Cynthia Cheng 

Art has been part of Littleoutrage designer, Nicole Little’s life since she was small.  She took art classes in university, and began to give herself projects alongside academics.  Littleoutrage jewellery consists of necklaces and these hand-made pieces are colourful, unique and very affordable.  Currently, her pieces are available at etsy.com.

On the name, Littleoutrage: On one level, Littleoutrage is just an adaptation of my surname, Little. You might see it as a reference to the type of work I do, artistic but wearable. On another level, the name has something to do with the way I feel and people I want to appeal to. In a world full of factories, of manufactured goods, I am a little outraged. I love the idea of sustaining culture through a thriving middle class. I want to demonstrate the relevance of an artistic life and I want to do it while supporting myself and a family. So these little works of mine are really a statement of my ideals, miniature cries of outrage channeled into something positive and permanent. 

On the types of products Littleoutrage makes: One of the wonders of ceramics is the nearly infinite possibility of form. While plates and bowls make up a portion of my work, my concentration is jewelry, which allows me room for innovation and imagination. I sculpt and glaze pendants which I then select beads for and turn into necklaces. I think of the beading as a frame for the pendant and match colour, texture and “level of outrage.” 

 On her workspace: Like many ceramic artists my studio is at home or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say, my home is in my studio. The workspace and kiln are in a very well ventilated room while my photography studio is part of my home office, with a quick link up to my computer for my online store. I have a show room that comes in handy for private shows. 

On the amount of time spent per piece: Each piece presents its own particular demands. There are pendants with simple colour schemes that make bead choice easy. From start to finish, not including the time they spend in the kiln, these pieces usually take about an hour and a half to make. A complex piece with a subtle texture or hard to match colour scheme can take much longer.   

On selling on Etsy and whether she has plans to sell at a brick-and-mortar store: I am not a photographer by trade and my work loses quite a lot in photographic translation. I find the internet very useful for advertising, but I make the best sales when people see my work in person. One of my mandates is to keep my prices reasonable. I love what I do and I want my work to remain accessible. Store markups are incredible but there are a few places where I would like to see my work sold. The Blue Banana in Kensington has rates affordable enough to keep my work at competitive prices and I will be doing a trial run there in February if all goes as planned. 

On whether there’s such a thing as a Littleoutrage Girl or Littleoutrage Guy:  My customer is typically a woman but that seems to be where the similarities end. Young women tend to buy my pieces in extremes – either very small subtle pendants or very large pendants with funky colour schemes. As a general rule, they also buy pieces which hang closer to the neck. At a home sale, if I sell twenty of fifty pieces, they will invariably be my twenty best and I frequently rethink my next collection with those twenty in mind.

On what makes Littleoutrage unique: I use free form building to make my pieces sculptural and I never use stamps for form or for glaze. While this translates to a lot more time spent on an individual piece, it also means that I appeal to very specific audiences. So, while it makes for a more fulfilling process, it also creates a few business limitations.  Nicole Little’s products are available at http://littleoutrage.etsy.com and for private sale.  To view her work in person, please contact her via email at littleoutrage (at) yahoo (dot) ca.