Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Bijoutery

J. Earles of Bijoutery Designs brings her professional knowledge of geology into her craft. “I'm currently a graduate student studying geoscience. It is my love of geology that has lead to an evolution of my jewelry design from primarily beadwork to working with stones and pearls.” J’s designs are elegant, and as you could imagine full of beautiful stones.

Probably one of my favorite parts of J’s store are the Firefly inspired jewelry designs. The fun sci-fi space cowboy TV series is written in a futuristic world that blends the culture from the East and West. It’s this mix of culture that J reflects in her Firefly jewelry line, and each piece would look at home on any of the female crew.

As a full time graduate student, J is only able to create part time. As with anyone who has full time commitments, J has to schedule time in for her craft as well. “It really gives me a break from school and I just love it too much not to find time to do it!”

J met Sara of skrhoades a year ago, and this fellow crafter encouraged her to start selling her jewelry at art shows, and introduced her to Etsy. Having the support of another crafter is what really got J going, and the two remain close friends despite living far away from one another.

“Do what you can when you can – don’t fret if you don’t have the time or funds to do everything at once! Just work with what you can now, and strive to improve your art and your shop little by little.”

Saturday, March 22, 2008

HeartworksByLori

Luxury, elegance, charm… all words that come to mind every time I come to the shop of Lori Patton. Aside from being a fun and friendly person to chat with, Lori has an exceptional eye for beauty and art. HeartworksbyLori features beautiful artwork designed to be displayed around your neck.

Lori is currently using a lot of brass, due to the versatility and vintage look that it gives her work. “I'm prone to switching back and forth from Sterling Silver, to faceted gemstones like Labradorite and Chalcedony, but brass is so versatile and the possibilities are endless.” She designs jewelry that she would love to wear, and is inspired by clothing, colors, and her personal mood. Since her personal style is so versatile, this is reflected in the jewelry she creates. “I like to create fun and flirty jewelry as well as classic and elegant styles with an added flair, all with the underlining tone of beauty. Sometimes I just glance at the colorful array of my materials and elements all spread out and a design just calls out to me to be made!”

Lori works on her jewelry part time, spending her days raising her three young boys. She does most of her creating once everyone’s tucked into bed. “My creative juices get flowing after dark, since I'm a total night owl, so it works out perfectly.” She finds encouragement from her husband, who tells her how beautiful her work is. Of course, she encourages herself to create and has a drive to perfect techniques and learn new skills.

Lori opened her shop around Christmas, and has experienced incredible success. Take a look at what’s making her such a big hit.


Friday, March 21, 2008

Unique Charm

Leslie Nichole of UniqueCharm makes the most delectable finger candy (not to mention ear candy, neck candy… well, you get the idea.) With little clay charms cleverly sculpted to resemble your favorite desserts, these designs look good enough to eat!

Like many crafters, Leslie is always looking for inspiration in the world around her. She brings her ideas home and interprets them in her polymer clay sculptures. “It’s so versatile, you can do anything with it.” For the time being, Leslie crafts in her spare time, though she has plans to expand her business and craft full time.

Working in your spare time is never easy, but Leslie’s got a wonderfully supportive boyfriend who encourages her to create. “He gives me advice & will tell me when something looks bad.”

Leslie rewards her shoppers by always running a contest in her shop. Check her out to see the current contest, who knows, you may walk away with a fun freebie!

Friday, March 7, 2008

A review of Etsy

I wrote an article about Etsy and published it online:

Etsy: A Great Place to Buy and Sell All Things Handmade

It explains the site to potential buyers and sellers. The more viewers that visit it, the higher it will rise in the ranks, and the better chance it has of getting on the front page of the site!

Have articles you've written about Etsy? Comment here and I'll feature a few of them here at a later date.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Paper Girl Productions

Precious plushies, funky jewelry, custom shop banners and more await you in Paper Girl Production’s shop. Belle Perez brings her own vision to the cute and cuddly things she creates.

Belle’s favorite material is the felt that she uses to make her little plushies. Her inspiration comes from materials she comes in contact with, 80’s toys, and bright colors. You can definitely see this reflected in her work. These soft little dolls really stand out in their design and execution. “I think some of my plushies look like they are the results of a childlike doodle.”

Plushies aren’t the only thing you’ll find in this talented crafter’s shop – she’s got a selection of cute hand crafted jewelry as well.

Belle creates her crafts full time. She runs her store on Etsy, as well as her personal website where you can find her Gothic Kitty Cat plushies. Her advice to other sellers: “Be passionate about your work. Don't feel like you have to conform to what everyone else around you is doing or selling well. Start your own trend.” Belle has definitely done that, and become very successful with it. Watch for her new line of goodies for Mother’s Day!

Visit Belle’s online shop here:
http://papergirlproductions.com