Alicia Hanson of Hi Octane Jewelry – Taco About It Tuesday

I’ve known Alicia Hanson since we were both card carrying members of craft mafias.  Her company Hi Octane Jewelry comes from Alicia love of vintage cars.  Not just hot rods influences of vintage exotica can also be found throughout everything she creates.  Her brand and business has grown into a design studio and now she is also now teaching wax casting to other aspiring jewelry designers.  I am so excited that she is here to Taco About it Tuesday.

Alicia Hanson of Hi Octane Jewelry

Website: High Octane Jewelry – Silver Botanica – Learn Lost Wax Casting

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1) What is the best advice you could give someone about the business of being creative and the creativity behind running business?

The more you use your Creative Juices the more they will flow.  In my graphic design life I like using Pinterest and imagery to share ideas and capture an idea. I also love keeping a Maker’s Notebook of ideas and sketches.  I try not to beat myself if haven’t made the time to act on a good idea immediately. Remember getting what you want takes making time to make it happen, not wishing it to happen.  Visualize it and then make it happen.

2) Do you have a favorite place to go for business advice? Mentor group, book, website?

I use to really enjoy my Oceanside Craft Mafia group.  I think I need to start it back up. My parent’s run a Graphic Design business so I will go to them on client related or tech questions.  I read a lot of growing your business type books.  I really enjoy Seth Godins books.

3) Besides Creative Queso what are your favorite podcasts?

4) How do you prevent creative burn out?

So much of everyday life is surrounded with being creative that I don’t really ever have burnout.  I just keep it flowing. I do jump around a lot.  My reality is I do a lot of different things in my hustle game so things that help are 1- Pinterest (482 boards strong) 2 – Travel (Local or a far) 3- I still go to book stores and look at magazines or craft books for fun 4- You tubing new creative skills. 5-Thrift store shopping 6-Car Shows 7-Gemfaire or Tucson Jewelry Show.

5) What is something your business could not live without?

My iMac and my collection of jewelry craft supplies and tools.  I love creating on my iMac and iPad and then I love going over and carving wax or soldering or grinding metal or creating a beaded necklace.

6) What are some of your favorite Instagram feeds?

7) Tell us a piece of surprising trivia about yourself or your business.

Our Hummingbird ring appeared on Keira Knightly’s hand in the movie Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. And I am a bit more of the car girl than my husband.  We’re both into cars.  But I am really into cars, most people assume he is the car guy.

8) Do you use a paper planner full of stickers and washi tape or are you a Google calendar kinda guy or gal?

I use both I have a paper book planner for keeping track of time on design projects and I always set an event in my iPhone for event to attend etc. I also love lists.  I use the app wunderlust.

Quote from Alicia Hanson of Learn Lost Wax

9) When you are working do you listen/watch podcasts, music, audio books, Netflix or do you like dead silence like a total weirdo?

I do all of those things. I love listening to podcasts, audible books #aliciasaudible I listen to a lot of business books. Lately I have ventured into stuff on travel and adventure.

I love listening to bands like Tunnel Vision, Slightly Stoopid, Pilot Touhill, Ziggy Alberts, Jack Johnson, Sublime, and The Interuppters.

Currently I am addicted to Animal Kingdom on AmazonPrime because they film it here in Oceanside and the guys are hot and I have a thing for surfers. I also secretly love Grace & Frankie because Frankie wears such fabulous jewelry.

And there are times when dead silence is necessary if I am trying to write something or have too really concentrate.  I also pretty much watch all the Home remodeling shows on Netflix especially all the Australian shows because I would move there in a heartbeat if immigrating wasn’t so hard.

10) If I came to see you where would we go for queso?

According to The Google Miguel’s Cocina in Carlsbad has the best Warm White Queso Dip.  And if we decided to skip queso and just go for Quinoa I would say LTH aka (Local Tap House).

Rev your engines! Hi Octane Jewelry is the perfect accessory for any vintage car lover.  Dear Santa bring me one of those Mercury cuff bracelets!  Thank you Alicia for stopping by Creative Queso and chatting!

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