Thursday 27 August 2009
New Blog Challenge New Rules
Sorry for the silence . . .
Monday 10 August 2009
And the Winner is . . .
Monday 3 August 2009
'Hidden' Competition Entries and time to vote!
Thursday 30 July 2009
Show and Tell and Established Artist
1. How long have you been an Etsy seller?
I have been selling on Etsy a little over a year now.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20240895
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20850315
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17714548
My children also love to give me ideas. One daughter was studying Earth Day at school so I created a "recycle" pendant and an earth pendant. Another daughter came up to me after her piano lesson and suggested a music notes pendant
3. How much time do you put into your shop on average weekly?
I probably work 25 hours a week on my business. In addition to creating I spend time updating my listings, posting in the forums, adding pictures to flickr and posting in my blog. I think I spend just as much time trying to help people find my shop as I do creating.
4. What's your favorite item you're selling at the moment?
My favorite item is my organic twigs bowl. I love the way the shadows have an amber color and change shapes with the light.
I love Lady Bumble Bee. She makes amigurumi stuffed animals that are so sweet and have such personality. My two daughters love her stuffed animals and love getting them for special occasions.
The second shop I love is Enfin La Voila. This shop is from Belgium and makes personalized notecards with vintage inspired designs. I love these notecards because they are very unique and I know that no one else in town will have the same notecards.
The third shop I love is Athena Creates. She makes these wonderful unpaper towels. I keep them in my kitchen and my kids use them instead of paper towels. Throw them in the wash and they're ready to use again. It cuts down on waste and germs.
6. Pets? Family?
I have been happily married for 17 years and have three elementary age children - a boy and two girls. I also have a black Labradoodle puppy, Bear, that has made life around our house very exciting. Bear never runs out of energy and is constantly dropping a ball in my lap to play catch with.
7. Tell us about a typical day in your life.
During the school year I work during the morning then spend all afternoon driving my kids around to dance, tae kwon do, golf and piano. Now that it's summertime, I seem to be spending a lot more time taking the kids to the beach and pool and less time in my studio working.
8. What other interests do you have?
I love reading, painting and walking the puppy. I find I mostly read children's books now since I screen them before I let my kids read them. There's a lot more choices in books than when I was their age. I also love painting acrylic landscapes. I spend every July in the North Carolina mountains and paint while I am there.
9. Anything else?
I love meeting other creative people and have met many great sellers on Etsy.
http://firstlightglass.etsy.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/34735816@N06/
Monday 27 July 2009
Worstead Festival, life and Undiscovered Artist WireArtInk
How long have you been an etsy seller?
I have been and etsy seller since May 2009.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Much of my inspiration comes from organic form and movement. I am most inspired by trees!! They have several types of textures, move with the wind and grow into expressive shapes.
How much time do you put into your shop on average weekly?
I average about 15 hours of work a week into my shop.
Currently my favorite item in my shop is The Mermaid. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26489711 It is the piece that strongly represents what I strive for in my work. It is a mixed media piece with wire, beads. yarn, rope, glass enamel paint and beads. The wire swirling throughout it gives it movement while the yarn, rope and glass texture lends to its raw energy. It is a good balance of movement and rawness.
Tell us about three other etsy shops you love and why.
Three of my favorite shops are: The Midnight Orange. I love this shop because the seller really shares herself with the buyers with stories about herself and her work. When I look at her shop I feel really drawn in. It becomes a personal experience. Being a new seller it has really shown me the power of making things personal.
My Second favorite seller is SAsessories. I plain love this artists work. I feel as if we are two dogs spotting each other from a distance. I really identify with her style and if I were more jewelry focused I would strive to make similar stuff. What I love most about her work is how organic and wild it looks. I always like to imagine myself wearing one her necklaces at Burningman.
My third favorite shop is Twisted Silver Jewelry. When I first look at this shop was totally amazed with that this artist was doing with jewelry design. It like wire sculpture for your neck. I thought what a great way to fuse jewelry design with fine art.
Pets? Family? Tell us about them.
I have two cats, Willamina and Jordan. Both cats are tabby tan with gray strips. They have different color eyes. Willa has blue, shes part Simiese and Jordan has yellow eyes, shes all tabby. Both cats love my work!! They like to chase the wire like its a ball of yarn.
Tell us about a typical day in your life?
A typical day for me is I wake up at 6:30 and get ready for my day job. Currently I teach wire sculpture and ceramics to adults with disabilities. I start work at 8am and begin my studio at 9:30. We take a 15min break at 10:30 and a 45min lunch at 11:45. Studio ends at 2pm, my students go home and I work on paperwork and or studio ideas until 4pm. I get home around 4:30, eat dinner and relax until 6pm. Then I start work on my etsy shop or work on project for the shop until bed time at 10:30. Right now I'm really trying to find a balance between making the art work and promoting it .
What other interests do you have?
When I have the time my others interests are thrift store shopping with my friends. Its always a real treat when I find an article of clothing that is practically new or a really fabulous book!! I'm a huge book collector!! I just can't seem to catch up with reading them all. Currently I'm working on Bram Stoker's Dracula.
I also love to hang out at my favorite coffee shop. There I work on my wire sculpture, read, listen to music or chit chat with friends. I've made some great friends and some good connections there!
Is there anything you think we should know?
Thank you for promoting my shop! I am so enjoying my etsy experiences here and the friends I am starting to make. Everyone is just so nice and up front with positive advice. Also I am really excited over the idea of promoting myself through the internet verses the gallery system.
Tuesday 21 July 2009
update and Undiscovered Artist ScallyRags
As you can see she makes excellent funky clothing and other fabric dohickies. She's only had one sale since she opened in December so go check her out!
How long have you been an etsy seller?
I opened my etsy account in December, but I didn’t start posting to March.
Where do you get your inspiration?
Everywhere, music, bright colours, my friend their a big part of my inspiration
How much time do you put into your shop on average weekly?
About 15-20 hours
What's your favorite item you're selling at the moment?
Some of my favourite items are my bow pins, The sailor jerry love is one
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26613671
Tell us about three other etsy shops you love and why.
Amber84: Is a graphic designer, that made my logo, I just love her work.
MissCAlexandria: Is a jewelry designer, I love craftsmanship for her earrings
alenecouture: Is my sister, she makes resin belt buckles, and jewelry
Pets? Family? Tell us about them.
Mom, dad, an older sister, and dog (Pinecone) that we got from the spca about a year ago.
Tell us about a typical day in your life?
Typical day get up, eat, slower, take Pinecone out for a walk. Then work on designing, or sewing, then play around on etsy (post some items, post in the forums, or chat rooms)
On a lucky day maybe I get to do a photo shoot.
What other interests do you have?
Photography, I do my own photo shoots
Is there anything you think we should know?
I love make things, I went to school for fashion art, I might be going to school in September for photography. I love to learn new thing