Interview by Mercedes Arnold

Maine Vibes Magazine: Hi Olivia! Can you start with your name, pronouns, and what you do?

Olivia Boi: My name is Olivia Boi, I go as she/her, and I'm a silversmith and own Strong Moon Metals. I make jewelry from scratch in my home studio. I use the traditional metal smithing process, so it's all one-offs and pretty labor-intensive. Each piece is handmade, and a lot of work goes into it all. 

MVM: How did you come up with the name Strong Moon Metals?

OB: I came up with the name for a couple of reasons. I have a slew of chronic illnesses and became disabled in 2018. I’m also a Cancer and am really into the Zodiac and astrology- hence “moon”. I was trying to come up with a name that suited me and I felt would be timeless so I didn’t have to change it in five years. Strong is for fighting through everything, I’ve had 10 surgeries in the last three years, the moon is what I’m ruled by, and metals are my craft.

MVM: And you started the Rebel Market? 

OB: I did, yeah. I have a lot on my plate right now as a small business owner, but I wanted to create a community for Maine artists to give them a space to show and sell their work and make money off of creating art. It can be competitive in the show business and Portland is only so big. We had the idea of hosting it in Biddeford and one of my friends owns Sacred Profane. She had the idea of having me create a market for a while. After a few months of thinking about it and planning it on my end, I thought I’m going to do it. I came up with the name because I’m a rebel. I don’t fit in, I feel, with the shows that are happening in Portland, I can’t pay their market fees. The Rebel Market has a $55 market fee so that folks can apply if they’re an artist that maybe just started, it’s not a big expense and it gives them the opportunity to have cross-promotion with other artists participating in the market. It’s also a way to meet customers and get your business card out there.

Really though, the reason why I created it was that I felt like there wasn't a market that existed for someone like me, and I wanted to create one for a group of badass people. The market is a space for folks to share, and in a space like Sacred Profane, it goes with my branding, which is kind of outcast. 

MVM: It’s edgy and very cool. 

OB: Edgy is the word, for sure. It’s unique in itself. It's very heavily inspired by music, I am an avid music listener and I especially love 80s/90s punk music. The logo of the Rebel Market was inspired by one of my favorite bands of all time- The Cramps.

Also, for Rebel Market, I wanted it to be a collaborative thing, where we can collaborate with local businesses. The whole idea is that it is a pop-up market. Working with Sacred Profane has been amazing, they've been our launching pad for the market and given us so much opportunity. They themselves are really unique- only serving light and dark lager- flavorful foamy works of art. You can eat and get drinks downstairs and explore the upstairs and do your shopping. It’s in a beautiful old mill building, with old hardwood floors and exposed brick, and right in the heart of downtown Biddeford. It’s been such a great experience working with them and I feel honored to have the Rebel Market there. 

MVM: Do you have markets scheduled for 2023? 

OB: We definitely do! Our Valentine's Night Market is happening on Saturday, February 11 from 3:00-8:00 p.m.!! We are going to have live music, plenty of vendors selling handmade goods, oysters, a fortune teller, dinner service, and beer with some drink specials.  We are also planning some more markets for Mother's Day, Spring Equinox Market, and more. We are still working out all the details but the best way to find out about future markets is by following our Instagram account @rebelmarketmaine.

MVM: I love your marketing, did you design your logo for Strong Moon Metals and the Rebel Market? 

OB: Thanks so much! Yeah, I did design it- I went to art school and although I didn't study graphic design, I do practice it and have been able to teach myself a little. My wife has really been the one who has helped with learning more graphic design. We met at school in 2009 and that's also where we met Brienne [Allan] co-owner of Sacred Profane. We used our forces as a trio to make the logo, make the branding, and create social media posts and artist highlight photos for the Rebel Market. It’s a lot of work but it’s important to us to have everything look consistent and know that when you see it, you know it’s the Rebel Market. 

MVM: When you started Strong Moon Metals, you mentioned that was right around the time you went on disability. How has it been working?

OB: I had chronic illnesses for many, many years. I started getting really bad migraines and having heart problems and was passing out. I was going to the doctor's five times a month, was in the ER a lot and had to call out of work frequently. I ended up getting fired from my job and I didn’t know what to do with my life at that point. All of this started around 2012 and is ongoing. I ended up taking a metalsmithing class at Metalwerx in Waltham, MA. It was a three-day class and afterward, I wanted to bring it home and have a home studio.

It became my dream to have a metal smithing business, at the time, everyone in my life was questioning my dreams saying this idea wasn’t attainable, it sounded really hard, and it is an expensive trade. I felt like I had the whole world against me, except for my partner. She's the one that bought me the metalsmithing class in the first place as a gift. She also helped me set up my studio in our new home when we moved from Massachusetts to Maine. She has been nothing but a huge support throughout our whole relationship and I am so grateful for her. She truly believed in me and that’s the fire I needed to really stay motivated about my dreams and what I wanted for myself. I started a new life when I got here in Maine and was granted disability.

I have rare vascular conditions that make my organs not function well, especially my heart and kidneys. (Nutcracker Syndrome, May-Thurner Syndrome, POTS, and EDS ).  I had a bypass on my heart in 2018 which failed and that was devastating, and I was working under Strong Moon Metals during that time and luckily was already kind of established. A lot of my followers and customers were aware that I’m disabled and that I have been going through hardships and were so supportive of me through that. 

After the failed bypass, I had to have another extremely rare and dangerous surgery called an autotransplant. I ended up being in the hospital for eight days after the surgery, it was horrible. This was all over a year ago and I’m still healing from it and dealing with post-surgical issues and more issues that the surgeries did not address. There is no cure for my conditions- just ways to “manage”. I still have bad heart issues and am currently undergoing more procedures and testing for my heart. Honestly- most days I’m not able to work and if I am, I work for 3 hours to 5 hours at a time. I am grateful my studio is at home and I work out of an extra room in my house- so I can go from couch or bed to studio and back and forth.  I wouldn’t be able to have done everything I have with Strong Moon Metals if I wasn’t disabled. I wouldn’t have the energy to work full time and do this. I have to take my time and be careful and just try to take care of myself and pace myself. Over the years I've developed a schedule and been better at listening to my body about when it can work and when it can't and try not to get too upset about when I need to rest. Sometimes on good days, I forget I am so sick but then on other days, I can’t get out of bed. 

MVM: That is a lot, I’m glad you had the care you needed and are feeling better than you were and found metalsmithing. Can you talk about what it was about metalsmithing that piqued your interest? 

OB: I was on Instagram and saw a lot of metalsmiths popping up. I’d see people in their studios and wonder how they could do that. I got to thinking that maybe I could take a class somewhere and ended up finding the Metalwerx school. Once I took the class, I felt like I'm going to try as much as I can with everything I’ve got to make this a reality for me. After that, my wife graduated from her Master’s program and we ended up moving from Massachusetts to Maine. Our place had a separate room which I turned into my studio. I ended up getting fired from some shitty job here because I couldn’t work as I had awful migraines in the first month I was hired, and then I realized I needed to try and apply for disability because my conditions were too severe.  

MVM: It’s unfortunate that full-time gigs aren’t more accommodating of people with chronic illness or people with disabilities. 

OB: It’s terrible, I know I’m not the only person going through this. This fast-paced world isn't meant for people who are sick. If you have a talent and have a smidge of intuition about maybe I can make this work, follow that intuition because you can, it might take a long time, but it's going to be worth it. You can live a better life. It is still very hard to be sick in this world.

I do think a lot more artists and people, in general, are speaking up about their mental health or physical ailments that they’re dealing with. I think art is an outlet for people and I see more and more people trying to get their work out there, which is why I started the Rebel Market. I want to give people a platform to show their work. 

MVM: With Strong Moon Metals, do you draw out new designs prior to making them? What’s your process like? 

OB: It’s so funny, a lot of people do go about it by drawing their designs out. Personally, I’ve never been the type of artist, even when I was making fine art, I never sketched anything, I was always winging it and it’s going to be what it is, and that’s part of the process for me. I’m more of a doer and put things together and see if it works out, it’s a lot of trial and error. Metalsmithing really tests you- sometimes all of your hard work melts in front of your eyes. You just scrap it and move on. I’ve gained a lot of patience and forgiveness with myself through this craft. It’s helped me accept failure and helps me remember that I’m not going to give up on this, I’m going to try again and I am going to figure it out and when I finally do- I realize I can do anything. 

MVM: How long does it take you to make a piece of jewelry? 

OB: I tend to work in batches and usually make a collection of things. I usually make around 9-13 pieces a month. I’ve been working on a zodiac collection since last July, and I spend about 15 hours a week working on those pieces.

MVM: Do you have any favorite or memorable pieces that you’ve created? 

OB: Yeah, I do. I have a pair of earrings that I would say is the most intricate piece that I've ever made. I am part of a metals collective and made a piece for a show called Visionary 20/20. I wanted to make something with a third eye because I thought it was really interesting and I often feel like my third eye is always activated. I am very intuitive and wanted to shine a light on one's ability to listen to their inner voice.

I made mismatched earrings, which is something I love to do. I often make earrings with different stones. They have hand-engraved lines around the whole stone, I made special hinges for them and there was a lot of trial and error. My earrings were shown at Maine College of Art along with the other Metals Collective members' art for three months! I was so proud to have my jewelry work behind that glass. It was my first fine art show as a jewelry maker.  I felt so grateful to show work next to other amazing talented silversmiths with plenty of experience. 

MVM: Can you tell me more about your zodiac collection? 

OB: Yeah, I’ve been trying to tie the pieces to the birthstones. Usually, you see fine-cut gemstones, but I just spent two days online researching Capricorn gemstones, writing them all down, writing the start and end dates down, pairing the stones I want to use for each, and I did that for every month. So, when it's time for Aquarius, I'm going to be using stones that resonate with Aquarius, whether they're the birth gemstones, or they remind me of the sign, like beautiful aquamarine, or other blue-icy stones. The Scorpio collection had lots of skulls, dark stones, and obsidian. I also try to write a bit about the stones in the shop listings, so when someone goes to my shop, they can read about the metaphysical properties of the stone and metals and hopefully resonate with someone. What I’ve tried to do is to make it a full circle of inclusion to get people excited about their sign and learn more about themselves. 

MVM: What would you say is your favorite thing about your craft? 

OB: I really like how there are different steps in the creation process, there’s an evolution to the process. Some people, if you talk to different metalsmiths, they'll be like, Oh, I hate filing. I hate sanding, it makes such a mess. Or I hate soldering, I always melt things. I truly love how there's a new process almost every day that you're in the studio. It is exciting for me. I dread doing the same things every day.

MVM: Do you struggle with any aspects of being a small business owner? 

OB: I think that small business owners are wearing all hats, all the time. That's really the hardest thing for me, doing everything myself. I know not all small businesses are one person, but I think a lot of them start off that way. So everyone knows that you're trudging through mud just trying to get there. Then the idea of expansion and growth and what that looks like, and how you're able to get there, can be daunting. 

For me, if I did have help and was able to trust that person, I think- are they going to be able to do the same work as me..? Does what I am doing change so much because now someone else is making it..? I always fall back on this idea, and I feel that it would be kind of a disconnect in my work if I wasn't the one making it all. Thinking about the future and how I can expand, I get stuck sometimes. I would love to have a studio storefront one day. Where I could host classes and sell other local makers' work. That is my dream. 

Being a small business owner, the hardest thing is having too many things in my mind about what it is that I want to do and how I can get there. Doing the ordering, the making and designing, the emails and communicating, the marketing and social media posts, packaging orders, and going to the post office. If I could have help in the future that would be great…but I do think there is something special about doing everything yourself. I am a DIY gal, because you do it all and then see- oh I can do anything :) 

MVM: Right, and you’re there for the process from start to end and when someone gets your jewelry you know that’s all you!

OB: Definitely. It feels good to have that experience. I also think a lot about small biz owners being brick-and-mortar places, and how much work goes into that. There is such a difference between online shops and in-person shopping. As a person who is working from home, it’s all about what you put out on the internet. Brick-and-mortar, you can build up your space, have your shop and do immersive displays and the next day build off of that and so on. Then, a month later, you’re going to come in and your store is still going to look awesome and be ever-changing. Which is amazing and exciting but you have to be able to make your rent. At this moment I am lucky that my mortgage payment is inclusive of my studio payment. I am making the best out of what I have and I have always been pretty darn good at that. 

Working from home is nice because you can have a shit show in your studio space and no one is going to know that your studio is a mess, but here you are making this beautiful work- looking like you just rolled out of bed…Ha! The fact that I can work from home and no one sees my studio, that’s how I’m able to get comfortable in my space and make things happen. Get dirty and get to work. Any way you do biz- being a small business in 2022 is not easy. Anyone doing it is a badass. I give everyone a round of applause that is making it happen. I can’t imagine how hard it is for folks who have a brick-and-mortar and have to pay rent and be able to pay their employees, purchase all their material/goods and make a profit, etc.

MVM: Yeah, there are a lot of ups and downs as a small business owner, it feels volatile but rewarding at the same time. How do you feel about being in business for five years now? 

OB: It is hard! I definitely feel like every year is getting better, which is great. This year [2022] was different than most because I was healing from a major surgery and I wasn't able to work for a few months. This year was a lot of slowing down and doing what I could given my circumstances- just making it by. Once I was able to work again, I snapped back into it and was able to achieve all I thought about while healing. I had done a lot of sitting on the couch, dissociating, crying, feeling like I was a train off my tracks and I just wanted to go and solder. This year was a lot of growth in ways that I didn’t have before- both in my personal life and my business. I did a lot more shows than ever before-I did a few shows with the Fete Market, at Après in Portland. The ladies who run Fete Market are absolutely incredible and inspiring. I loved being able to show my jewelry in person and have people shop in real life. I was thinking about maybe hosting my own market for a while and it clicked at the end of the summer to just say fuck it and go for it. The Rebel Market was then born! 

MVM: 2022 sounds like you've had a lot of growth this year and more opportunities, which is awesome. From listening to you a lot of it sounds like it stems from people wanting to support your work and your vision, which is cool.

OB: I feel very lucky. Community is everything. I feel like Maine has such incredible people living and working here- I have met some truly wonderful souls. People who want to help you thrive and flourish. I wanted to do the same for others and give back by creating an opportunity for folks to share their work with the local community. Through making and selling my jewelry, I have many repeat customers and they’ve become some of my best friends. I mean really, it’s wild. Having all the relationships that I’ve gained from having my business and the connections that I’ve made both personally and professionally, it’s been such a gift in my life. I could never forget all the people who gave me opportunities and experiences when I was first starting out. 

MVM: When you first started your business, how did you financially support buying the product to make your jewelry? Do you have any advice for other people looking to make jewelry? 

OB: Yes, it's so hard. I think everyone is going to run into that thought and it is a real challenge. This is an expensive craft. Acquiring tools when you have a home studio feels like it takes a lifetime. I tell people that I work like a cavewoman because I have minimal amounts of tools; I do a lot of things by hand and I might do it the wrong way. A lot of my tools are second-hand and I bought them for a lot less than what they originally cost. Something that has helped me fund tools is that I have applied for artist’s grants. I was able to purchase tools with that money.

If I do a show, I will try to take 20% of my profits and put it aside for materials/tools and do that with each show. At the end of the year, hopefully, I’ll have enough money in that account to make those purchases.

I’d say try not to let not having the proper equipment be one of the reasons why you don’t start your business. Try to work with what you have, and do the best you can with what you have. There's always room to advance yourself in the future and that depends on your motivation.

MVM: I think that statement is true across crafts. Although finances are a really big barrier for a lot of people and to even think about starting a small business, especially if you're employed full-time or leaving a secure, steady paycheck, it's scary. I really appreciate you sharing. 

OB: I know, it is scary. I think that's why anyone who has a small business, kudos to them because they're doing it, they’re making it work. :) 

MVM: You get to make pretty things too, so that's cool. 

OB: Yeah, you have to make it work with what you can do. There's no rush. This is a slow and steady thing. For me, I'm going to be like a turtle climbing up a hill for my whole life. I'm not going to get instant success this very moment and that’s ok, I’ve accepted it. I am lucky enough to have found my passion in this lifetime and be able to practice what I love and enjoy to make a living. I think what you are doing with Maine Vibes Magazine is so inspiring and heartwarming. Thank you so much for bringing the community together in the way that you do- aligning Maine creatives with an audience of Mainers and beyond. There are so many talented makers in this state and I love that you are sharing them with the world. 

Thank you, Olivia, for taking the time to talk with Maine Vibes Magazine and sharing your story.

Web: https://www.strongmoonmetals.com

Instagram: @strongmoonmetals

Instagram: @rebelmarketmaine

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