i heart niminami!

as you remember, structuredchaos hosted a promotional swap on her blog and my second swap partner was the fabulous niminami!

she says that she is a simple girl who has a love for illustrating! currently a fastion design student in jakarta, she finds inspiration in fashion and nature. wanting to share her art with everyone, she started her etsy shop, which is full of her whimsical original illustrations!

niminami sent me a lovely little handmade notebook decorated with one of her beautiful fashion illustrations. her business card is also adorned with one of her drawings - just gorgeous!

she says that she really enjoys the process of creating, and the feeling of owning her own business. hoping to do this in the future as her full time job, i wish her all the best!

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Great ETSY Artists - SmileMoon Woodworks!

i come across so many wonderful Etsy creators - and i have had the absolutely HONOUR to meet the wonderful SmileMoon in person! i also stole some of his precious woodworking time to do a quick and dirty interview... so here are the thoughts of the "Poor Woodsman"!

1. Tell us a little bit about who you are and your life up to this point in time.

This is going to be a light little interview - I can tell! Okay, in a nutshell, I'm a hobby woodworker who's been turning wood into sawdust on and off for the past 18 or more years. I've kinda lost track of exactly when I got into it. During daylight hours, I sell machinery for cutting, grinding and polishing gem and industrial grade diamond. With the economy in the state it's been in lately, though, you can probably guess how THAT'S been going lately.The woodworking satisfies a need for a creative outlet, and serves a useful function too, since it's been earning my family some badly needed income this year.

2. Outside of your creative life, what else are you up to?

Besides my day job (which entails a lot of travel, by the way), I'm a husband and father to a ridiculous number of children. That, of course, means there's the usual assorted activities, like scouts, soccer, college, plays, kiddie concerts, drama, etc. Once in a great while, I like to go out to the used book stores with my wife and peruse the stacks looking for old zeppelin memorabilia. I also hunt down obscure electronic music online and in used CD shops when I can. I'm also the family photographer. The digital revolution has made it so much easier to take a crapload of photos and sort through what you want to keep after the fact. It's so much easier to store them all on a hard drive, too. The only problem is actually getting around to printing them off to stick them in the family scrapbooks. I need to do a better job of keeping up with that.

3. What made you first want to create art?

Way back in college, I had a starter stereo setup and a growing collection of LPs without much to keep it all organized. I decided when I left school that I'd build a really nice cabinet to keep it all in, but my pragmatic side said I should take on a few smaller projects to ramp up to the skill level required for something of that scale. Good idea, right?After this many years of taking on the "smaller projects," including the crafty types of things seen in my Etsy.com shop, artist easels, a cradle, a kitchen's worth of cabinets, and bookcases galore, I STILL have yet to make that stereo cabinet. At least I got around to buying a lot of the wood for it last summer!

4. What do you offer in your shop?

As it says on my business cards, "creative woodcraft." Currently, that'd be balancing wine bottle holders, wooden 3-D puzzles, tea light candle holders, wooden snowflake ornaments, wood slab photo frames, and my most popular item by far: toy swords. I've been taking on custom requests for as long as I've been on Etsy, since my start in woodworking was in custom work.

5. Without giving away any of your trade secrets, what is your creative process?

Hee hee! No trade secrets here. I don't honestly believe there's much new under the sun where wood crafts are concerned - just different skillsets and experience levels at play. There's room for all of us to do what we're doing. As far as a creative process, I guess there's two avenues I go down: I'll either get a brainstorm or see something that inspires an idea to try out, like the tea light candle holders I listed a couple days ago; or I'll respond to a request for a custom woodworking project that allows me to collaborate with other creative individuals. They're both valid methods, but it sometimes takes a lot longer for me to feel that an original idea of mine's been validated, depending on how long it takes to sell!

6. Where do you create?

The ideas (the "creation" part of it) come to me just about anywhere! I just make sure to have some scrap paper nearby so I don't lose them! The woodworking itself takes place in my workshop. Currently, that's my garage, but it's also been the dirt-floored basements of apartments I used to live in, and in one apartment where there was no basement, I actually rented one of those public self-storage places to work.

7. If you listen to music while you make your creations, what is the soundtrack?

Because my workshop tends to be on the extremely dusty side when I'm working, I can't risk cassettes or CDs, so I usually just turn on the radio to the local alt rock station and crank it up! Given my druthers, though, I'd listen to 70s and 80s era electronic space music. Someday I'll get an MP3 player and hook it up to some speakers out in the shop.

8. What are your crafting goals for the next twelve months?

I plan to roll out some of the ideas I've had in the course of the past few months but have been simply too busy keeping up production for "the usual" items in my shop to deal with. That'll not only bulk up my somewhat limited listings, but will also help me work out a few things that'll improve processes down the road. I'd also like to plan for a few craft shows during the more successful Christmas season next year. This year saw me barely break even at a series of springtime shows, which left me feeling disgusted enough to consider staying away from them alltogether. I've since had some encouraging words from several crafters, though, so I think I'll plan ahead for next fall.

9. How do you promote your Etsy shop?

I'm still learning my way around the whole promotions thing, so my stabs at it are pretty basic. I carry business cards with me and take the opportunity to steer conversations toward woodcrafting when appropriate. I spend time in Etsy forums every day where I split my time between some of the games in the Etc. section and trying to be Mr Helpful, answering questions that seem to come up in all the other forums.I try to buy Showcase spaces when they look pretty promising for what I'm making, and I'll advertise on the Heart-O-Matic pages at craftcult.com from time to time, too.I've tried using craft shows to help build a following, but I think I picked the wrong time of year (spring) to try that. I'll probably try again next fall.I just this past week figured out how to upload my listings to google base, which allows you to track hits to individual listings and see where they come from, so we'll see how much that helps.

10. What is your most favorite handmade item that you have made?

Right now, I'd say it's a toss-up between a prayerbox I made as a custom commisson (photos of which can be seen on my blog at http://smilemoonwoodworks.blogspot.com/2008/09/missed-party-but-its-more-fun-at-home.html) and a pillbox I made on commission this past spring (http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8424856 ). But, as in a family, I'm not supposed to play favorites, so the correct answer should be "my current project is my favorite one!" ;-)

(i bought this for my brother-in-law for his christmas present - oh i can't WAIT to give it to him!)

11. What is your most favorite handmade item that someone else has made?

That's a tough one, because I'd hate to make anybody feel left out! That said, I've had my eye on some granite cups made by TwoBeans on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10121481 ) for almost as long as I've been selling on Etsy! I've been dropping Christmas hints on my lovely bride, so we'll see what shows up in my stocking!

12. What was your best handcrafted "moment"?

There've been a few, actually. I think every Etsian remembers where they were when they made their first sale! For me, it was only a day and a half after my first listing - which was way cool! Getting a shot at a commission job for a company in New York was even better than that, but the best so far would be meeting fellow Etsy seller Muffin Top on a recent trip to her hometown (see Question 2)!

13. Top 5 list – list your top 5 favorite movies, books, bands, and foods.

Interests
woodworking
photography
nature photography
portrait photography
electronic music

Favorite Movies
Mad Max
The Road Warrior
Terminator 2
It's a Wonderful Life
Secretary

Favorite Music
Tangerine Dream
Jean Michel Jarre
Space Art
Pink Floyd
Camel

Favorite Books
Ender's Game
The Time Traveler's Wife
Starship Troopers
A Mango Colored Space
Jane's Book of Airships

14. What advice would you like to give to others on trying to sell their handmade goods?

Keep at it, and listen to the advice of sellers with more experience. Good photography will help get you featured in the treasuries and gift guides. Being helpful in the forums will get you noticed by everybody else.

15. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In ten years, we'll be down to just two kids at home if all goes according to plan. Hopefully there'll be a bit more time available to devote to crafting and marketing it properly. If it becomes successful between now and then, I'd love for it to be my only job, but there's a lot of college tuition payments to help make in the meantime!

16. If you could describe yourself in 5 words, what would they be?

amused, busy, creative, distracted, eccentric...

thanks, smilemoon!!!! and thanks for being so fabulous!!!!!!!!!

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Great Canadian Artists - Little Papercuts

I'm deviating a little bit from my normal "Feature" and promoting this awesome artist who NEEDS TO START SELLING IN HER ETSY SHOP!!!!

Presenting... Little Papercuts!

1. Tell us a little bit about who you are and your life up to this point in time.
I’m 33 years old and I’m a stay at home mom to 2 great kids. I’ve been married for 7 years, but my husband and I have been together for 17 years. My family is kinda my life…as cliché as it may sound, but my whole world really does revolve around them. Since my daughter was born, 6 years ago, my life has been filled with lots of laughter, lots of tears, and everything in between. And when my son came along, he turned our lives upside down. He’s a bundle of energy, and I have to admit…a bit of a mama’s boy . Yup, pretty much kids, family and all the craziness that goes hand in hand with both, not to mention trying to run a small business on the side…that’s my life!

2. Outside of your creative life, what else are you up to?
I kinda summed that up in the last question I think. I think my creative life is very much a part of my everyday life. I love looking for papers and embellishments at scrapbooking stores and craft stores, but I know nothing about scrapbooking itself.

3. What made you first want to create art?
I think it was the first time I saw my grandmother redraw the album cover for The Sound of Music. I was only 6 or 7 at the time and I think in my head I thought she was actually the one who had drawn ALL the album covers all over the world, and I thought that’s what I want to do!

4. What do you offer in your shop?
I specialize in children’s customized name art and artwork. Every piece is one of a kind and tailored to each child. On occasion I have created artwork for adults as well though.

5. Without giving away any of your trade secrets, what is your creative process?
Cut and paste, kind of. I usually sketch out the name in the chosen style first and then transfer that image to colored paper. All the cut paper pieces are then layered onto each other and glued down. I’m trying not to give away too much info, but it really is cut and paste…what can I say I’m a mom. I work in the same medium as my kidsJ

6. Where do you create?
Don’t laugh, but I do all of my work on my living room floor, using our old fish tank as a light box/desk with my paper spread all around me. Space is limited at our house!

7. If you listen to music while you make your creations, what is the soundtrack?
Whatever the kids are listening to…lately it’s been Hannah Montana or preschool tunes.

8. What are your Crafting Resolutions for 2008?
Hmm, that’s tough but my #1 would have to be to get a desk, and not to procrastinate as much as I do. I’m in the process of setting up my website, so that’s definitely a huge thing for me. My goal is really to have my website, blog and hopefully at some point my Etsy Shop all up and running.

9. How do you promote your Etsy shop?
I haven’t officially opened up my shop yet, so probably through blogs or forums. So far word of mouth has been my best friend. My family and friends are the best advertising I could ever ask for.

10. What is your most favorite handmade item that you have made?
Wow, I’d have to say it’s a toss up between Seasons Artwork I just finished for my daughter Alison (all the little girls look like her!) and a duvet cover I had made for her that was inspired by paper dolls.

11. What is your most favorite handmade item that someone else has made?
That’s easy, sock monkeys for my kids from Muffin Top!!!

12. What was your best handcrafted "moment"?
It had to be the reaction of the parents who received the first Little Papercuts name art. They were amazed at my work, and it was really the first time that I’ve thought that I could pursue this as a business. That was over 2 years ago!!

13. Top 5 list – list your top 5 favorite movies, books, bands, and foods.
That’s a hard one…lately all I read watch or listen to is kids’ stuff. OK…top 5 movies would be Rent, The King and I, Man on Fire (soooo amazing), The Last Unicorn (gotta love 80’s animation) and anything from the Young and Dangerous series (Chinese subtitled). The only books that really stand out in my mind are ‘Are you there God, it’s me Margaret’ and ‘Blubber’ by Judy Bloom. I think it’s because my daughter is starting to read novels and stuff now. No fave bands, I’ll listen to pretty much anything. Foods, hmm let’s see…oatmeal cookies from Longo’s, zesty cheese Doritos, beef brisket that my mother in law cooks, rice and peas (a Jamaican thing) and ox tail.

14. What advice would you like to give to others on trying to sell their handmade goods?
Find inspiration from everything around you. Don’t give up! Like I said before, word of mouth is very powerful…it can make your business without you even trying if you enlist the help of family and friends!

15. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Let’s see, in 10 years I see myself with one more kid, still married to hubby #1, still making hip art for kids and parents and in a house with room enough for me to have a desk preferably with a glass insert to use as a light box.

16. If you could describe yourself in 5 words, what would they be?
creative, reliable, perfectionist, fun, indecisive…wow that sounds kinda boring! Love ya Muffin!!

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BLOG TRADE EVENT! My Featured Artist... CALLIDORA!!!!

It's always wonderful to see the work of a renaissance woman... and Callidora is just that! After abandoning the hollow world of the corporate drone, she has fully embraced her creative side and makes wonderful handmade aprons, handbags, and accessories!!!! A wife, mother, sister, daughter and teacher, her zest and love for life certainly comes through in her creations.

Check these lovlies out:

Her creations are so wonderfully handcrafted, it's hard to believe that she homeschools her little kiddies and is able to run a household too! A member of Etsy Artists of Color and the TradeAHolics, she also runs a blog chock full of wonderful bits of knowledge, creativity and interesting facts about her life!

Check my friend out at http://callidora.etsy.com and at her blog at http://tlcsays.blogspot.com

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Great Canadian Artists - FiveForty

I'm starting a series of posts featuring my favorite Canadian Etsy Artists! The world deserves to know about the amazing talent in the True North.

I'm so happy to showcase the works of fiveforty, who lives and works in Terrace Bay, Ontario. Her etsy shop is full of her handwoven creations and gemstone jewels that are worth taking a look at. Her marvelous use of colour, texture and recycled materials truly make her one of a kind.

I posed a few questions to fiveforty, so we could get to know her a little bit better.

1. Tell us a little bit about who you are and your life up to this point in time.

Who am I? Good question, I ask myself that same question all of the time. I live on the north shore of Lake Superior with my husband, my mom, and our 3 dogs and a cat. I am 50, halfway through my life.I majored in weaving (fibres & fabrics) in college, minored in painting and photography. I was a stay at home mom, my two children are now grown and live away.This second half of my life is about me and my creativity. It is time to follow my heart and my dreams.

2. Outside of your creative life, what else are you up to?

At the moment my creative life is my life! I am trying to build a business so most of the hours in my days are devoted to it.I love cooking, I am a foodie, I try my best to follow the philosophy of slow food.

3. What made you first want to create art?

My dad studied at the Ontario College of Art. He always encouraged us to be creative.

4. What do you offer in your Etsy shop?

I am selling one of a kind, handwoven rag rugs, not your usual rag rug, mine are woven with recycled used textile for both warp and weft. Soft and cushy felted wool, sturdy denim or corduroy. I also make and sell one of a kind beaded beach pebble and gemstone jewelry. I love working with Lake Superior beach pebbles, but also love working with semi precious gemstones, fresh water pearls, and of course colour. I have some felted wool cuff bracelets, recycled from my weaving supplies, I think they are a fun and creative way to use my bits and pieces.I have recently started playing with needle felting, I am very much enjoying it. I will be working some needle felted pieces into my shop.

5. Without giving away any of your trade secrets, what is your creative process?

Colour is a huge part of my creative process. I will talk about my rug weaving for example. I order my used textile (say, wool sweaters) by the 75 lb. bale. My supplier ships it to me by the Greyhound. I have no choice in colour of sweaters, I get what I get. Probably about half of the sweaters will be feltable wool, the other half I have to figure out what to do with, I have bags of them.Once I have the sweaters processed, I lay them out across my living room floor and see what colours speak to me! The next task is the cutting, there are a lot of hours work in the prep for each rug. Loom prep comes next, deciding if the colours really do work with one another, then the weaving. I have to be happy in my heart before a rug is finished.

6. Where do you create?

My loom is in my daughter’s bedroom, sharing space with her things. I do call it MY Loom Room now though. I used to weave in our living room when I first started weaving these rugs, but the dust throughout our living space was terrible.Everything else I create is done in the living room or at the dining room table. I can only imagine how wonderful l it must be to have studio space.

7. If you listen to music while you make your creations, what is the soundtrack?

I love music and my play list is ever changing. Here is a sampling of what I listen to every day. Patty Griffen, Regina Spektor, Ray LaMontagne, The Raconteurs, Neil Young, Mark Berube, Feist, Kristen Hersch, Eddie Vedder, Wilco, Cat Power, Yeah, Yeah,Yeahs, U2, Martha Wainwright & Snow Patrol…….on and on it goes!

8. What are your Crafting Resolutions for 2008?

Hmmm craft resolutions for 2008!! I actually have a couple of them. I bought a 75 lb. bale of men’s shirts to try something, an experiment of sorts. At the moment I don’t want to mention what it is, as it is some thing though labour intensive is something I have never seen anywhere.I would also like to incorporate some smaller priced items in my shop this year, so I will be working on that. Trivets, needle felting……oh and I need to work on my writing skills!!

9. How do you promote your Etsy shop?

I use my blog, business cards, Facebook, and family and friends to promote my Etsy shop.

10. What is your most favorite handmade item that you have made?

The favourite item I have made is a huge tapestry blanket I wove on a large frame in college. I am proud that I actually finished it. It does however now live in a trunk in our basement.

11. What is your most favorite handmade item that someone else has made?

My favourite item made by some one else, is a mask I bought in Brazil. I am in awe of the workmanship, skill and resourcefulness of the artisan. It is a gorgeous piece!

12. What is your favorite purchase from Etsy?

My favourite Etsy purchase, I love each and every one I have bought. They are also different, and unique each piece is a favourite!!

13. What was your best Etsy “moment”?

My best Etsy moment just happened recently! I love building treasuries on Etsy! I of course am very pleased when my treasuries make the front page. My biggest hope in my treasuries is that the artisans in the collection sell their work because of the treasury. A couple of weeks ago, one of my collections made the front page, and six pieces of work from the collection sold, and some had other sales they said were a result of the list.One of these very talented artisans is The Felted Garden. She contacted me to say she wanted to thank me by giving me a scarf. Her shop has been one of my favourites since joining Etsy. I admire her work. I tried a few years ago making felted wool scarves myself, and was not very successful. I appreciate her talent and skill. We messaged back and forth and finally came to an agreement, we traded, I sent her a rug and she sent me a very beautiful scarf.

14. Top 5 list – list your top 5 favorite movies, books, bands, and foods.

I don’t have a top 5 list of anything. I like such a huge variety of all things. I do not like fishy fish, organ meats, sea food and cilantro. I actually hate cilantro, I hate the taste of it. I love coriander the mature plant though.

15. What advice would you like to give to others on Etsy?

Follow your heart and have patience!!

16. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Ha!! In ten years I will be 60. I do not want to think of that at the moment. I hope I am settled, in a comfortable place, following my heart…creating!!

17. If you could describe yourself in 5 words, what would they be?

Passionate, creative, introverted, quirky, reliable.

Wonderful words from a wonderful artist. You can visit fiveforty at her etsy shop http://fiveforty.etsy.com/ Thanks, five!!!!

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FEATURED ARTISTS!!!! candypegram, sarawestermark & IMOTIME!

I couldn't choose just one from the wonderful etsy sellers who posted on my thread!!!! So, today, we have THREE!

This amazingly quirky painting is by candypegram!(http://candypegram.etsy.com/) She works with canvas and wood, and also has really great t-shirts (at killer prices!) with her original characters on them! Hmmmm... maybe we'll see them on TV one day... they have such lovely personalities! Her works on wood are fabulously textured and her sense of colour is wonderful.

sarawestermark (http://sarawestermark.etsy.com/) has really original and fascinating jewelry creations that combine organic forms and metal perfectly! I love the way she uses her materials and how her semi-precious stones really shine.

Last, but definitely not least, we have IMOTIME's amazing bedpan clock! Based out of San Diego, he creates wonderful time pieces out of ordinary objects that speak to the viewer on so many levels... toilet humour sometimes being one of them! (http://imotime.etsy.com/)

Thanks to everyone who posted on my thread and who took the time to read my blog! I'm going to continue to feature other etsy sellers here... so keep me updated on what you're up to!



xooxo muffin

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I heart my Treasury...

... and it's going to expire soon. So I'm preserving it here.

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FEATURED ARTIST!!! Trisha Lamoreaux

I firmly believe in promoting other etsy artists, because, truly, there is so much fabulous talent out there that needs to be discovered! So, as promised, here is my etsy featured artist!

Trisha Lamoreax creates awesome paintings using only a palette knife with impasto (wet on wet) techniques to create depth and texture. I have a soft spot for this painting - my husband and I honeymooned in NYC and this brought back great memories!

Trisha's work has been included in both corporate and private collections and I am sure that she will be someone to watch in the future!!! I'm hoping that she'll be including prints and cards of her work soon!

You can visit her etsy shop at http://tlamoreaux.etsy.com/ and her blog at http://tlamoreaux.blogspot.com/

Thanks to everyone who showed their support with my little blog contest and especially to Trisha for making such fabulous artwork!!!!

xoxoxo muffin

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