My ears aren’t pierced but some of Stormy Wadham’s earring motifs are making me wish otherwise, specifically the pairs that resemble Dungeons and Dragons dice—D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, D20, the gang’s all here.
Whether you’re a chaotic neutral bard like me (in-character) or just an average joe on the prowl for some local, giftable jewelry (out-of-character), Wadham’s Etsy shop is worth checking out. This Central Coast local started selling her homespun creations online in January, under her shop’s title, Little Earring Studio.
“I had one of those ‘I could do that’ moments, and I did just that,” said Wadham, who stumbled upon a few DIY earring tutorial videos online, which led her down a rabbit hole—one she continues to spiral downward through.
“I’d recommend checking out YouTube videos on making earrings for anyone who’s interested in making them,” she said. “I’ve learned various techniques for different types of earrings from [YouTube] mainly.”
From traditional beaded hoops to more specific, niche designs, Wadham’s earrings have made their way from her home in Lompoc to customers across the country, with orders coming in from 14 different states so far.
What attracted Wadham to earrings over necklaces, bracelets, and other jewelry was her philosophy of first impressions, she explained.
“When you look at a person, you tend to look at their face and eyes,” Wadham told the Sun. “I’m more drawn to earrings, since that’s something you’re more likely going to notice first upon meeting someone.”
Wadham’s most popular product (which was sold out for weeks before becoming available again on April 25) is her rainbow flower dangle earrings, full of cheer and color—a welcomed interruption to these dark, muddled times. Luckily for Wadham, she was already purchasing the lion’s share of her crafting materials online before the COVID-19 mitigation closures.
“Most of the charms and dice I order from online. I was ordering them online before the pandemic,” Wadham said. “However, the head pins, earring findings, and some other supplies I was purchasing in person at Michael’s—now I’m having to order those online as well.”
Wadham usually uses pliers, wire cutters, a hand drill, and other tools during production, working with gemstones, sea shells, beads, and other source materials. It’s hard not to spend too much time glancing through Wadham’s earring selection; there are just too many designs to choose from—shapes, plants, animals, and more.
As you can already guess from my Dungeons and Dragons outburst earlier, I’m most drawn to the nostalgic, gamer culture fare. Wadham’s offerings include regular six-sided-dice earrings as well—for all you Muggle rollers out there—or video game controller earrings, if tabletop just isn’t your style.
Wadham announces new designs usually more than once a week, both on her Etsy site as well as on her Instagram. And while the pandemic hasn’t slowed down her production process, there is one ironic objective she’s excited to possibly accomplish once quarantine ends—getting her own ears pierced finally.
“Actually I don’t have my ears pierced, so I’m just making them for others—for the time being,” the 21-year-old said. “Once this quarantine is over, I’m very tempted to just go out and get them done.”
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood loves hearing from local artisans. Contact him at cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 7, 2020.