MEET: Lucy Greer
We first met Lucy at a Christmas Fayre. We stopped to admire her gorgeous rings and next thing we know, we were there for nearly an hour, hogging all of her time and laughing till our sides were sore. Not only is Lucy incredibly intelligent, talented and makes beautiful art - she is bloody hilarious. And she managed to give us this impression despite the wind and rain that (spoiler alert) eventually actually blew her gazebo away.
We couldn’t help but fall in love. Fast forward a month and we were sitting down to have a chat… We played it cool, we promise.
So tell us about yourself?
So I grew up in West London, actually Uxbridge which is not really West London, and then studied English and Film at uni and then sort of fell into teaching.
I moved to Mexico randomly. Initially I thought I was going to go for a year and that will be that but then loved it. At first I was living in this really small village North of Mexico city, then a job opportunity came up in Mexico City so I was like, actually I do want to stay in Mexico, I started going out with this Mexican guy and we just moved to Mexico City. It's a bit like Bristol in many ways.
I wouldn't have expected that.
It's really creative, and that's where I first started getting into the Jewellery.
Oh yeah?
Whilst I was in Mexico I started getting into a couple of jewellers who were also artists, just buying their stuff. Then I saw this course and just thought I'll just have a go, just for fun. My Spanish at the time was not good so even though it's a very visual thing I missed a lot of the explanation, I didn't really get it. I was just silent, making gestures to try and understand.
** Laughs, a lot **
I still enjoyed it though and then one of the jewellers that I loved, Michaela Gonzales, gave me a couple of classes. I was like I love you, I want to be like you.
What happened next?
We moved back to the UK and I was having a quarter life crisis thinking do I really want to be teaching for the next 40 years? I applied for the HND (Higher National Diploma) at Bristol City University to study jewellery making, got a place to do it and then didn't end up going through with it. It was really one of those life moments, I still think about it.
Why didn’t you do it?
It would have been full time uni. I was really excited about it and it’s a well respected course but basically it was the cost of it. I feel happy with the decision but I do still sometimes think ah, that would have been really good. I did an intensive course in London last summer though and I’ve been reinforcing those skills ever since.
Do you like teaching?
You know being an English teacher, at its best it's really relevant and captivating and engaging. I love it. But, at its worst, it can be teaching to the test and all about passing exams…
We get it. So what does it mean to you to keep that creative outlet of jewellery making?
It's hard not to say something really lame here. I feel like creativity is part of my identity, it's part of who I am.
What is the biggest obstacle you find on the business side of things?
Oh, everything. I suppose not having had any experience. Also I’m not a dunce when it comes to technology but I've not grown up with social media. Everything is a learning curve with regards to that. Also my network is not people that do this kind of thing. So meeting people who can give that kind of advice would be really useful.
What’s been your best moment in your jewellery career so far?
Any time I sell something. When somebody is willing to pay for something it gives validation to what you're doing. Retrospectively you can appreciate that for what it is. Also when people just stop and say ‘oh I really like that’ or whatever, that gives you a sense of '‘ok something's going right here’, but I need to keep a balance between teaching and jewellery making.
How do you keep that balance?
A friend of mine’s doing a masters in psychology and his dissertations on flow which is basically mindfulness, so I've become obsessed with flow. And for me that's being able to switch off.
Final question! What’s your favourite piece of art, it could be film it could be whatever.
I suppose if I could only choose one medium…
Should we do desert island instead?
Yeah.
So you're on a desert island, you can take five things. What do you take?
A piano. I'm quite musical so that's another way I relax. I like to sing.
I can just imagine you on a desert island with a piano!
Well me and people in my friendship circle often get told we're quite loud, I like a good…
Piano karaoke?
Well that would be my perfect scenario; not in front of other people though so I can really go for it. And a book. I would have to go for a classic but I'm so tired of reading Of Mice and Men…I would say that Frankenstein is my favourite book. I feel like it’s really layered and it’s beautiful. Or maybe War and Peace or like a thousand page Dickens novel because I’d only actually read it when I’m that alone.
So you’ve got Frankenstein and a grand piano…
And jewellery stuff. Hmmm, am I allowed food?
Yeah.
Are we talking unlimited supply of?
Unlimited supply, yeah.
Probably chocolate, various forms of. And then maybe chips and I’d want guacamole. For me a beach is all about guac.
I can just imagine you, sun going down, making some jewelry, dipping chips in guac…
instagram: oso_jewellery