FEATURED ARTIST

This shop is a bit different in the theme of what it sells. Come and meet




Here is our interview with the artist, Sabina -

Briefly describe what you make?

I make spiritually inspired jewelry and crocheted items. That's the short answer. The long answer is that I make pieces that I feel bless the wearers because while I'm making them, I listen to worship music and let the music inspire me in the creation process.


What mediums do you enjoy working in most?

With the jewelry I started out just being interested in the beads, but as time has gone by, I've wanted to learn more and more, so now I'm into wire wrapping, etc. I keep saying I want a micro torch so I can get into some real metalsmithing, but my 18 year old daughter (who's an artist) keeps insisting that I'll burn the apartment building down ...

When I'm crocheting, I work with different kinds of yarn, but prefer either cottons or acrylics that are easy to care fibers. I'm the kind of person who thinks about how this will be used and how would I want to be able to care for it if it were mine. Then I choose the fibers that can we washed and dried easily.


How long have you been creating craft?

For as long as I can remember I've been doing some sort of crafting. When I was little I used to take leftover bits of fabric and fashion clothes for my Barbies. Then my mom taught me to crochet. Later a friend taught me how to knit. I had a sewing business for 10 years when my children were little. I also had a scrapbooking store for four years. So it seems like I've always been doing something crafty.


How did you get started?

Well, because I had some business sense it was pretty easy for me to take my crafting to the next level and make things to sell. I used to give things away and then people said that my things were so well made that I should sell them. When it came to the jewelry and crocheting, that was easy to make the decision to sell them.


Where does the name of your shop come from?

The actual name of my shop is Angelic Adornments and it came from the fact that I listen to worship music while creating -- so it was like having angels for muses. It just seemed like the logical choice.

What would you most want people to know about your work?

I so love what I do and I feel a little piece of who I am is in each piece. I want the works to bless the wearers and brighten their day. So when they buy one of my items, I hope they will feel blessed.


What words of advice do you have for other artists?

Don't quit your day job! Ha ha. Seriously though, if you love what you do, if it gives you joy and is almost therapeutic in nature, then keep doing it. I keep telling my daughter to please herself first in her art work and if other people love it that that is icing on the cake. Don't try to please man first because you will lose all sense of who you are in your art. And its your sense of self that needs to shine through to others from the things you make.

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The work here is lovely and you must see for yourself that you are going to find that her pieces just wonderful for anyone!

Come visit Sabina at her shop!

FEATURED ARTIST

When you first take a look at this shop you are going to say, hey, this does not look like craft- but if you look closely through the listings you will see some very fine, handmade jewelery mixed in with listings for antiques and vintage collectibles. Many of our shops are eclectic and I also have added some vintage to my listings from time to time - so with that said, come and meet



Here is our interview with the artist -

Briefly describe what you make?

I handcraft One Of A Kind items. I love Gemstones! I create many pieces with all kinds of lovely Gemstones. I make Gemstone Jewelry, Hair Accessories, and Wall Decor.
Other Items that I handcraft are Candles, and Catnip toys.
I also Collect and Sell vintage items as well.
My Vintage collection comes from my grandmothers personal collection of over 30 years.
She decided it was time to start down sizing her collection of Fenton, Depression glass and more. She gave these items to me to keep what I desired, and to help me in starting up my shop.

What mediums do you enjoy working in most?

I Craft all my items from home.
I work with my children sometimes when creating some of my items.
This way they can put their finishing touches to it, and be included in my work.
I also help them create their own Items to sell on my site in the Kidz Craft Section.
This gives them a sense of accomplishment when I tell them how well they have done, and that their craft they made is online for sale.

When I am working on something more complicated I like to wait till my children are off to bed, or at school when the house is quiet and I can put my full attention into a piece.

I currently work from the comforts of my living room.
I have the nice table with drawers and a large Armoire next to the recliner to keep all my supplies and finished products in. I am currently working on making a work area in my basement where I have more space to lay things out, and keep supplies in as I am starting to running out of space in my little area.

How long have you been creating craft?

I have been creating my own crafts since I was a little girl.
My mother has always been one of those Artsy, Crafty people.
When my sister and I were young we would do Ceramics, and make Porcelain dolls with our mom.
We also helped our mom with her on going projects.
We always wanted to do our part where our help was needed.
We even helped run her booths at the craft shows.

How did you get started?

I have always loved to do crafts, and create new things.
My Husbands sister is the one who introduced me to Etsy.
She convenience, and inspired me to join Etsy and open my own shop.
She told me I should share my work with others.
She still keeps my spirits high when she compliments one of my pieces.
I have been a member since June 2009 because of her, and have met a lot of wonderful people here.

I plan on continuing to follow in my mothers footsteps of creativity, by creating one of kind hand crafted items to share with others.

Where does the name of your shop come from?

My Sister in Law and I sat back and came up with all kinds of off the wall names.
Nothing fit.
She said Mandi Your first name and Middle name just sound so nice together. Plus the spelling is so different to.
It reminds you of a mom and pop vintage shop, or craft shop why not just use that.
I thought about it and said why not?
Its different, sounded like a good shop name and I couldnt seem to come up with anything better.
I think it fits to and that is what is most important.

What would you most want people to know about your work?

I create with love. Each Item is always made with love, as I love what I do.
I spend alot of time creating my items. I focus on detail, quality, and trying to create something you wont find somewhere else.
Sometimes I will remake a piece over several times before I am satisfied with it.

Sure you may find a lot of jewelry, hair accessories, wall hangings, candles, and cat toys anywhere, but my focus is to make sure my items are not like others.

I strive to make them different, and interesting, yet lovely.

I also strive on Customer Service as it is a must! I worked in Customer Service, and Management for over 15 yrs.

My goal is to make Every customer Happy, and Satisfied with their purchase, communication and delivery.
I have been selling Antiques, and Vintage plus many other items for years on Ebay with 100% positive feedback from every customer and made it to a power seller.

What words of advice do you have for other artists?

Just hang in there and keep doing what you enjoy.
I know its hard, and sometimes it can get frustrating in the beginning when you are trying to get your business to grow. But if you love doing what you do just stick with it.
Advertise Locally, Word of mouth and Online and they will come.
I am still trying to get my face and products out there myself.
But I wont give up because I enjoy what I do.

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Now come and take a look at this shop!

Another Sales Venue Site

I sell my craft, or perhaps I should say, OFFER my craft on several different sites. So far there have only been three that have been four that have brought any sales, with Etsy remaining the number one site for consistency of making sales. One of the other sites has brought three sales in almost two years, another has brought four in more than a year, and the other has brought two sales - but no payment as there is a minimum that must be reached on that particular site before you are paid. So when I focus my attention on my shops it is the Etsy shop that gets most of my time.

I recently came across anther site called Zibbet. I came upon this through a tweet on Twitter and went to look. What interested me most about this site is that there is an option to sell on the site completely for free. The free account includes the listing of up to 25 items and provides more than enough features to set up a shop. When I looked at the site, the first thing I did was look at several shops to see if anyone is making sales. Unlike Etsy, this site has no visible sales statistics for its shops. Not good, really. When I do not see visible sales stats I figure that is because the site does not want you to see that no one is making sales - which is what I have discovered through direct experience on some of the sites that I offer work for sale. I looked around. Checked the terms of agreement. Everything seems to be legitimate and I registered for a free sales account and opened a shop.

I now have a shop on Zibbet - Q Branch Ltd. (what a surprise! - same as all my other shops) I am starting with just a few items - my big craft sellers on Etsy and we shall see how it goes. Since it is not costing me anything but time there really is nothing to lose.

If you are interested in a shop on Zibbet follow this link and see what there is. You can get the free site or for less than $10 a month you can get a premium site with unlimited listings and a number of other features. Or get yourself a free one to start and see how it goes. If sales start coming in you can always move up to the premium account later. As time goes along I will post here if any sales are made.

FEATURED ARTIST

Things for the little ones - so cute. Come and let me introduce you to this Canadian shop and artist -


Here is our interview with the artist, Savannah

Briefly describe what you make?

My products are geared to baby and mom accessories. My favourite items to make are sock monkeys, and I've also introduced sock cows to the mix. I make them using regular polyester socks and soft fuzzy socks (so cuddly!). I also make smaller items for babies such as bibs, personalized soother straps (my favourite is the one with the slogan "Sucker...", though I can't take credit for the idea; it was my husband's), baby hair clips and headbands, and baby legwarmers, to name a few. I have stuff for Mom too, because all Moms deserve a treat. I offer business card holders, headbands, and some crafting supplies, with new items to come. (I just made myself a bag using a pair of Old Navy pants and will be soon making these for my shop as well!)

What mediums do you enjoy working in most?

I enjoy working with fabric the most. I love all the patterns and colours and textures you can work with all in the same project. You can make the same thing with 2 different fabrics and the style and attitude of the item becomes totally new and unique! I love starting out with a flat piece of fabric and ended up with a cute or stylish or sassy item that has personality. I love watching it take shape with each seam. I also love making things out of something that was totally different, like the sock animals. One minute, they're a pair of socks that albeit cute, will be worn and scuffed on the floor and become "nothing special." A few seams later, it's a cute, soft, cuddly friend for a young child and will likely be named, go on car rides, have tea parties, or explore the jungle.

How long have you been creating craft?

I always like doing arts and crafts growing up, but I've only been sewing for a couple of years. I started making baby slings when my son (now 2) was a couple of months old when my commercial baby carrier was hurting my back and shoulders. After my daughter was born (she's 10 months now), I started making the sock monkeys and other items, and that's when I opened my Etsy shop. I love thinking of new things to make, or finding patterns of something I haven't tried before. I can be pretty stubborn about what I make. A new pattern might be difficult, and I might be calling my sewing machine names the entire time, but I need to conquer what I start or I'll feel defeated. Usually, it turns out well in the end (though not always the first...or second..attempt), though sometimes it doesn't turn out as well as I'd hoped and I may not make it again. But at least I tried, right?

How did you get started?

I actually started out on a different e-store site, but after a full year and no sales, I gave that up and tried out Etsy. I was a bit hesitant because I was afraid of losing money with the fees, but after making a few sales, even small ones, I realized that Etsy had so much to offer and the fees didn't touch a lot of my profit. I've enjoyed chat rooms since college, so I immediately foudn the chat rooms and made friends, as well as sales, in the rooms. I've gotten SO many tips and pieces of advice though the other Etsy chatters; they've really helped my develop my shop and are continuing to be a great resource as well as friends. I started reading Storque articles, and going to the virtual labs, and am slowly learning how to make my shop work better.

Where does the name of your shop come from?

The name of my shop actually came from when I was making only baby slings, when I first started (hence the baby bundle part). I added in the 'Boutique" just to make it sound more complete, and to open up the possibility of having other items in my shop. I'm glad I did, since now I only sell a couple of slings a year.

What would you most want people to know about your work?

Wow, this question I had to think about the most. I want people to know that my work is made with love. Yes, it's cliche, but it's true. As I said before, I love picturing kids playing pretend with my sock animals. I love imagining babies wearing the bibs or hair clips I made. I like to imagine the comments people might get about my products. I also want people to know that my work is safe, of course. It's all made in a pet-free and smoke-free environment, and I only make things that I'd feel safe giving to my own kids. Most of my what I make in my shop, I've made for my own children too. These are difficult times, financially. I know how much work goes into earning dollars, and I want my customers to know that I value their money for what it means to them when I craft.

What words of advice do you have for other artists?

My first words of advice for other artists and crafters are to believe in yourself and your work! You put your heart into what you make; don't sell yourself short! Too often I see people under pricing their work in a desperate attempt to make sales, but it comes across as just that: desperate. Pay yourself fairly! Think of what goes into your products, and think about what you would pay for such an item from someone else. If you price too low, people might think your stuff is cheaply made.

When it comes to your shop, use your tags! All 14 of them. And use relevant tags. Words that you would put in a search engine looking for the same or similar items. Go to the virtual labs and forums, you'll find great advice there and can have your shop critiqued.

Most of all, craft because you love it. If you let it become a chore, it'll reflect in your work. If it's starting to get too stressful, I think it's better to take a short vacation from your shop, then to continue something you're not enjoying anymore and letting the negativity build. This is something you love! Don't let "business" steal that from you!

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Great interview! It is always a pleasure for an artist to share so much. You must come to Savannah's Etsy shop to see these cute things!

FEATURED ARTIST

Fine silver and gemstone jewelery always sets itself apart - come and meet our featured jeweler -



Here is our interview with the artist -

Briefly describe what you make?

I create unique pieces of jewelry using sterling silver and 14 karat gold wire and gemstones. As of now, I use various wire wrapping techniques to achieve the look and composition of my designs and wire sculpting and hammering techniques as well.

What mediums do you enjoy working in most?

Primarily, I use sterling silver to keep the cost as affordable as possible though some stones and designs just need the look of gold to fully bring them to life. I just love shaping and manipulating metal. What I may love more is the stones themselves! Since I was a kid, and like a lot of kids, I loved picking up cool-looking rocks and had a rock collection. My grandfather is a geologist and a lapidary and he certainly played a role in fostering my love of rocks. This interest has stayed in me and every time I see rough (or uncut) specimen or a cut and polished gem, I get a little giddy inside.

How long have you been creating jewelry?

I began seriously wire wrapping about June-July of 2009. I had played around making a piece of jewelry here and there for a long time but the art of wire wrapping beyond making loop closures was something new to me. You can really do a lot with wire, without soldering. Though I must say, in the future (hopefully near rather than far) I want to expand my skill set and start soldering, sawing, eventually grow into a real metal-smith.

How did you get started?

As I said earlier, I had made jewelry before, just for fun, probably since I was about 11 years old. I've always enjoyed crafting, whether it be jewelry, sewing/crocheting, drawing, building, I've dabbled in a lot of things and I enjoy it all. The idea to actually make jewelry as a serious endeavor (e.g. more than a hobby) was really one of those crazy things you wake up to one morning and you can't get it out of your head. I didn't begin right away but there it was: sooner or later I was going to make jewelry to sell. I started out making some beaded watch bands because they were simple and cute but then I came across some jewelry tutorials for wire wrapping and the rest is history.

Where does the name of your shop come from?

I tell you, one of the hardest things in forming a business is coming up with a name for it, at least that's what was hardest for me. I was brainstorming and I asked my husband offhandedly (for probably the fifth time over the course of two weeks) what I should call my shop. He suggested, without much thought to it, "Honoria." We had been watching "Jeeves and Wooster" episodes and there's a character named Honoria Glossop in one we'd seen recently. He thought the name sounded nice. I mulled over it and shortened the name to Noria and the name "Noria Jewelry" just had a ring to it that I liked.

What would you most want people to know about your work?

I do it all myself; the designs, the forms, the wrapping, even the findings (except for some commercially-produced chains), I make them myself. There are other fabulous wire artists out there and while I strive to one day be counted among them, I also strive to keep my aesthetic unique to my own style and artistic expression.

What words of advice do you have for other artists?

Keep it enjoyable. Learn new techniques, seek fresh inspirations. Don't be afraid of criticism, in fact, welcome it and then learn from it.

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Very nice - very elegant! Come see this shop - and then come back and leave a comment!

The Lucet

Many years ago on a vacation we were visiting The Jamestowne Settlement, a recreation of the Jamestown Fort on the James River in Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America. The site then was not as well developed as it is now, having just past the 4ooth Anniversary of the founding of the settlement, but it had a small museum, an Indian village, reconstructions of the ships that brought the settlers to found the colony, and a recreated fort. On the schedule that day of demonstrations, it said "cord making". I interpreted this to mean rope and was excited to see how this is done. At the specified time we headed down to the area inside the fort and I looked for the large rope making apparatus that I expected to find. Nothing like that was there. Instead, sitting on the side of a path on a small bench was a woman with a basket in her lap and a small tool in her hand. I asked where the cord making demonstration would be and she smiled and said, "right here".

What she had in her hand was a lucet. She explained that is an ancient tool used for centuries to make strong, decorative cord that would be used to embellish clothing or tie things together like lace. She proceeded to move her fingers and twirl the tool around in her and as she worked - hardly looking down, a length of cord grew from the bottom of this lucet. I watched amazed. I had never seen anything like that before, and as a student of history I was fascinated. In my head I could see so many possibilities with this and this was before I had started reenacting history.

When we got home I had to find out more. At the time there was no Internet and therefore no Google to search. I went to the library and started going through historic needlework books. I looked through many until I found one that talked about the lucet or lucette. I learned more history but did not find what I wanted - a detailed photograph of an historic artifact. References led me to other sources and I found what I was looking for.

I took the photo and the described dimensions - plus knowing what the lucet that the woman had demonstrated looked like and proceeded to recreate one that was historically accurate - though there are many historic designs of lucets. My first lucet was carved from walnut. I still have and use that lucet.

Now that I had the lucet and some basic instructions on how to work it from one of the books, I got some string and tried it. It did not take long to produce cord just as the woman at Jamestown had done. Great! But what to do with that cord? I bought some floss in various colors - variegated color floss should be great as the cord would then vary in color shades. I also found a variety of metallic cords from which I could make larger, lucet cords. I started making these cords on the lucet and they looked great. The idea came to me to make earrings from the loops of cord. Setting the ends of short lengths into finding caps and then attaching ear wires, I had earrings that looked very different and attractive. I took them to work with me and they sold right away to co-workers. I took them to craft shows and they sold there too.

As I was making cord I decided to make a second lucet out of cherrywood. That one came out great too! And I still have and use that lucet. Years past and I became involved with 18th Century Living History - and saw the lucet as a way to interact with the public and talk about history. I also decided to make a few lucets and see if they would sell. While I did not figure on interest from the general public, I focused on those with an interest in history and approached one of the larger suppliers of period items to reenactors - from all periods in history. They liked the lucets very much, placed an order, and put my lucet in their catalog - as well their as bringing it to sell at living history events. They continue to order them form me and resupply their inventory.

Some time later I decided to add the lucets to my Etsy shop to see if they would sell there to the crafting and general public. I had the first lucets for sale on Etsy. They started selling and I added lucets in different American hardwoods - each designed and hand-carved as my original, historically accurate reproduction.

The lucet is easy to use and when I started offering them for sale I wrote a small booklet with photos to show exactly how to use them. Most of my lucets come with this booklet and those that do include illustrated instructions with all of the necessary steps. Anyone can learn to use the lucet within ten or fifteen minutes of following the diagrams and the text and once you know how to do it you will always be able to do it.

The cord may be used to make jewelry - like the earrings that I made or bracelets or necklaces. Multiple cords make great belts. The cord is strong and can be used to make laces for shoes or for clothing. It is truly unique.

In the past year I decided to add another style lucet to my offerings. Some lucet have handles and while I prefer the smaller lucet that just fits in the hand, some do prefer a lucet with a handle to hold and turn while working. The handle lucet that I designed is historically correct in design but is not a reproduction of an ancient lucet. It is still appropriate for living history events. It works exactly the same way, though it is held in the hand by the handle. I make this lucet of thicker wood with a larger eye to allow much larger cords to work with this lucet - while still being perfect for the thinnest fiber. I make most of my handle lucets from poplar wood. It has a remarkable grain pattern and coloring that will vary uniquely from piece to piece.

All of my lucets are for sale and may be found here at my Etsy Shop - Q Branch Ltd. It is definitely unique. No two lucets of mine are ever exactly the same - the wood alone, plus the hand-carving makes each one of a kind. Many have never seen a lucet before. The cord that one can make has a million creative possibilities. Come over to the shop and see what great ones are there now.