Featured Etsy Seller - Julie Marie Shop

Tell us a bit about yourself - (where do you live, what's your name etc..)

I am Julie Marie Burns and I currently live in Asheville, NC. I say currently because I am originally from Madison, WI. My husband, Dave and two kids Lily age 5 and Smith age 3 recently moved to Asheville. We aren’t quite sure if there is where we are going to stay, but for now it works ok. I also recently started my own online business Julie Marie Shop on etsy.

What do you make?

I make purses and bags, scarves, and pillows. I also make curtains, girls skirts and dresses, stuffed animals, and pretty much any crafty little thing. I love working with felt at christmas time to make stockings and ornaments. I am also into scrapbooking and papercrafts, but my real passion is sewing.

Why do you use that medium?

I love fabric. I love everything about it. The feel, how it drapes, and the lovely patterns. It truly is an obsession.

When/ how did you start crafting?

I have always been a crafty person. It all began with drawing and painting all through school, then once I graduated from college I started working at a fabric store and the passion began. I got my first sewing machine and the creativity started flowing. Then I had kids and I started sewing even more and got more heavily into papercrafts.

When did you start selling your stuff - where do you sell?

I started selling my stuff about three years ago at a local art gallery in Wausau, WI. I started selling baby shoes and bibs. Then once I moved to madison I started to learn about etsy, but I didn't actually start selling on etsy until August of this year (2011)

Do you also have a day job, or is this your main job?

My day job is a stay at home mom and selling on etsy. 

 

What do you love about your medium, what do you hate?

I love figuring out new layouts for my purses and experimenting with the drape and stretch of different fabrics, which is also one of the hardest parts of working with fabric. It is kind of a pain working with silky and stretchy material and also trying to get everything perfectly symetrical. I am a bit of a perfectionist so sometimes it can drive me mad when everything is not exactly straight.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

My biggest inspiration is other designers and crafters. Especially Amy Butler. She is a true inspiration and talent. But I also love all the crafters on etsy. They each inspire me in their own unique way.

What is your favourite music to craft to?

Jack Johnson, O.A.R, Death Cab for Cutie, and Feist

What is your favourite piece of your own?

The denim ruffle purse or asian inspired purse. Both allowed me to showcase the beauty of their fabrics. I hope others feel the same.

Where do you do your crafting?

My bedroom. I get a corner of the room for all my fabric, sewing machine, and cutting table/ironing board. This is not my ideal craft room, but I have to work with what I have. Luckily my husband is completely understanding and doesn’t mind the occassional mess.

You have a lovely store Julie - good luck with it all!

Featured etsy seller & a Giveaway!! - Jack and Ella Paper

Another brilliant giveaway! 

When we moved house recently I was looking around for some change of address cards and stumbled upon this fab shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/jackandellapaper I love the clean, fun, designs, and the fact that they're quite green, using recycled card stock.

I thought I should spread the word about this fab crafter, and Jessica very kindly agreed to be featured on the blog, and offered a prize for a giveaway too! Personalised notecards...

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59607706/your-very-own-personalized-notecards

Check the info at the bottom of this post for how to enter the giveaway...


But first of all, read about this inspiring etsy seller.....over to you Jessica...

My name is Jessica Bates and I live with my husband and two children (Jack & Ella!) in Wisconsin, just outside of the capitol city of Madison. We share our home with many animals including 3 dogs, a parrot and a bearded dragon. Needless to say there is not a lot of down time in our home.

I have long been the 'go to' person (among family and friends) for their stationery needs. I would often make wedding and shower invitations and I truly enjoy designing my holiday cards each year. After only recently discovering Etsy.com, I knew it would be a great tool for me to sell my paper goods.


I began my Etsy shop last spring, http://www.etsy.com/shop/jackandellapaper

I also sell to a couple of brick and mortar shops as well. The goods typically have a clean and organized look about them, are eco-friendly (recycled card stock), with a hint of fun...similar to how we all strive to live our lives. My biggest sellers are my change- of-address postcards. I also do a lot of custom invitations.

As far as other work, I work (very) part-time at an animal hospital and in a kitchen specialty store (mostly to feed my other hobbies, pets & cooking). My primary job is managing my children's activity and social schedules, as I'm sure most mothers can relate! 

I hope to spend more quality time expanding items in my Etsy shop in the near future. My mind is overflowing with ideas to add to my shop...I just need to find the time to actually make them! I recently purchased a machine to make custom rubber stamps so I will soon be adding return address stamps to my shop.

Working from home is such as sweet gig. I am available to my school-age children most of the time and enjoy the luxury of creating my own schedule. I am able to watch my dogs out my studio window, living the good dog life lounging in the sun in the backyard, listening to Pandora while creating fun paper goods.

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Would you like to win a set of personalised notecards all for yourself (or as a pretty lovely Christmas gift for someone else...?) 

Here's how to enter:
1) LEAVE A COMMENT - visit http://www.etsy.com/shop/jackandellapaper and come back and comment here on the blog about which item you like best. 

You don't have to do anything else to enter... but if you'd like some extra chances you could...

2) TWITTER - for a second entry you can follow @redbirdjewels on twitter and tweet "Another fab giveaway on the @redbirdjewels blog http://www.redbirdjewellery.blogspot.com/"
3) BLOG - for a third entry blog about this giveaway (and let me know here!)
4) HEART - for a fourth entry heart the jackandella shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/jackandellapaper

The giveaway closes at midnight GMT on Monday 1st November.

I brake for bokeh - giveaway results

Thanks again to all of you took part in the latest giveaway. I'll be putting another one up on the sight very soon (I'm a little behind!!) but in the meantime I guess you'll be wanting to know who won yes?

Well done stupidcats!! We'll be in touch!

Sorry to all of you who didn't win, but why not go and treat yourself to a little something from i brake for bokeh anyway - what a stunning etsy shop. And there's a fab sale going on over there at the moment. Huge thanks again to Tracey for her fab interview, and prize. I love finding out a little bit more about what makes such a fab artist tick!

Featured etsy seller & a Giveaway!! - I brake for Bokeh

I'm so excited about this interview with the seller of one of my fave Etsy shops. I could spend days browsing her store. Have you seen it yet?..... I brake for bokeh

And to top it all off, she's very kindly offered a fab giveaway.......read on.....

Tell us a bit about yourself - (where do you live, what's your name etc..)

My name is Tracey and I am a bokehddict.  I better explain that last part, yes? I am addicted to very shallow depth of field.  I love shooting things with a wide open lens. I love the bokeh.  You will notice it a lot in my work.  I live and work in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

What is your chosen craft/ art?

I am a photographer by choice, a graphic designer by training. I often say I don't 'take' photos I 'make' them. I like to create a vision of how I see the world and show that to you through my photographs.

When/ how did you start?

Accidentally. I fell into it.  I began stalking birds and bugs and anything that moved in my backyard and it blossomed from there.  My first wedding shoot was the result of curious neighbours wondering what I was doing in the ditch in front of my home for hours on end all summer long.  From there on out it just happened. I started posting photos to Flickr and making connections there until a few people asked if they could buy my photos. Opening an Etsy shop seemed the next logical step.

When did you start selling your stuff - where do you sell?

I opened up my Etsy shop on November 23rd, 2009.  It was a great time to start, the Christmas rush was starting and an Ottawa blog did a feature on shopping locally  for Christmas with a spotlight on Etsy and they featured my shop.   Since then I have had work displayed in a local gallery, but I primarily sell through Etsy and when approached on Flickr, through there as well.

Do you also have a day job, or is this your main job?

I have a full time, day job.  It has a nice pension attached to it which is why I am still there full time. The allure of 'quitting my day job' grows with every passing week, however.  I think about it a lot.

What do you love about your medium, what do you hate?

I love everything about it. The only time I am not happy is when I feel stumped. When the image just won't happen. It has taken me three weeks to get a photograph just right. I tend to dislike those photos for a little while.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I do it all to get a reaction. Sounds like an attention seeker but that couldn't be further from the truth. I hate attention directed at me. I like to sit on the sidelines and watch the world go by. But I want what I make to affect you. I want it to have an impact. My barometer is my friend, whose opinion I value above all others. If I can get a reaction from that one person then I know I've been successful.  I draw my inspiration from that.

What is your favourite music to craft to/ work to?

I'm a fan of silence. I can handle white noise, but when I am working on something I tune everything out. I lose track of time, I forget to eat. I find myself sitting here in the dark because the sun has long since set and I haven't turned the lights on... I get utterly lost in what I am doing. I like silence for that.

What is your favourite piece of your own?

Sometimes, when you fall, you fly. 

Where do you do your crafting?

I do where I am.  I have a dining room table set up at home, with cameras and lenses and usb sticks spread out all over it.  I have a messy office desk at work which looks much the same barring the cameras and lenses.  I have worked in airport lounges between flights, in hotel rooms (I travel a lot).  I need my laptop and time and I can work. It's great.

*******************

Tracey has very generously offered a personalised calendar for a giveaway..... I am so excited. I wish I could enter too.

How brilliant would that be for a Christmas present? (erm....very!)

Here's how to enter:
1) LEAVE A COMMENT - Do you prefer a matte finish, or a glossy finish on your photos. Leave a comment below and let me know for your first entry.
2) TWITTER - for a second entry you can follow @Ibrakeforbokeh on twitter (and let me know you have here!)
3) BLOG - for a third entry blog about this giveaway (and let me know here!)
4) TWITTER - for a fourth entry tweet this "Brilliant raceytay giveaway on http://www.redbirdjewellery.blogspot.com/ from @redbirdjewels"

The giveaway closes at midnight GMT on Sunday 17th October.

Featured Crafter - Knit Frekkles

I met this fantastic knitter in the etsy listing club, and just love her work. She can't cast a stitch wrong as far as I'm concerned. I tried knitting once, failed miserably, and now leave it up to the mother in law to knit the girls jumpers as she's brilliant at it. I am so in awe of people who can knit.

Anyway, I caught up with Nichola aka Knit Frekkles and asked her a few questions... (click on the scarves to get more info from her etsy shop!)

Tell us a bit about yourself:
My Name is Nichola I was brought up in the countryside in the North East of England and now live in Manchester with my boyfriend.

What do you make?
I’m a knitter, and at the moment I make scarves but would like to move in to garments in the future.

Why do you use that medium?
I’ve always been good at Art for as long as I can remember. I discovered knitting at school but didn’t take it up seriously until my Degree in Textiles when I was 25 (wow that was 10 years ago!) I love to weave as well but a loom is harder to house, knitting needles store easily…although yarn sometimes gets out of control!

When did you start selling your stuff, where do you sell?
I only started selling in January this year; I’ve tried a few times but never plucked up the courage to take the plunge until now. I currently only sell through Etsy, although I hope to open up on Folksy soon for those Brits who don’t want to make currency conversions when they shop.

Do you also have a day job, or is this your main job?
Since childhood I’ve been sporty, you know the type, I was in every team at school, loved sports day and only slightly minded the airtex and knicker shorts. I joined a gym as soon as I left and shortly after the owners asked if I would like to train as a Fitness Trainer and Aerobics Instructor, I did and have been teaching ever since.

What do you love about your medium, what you hate?
I love creating fabric from thread. The story of knitting reaches further back in to history than we will ever be able to prove. I love that knitting is used in medicine to save lives, those same continuous loops make swimmers go faster, keep climbers warm, keeps us all in underwear…whats not to love!
I hate that one missed stitch and a whole garment can be gone, its completely infuriating.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
I find this hard to pin down. I find inspiration everywhere. It could be a book, a magazine, a film, a website or catwalk collection (I loose hours on Style.com - its a great site). Quite often it’s patterns and colours in the natural world.

What is your favorite music to work to?
Well call me weird but I don’t listen to music (other than when I’m teaching) I’m a film fan so I put them on in the background instead. I love a good thriller or period drama (doesn’t every girl) and I could watch Jaws, Pride and Prejudice or Sherlock Holmes every day…don’t get me started!

What is your favorite piece of your own?
The garment I’m most proud of is the garment I made for my MA. The dress told the story of Cinderella figuratively and literally. Embroidered words in Sheltandic overlay threads with the memory of Fairisle patterns still held within them, underneath is a  layer of metallic, satiny yarn turning a once traditional, practical, functional craft into Couture.
 
Where do you do your work?
I knit everywhere. Mainly in our front bedroom as it has the most light, Sometimes on the sofa, in the back yard, or even at work when its quiet (shhh)

Thanks Nichola for letting me be nosy and answering all my questions..... you make fantastic stuff!!!

Featured Etsy Seller - Dizzy Dragonflies

This month the featured etsy blogger is Vicki of dizzydragonflies. I've never been any good at knitting or crochet, but I do love these colours!

Makes me wish I could knit.....maybe that'll be my next craft fad.

Vicki has a great blog - take a look http://knittingdragonflies.blogspot.com/

Featured Etsy Seller - TiLT creations

February's featured Etsy seller is TiLT creations.

TiLT makes handbags and accessories in various sizes and styles, and they are lovely! My faves are:

 

 Clutch bag in Mauve Butterfly Garden.This looks so summery, I can just imagine me at a wedding in the summer, sipping champagne, look v glam with my lovely clutch bag...

And of course I had to choose something red....

 

 "Handbag in red with black dots"

As well as the main Etsy store, Tilt has a second supply store (TiltToo) and a fab blog http://tiltcreationstoo.blogspot.com/

Hope you get chance to check her store out.

Featured Etsy Seller - Nico Designs

My first featured etsy seller of 2010 is Erika - aka Nico Designs.

Erika is a stay at home mum who sews for sanity, and she makes some lovely stuff which she sells on etsy and via her own website.

Her makes are eco-friendy too; items combine new, repurposed, recycled or upcycled materials, and any scrap or remnants are used in other projects or donated to keep them from a landfill.

She also has a fab blog - with some really nice tutorials. I love this upcycled hat - how cute is that? Go take a look!