“I love the shows,” she said. “I love the hard work of getting out there myself and dealing directly with my customer. It is very rewarding.” Banks said she does most of her work – including sales – on her own, but currently has one part-time helper whose job consists of measuring and cutting the chain for certain designs. “I still do all of the actual chainmaille weaving myself,” she said. “So it’s a ton of time, but I love it! It’s my favorite part of the day. After spending the afternoon and early evening in the office running the business, I look forward to sitting down and actually creating the work.”


Banks discovered chainmaille while in the jewelry program at the University of Illinois, when she looked over and noticed her benchmate had made a small piece of maille. “I picked it up and was instantly intrigued. I taught myself the basic 4-in-1 European weave just by looking at her sample. I was hooked! Although I knew I was on the correct path, I had sort of struggled with what my voice was as a jewelry designer. Problem immediately solved.”


49 www.artizenmagazine.com


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