Gettin' Made: (Polished) Two's Company
Tracy Owens Chasteen is a wife, music lover, thrifter, and a city girl who lives in beautiful downtown Austin, Texas--the Live Music Capital of the World. She's also the prolific crafter behind the successful Etsy shop Polished Two, a veritable smorgasbord of great earrings, bracelets and one of a kind necklaces.
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| "Mum" pottery shard necklace by Tracy Owens Chasteen of Polished Two. No two pottery shard necklaces are alike, with some pieces coming from ancient and replica Ming Dynasty vases. |
OC Weekly: How does your non-crafty life differ from your Etsy work?
Tracy Owens Chasteen: Being crafty is not my fulltime job. By day, I work in marketing and business development for a professional services company. I have a fast-paced, deadline-driven job, so coming home and being creative is therapeutic and really helps me unwind after a long day at the office. When I'm not crafting, I'm often enjoying live music at a nearby venue, browsing flea markets, hunting down estate sales, or cooling off in a swimming hole.
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| "Fiesta" earrings by Tracy Owens Chasteen of Polished Two |
OCW: Why the name Polished Two--it's a great name to describe the bright shiny earrings you sell, but is that where the name came from?
TOC: My sister and I started selling jewelry under the name Polished. We love working with shiny glass beads and semiprecious stones, so it seemed fitting. When we decided to go online, we needed a way to split identities since we live in different places and would each be fulfilling orders from our own shops. At that point, my sister became Polished One and I became Polished Two.
OCW: How did you get started making jewelry?
TOC: I started making jewelry shortly after I moved to Austin, nearly 15 years ago. I was working at an entry level job and couldn't really afford the trendy jewelry I'd see in boutiques, but I'd always been into one craft or another, so my attitude was "I can make that!" I started with stretch bracelets just to get a handle on beading, but I also read everything I could about basic techniques and took a class with a friend. Throughout the whole time I was learning, I couldn't stop buying beads and my collection continues to grow to this day.
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| "Frida" bracelet by Tracy Owens Chasteen of Polished Two |
OCW: What's been your most exciting accomplishment so far with Polished Two?
TOC: My most exciting accomplishment with Polished Two was being accepted as a part of the Etsy Community Council. We get to test new features of the website, give our opinions on changes, and discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with selling on the handmade-focused website.
On the next page, Tracy shares some of the secrets to her success (no thanks to Michael J. Fox!), and gives you a chance to win a pair of earrings.
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