Friday, February 5, 2010

Feature Friday - Featuring Holly's Handmade

Business Name: Holly's Handmade

What do you create/sell? My focus in my Etsy shop is custom made jewelry and knitted items. I make earrings, necklaces, and bracelets for all occassions. One of my favorite projects is working with brides to create custom wedding jewelry for themselves and their bridal party. My knitted items includes scarfs and baby blankets.

How did you get started and why? Since a young age I have been creating with all different mediums (beads, clay, papercrafting). About 3 years ago when my sister announced she was pregnant with her first child I decided I needed to learn to knit and make her a baby blanket. Since then I have been learning the craft of knitting and continuing with my love for beading so the next natural step was to open up my etsy shop!

What do you love most about owning your own business? What I love most about owning my own business it the freedom to be creative and see my creations come to life. It can be stressful of course, especially since I still work a full time job as well, but I need this artistic outlet in my life and love every minute of it.

What are some interesting/fun facts about yourself? I love to travel and get inspiration from all the places I have been. Some of my favorite destinations include Cinque Terre, Italy and Budapest, Hungary.

Please list any of your other links you would like us to check out:

www.facebook.com/hollyshandmade

hollyshandmade.ca@gmail.com

hollyshandmade.wordpress.com

Visit her shop on Etsy today!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Feature Friday - Featuring Odd Artist

Business Name: oddartist studio

Shop Link: http://oddartist.etsy.com

What do you create/sell? I have a horrible habit of finding beauty in pretty much everything which really twists hubby's tits but some how I manage to create something cool with anything I run across. My current best sellers are Naughty Bits (created using recycled romance novels - just the *best* parts) and Melted media (upcycled CDs, DVDs, video discs and vinyl records). You really don't want to see my less-than-stellar-ideas. My brain is too bent for some folks...

How did you get started and why? I simply MUST create like one MUST breath - if I can't create I'll go mad. I've been this way for as long as I remember. My classmates got used to my strange ideas at some point, but I was always that 'weird artsy chick'. Even my best friend of 20+ years took half of that to comprehend me. Her husband only recently gave me the highest compliment ever - and I quote "You see things so differently you amaze me".

The Naughty bits started with my Evil Daughter wanting a camo cover for tampons and such and whilst cruising the local thrift shop, ran across a Fabio paperback. I laminated the cover and made her a 'paperback-pocketbook' zippered pouch. The book innards laid around for a few weeks. I hate to toss anything so I took a flip through it and *BINGO*, Naughty Bits were born.

Melted media came about after a spring-cleaning where I had a stack of CDs and DVDs I was about to toss, but once again, I can't just toss stuff. They were so purty! I had seen something on Craftster.com where someone had nuked a CD so I started experimenting - and still am - with melting these items.

Both of these lines were items I was just beginning to fool with when I did the St. Paul Art Crawl in 2009. The Naughty Bits, especially the 'Very Naughty bits Indeed, were getting snapped up by all age groups and the Melted Media attracted the attention of an engineer who builds playgrounds. I didn't get that gig but I have expanded the possibilities for recycling vinyl and digital media. I'm currently working on baseball caps made out of vinyl records a-la the old beer can hats. Have one almost done, gotta see how that prototype rolls before I add them to the line.

What do you love most about owning your own business? Not irritating my friends and neighbors by *giving* them my art. It's an acquired taste and either you love it or thing it's stupid. With my online shops I can get people I don't even know to fall in love with my art. There's more sick and twisted people out there than I thought!

What are some interesting/fun facts about yourself? Nothing special, just your average dirty old lady.

Please list any of your other links you would like us to check out: I have another online shop at http://www.zibbet.com/oddartist and my wearable stuff at http://www.oddartist-tees.spreadshirt.com. And let's not forget http://www.facebook.com/oddartist!

Visit her shop on Etsy today!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Sac Etsy Treasury

Curated by hollyshandmade: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=108373

Please give it some lovin' by commenting and clicking on all items!

Monday's Marvels - Children

The fabulous members of Sac Etsy Team offer a wonderful array of items for children. Let's look at some of the great things the team has to offer. Remember, shop handmade and shop local!

Magical Scribblers Heart Crayon Set (4)

By Syrendell

Have fun drawing with little heart-shaped crayons, full of colors! These are made from various crayons, melted and molded by hand in our home. Perfect little gift for Valentine's Day!

BKD SIGNATURE ORIGINAL Starfish Bathtime Scrubbies, set of 2, 3D - THREE DIMENSIONAL -- IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP

By BKD Signature aka Beegrl88

Splish splash I was taking a bath! Have some fun with these cute starfish bathtime scrubbies! Made of 100% cotton. Make bathtime more enjoyable for everyone by adding some creativity to cleansing!

Blue Bunny Reversible Chiyogami Pendant - Sale Buy 3 Get 1 FREE

By PennysLane

This REVERSIBLE pendant is made with colorful chiyogami paper decoupaged onto finished wood. The sides are coated with fairy dust and glitter.

Topsy Turvy Doll

By PrairiePrimitives

I had a lot of fun giving each "end" of the doll her own personality. I hope you enjoy one of my newest creations, and the first doll I made in this new decade!

Recycled CD Barrette - Aqua heart

By oddartist

A layering of 3 recycled CDs, the topmost shaped as a heart secured to a spring-type ponytail holder.

These CDs are not painted or stained, they are the color of the CD used but sometimes the melting process can deepen these colors. The various bubbles and textures also arise during processing.
Each piece is hand-cut and shaped so that each item is one-of-a-kind.

Shop Local Handmade, Shop Sac Etsy Team!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Feature Friday - Virtue Knits

Business Name: Virtue Knits

Shop Link: www.virtueknits.etsy.com

What do you create/sell? I sell handknit scarves, hats, wraps, purses, cuffs and shawls for women and girls. Each item that I create is unique and if I get a chance to see my customer, I make an effort to get the person's essence and it design the item just for them.

How did you get started and why? I got started about 5 years ago after my sister and I watched an episode of Oprah about women starting small businesses. Our goal was to be stay at home mom's. My sister ended up giving the business over to me because it became too time consuming. I have been running the business myself for the past four years.

What do you love most about owning your own business? I love the ability to create. I love create something that is completely different from the last thing that I created. I enjoy allowing my creative juices to flow.

What are some interesting/fun facts about yourself? I write music and play the guitar. I have been so busy and hadn't gotten a chance to play in about a month. Last night I was able to play and ended up playing for over an hour. I wrote in my journal that it was like seeing an old friend. I had missed playing the guitar, like I had missed seeing a my best friend.

Please list any of your other links you would like us to check out: www.facebook.com/virtueknits