly creating designs in my head.I started making jewelry in 2016 as a hobby.  Soon after I was given the opportunity to start selling my designs at craft fairs with my sister-in-law. Many of my creations were a lot more simple back then and of the beaded variety. Eventually I came across someone's Etsy page, where an artist was creating and selling jewelry made out of wire.  I was immediately inspired and started researching more about it.  I bought a starter kit, books, DVDs, and taught myself the skills I needed to make my own wire wrapped jewelry. Not all of my creations were winners as I was learning, but the more I practiced, the better I became. 

 

I love the look of wire and gemstones together and that wire is so easy to manipulate but that it also very much keeps the shape that you leave it in. You can create so much intricate details with wire.  I really never thought that it would be as easy as it is for me today. Gemstones come in so many shapes and colors; the intricate details that are naturally made in the stones by Mother Nature are a dream to designers like me. Putting both gemstones and wire together allow me to come up with some amazing designs. The work that I do is hard and tedious at times, but the end results are so worth it. 

 

It's hard to chose a favorite gemstone because they are all so beautiful and unique, but if I had to, I would pick peridot (my birthstone), which is also my favorite color, green.