When I first started reading the fab Cupcakes & Mace blog, I never knew that 23yr old New Zealander, Kim (aka. Ms. Constantine) had an amazing, & somewhat hidden, talent! By day she’s an office worker, but by night she’s a kick-ass crafter, making funky necklaces & designing new gems for us all to buy! But most recently, Ms. C. has left the world of office-bitches & photocopying & is now self-employed, living off the sales of her creativity. I managed to catch up with her inbetween her busy schedule, to find out more about the girl behind Cupcakes & Mace & her craft!

Cupcake rings from Cupcakes & Mace

So, who is Ms. Constantine? Describe her in less than 50 words!
Fun and neurotic homebody that likes eating and drinking with friends. Hates being told what to do. Addicted to being entertained, and spends way too much time in front of screens. Blogger, accessory lover, sushi and sweets addict, lazy, cleaning phobic and internet nerd.

How might a typical day in the life of Ms. C. go?
I usually get up around 11 or 12 and head into the lounge to turn my computer on— I check my emails, Google Reader, and glance at my blog stats, relist any sold items on Etsy, respond to emails or blog comments, and then settle in for an hour or two of blog reading in my PJs. What happens next is whatever I feel like— it might be designing or crafting some more jewellery, writing and researching a blog post, getting distracted by more blogs.

I haven’t sorted any kind of timetable for my day yet. I kind of expected to finish the office job and still be able to get up and start working by nine, not read so many blogs and have ample time to hoop and learn German— but apparently I still like to sleep as late as I did when I was a teen so this plan hasn’t been working out so far! Fingers crossed that I’ll start operating like a normal person again soon.

I watch a couple of hours of TV each night during the week while working and eating dinner and bed time is anywhere between 12 and 4am.

What would you go back & tell your teen self?
Your body is never going to be better than it is right now. And, learn how to apply make up. I still don’t have that one sorted. I don’t regret anything I’ve done, if I changed anything I wouldn’t be having the experiences I am now. Everything I do is a lesson in life.

Besides making amazing jewellery, what makes you jump in the air happy?
Food! I love food a lot, I just can’t be bothered cooking most of the time. I would love to be a restaurant reviewer so I could eat and pass judgement for a living. Sounds like heaven. I also love singing loudly to music; my partner and everything he’s done for me; my mum (!) and the rest of my family; reading blogs; photographs and photography; writing; having an opinion; pink and black; inside jokes; New Zealand scenery, especially the Desert Road and the coastal section of the Wellington Centennial Highway; modern medicine; my powers of reason and logic.

Where did the name Cupcakes and Mace come from?
I had experimented with a few other blog names that were song lyrics and always got bored with them after a few weeks. I wanted to come up with something that reflected both the light and dark sides of my personality. I love cupcakes, I love eating them, and I love their imagery, so that was an easy choice for the light side. It was harder to find the right word for the dark side, as lots of things sound stupid. Mace came to me when I was thinking about Kill Bill and the character Gogo Yubari. I really love the way she swings her weapon (which isn’t technically a mace but is often referred to as one), it’s pretty badass, and it fit ok with cupcakes so I went with it. It also helps that mace is also tear gas, and a spice, everyone has their own way of picturing the name and that’s cool.

Helvetica for Typography nerds— my current fave!

When & why did you start jewellery-making? Is there anyone / anything that influences your designs?
I started making with the intention to sell in late 2008, but I’ve been making and altering jewellery since I was a child. I started making again recently after seeing lots of designs on Etsy.com and in shops that I wanted but couldn’t justify spending the money on. I was especially motivated by the trinket laden charm bracelets on Etsy that sell for upwards of $200. I really, really wanted one but with the exchange rate making the price closer to $400 in NZD there was no way I was getting one. I ordered some charms and got to work instead. The laser cut designs that make up most of my work now are possible thanks to my darling partner. He studied architecture at University and learnt how to use a laser cutter and the necessary programs there. When his dad bought a laser cutter for his own business everything fell into place.

My designs are influenced by popular culture, with the aim of being a bit fun and quirky and edgy. I decided I’d only sell designs I would like to wear myself but we still happily create specific pieces for others on request.

How & why did you make the leap from your office job to being self-employed?
I left my office job at the start of June because I was sick and tired of being treated like a child, and being forced to act against my better judgement (and well known industry standards) by a woman who has no idea what she’s talking about. It was a pretty caustic environment, and after working 8 hours a day in the office I really wanted to work on my blog and business but was getting tired and depressed. Thankfully the aforementioned darling partner stepped in and offered to cover my half of bills so I could quit the job and work on the business and blogging full time. I’m still very much in the start up phase, but it has been great so far!

I love your products! Which is your current fave? Why?
Ooo it’s hard to choose just one. My current fave is the running with scissors necklace. Lots of people have done scissor necklaces, but usually they just hang from a chain, closed. This one hangs open with the blades at your throat. It’s quite dark imagery.

I just made a couple of kilt pin brooches as well. I didn’t realise how much fun they’d be or how could they could look!

Running with scissors necklace, Ms. Constantine’s current fave

What 5 tracks would be essential to the Cupcakes & Mace soundtrack?
My top 5 changes constantly, but I’ve been listening to a lot of pop lately. Currently it would look like this:
Fly with the black swan – Sonata Arctica
Wake up call – Maroon 5
Fuck you – Lily Allen
Backmask – Mindless Self Indulgence
Popular – The Veronicas

Quick fire round: What’s your fav…
Shop: Supermarket
Book: A short history of nearly everything – Bill Bryson
Website: Everything Google, and Etsy
Season: Wellington Summer (probably the equivalent of autumn or spring everywhere else)
Band / Artist: Too hard to answer, so here’s a selection: Coheed and Cambria, Mindless Self Indulgence, Sonata Arctica, Maroon 5, The Veronicas, Fall Out Boy and Incubus
Food: Sushi
Cupcake flavour: Vanilla
City: I haven’t really travelled so I have to answer this in context of what I know. Wellington is the only place I’ve visited that I’d want to live!

What’s your life motto?
Right now it’s something like “it’ll never happen if you don’t try”.

Where do you hope Cupcakes and Mace will be in 5 years?
Ultimately I’d like to come into a lot of money, either by hard work or lotto, ensuring I never have to work again. But in reality I just hope that I can earn money doing what I love. Whether that’s making jewellery, writing about life and adventures, eating, or taking photographs. Cupcakes and Mace is a personal brand for me, I hope it becomes something I can stick on anything I do and people will recognise it.

What’s next in the world for Ms. Constantine and Cupcakes & Mace?
I don’t have anything figured out yet, everything is scary and exciting and new. I’d like to build the brand, get a load more sales, and grow the blog a lot. Immediate next steps will be sorting out my office and getting some structure into my working day. Hopefully I can get some regular wholesale accounts for the shop too. I add new designs to the shop often so continuing to come up with ideas is important, as well as listening to what’s popular in the world and anticipating what the people want so I can translate it into the shop and my blog. First step -  mind reading!

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So, if you haven’t already, you need to grab a cute piece of candy from the next big thing, Cupcakes & Mace! Maybe a cupcake necklace & ring, like Gala? Or perhaps if you’re a typo-nerd like me, some Helvetica? Treat yourself!

EDIT! +++ Win! Win! Win! You could grab your very own nameplate necklace from C&M, by entering their simple competition! Go!

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