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Dec. 1, 2006
Phony-Art, unique gift
Rachel Swirsky's wired sculpture is winning fans.
DAVE GORDON
Her sculptures might be "phony," but her talent and creativity
are genuine. Rachel Swirsky, the brain behind Phony-Art, says the
secret to her successful sculpture sales was born in one of those
"eureka!" moments. She discovered that a business idea
can be right in front of you all along.
Five years ago, at home one day bored and nursing a cold, Swirsky
began fiddling with some phone wire that a technician had left at
her house and, after a while, ended up with a little handmade sculpture.
It was a Victorian woman, complete with parasol and a large hat
stylish for the time. The woman wore a shirt with big puffy sleeves
and a long skirt with a bustle. "Looking back now, it is still
one of my favorites," said the 27-year-old Torontonian.
That item sat on her shelf for six months unnoticed, until a guest
asked about the piece. Upon learning that Swirsky had created it,
the guest was eager to get a copy of her own. Swirsky obliged and,
to her surprise, received payment in return. Through word of mouth,
more sculptures have been sold through the Internet, and her wiry
designs have gained much popularity, especially among 20-somethings
and the yuppie crowd. She has sold items from coast to coast and
as far away as the Netherlands, Mexico, Hungary, Belgium, Ireland,
Britain, Israel, the United States and France.
Phony-Art can be woven into just about anything: people, animals,
cars, flowers and baskets. The uses are limitless, too: gifts, centrepieces,
desk art, wall art, book-ends, personalized china-cabinet bric-a-brac,
a unique wedding cake topper or paperweights. Recent changes to
the line include using copper and silver wiring.
"It gives it more of a color, and it's more modern-looking,"
said Swirsky. "It jumps off the shelf and says, 'look at me.'
It's more unusual and more people are looking for that," she
said, adding that those kinds of wires also lean on shelves more
easily and are more sturdy.
"My big sellers are wire hands that can be used for ring holders
by a sink, iPod holders and business card or memo holders,"
said Swirsky. "I can work off of almost anything I can get
a good picture of."
In time for Chanukah, she has begun a new line called Wrapped Up:
products that are
not made from phone wire, but from jewelry or beading, mostly Swarovski
crystal. Products include necklaces, earrings and bracelets, among
others, in 14-16 carat gold plate or sterling plate. However, some
of the finer gauge wires are just tinted copper or tin, since, as
Swirsky said, "gold and silver are too easy to break."
Swirsky wants her customers to know that she's not just cobbling
together pieces of wire willy-nilly, either. She is currently sharpening
her craft by completing her master's degree in silvermaking at Humber
College in Toronto.
The average Phony-Art piece takes about a half a day to create and
prices start at around $60.
Jewelry can start at as low as $10. Swirsky admitted that although
sometimes demand is difficult to keep up with, "the best part
is crafting new shapes and sizes to people's custom wants and needs."
For more information, visit www.phony-art.com.
Dave Gordon is a freelance writer whose work can be seen
in the Baltimore Sun, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and the
Toronto Sun.
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