We make Portland awesome: Lumafina

"We make Portland awesome" is a weekly series. I’m interested building our community of artists by helping us all find out more about each other.

This week: Hilary of Lumafina

Who are you?
I am Hilary Alexander: happy wife to Aaron Alexander, chief over lumafina, my own little business; I am an avid reader, cook and determined gardener.

What do you make?
My current fixation is quirky and cheerful jewelry designs, though I often daydream of being a carpenter, farmer or stay-at-home mama.

Besides making things, what do you do?
When I am not creating, I dream about the future and having a little family. My husband and I camp, run, play soccer and attend a small church in Portland that we are continuously blessed by. I love to cook all kinds of foods and host family and friends. I must admit I could talk about food all day, or read, whichever. Preferably both.

What inspires you?
Being out of doors, where things are quiet, is always inspiring. Journaling and sketching, laughter, adventures of any kind (even to the library) or perhaps seeing a perfectly shaped quartz crystal...makes me itch to design and create.

Where can your work be found?
lumafina is global! New Zealand, Australia, Canada...but the shops in Seattle and here in Portland are also dear to my heart: Noun, Tilde, Flora, Ink & Peat, Little Things, Redux, Icon Tattoos, are some of them...I am always expanding!

What do you love about Portland?
Portland is home to me. I feel, well, at home here - it's like putting on that familiar sweater that moves and breathes with you. I am excited about the handmade, diy lifestyle that seems to have taken hold of Portland, flabbergasted by the never-ending food carts to sample from and always gleeful over how many streets, neighborhoods and fun places there are to explore in our little city.