Meet Anna DeChellis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna DeChellis. 

Hi Anna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
MetalBug Collective started in 2020. I had been working as a bartender and attending classes at Kent State University prior to the pandemic. My schedule had always been crazy hectic, and work/school was my entire life at that point in time. I was very uncertain of what I wanted to do as a career path and had changed my major four times- haha! (Starting with journalism, then nutrition, then communications, and then psychology… I couldn’t make up my mind!) 

When the pandemic started, I was out of a job, and classes were no longer in person. All the sudden I had a huge amount of free time. That was something I was never used to. This really allowed me to take a step back & collect myself. 

My lease at the house I was living in Akron, OH, was coming to an end. I decided to move back home to Massillon, OH, with my mom and two sisters. Once I moved back home, I had a bit more financial flexibility. I had the opportunity to leave Ohio for a two-month road trip out West. We explored as many national parks as we could on that trip. 

I remember getting to Arizona and walking into a little gift shop right outside the Grand Canyon. I was absolutely stunned by how beautiful all of the jewelry and artwork this little shop had. They had so many beautiful handmade pieces. The sterling silver and copper electroform pieces caught my eye. I had never heard of copper electroformed jewelry before this. I thought that it was breathtaking. I was so intrigued by all of it! I started noticing all of the unique jewelry in all of the different places we were stopping and thought to myself that I would love to learn how to do this. 

When we made it to LA, we were staying there for a few weeks. I started researching copper electroforming and read as much as I could about it. My journal started filling up with notes of all of the equipment I needed to collect and how the process of electroforming worked. I watched hours and hours of YouTube videos and subbed to countless Reddit pages. I couldn’t wait to get started when I got back! 

I was still out west when I started to order the materials I needed to get started. When I got home, I set up a little workshop area in my mom’s unfinished basement. I would spend hours down there jamming my favorite music (a lot of heavy metal), trying to figure this whole electroforming thing out. Some of my first pieces were SO bad, but I was so proud of them! I was so motivated to keep learning and creating- & I was having so much fun! 

In October 2020, I moved to Kent, OH, and converted the office space in my house into my workshop. I felt confident enough to start sharing my creations online. I made an Instagram page and called it “MetalBug Collective.” Growing up, I had an uncle that would call me “Bug”; that’s where the “MetalBug” idea came from. I decided to call it a “Collective” because my idea was that somewhere down the line, I could work towards creating a platform to bring other artists together and give them a place to share their artwork. 

From there, I created an Etsy account and started sharing my work through Etsy and Instagram. One day I received a message on Instagram about vending at a local market. I applied and got accepted. I did my first market in June of 2021. After the first show, I built my website (MetalBugCo.com) and applied to be a part of more markets. I read as much as I could about vending, Shopify, marketing, and online sales. I completely fell in love with it at this point. I loved meeting new people at every event and connecting with them! I loved meeting other vendors and hearing their story. I loved seeing the look on a customer’s face when they found a piece of jewelry that spoke to them. Everything just kinda of started to make sense at this point. 

At the beginning of 2022, I decided that I wanted to learn more about different styles of jewelry-making and repair work. I sold my Sony camera and lenses so that I could pay out of pocket to go to jewelers’ school and purchase my torch/tool set up. I have completed the first of three workshops at Drouhard’s National Jewelers School in Mansfield, OH, and will be back in October 2022 for the second workshop. The beginning of 2022 was also when I decided that this is what I was passionate about and that I wanted to try to take things to the next level this year. I began applying for summer events early on in the year and created a pretty hefty event schedule for the summer- averaging 3-4 farmers’ markets/art shows a week. 

Currently, my big project I have been working on is remodeling an old school bus into my mobile workshop. I purchased it at the beginning of 2022 and have been working on it whenever I get the chance too. I hope to have it ready to go by next summer to travel out of state and work some bigger events. 

It has been a lot of hard work, but I have enjoyed every single second of it! I am very thankful for my friends and family that have been so supportive along the way. I appreciate all of the advice I have received from other small business owners. Every day has been a learning experience, and I am extremely thankful for the opportunities that have presented themselves thus far. I am very excited to see where MetalBugCo goes from here! 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The most challenging part of running a small business for me is being present online. I’ve realized how important social media is in running a successful business. Social media is such a wonderful/powerful tool, but being plugged in so often can be overstimulating at times. I try to plan out social media posts in advance to help with the stress of that. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am known for creating jewelry that is a bit out of the ordinary. I’d say the jewelry I create is an extension of myself and my style. Some days my aesthetic is “alternative/grunge”; other days, it’s “bohemian/outdoorsy”- just depends how I am feeling that day! Something I reflect on often is the balance between light and dark- & I like to show that in my work. 

I enjoy working with a variety of stones/crystals. What I love so much about electroforming is the organic look that it creates. You can play around with the volts/amps on your rectifier to create different textures on your pieces. You never really know exactly how it’s going to turn out, and that’s the fun part. When the pieces come out of the electroform bath, they’re a bright, shiny copper color. I like to add dark patinas to my pieces to give them somewhat of a “worn” look- but then I go back in with polish to let some shine through. (Again, light vs. dark) 

I’d have to say I am most proud of the knowledge I’ve gained over the past two years. The new skills I have learned over the past couple of years have helped me grow significantly as an individual, and I am very thankful for that. 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Coronavirus showed me that it is okay to slow down sometimes. Our society is so extremely fast-paced in so many ways, and it is very easy to get caught up in everyday life. When the shutdowns happened and we were forced to slow down, it helped me realize how important taking a moment to collect yourself can be. It very easy to get caught up in the go go go mindset- but slowing down and taking a moment to evaluate what really is important to you can help you make space for new things in your life. 

Contact Info:

• Website: MetalBugCo.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metalbugco/?hl=en&__coig_restricted=1
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetalBugCo/