We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

At the age of only 24, jewelry designer Ashley Nizolek is already making waves with her hand crafted, modern pieces. Each design is created from high quality materials such as semi-precious gemstones, brass, sterling silver and 14K gold and is perfect for dressing up both casual and elegant ensembles.

Tell us a little about yourself and your work. My name is Ashley, I just turned 24 and I am the owner/designer of A.N. Original Jewelry. I grew up in upstate New York in the city of Saratoga Springs. I have always gravitated towards art and design but never considered myself to be "artsy". As I got older this translated into a love of fashion design. I attended college at The Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC for Jewelry Design and my life has been saturated with jewelry ever since! My jewelry is all about being effortless and elegant at the same time, it is clean lines and wear ability meets boho chic with an edge.

All my work is done with my own two hands, each piece is hand crafted with love using high quality materials and great attention to design aesthetic. My company is pretty small, just me and my miniature dachshund, "Mel"! I like to have total creative control over all aspects of my business, not because I am a control freak but because I feel I know best where I want to go with my business and what I want A.N. Original Jewelry to be in the future, so I am ready to do what it takes to get myself there. This company is my baby and I want nothing more then to see it succeed and be able to make a living making jewelry and doing what I love! Myself, and my company, are constantly evolving and growing, my goal is to continue to do so until the very end!

How did you get started as a designer? I got started by deciding to bite the bullet and take a leap of faith by throwing all my time, energy, and money into starting my own business. I started up my jewelry line, A.N. Original Jewelry, while still in school at F.I.T., but at that time it was really just a side gig where I could work out new design ideas and make a little money. After college I really got serious about building my business and making a name for myself and took the steps to work on my jewelry full-time. I couldn't imagine myself working in an office and contributing to someone else's vision, I wanted to show the world my point of view. Once I committed myself to the idea of starting my own business I just completely immersed myself in it. Everyday is important, everyday I'm working to improve, build and globalize my brand.

What inspires your work? I'm really inspired by nature and organic lines. I love fashion so I always pull from there as well. I'm really inspired by a myriad of things. Fine art, music, textiles...but lately I've been overwhelmingly inspired by actual people, and often not people that I know. I can see a woman walking around all dressed up (or dressed down) and think, "ok where is this woman going, what is she like, what music does she listen to..." I start to basically imagine what her life might be like and am able to mentally place a piece of jewelry on her. I usually can imagine the piece of jewelry on a person before I've even touched the metal. So when I get stumped for new designs, I love to go hang out and people watch.

Who are your favorite designers? I really love Marc Jacobs and Sass & Bide. They both just represent something so effortlessly cool. That is usually what attracts me to a designer, a sense of effortlessness. I don't like things that are over designed; it just doesn't work for me. There's something to be said for simplicity. I also LOVE Botkier handbags!

What are your top fashion & beauty must-haves? Anything and everything in vibrant colors. A bold turquoise necklace. A great pair of sunglasses, London Sole ballet flats, oversized bags (I need one I can fit a small child in!). Benefit "Bad Gal Lash" Mascara in Black, MAC Eye Kohls in "Powersurge" and "Smolder", Benefit "Eye Bright", Marc Jacobs "Daisy" perfume and a great pair of hoops!

Any advice you would give to aspiring designers? My advice would be to just stick your neck out there and go for it! You never know what could come of it and it never hurts to try. If you have a passion for what you do then you have your first ingredient for success already! One thing I will say though is, be prepared to adjust all aspects of your life! If you want your business to grow and be successful you need to be prepared to eat, sleep and breathe your craft. Never stop learning and never stop trying to improve. When your starting up your own label/company, you need to be willing to sacrifice your normal daily luxuries, weekends and vacations for hours in the studio, in the office, in meetings, etc. Your only going to get out what you put in and being your own boss is harder than it may seem. When you work for yourself, you really never truly have a day off. This is your livelihood; don't accept anything but the best from yourself.

Where can people find your work? People can find my work on my official website www.anoriginaljewelry.com, on Trunkt at www.trunkt.org/anoriginaljewelry and on Etsy at www.anoriginaljewelry.etsy.com.

Anything else? I love talking with customers! So feel free to email me any questions and/or comments you may have about my jewelry! Send to ashley@anoriginaljewelry.com. I'm also currently doing a giveaway of one of my Surrounded Scrolls necklaces.