Terina Hill
Artist
About Terina Hill
Terina Nicole Hill
Camden City Arts & Culture Connector
Terina Nicole Nill is the Camden City Arts & Culture Connector. Working in conjunction with the Camden County Cultural and Heritage Commission and the Arts At Camden College as a host site, Terina will connect with Camden City artists, organizations, and businesses while receiving mentorship from SJCA and experts in the field.
Biography
Terina Nicole is the designer and founder of Jypsea Leathergoods. The New Jersey native creates beautiful, bold statement pieces for art & design lovers who enjoy expressing their individuality. She also co-founded DIY MakersCon, a conference for women DIYers in 2018. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and has earned her Masters of Art with a focus on Design & Craft from NJCU in Jersey City, NJ. Terina Nicole Hill and the products of Jypsea Leathergoods have been featured in: HGTV’s Flea Market Flip, Upscale Magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, Essence Magazine, Huffington Post, ABC News, The Today Show, BET’s Queen Boss, and many more.
Artist Statement
I’m inspired by nature primarily. It’s the amalgamation of organic textures, colors, and materials that excites me. Combining traditional artisan techniques such as weaving, braiding, and other time-honored handcrafting with recycled objects and giving them new life or new meaning while helping to reduce waste is what I am most passionate about. Old-world artisan leathercraft techniques found both in indigenous regions around the world and in my favorite high-end Italian fashion labels like Balenciaga and Bottega Venetta inspire me to apply artisan techniques into products that I design such as furniture, fashion accessories and jewelry and home goods. Because I never know what natural materials I will find or have donated to me, I must rely on my knowledge of leather-crafting, metalsmithing, wood-working, design and creativity to make every one-of-a-kind product. This process makes each item as unique and special as its end user. I believe that a well-lived life has beautiful objects in it that bring joy and define individual personal aesthetics. These things are handed down, connecting generations as heirlooms. It is my calling to make such objects. I have been teaching design classes and workshops and classes since 2008 at institutions such as the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Moore College of Art, Drexel University and Creative Arts High School. I am thrilled to not only empower the next generation of makers and designers but to offer guidance, resources, and mentorship for making creativity a valid career option for themselves.
