By Andrea McCann
SHOWING HER WORK: Lisa Sullivan, Worthington, holds a display of handmade bracelets she's preparing to sell at Charlotte's Unique Boutique in Linton. She said her bracelets are the most popular pieces of jewelry she makes.

By Andrea McCann, staff writer

Lisa Sullivan of Worthington is “all wrapped up in jewelry.”

Sullivan makes one-of-a-kind bracelets, earrings and necklaces by wrapping gem and mineral stones with wire. A graphic designer with a full-time position as a Web site administrator at SAIC, Sullivan makes her bead and wire jewelry on the side and sells it from her home.

“I've been making it a lot of years, but mostly for gifts and for myself,” she said, explaining that she started creating the jewelry as a business in October 2004.

“I started it because my Great-aunt Sara (Newcomer) gave me a gift of $500, and I started it with that,” Sullivan said.

She added that she's always had a love of jewelry, even working in the jewelry department of a store in Pennsylvania.

Originally, Sullivan said, she was taking her jewelry to craft shows. But she said that wasn't working out well, so she started having open houses with other area artists in their homes. She said they had two open houses leading up to the holidays, and those were more successful than the craft shows.

“(Business) is exploding this year at Christmas time,” Sullivan said, adding that she and her friends would like to do a “spring fling” open house.

“Bracelets are my most popular thing.”

Sullivan fashions her jewelry in different styles to appeal to different age groups and is always looking for new ideas. She said her creations are primarily for women and designed for all ages. She said she can add to or reduce the pieces if a size adjustment is necessary.

“I don't think I have any men wearing it yet,” Sullivan said. “Men seem to buy it, though.”

One feature of Sullivan's work is the use of gems and beads from estate jewelry in some of her pieces. She explained that she goes to auctions, antique stores and other places to find the old jewelry. Then she takes it apart, cleans it and make new pieces from that.

“I also do custom pendants where I use different metals and gemstones and set it in resin,” Sullivan said.

“One new thing I've been making that's been very popular - I take pictures and put them in resin.”

She added that she can take beads that the customer provides and construct a new piece of jewelry from them. For example, she said a friend brought her some pearls she'd had for a while and not been able to use. Sullivan made a double-strand bracelet from them for her, and now the woman has a nice bracelet she can wear made from jewels that mean something to her.

Earrings usually run $5, Sullivan said, unless there's something special about them. Necklaces range from $15 to $30, and bracelets are $10 to $15.

Sullivan is a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and is married to Dave Sullivan.

Samples of her jewelry can be seen at www.lisasullivan.com. Anyone interested in seeing more or purchasing a piece can contact her at lisa@lisasullivan.com. Her creations also can be found at Charlotte's Unique Boutique, located at the corner of SR 54 and Main St. in Linton.