April 7th Double Feature!

Since my Double Features seem to be so popular, I’m doing it again – but this time, with a twist!

Today’s first featured seller is in the UK! Calexandra is a fun collection of handmade goodies ideal for gift giving. Purses, brooches, toys, greeting cards…all made with love and fun.

Calexandra is run by 30-something mum Charlotte. Charlotte has been on Etsy since October of 2007 – she stumbled across Etsy looking for something similar in the UK, and is very glad she did! (With 52 sales so far, I’m sure her happy customers are glad she did too)

Charlotte has been making her goods for about 3 years now. She originally trained in photography, so naturally started with making greeting cards. Her business has just grown from there, with each new specialty being self-taught. Charlotte confided to me that her work just “comes naturally”, although she claims it’s not really inspiration. Instead, she looks at the materials she has, thinks of nice ways to combine them…then gets to work.

A working mom to 20-month-old daughter Molly, Charlotte stays up late in the evenings to create her lovely items – but as she says, “I love working whilst the world sleeps.” Molly has no doubt played a role in the creation of Calexandra’s toy and baby sections – including the cute felted Whale – but she sneaks in other places too…like the adorable New Baby greeting cards. (Guess whose feet those are!)

And all my crafty friends, be sure to check out Charlotte’s other Etsy store, The Supply Shop!

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My second featured seller is actually on *gasp* eBay! She’s a dear friend of mine, and her store is absolutely wonderful…so I decided to feature her!

Piwykit’s Designer Closet is a store run by my friend Emily, a newlywed living in Dallas. Piwykit specializes in designer clothes – both new and gently used – for absolutely stunning prices. If you love Coach, Chanel, St John, Gaultier…then visit Piwykit’s store frequently!

Emily started her Piwykit eBay store in August of 2000, listing whatever steals she could find in the upscale thrifts of Dallas. Fortunately, there’s a lot of charitable Fashionistas in Dallas…and eventually she needed to take on an assistant…me!

I’ve known Emily since 2001; we are both engineers and worked at the same company until 2006. When she approached me in early 2005 about working as her eBay assistant, I was thrilled. She taught me the ropes of designer clothes (improving my tastes at the same time) – and eventually I was able to launch out on my own.

Emily’s eBay statistics are stunning – she’s a PowerSeller with a rating of 1839, 99.6% positive. Someday, maybe, I’ll be as good as she is. In the meantime…if you’d like an authentic Chanel dress, a fun Coach purse, or affordable cashmere top – visit Emily at Piwykit!