Jan Conwell

We are proud to present
Jan Conwell
Fondly known as
JDConwell



Jan is from San Antonio, Texas in the good old USA. She runs a real estate investment business off line. Jan told me she has Four kids, four kid-in-laws, and nine grandchildren which provides LOTS of opportunity to make hand-made gifts.



Her husband is incredibly supportive, pushing her when she might hang back. But he’s an artist in his own right (leather work) and they have spent many an hour in their own work rooms, to make things to sell through their company, "Hermits’ Garden".



Jan says she has drawn, painted, crocheted, sewn, weaved, sculpted and made cloth dolls and toys since she was about ten years old. But she has only been making art dolls (i.e. dolls not meant to be toys) for a year and a half.



She started making lots of Halloween dolls, and a few for Christmas, but her work has grown less and less holiday related now. Altho, Autumn is her favorite season.



Jan loves to collect Vintage Christmas Elves, dolls…and, um, fabric. (oh boy fabric...we all like fabric right?)



I asked Jan what her favorite kind of crafts to buy, sell or make were... whimsical, fantasy, grungy, country, folk art or primitive? She told me she had to laugh when I asked that question because her answer was: YES. But if she had to pick a favorite, she would say quirky folk art, shabby chic, and primitive. She would really like to see her work become a blend of those three.



Jan’s newest project are some little odd hybrids- wooden, jointed dolls with paper clay faces. She thinks someday she might even like to teach classes.



Jan has two online shops and a blog and she also sells at the local area art fairs.
Check her out here....

Etsy
Artfire
and her
blog



Jan told me her favorite inspiration comes from Izanna Walker ... she was a rock star. Her very favorite dolls, though, are the 19th century Kathy Kruse, the old paper mache' head cloth dolls, and just about any old, clumsy, lumpy Mom-made rag doll.



As usual I had to know what she would like to share to help others be successful in an online business?
Jan told me “In a word? Professional presentation! Few of us are professional photographers, (nor can we afford them) but don’t let that excuse you. Learn your camera, learn lighting, learn how to set up a nice backdrop. Don’t settle for bad photos, because the customer sure won’t. And in that same vein; listing descriptions need to be polished and professional. Regardless of your style (i.e. cute, sparse, detailed and factual…) a description full of punctuation, spelling, and grammar errors add up to bad image. Sounds like I’m harping, but it’s amazing how fast preventable sloppiness in presentation can sour a sale!“




Jan told me she has a gourd doll entered in the Art Doll Quarterly’s autumn challenge. Maybe its even hiding among these. I hope we get to see it in the magazine.




Jan says "I'm a self-taught outsider in love with old souls. My joy is to create tomorrow's heirlooms out of yesterday's treasures: mixed media dolls and folk art, made of new and recycled materials, thrift shop finds, and a crow's nest hoard."



With her Master of Arts in Archetypal Mythology, and along with her love of history and storytelling, you can tell it influences what Jan creates.
We are going to see a lot more of Jan in the future.