Deborah Oakes is one of our strongest Lady Geeks yet. She took a terrible tragedy and channeled it into a creative passion - launching the adorable and successful Etsy site GirlyGeekChic. On top of it all, she uses a portion of the shop’s proceeds and gives back to the community - particularly women and kids in need. I’ll let her tell you more about that in a bit.
Drawing inspiration from her favorite novels and comics, Oakes designs unique jewelry and accessories. Our favorites include this Wonder Woman necklace (with a mirror on the back!), these Nightmare Before Christmas earrings (perfect for Halloween), and this very sweet pink Lego necklace.
So without further ado, allow us to present Being Geek Chic’s interview with Oakes. You’ll discover the intricate cocktail she’d share with her favorite comic book character, how a friend introduced her to Etsy, and the one piece of advice she’d give to her 13-year-old self. Read on!
Q: What has led you to your passion?
A: What lead me to making jewelry was a suggestion from a friend. My mom had passed away and I was struggling with depression. I have always collected handmade jewelry and of course, madly love ETSY. I have often said ETSY is the best thing to ever happen to my wardrobe and the worst thing that’s ever happened to my budget. It turned out that making jewelry and setting up my shop was just what I needed.
Q: Can you tell us a bit more about using a portion of your Etsy shop proceeds to sponsor micro-loans and classrooms?
A: I have been lending on KIVA since 2009. I specifically seek out women around the world because I know being able to work helps a lot of them move out of poverty and even abusive relationships. When I opened my shop I realized that I had the opportunity, like one of my role models, Anita Roddick the founder of The Body Shop, to use parts of my business to facilitate my philanthropy. I’m pretty new to Donors Choose but I do like the idea of helping kids get books. I've sponsored two projects so far: One to buy the Hunger Games and another to buy headphones. The headphones was in my boyfriend’s honor since he is a dj and an audio engineer. I’ve also used a bit of money to sponsor cats at the Wildcat Sanctuary here in Minnesota. ETSY has recently teamed up with KIVA which I think is great. ETSY is a way for people to help reach out into the world and help in their own way. In fact, I learned about ETSY because of a friend telling me about a craft fundraiser happening to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Q: When did you first realize you were “geeky?"
A: This really made me think. I've never thought of the time period before. Growing up there was always lots of books, Star Wars, Voltron, Robo Tech, Pac Man, She-Ra and unicorns. It wasn’t geeky, it was just how it was…no one ever called me a geek. Don’t get me wrong, kids made fun of me but for other things, not those. I’d have to say that it wasn’t until my early 20’s when I started to attend the CONvergence sci-fi/fantasy convention did I really start to officially label myself a geek. Which hey-Geeks rule the world-so why not be one? ;)
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: That would definitely be Dream from the Sandman comic series and we would drink a cocktail by the name of Death in the Afternoon. The drink is a sugar cube in a champagne flute with bitters poured onto it. Then you add absinthe and top it with champagne. The Sandman series was my introduction to comics so many years ago and I still could think of a million questions to ask the King of Dreams.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
Keep your She-Ra actions figures-you’re really going to want them later.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, history scholar, tea drinker, fashion devotee, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic.
Follow her on twitter: @emmalynnbauer