Thursday, September 18, 2008

NinjaPrints- Welcome to Etsy

Name
Henry Clayton

Location
London, UK


Business Name

Ninjaprints

Describe what you sell.
I generally focus on photographic prints and canvas works, preffering animal and
landscape pictures over anything else.

What is your real life like?
Real life eh? Well currently living a relaxed and totally skint life looking for a new job having recently been laid off. I live with my girlfriend of 3 and a half years in London along with a few friends and my miniature zoo.. Pets, well theres the two black cats, two Yemen chameleons with the attitude of a disgruntled pensioner, two smaller Pygmy chameleons, two leopard geckos who are rather friendly, three little tree frogs and a giant millipede.Hobbi
es are mostly based around the animals and photography to be honest, though we do often go to festivals. At some point I would like to drop last Christmas' belly and get back into Taekwon-do which I have practiced for the last 17 years! Other than that I did spend a year as a volunteer working at London Zoo in the invertibrate conservation unit, which was a total blast.

What is your process?
Main tool is an Olympus E-500 digital SLR and some cheap macro filters from E-bay, though some co-operative pets does help a little as well.

Business Goals and Vision...
My business has literally just started up and is proving to be very hard for me to make any progress with, though now certain works have started selling which has been a real confidence boost (not on Etsy though so far) In the long term I would ideally like the business to pay me a full time wage and allow me to purchase new kit for my camera, decent printers and perhaps even a trip out to Madagascar.


How do you market your business?

So far I have simply run off a few hundred post cards with some nice pictures on and some business cards and dropped them through peoples letter boxes, the can then use the post cards if they want. Further than that a few forum signatures is as far as I have got. Perhaps if funds ever come rolling in I will be able to push the marketing out a little.

I will hopefully have some works up for display shortly in Brixton, there are four places asking me to display work there at the present, now its just a matter of covering the cost of prints and frames etc..

What inspires you?
My biggest inspiration is quite simply the bizzare wonders that nature can put together, lizards, frogs, insects and wonderful landscapes. It has always been that way for me for some reason, but I have no complaints.

What are two of your favorite things from your shop?
My current favorite works are a collection of three pictures taken through a rather dusty sunset a few weeks ago in Portugal at Boom festival, the sunset was so hazy and the rays of light really caught themselves in the dust, the hippys wondering in a dazed state gave the overall picture a very zombie holocaust feel. This picture collection I am selling as a limited edition of only 10 prints in each colour (black and white or sepia). So far I have had a few orders placed for these and only have a few remaining, hopefully I will see some of the cash soon (hint hint). But overall I love the shot myself and hope to have 1 left over for myself! (top picture)

My next favourite is the Portrait of a Dragon, I was very pleased at how this picture caught the contrast and showed up the detail of my Chameleon, not so sure she liked the camera though! I am going to be editing the sale of this one soon as I found it looks great on a big canvas, hopefully people will want one for themselves. (second picture)

Who is your favorite musical artist?
I have been listening to a lot of different music recently, though usually I end up listening to the "Empire of Cat" or "Sublime". I am not really tied to any specific genre though I usually hate most pop music and R & B.. old stuff is good ;)


Am a fan of these places...
In regards to Etsy I love my friend Heidi's work: www.
heidiburton.etsy.com she has a real talent for very quirky cards and pictures, having received some at Christmas before I can vouch for them being brilliant! Most of the rest of my internet efforts are spent looking through www.deviantart.com my various reptile and praying mantis forums and caught in the evil webb of facebook.. Etsy does however have a superb collection of art and I enjoy looking through it when I have the time.

Find seller at...

www.ninjaprints.etsy.com

You can find my online shop and gallery at www.ninjaprints.com although regretably Paypal broke my shop recently and it is not currently working, so if you see anything you like just drop me an email! Otherwise if your a local Londener I will be displaying works in Brixton over the next few months, details of where on my website in the near future!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Beautiful Bridget


Name
Kim Ferrugia

Location

Springfield, MO

Business Name

Beautiful.Bridget

Describe what you sell. handcrafts bright and colorful crochet items such as pure cotton scrubbies, apple jackets, coffee cozies, iPod pockets, scarves, and washcloth and dishcloth sets.

What is your real life like?
My hubby and I have been selling online across many venues for over 9 years now. I'll never forget the day we both got to give our notices at our jobs....it was so exciting but SO scary also! We had no idea what was going to happen and really took a step out in faith that everything would work out and it did. One of the greatest blessings was that we've been able to be at home with our children while they've grown up. At the time we quit our jobs and started our home business I had just had a baby about 5 months before and it was such a joy to be able to be home with both her and my older daughter. Now everything has grown into such a smooth routine and I have been able to free up time for myself to run my business on Etsy as well.


What is your process?
As you may have guessed, I absolutely LOVE to create! My hands are always busy...if I don't have something to occupy my hands, I will fall asleep in 15 minutes...so I make things ;) My creative genius (am I allowed to call it that?) usually comes out late in the evenings while my oldest daughter (missindie on Etsy) and I get together to watch our favorite reality TV shows...our "mother and daughter" time which I cherish more than anything else in life. My primary craft is crocheting, I've enjoyed doing it since my Mom taught it to me when I was a young girl and now as an adult I get ideas that pop into my head for new creations or I see things that I like and make my own crochet versions of them. There is nothing that feels better than hearing how someone else is enjoying something you created!


Business Goals and Vision...
Right now I'm still just a small potato on Etsy and so I am hoping to make it through the holiday season with plenty of orders and plenty of time to get them made. In the long term my dream is that my daughter (who is missindie on Etsy) and I can grow our businesses together and really get this thing off the ground!

How do you market your business?
I've mostly been relying on word of mouth for advertisement. I do try to participate alot in the forums and have joined many street teams on Etsy such as Etsyhookers, EtsyMoms, Christian Artists Street Team, Trade-a-Holics to name a few. I also try to leave my business cards wherever I can and use my products out in the public so that people can see them and inquire about them.

Do you subscribe to any business related blogs, zines or magazines?

Not yet but I do try to learn as much about business and my brain is constantly running trying to come up with new inventive ways of running my business.


What inspires you?
Let's see, what inspires me....my family of course, a quiet room, soft music, bright colors, the changing of the seasons, the holidays....I pretty much find inspiration in everything. I love going to my favorite craft stores and feeling and touching all of the different yarns...like I said, inspiration lies in everything.

What are two of your favorite things from your shop?
I think my two favorite things are my apple jackets: (top picture)
and my coffee cozies: (second picture)

Am a fan of these places...
www.GudonyaToo.etsy.com


Find seller at...
www.beautifulbridget.etsy.com
www.beautifulbridget.com

Retired Records















Name

Karen Dengler

Location
Cincinnati, Ohio

Business Name
Dengler Designs

Describe what you sell.
Functional art made from recycled record albums and the covers. Items include painted record bowl, coasters, wine rack, totes, purses, wrist cuffs and pendant necklaces.

What is your real life like?
I have 3 dogs and 2 cats, all from rescues. I am married for the past 11 years, and have two daughters, my husband is a firefighter. I work part-time as a social worker, currently working with older adults in a mental health treatment program. I facilitate therapy groups.My interest include, hiking, camping, rock climbing I love being outdoors. I also have an organic garden with vegetable and herbs. I also enjoy good wine and hanging out with my friends at home or going to an art opening or new restaurant.

What is your process?
My process is fairly loose, I usually am inspired by an album or cover and make a design that coordinates with it for my bowls and purses. I heat the albums and then cut them to make coasters and pendants. I am experimenting all the time and continue to change my process and I go and learn. I have no special tools that I use. I try to incorporate as much recycled material as I can into a project. For the straps on my purses and totes I recycled belts.

Business Goals and Vision...
Short term is to have enough inventory this year to get through the holiday season. I have been also working on some new designs. My long term goal is to have made 100 different items from the record and it’s cover.

Who is your favorite musical artist?
When You Were Young, by The Killers.


Do you subscribe to any business related blogs, zines or magazines?
http://www.parkandvine.com/

http://nvisionshop.com/
two of my favorite stores here in
Cincy.


What inspires you?
I am inspired by nature, minimalistic design, influenced by art deco design. I love bands like The Killers, ie: modern rock . I love walking in the forest and get excited by the smell of skunk, horses and fall leaves on a sunny day.



Am a fan of these places...

Recently discovered: RighteousNiteOwl.etsy.com

NancyGamon.etsy.com

aBreathofFrenchAir.etsy.com for my bath & body

Spiderbite.etsy.com

Seagoddess.etsy.com


Find seller at...
RetiredRecords.etsy.com

Monday, September 15, 2008

Pink Papillon Jewelry














Name
Mary Ann Springer

Location
Central New Jersey.....in the historic town of Crosswicks...settled in 1670

Business Name
Pink Papillon

Describe what you sell.
Custom hand stamped jewelry in precious metals

What is your real life like?
Ha-ha! This *is* my real life!! Stamping has completely taken over! But seriously, I live in a fabulous small historic town called Crosswicks located in central New Jersey with my husband Nick, my children Noah (7) and Hope (5) along with a menagerie of pets including a 4 pound Yorkie, and Australian Shepherd, 4 cats, many fish, and Sea Monkeys! When I am not hammering jewelry you usually can find me running or at the gym. I also love to learn new jewelry techniques~~ before stamping took over my life, I actually made all kinds of jewelry!

What is your process?
I start with raw materials~~ which is SO satisfying when you finally end up with a finished product! I do a variety of things~~ I may saw or cut, use the torch (my FAVORITE), bend and shape, file and buff, antique~~ of an d of course, individually hand stamp each and every letter. I think that is important for people to know as some people think I "set" all the letters first, and then use something to stamp it all at once. Not so! I lovingly hand stamp each letter one at a time!

Business Goals and Vision...
This has been a big year for pink papillon jewelry~~ I have grown and expanded so much and have been extremely busy. This is the first year both of my children are in school all day. In the past I limited the amount of wholesale accounts I took on, just as I didn't feel I had enough time for any more. I am very excited as this opens up a lot of extra time for me, and I can not only allow more accounts, but I am thinking about do the large vendor shows in New York City to *really* get the pink papillon name out there!

How do you market your business?
Everywhere! I am pretty much open to whatever comes my way. I used to pay for many different advertising opportunities, but I started to find that the little things I did free of charge were the most beneficial to me. This is my best advertising advise to anyone! For example, I was asked to write and article for the Soft Flex Wire company~~ a fabulous opportunity, as they as so well known and have a very popular website! I have stayed with them and not only wrote another article, but was named their Designer of the Month! All for free! Now, I am not saying I wouldn't pay for a fabulous advertising opportunity, but I really do think that there are ways to advertise yourself with great results if you keep your eyes open!

Do you subscribe to any business related blogs, zines or magazines?
One that I *really* like is www.seekingdesigners.com.
For a small monthly fee you can set up a "look shop" on their site. They then will send you press releases and press opportunities through email. They also will send around a "Designer News Flash" where you can sort of toot your own horn and have other people see it! It has been really interesting!


What inspires you?
Nothing specific, really.....I'll just see something...a gemstone, or whatever and just think, "Wouldn't that look nice with X?" Or I will just sit there and put pieces together and see what I like!

What are two of your favorite things from your shop?
I am in LOVE with my new font~~ I call it the "Designer" font as you will find it *no where* else but in my shop as it was created by my husband just for me! I have been stamping for years, and in the beginning my block and my girlie font were enough. But as the stamping world has grown at an incredible pace, I like to keep my self a little ahead of the game. So I guess anything in my new font would be a favorite! I also really love my gold vermeil Initial Necklace with the Thai flower~~ I designed it so the flower is propped up a little and it is just the sweetest thing to wear~~ I love it!

Am a fan of these places...
Oh gosh, I am the BIGGEST online shopper, so this one is hard. Let's see.
I am addicted to the cupcakes at Fat Daddy Bake Shop on etsy. They are HIGHLY recommended by me!
I also love to visit www.stylebakery.com.
I think I keep Sephora in business all by myself! I buy tons of outfits for my daughter at http://www.liliputians-nyc.com/ CUTE stuff. Of course I love
Face Book and
my blog! (see link below)


Find seller at...
All over! But directly at: www.pinkpapillon.com or my blog at www.pinkpapillonsilver.blogspot.com

Sunday, September 14, 2008

A Shout Out to Previously Featured Artists

I have a treasury on Etsy that features sellers who have been good enough to give their time and knowledge to inspire us through their words and work.

Pieces have been chosen in a red "theme"- I have not provided a link because at the time this is being published the list has expired. If you are a featured artist and I have not included you- take heart- I promise to put you in the next one.
Credits: (from left to right starting in top left corner)
BlackandRedEye "Seriously"
AlisaBurke "Graffiti Bangle"
PartyBots "Hurt Bot"
BallandChain "Underpants"
MyLittleOogaBooga "Red Robot"
Aria Images "Cherry Blossom Series"
Analiese "Painted Cardinal"
TrixieDelicious "Voyeur Plate"
JennGee "Flourish Coffee Corset"
MyFriendRoze "Silver Bubble Seed Beed Necklace"
HowlinDoggie "Sakura Hairstick"
KezBirdie "Killer Koi Heels"
(click any of the names to link to that listing)
 

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