Today we’d like to introduce you to Gerri Pizzini
Hi Gerri, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
How I started? That may be the toughest question of all… I started out in college with very different plans. You could say more traditional job plans. Backing up, even in high school I was always in “sales” of some kind or another. By 18 years of age I was running a screen printing biz that taught me more than schools ever did :). Now 40 years later I’m still in business for myself, but the journey has been filled with pain, joy, hard work, second guessing, failures and success! After many “jobs” from cartooning at the LA Times, to closing time share deals, T-shirt biz, painting designing at renaissance festivals, to creating beautiful jewelry and wearable art art, etc I’m now nearing retirement age but I know I’ll always be an artist artist… a dreamer… a creator of happy things!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Never a smooth one LOL. But the struggles were always worth it! I guess as I’ve gotten older I have put the idea of having had struggles behind me and I think I’ve more or less had challenges that I took head on and enjoyed powering through… when you’re self-employed I believe the biggest challenge is overcoming the fears and the stress and the anxieties of knowing you can only really count on yourself. There’s no paycheck coming in if you don’t go out and get it :). There were great months of income and some pretty brutal ones :)!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My path as of right now is changing. I still love to create beautiful jewelry art and I’m also focused on paintings and mixed media! I specialize in the beads and gems but am passionate about ALL ART. As I turn 60 this year I’ve been preparing more change ahead as well. Just finishing up Art Therapy training and hope to help others use Art to heal. I plan to continue in the art world but in many directions! And I think what I’m most proud of is being able to have not only supported my kids throughout this journey, but also exposed them to travel, hard work, and seeing a strong woman able to “do it all”… Finally what sets me apart from others? I don’t know quite how to answer that so I’ll say what are my strengths? Hard hard work. Huge work ethic. Truly loving my customers. Making people smile and laugh and feel good. And I love what I do and hope it inspires others!
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
How much time ya got? lol. Well I’ve learned to live more in the moment. I’ve learned to never expect anything and things can go wrong. I’ve learned a sort of tolerance of people and the behaviors of others. I think the Covid shutdowns were really scary for those of us that were self employed and no government funds were available ( funny not funny) Of course AFTER the fact many artists told me they applied and got paid like gig workers and apparently I missed that memo because I was powering thru restructuring my business for that entire year to use social media and online tactics to continue to try and sell Jewelry and Art 🙂 and I think the most important lesson as I answer all these questions is that I was reminded that I could rally and make things happen even when the odds are against me! I feel blessed, talented, and driven. All in a better way than prior to COVID. And that win for me 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://GerriPizzini.art
- Instagram: @GerriPizzJewelry
- Facebook: Gerri Pizzini’s Jewelry
- Other: Instagram: @EmpoweredArtByGP
