Let Me Introduce Myself....

Hello! Welcome to my blog!

My name is Linda Reiss, born November 4, 1961,(maiden name- Shinn),in Upland, CA. I was raised in the quiet suburbs of San Bernadino County, in Alta Loma, CA, which is about halfway between Los Angeles, CA and San Bernadino, CA. I got married and moved to San Diego in 1986, and have made San Diego my home, for the last 25 yrs.
My fascination of beads and jewelry making began in 5th or 6th grade, after my mother brought me to the Upland Feed and Fuel Store, one summer afternoon...What does a feed and fuel store have to do with beads, you ask?...Well...They had a little room within the feed store, filled with beautiful sparkly beads, and jewelry making supplies that caught my attention that day...I begged my mother to buy me a necklace making kit,she obliged my whim, and I began my journey into the addicting world of jewelry making.

I started selling my jewelry to my neighbors and friends at school, and my dad would let me tag along when he went to sell our garage sale leftovers, at the local swap meet, so I could peddle my jewelry....oh the "Good Ol' Days"!!!

I lost interest somewhere along the way, while going to High School, probably because there was no time to bead,since not only was I attending High School, I was attending Beauty College after school at night, and on weekends...
I didn't find my way back to beading, until 4 yrs ago, while working at my job at a salon in San Diego. A client of the salon, was peddling her jewelry in the salon...so...I took a peek...it was ok looking, I thought to myself...but I told myself, "You could make better looking jewelry than that!!!"..."and why should she be the only one making extra cash for selling her jewelry here, in the salon, that I pay big bucks in booth rent to work at???!!!"... and so, my love affair with jewelry making began once again.

I started selling my jewelry to all the clients that came in, they seemed to like my designs so well, that I thought, "Lets bump it up to the next level, let's start selling at Craft Fairs!"...Of course, that was a tough sell, and a lot of hard work, and after 3 shows, I injured my back...then about after 3 mos of recovering, finally feeling better...I was involved in a car accident,(other driver ran a red light), that totaled my car, and basically totaled my back and neck, because I am still suffering from horrible pain.

I am not a Spring chicken anymore, LOL, and standing all day at the salon with my arms up in the air all day, for 8-12 hrs, became too painful, after the accident. So... now I am semi-retired in the hair industry, and am able to devote more time to my jewelry making, and my adorable doggies, "Sofie", a  5 yr old Maltese, and "Bella", a 9 mos. old Lhasapoo, who help me fill the void of having an empty nest now, since my sons are off at college now.
I am by no means an expert jewelry designer,after all I am self taught...and I know that I have LOTS MORE to learn, but I think that my eye for design, color, and balance, that I have used all these years to help me become a Master Hairstylist, have helped me to create some beautiful jewelry pieces, that I think you will enjoy :-)
I also have more than one online jewelry shop,besides "The Vintage Diva", as I love to create all different styles of jewelry, I don't like to be limited to just one particular style. My eclectic tastes in Jewelry Making include, Contemporary,Wedding/Bridal, Vintage Style, Neo Victorian, Steampunk, and even Gothic on occasion.
Well, I hope I didn't bore you to tears! Thanks for taking the time to read this!
XO~ Linda