Neutral, earthy and simplistic are hallmark features of the jewelry line crafted by Hannah Dick, the Woodville-based owner of Always Afternoon. Since starting her artistic journey by creating necklaces and small abstract paintings, Dick has curated a full collection of jewelry composed of earrings, charm bracelets and necklaces in addition to her large-scale commissioned paintings. We spoke to Dick to discover the story behind Always Afternoon and her minimal yet elegant designs:

1. What inspired you to start Always Afternoon?

I would say my initial inspiration was the love I felt for what I found beautiful as a little girl. I was obsessed with flowers, butterflies and things that pulled a feminine and graceful energy for me. I’ve always felt grounded and peaceful when I am surrounded by that softness—whether in nature or human-made.

2. What is your professional background? How did you get your start?

I started by packing my bags and moving to New England with my high school best friend when I was 18. We moved to Portland, Maine, rented an apartment by the sea and went to a little coastal community college. There I found a community of people who changed my life forever. Artists, friends and just the ocean in general were what I needed to wake my Louisiana heart and become the artist I was meant to be.

3. What has influenced your jewelry and artwork?

Besides motherhood and marriage, colors in nature—they influence everything, from my palette to painting to my state of being. And with jewelry, I’m influenced by the rawness of brass. It’s such a timeless heavy metal, it’s a sustainable material, and it can always be brought back to life when it dulls down with nature. I find that concept beautiful.

4. What kind of materials do you favor for your designs?

I’m favoring vintage charms and deadstock brass material right now. I feel like I’m staying within my goal principles for sustainability and ethics with the brass jewelry I am currently creating. But for paintings, while I’m normally an acrylic-on-canvas or wood kind of girl, I am currently working toward some things on heavyweight paper.

5. What pieces of art are your favorite and why?

I really connect with a painting called “Clara’s Dream.” It represents this crossing of my work, grounding my expressionism with an actual idea. But it’s mostly influenced by the royalty of The Nutcracker and the story of Clara mixed with Louisiana elements of magnolias and white herons.

6. What is one piece of jewelry you cannot live without? 

My wedding ring. It’s the most beautiful sapphire stone and feels like the magic that is my and my husband’s love.

7. Do you have any pieces of jewelry or art that hold sentimental value to you?

I have a whole stack of these paintings that I did when I was pregnant with my first son. They are gauche on birch, where I painted along the lines of the wood pattern. They are among the only pieces of art that have actually stayed hanging up in my home forever.

8. What is one thing you would like people to know about Always Afternoon that they might not be aware of?

That I have an ultimate goal of using what I call subconscious expressionism to inspire people to paint without boundaries. I love the idea of uniting a strong community of women through art and production, bringing back industry to small towns that are dying and affecting the youth that live there, perpetuating unfortunate situations. My studio is in a town with a sub-par school system, and I would love to start inviting women into the studio to learn to make jewelry and art, and help them gain confidence in their own creations.

9. What does a typical day look like for you?

Typically, it includes homeschool in the morning and studio in the afternoon to make things and ship orders. It always ends with my little family gathered together.

10. What can we expect to see in the future of Always Afternoon?

Definitely more paintings and the start of selling prints of my work. I also hope to get my jewelry out to more local retailers this year, so that local people can have a better access to my products.