fan favorites: jillian of jfrancesdesign

Up this week in my "fan favorites" queue is Jillian Frances of JFrancesDesign. Jillian and I met in a blogging class and when I read her "about me" section, I felt like I could have written it myself. We both love dogs, the color aqua, birch trees and coffee with milk (no sugar.) Jillian has been making jewelry for 11 years and sells it online at JFrancesDesign.

These are Jillian's favorite summer-themed picks:

(AW) First and foremost, what's your favorite piece from Art Wall?

(JF) If I have to choose one favorite Art Wall piece, it would be The Sheep by HeyZee. It's cute and innocent yet a little surreal. It makes me laugh every time I see it.

(AW) What is your most special summer memory?

(JF) My favorite summer memories are definitely of the street where I grew up. There were so many children in our neighborhood, and we were always playing outside together. The best times were when we gathered everyone together for our version of hide-n-go-seek, which we played at dusk, when the fireflies were out and the air was still warm. (Firefly image: mkendall)

(AW) What is your favorite luxury wish list item?

(JF) An Eames lounge chair. I became obsessed with them while learning about the Eames in a History of Modern Design class that I took at ASU several years ago. I thought their lines were so beautiful. Then I actually sat in one and realized they are unbelievable comfortable. When I finally order one, it will be the ivory leather with a rosewood back.

(AW) What do you like to do when you're not working?

(JF) Since the weather has been so beautiful lately, my favorite thing to do is be outside working on my photography skills. I've been really into playing with the manual settings on my camera and trying to make my shots more artsy than simply point and shoot. I only have a part time job right now, since I'm in school, and I also spend a lot of my free time working on my new items for my Etsy shop, which is always so fun--I get lost in it for hours.

(Jewelry images: Jillian Frances)

(AW) Saving the best (or should I say yummiest) for last: what's your favorite ice cream flavor?

(JF) Chocolate peanut butter, but only from the dairy down the street from my childhood home--Blue Ribbon Dairy in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. They have the best chocolate peanut butter that is so different and better from any other peanut butter type ice cream I've ever had. Plus, there is always tons of it in a gallon. I miss going there so much, especially in the summer. (Ice cream image: Scoop Adventures)