The following is part of an ongoing segment I call Indie Designer Interviews. Today's interview is with amazingly talented jewelry designer Brooke Medlin.

Tell me a little about yourself and your work. I'm Brooke, a metalsmith and jewelry designer based in Dayton, Ohio. I make my jewelry (and other things, like cyanotypes and pinback buttons) in a big, brightly painted studio space that was once a room in an old warehouse. I started out making jewelry in 2000, and things just grew from there, and now I teach metalsmithing classes and workshops out of my studio, which is wonderful. It's great watching people finally have that 'aha!' moment when working with metal. I can almost see the ideas turning round in their head as they master each new step. So wonderful. But as much as I like teaching, I still love to just hunker down in the studio for hours, sawing, filing, soldering, making. I have lately gotten away from using beads in combination with my metalwork, which used to be a staple of most of my work, and am working in mostly metal only now. I love it. I'm finding myself making equal amounts of earthy, organic jewelry and bright, sparkling, modern work. Both are really satisfying.

Who are your favorite designers? This is HARD. I bookmark items and sites dozens of times a day. Right now I'm in love with Patrice of Alcove Press for her 'I Want To Barack Your World' notecards - well-made and timely. Moop makes the most amazing bags, and I don't even carry bags! She's turned me into a convert. The fabrics, the colors! Love them. And I've been enamored with the work of Chloe Le Pichon ever since I bought a tea bowl from her last year. I love that thing. I use it almost exclusively.

What are your top fashion & beauty must-haves? Right now, since winter lasts approximately 8 months in Ohio, long, light turtlenecks that I can layer with brightly colored vests or short sleeved shirts for warmth and color, skinny jeans, and the Frye boots I've had for 6 years and are just now perfectly broken in. I don't wear much makeup, but discovered ingero and her Roxie line of tinted lip balms, which have saved my sad little chapped lips this winter, and made me look, dare I say, smoldering. I bought the bright yet somehow subdued (likely because of the slightly translucent, velvety finish) Pomegranate shade - fantastic. I dab some Gold Toof mineral eyeshadow from Coffin Color in the inner corners of my eyelids, put on my hand-crocheted tam from tiffy tuffington (in either blue or black - I bought both) and am ready to go. In the studio I've always got hand cream from DressGreen nearby - since I use chemicals on my pieces when soldering and applying patina, I wash my hands a lot, and moisturizing them is a must. How did you get started as a designer? It started slowly, a hobby at first. A friend was making jewelry and I got into it. Then I met my friend Laurana, who was also making jewelry, and she and I scoured southwest Ohio for places in which to sell our jewelry. It took off. I sold and still sell to many stores around the area. A couple years ago, I began selling online. In that time, I've sold over 3200 pieces. I still can't believe it!

What inspires your work? Everything! Everything. The metal itself is inspiring to me - it can be incredibly bright and shiny, almost reflective, and then it can be softened with patina and steel wool until it feels almost silky. I love simple metal pieces that have lots of texture and surface interest. Nature inspires me, as it does so many. I like looking through home furnishing catalogs for interesting geometric patterns or silhouettes, and incorporating them into my work. Really, it's hard to say - the creation process is so continual, so fluid. There is rarely any lightning bolt of inspiration. More often ideas just form and build off of each other, and morph from things that are totally unrelated (consciously, anyway!).

Any advice you would give to aspiring designers? As far as online sales go, take advantage of free advertising. Blog, and blog often. I've tied my blog to my flickr account, and I get so much traffic from this, and sales. Let people know what you're working on by posting blog entries about it, with photos. Have exclusive sales just for people who sign up for your mailing list - AND ACTUALLY USE YOUR MAILING LIST. Make what you love, even if it's not the most unique item out there - but make sure you do also have a 'must-have', can't get anywhere else item or five in your product selection. For instance, every metalsmith makes hoops - they're a staple of just about anyone's jewelry wardrobe. But I love making them! So I do. I try to make them a bit different than the way others do, add my own little twist, etc. But in addition to classics that other jewelers might carry, I make sure to come up with some really unique pieces that they won't find anywhere else. So they come to my shop for those items, and then stay for the staples. It works for me.

Where can people find your work? You can find my work on my website at Gemma. I love my site! I've got polls, news and events, and, of course, my work! One of my favorite features is the wholesale client feature - retailers interested in selling my work can sign up for a wholesale account, which gives them an automatic discount on anything they purchase. Also on my website is a list of stores in which my work is sold - often I have exclusive designs for each retailer.