We had the good fortune of connecting with Candace Grace and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Candace, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I never get tired of creating things. I sometimes do it in my sleep. I’ll dream up something when I’m half asleep and wake up and get straight to working on it. Having a creative outlet is something I’ve always wanted, and though it took most of my life to come to me, I’m lucky enough to now have it. It started with a successful day of hunting for sea glass. I thought about jewelry I’d seen made with it and decided to learn how to drill it and how to make jewelry. Gradually I got better at it and expanded to making healing crystal jewelry, combinations of crystals and sea glass and garden art. Lately my sun catchers are my obsession.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I always want the items I design to emulate the beauty of nature, especially the ocean. I strive to make things that are original and stand out with beautiful color combos. I have so much fun with color. It’s sometimes easy, but just like a writer with writer’s block, I do get stuck sometimes, but eventually, without forcing it, the creative juices start flowing again. I also make a good part of my living serving tables, but faced with today’s lockdown that job doesn’t exist, so I’m luckier than some to have my jewelry and art. I’ve been loving the extra time I’ve had to play with different ideas, without interruption. I’d ultimately love a sunset career and this is it! If this came to me earlier it could have been my sunrise career, but never too late to start right?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, we live on our Hunter sailboat, so a good day sail would be on the list. We also have a sweet dinghy, so a ride around the harbor and maybe to The Slip Bar, R-10, or Tony’s on the Redondo Pier for happy hour. If the sea is calm, a cruise out past PV point, where dolphins are sighted often, and with a little luck, whales breaching. Dinner choices would be Charlie’s Italian, Coyote Cantina and the Bullpen. I also love taking people up to Terrenea in Palos Verdes for a hike around their beautiful grounds, to see the bat cave and then lunch with an amazing view at Nelson’s, where an occasional whale sighting is common. Then there has to be some home cooking because I love to cook!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My boyfriend Chris deserves a lot of credit for his patience with me when I get an idea and take up our whole boat salon with boxes of beads, and supplies strewn everywhere, so he can’t sit down. After countless times of stepping on stray beads(ouch!), he still encourages and loves me❤️Also, my family and friends have supported me by sharing my posts, buying my creations and spreading the word about what I do. My sister Colette is my biggest fan and we get a good laugh because every time she sees something she likes it sells.

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