Berkshire-based jewelry designer Julia Britell has her hand-crafted work in some 50 galleries and other retail shops around the country. Her pieces are beautiful and full of earthy spirit, yet restrained, never over the top - like part Santa Fe, part small town New England.
Julia is a Bershire native who is saving to become a first-time homebuyer here in Berkshire County. She explains her take on participating in the Assets for Artists program in an article that appeared last year in the Berkshire Trade & Commerce monthly business newspaper, in which Julia and several other artists in the program were profiled (view a pdf version of the full article here).
“Buying a house can seem very complicated and overwhelming. It’s been very helpful to learn about financing and the other steps and responsibilities of home ownership. It’s helped make the process more manageable and allowed me to pursue it in a more focused way.”
Julia has rocketed past her matched savings goal and has attended financial training and homebuyer training, but is continuing to get herself fully ready for mortgage qualification, which is never easy for a self-employed person with variable income. She is working hard to pay down some credit card debt that was partly due to the launch and growth of her business.
Bringing the same determination to home ownership that she has brought to the development of an emerging jewelry design business, Julia is on course to be successful as a home buyer.
