Friday Feature

I must confess…this should have been a Monday Feature. I’ve just been so AWFULLY busy this week!

This week’s featured Etsy seller is JenniferSquires. Jennifer actually contacted ME about being featured on my blog – and after looking at both her Etsy store, and her other website, I was thrilled to be able to feature her work! (Hint for other Etsians: finding featured stores is work for me…so people who take the inititive to contact me have a good chance of being accepted)

Anyway, back to Jennifer’s work. She bills herself as “fresh photography for hip homes”, and I can see why. Her work is very clean and fresh, with a natural palette that compliments most decors. She has prints available with subjects such as flowers, beans, veggies…as well as landscapes and scenes. Much of her inspiration clearly comes from her own garden!

Jennifer has been a professional photographer since 1996, and made the leap to running her own full-time business in 2005. Her Ontario-based business includes studio work – and some of the most adorable newborn pictures I’ve ever seen. Her art prints have been featured in several galleries…and have been available on Etsy since February 2008.

Jennifer tells me her inspiration comes from her surroundings. She looks for the beauty all around us, trying to express the simplicity and meaning of the everyday. Her passion for nature extends to her business as well, where she uses environmentally-friendly practices whenever possible: online image galleries, rechargeable batteries in her digital camera, using natural lighting, printing on 100% post consumer paper with soy inks when possible. She hopes to someday find an earth-friendly photo printing process as well.

The gorgeous prints from Jennifer’s shop are available in a wide range of sizes – from 4x6 to 24x30 – making it easy to compliment your décor, whether a large kitchen or crammed cubical. And as a special to my blog readers…Jennifer is offering a 25% discount of ALL her Etsy merchandise, now through May 16th. (Enter code TT0508 in the message to seller)

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!

Special Monday DOUBLE Feature!

There’s so many great sellers out there, I just can’t pick one…so today I’m featuring two great sellers, both newbies!

First is Two Bees in A Pod, a mother-daughter cardmaking team who have been on Etsy just two months. Their work is eye-catching and fun – and selling well already. Even more amazing, they’ve been making their products for just 4 months!

Two Bees finds inspiration from lots of places, pulling ideas for color, pattern, and ‘feel’ together in their creations. As the daughter told me about the work, “My cards are from the heart, the effort I put into them and the time I take to think of the perfect design takes a lot. I make affordable cards, I don’t know how many times I find cards online that are overpriced that anyone could make in less than 5 minutes.”

Their most popular (and favorite) items are the small “thank you cards” – perfect for Etsy sellers. Two Bees offers a great selection of all-handmade thank you cards…which reminds me, I need to order some too! The “Your Pick” listing of 5 options relisted 7 times in a month – clearly I’m not the only one who likes them.

Two Bees offers other paper goods, such as small tags – with ambitions to move into altered notebooks, paper pads, and other office supplies. I’m sure they will all be great!

You can also visit Two Bees at their blog - http://www.twobeesinapod.blogspot.com/

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My second featured seller is another mother-daughter team! HoldTheFlour is new to Etsy, but Mari and Carolyn have been making their special “diaper cakes” for two years. For those who’ve never heard of a diaper cake (like me at first)…rolled diapers (or new towels) are used to make the shape of a tiered cake…then decorated with various goodies.

HoldTheFlour has many options of diaper/towel cakes. Adorable Layettes with stuffed animals and pacifiers. Bridal bath cakes with organic bath products and soy candles. Beach cakes with sunglasses, sunscreen, and a Frisbee. Even Spa cakes – perfect for Mother’s Day gifts! All are visually appealing and lots of fun. Mari tells me they pride themselves on simple, earth-friendly cakes – they specially select the bath products, and choose baby items that are really useful.

Mari and Carolyn aren’t stopping there, however. They have a “Twin” cake planned for the baby section, and are working on a golf-themed cake for Father’s Day. And they have ambitions of someday being able to add organic linens – maybe even their own!

You can visit HoldTheFlour at either their website http://www.holdtheflour.com/ or their blog holdtheflour.blogspot.com. Just don’t expect baked goods!

Featured Charity Seller: TackyHandMade

Normally for my features, I write my own posts and ask a couple questions of the seller to fill out a few gaps. TackyHandMade provided such great answers to my questions, however, that for the first time I’ve decided to simply use her answers! (Ok, with a *little* editing, I’ll admit)

1. How long have you been selling on Etsy? If you include my other shop (tackybackintime – sells primarily vintage pieces), since summer of 2007...but this is my first handmade shop and we've just announced our grand opening!!

2. How long have you been making your items? I have been involved in other media most of my life, and just began embellishing and altering vintage and non-vintage items. The idea came to me when I fell upon plain-jane handbags that were never used! The ideas just started flowing!

3. What inspires you in your creations? When I see a lovely item just crying to be upcycled!

4. What is your favorite piece so far? Well, I am partial to my Mother's crochet items because after fighting a long bout of arthritis she is now staring to get her life back with the help of natural enzymes and shots. Getting back to her crocheting has been one extra perk of "tackyhandmade" that I never anticipated occurring. But, as far as my altered/embellished items I have a bond with this "Crazy Scrapbook" I put so much time into this and to me, it's no longer just a scrapbook...it's a piece of art!

5. What are you dying to make someday? I have a desire to get back into original art, using mixed media. I can't wait to have the inspiration to finish a painting and post it on Tackyhandmade. That will be a real thrill for me.

6. Do you have another website you blog, sell, or just like to be on? Yes, but I must say...that aside from promoting and advertising there is a higher effort going on in Etsy with various teams that devote an enormous amount of their time and efforts to charity. My thrill has been belonging to EFA (etsyforanimals). My vintage shop, tackybackintime, was contacted last fall to choose my favorite animal charity for the month of October. I chose Town Cats of Ocean City MD. They provide a no-kill shelter for feral cats and especially cats that are dropped off in the resort area...left to fend for themselves! I have personally visited Town Cats shelter so imagine the fulfillment of knowing that EFA collected over $1,000 in proceeds that this organization sorely needed!You can visit Etsy for Animals at: http://www.etsyforanimals.com/ In addition, visit their Etsy shop at: http://www.etsyforanimals.etsy.com/

If I could give one bit of advice to other shop owners on Etsy...it would be to join a team and get involved!

Featured Seller: CagedBirdSings

This week’s featured charity seller is CagedBirdSings. Run by the talented college student Erin, this fun store features colorful windchimes as well as other glass creations – and plenty of destash beads too. Erin has been making her windchimes for 2 years, and selling them on Etsy for 13 months now.

Erin’s shop was chosen for her commitment to charitable causes. She is the leader of the Etsy for Charity Street team – a group that picks a charity each month, and members donate a portion of profits to. March's charity is Sightsavers International, a wonderful group that strives to save the eyesight of children and adults across the world. The Team has almost 70 listings for sale, all donated from members. How wonderful!

Erin also started her own community charity, KnitForNeighbors. This charity sends scarves to homeless shelters and needy people in Denver (where CagedBirdSings is located). What a generous heart!

Asked about her favorite piece, Erin shared this pretty piece titled Memoir (right). With its vivid blues, greens, and yellows, this is a piece sure to brighten anyone’s day. And in case you’re wondering about the sound of these chimes (as any buyer would)…Erin even has links to short videos. She may be young, but she’s marketing savvy!

Please visit Erin’s Etsy shop and help her raise money for some wonderful causes!

Featured Charity Seller: CosyUpYourCloset

This week's featured seller is a friendly mother-daughter Etsy team! Cheri and Tracey run CosyUpYourCloset, a store full of comfortable, handknit and handcrocheted goodness. During the colder months - like now - they offer cuddly scarves, wraps, hats, and mittens....then switch to jewelery, bags, and brooches during the summer!


Cheri and Tracey are offering two scarflettes for charity right now. First is the American Heart Association scarflette - a beautiful white knit with 3 red heart buttons. With clean lines, ribbed detailing, and a touch of scalloped edges, this pretty accessory would look great with more than just your winter coat! 50% of purchase price - $9 - will go to the American Heart Association!














For all the pink lovers out there, they also offer this fancy and fringed scarflette benefiting the Breast Cancer Foundation. Rosey-pink with white edging, and two cute pink hearts. Unique and pretty! 50% of purchase price - $9 - will go to the Breast Cancer Foundation!







Cheri and Tracey are also working on a second shop, opening in March. CosyUpYourNest promises to be filled with warm and cuddly baby items! You can learn more about both shops by visiting their Cosy Up blog as well.

Featured Seller - TrishLewis

This month, I will be featuring charitable buyers and sellers - that is, people either offering listing profits to charity, or buyers who purchased an item from my PURPLE collection.

Today's featured buyer/seller is TrishLewis. Trish purchased these lovely amethyst earrings from me - and donated the shipping cost as well - for a total donation of $4 to American Cancer Society. Thanks Trish!

Trish is a new Etsy seller - she joined in January 2008, and started listing in February. For all that she's from New York (ha ha - sorry Trish, former Jersey-girl speaking), she's a very sweet and friendly person - and a great addition to the Etsy family! You can see examples of her lovely work here, and of course more in her Etsy Store. Here's a description of her skills and inspiration in her own words:

"I specialize in unique Art Glass and gemstone pendant necklaces, and I also create other jewelry with gemstone beads and sterling. After a lifetime of creativity (including beading, acting, and singin' the Blues), I started playing with Art Glass in 2002. All the colors and finishes made me happy just looking at them! Over the years, I've refined my styles and techniques."

"I'm inspired by the Impressionists - especially their use of color. What am I dying to make someday? I'd love to be in Monet's Garden at Giverny, using the colors of his Waterlilies to create my masterpiece...maybe an Art Glass necklace with much finer gemstones than I can afford to use now"

Look out for refugees from ebay

I still have my ebay business - women't clothing mostly - and the blogs there are just burning up with anger over the changes. It's kind of immature, really, lots of talk about how the feedback change "isn't fair". Ha - life isn't fair. This is a business, ebay needs to make money just like you do...and they've been losing buyers with the retailatory feedback issues lately.

What I find interesting is that the people most angry are the ones defending a seller's right to hold feedback over a buyer's head! I've been on both sides - and darn it, if I pay on time and give you a correct address, I deserve a positive. Period. Me not being happy with YOUR service (slow shipping, no response to emails, item disappointing)...that's not MY fault.

Let's think about it this way. Say you go to Macy's to buy a shirt. You pay for it, and walk out - but when you get it home, you realize that it's not 100% silk like advertised. So you want to take it back - but they tell you they'll have to penalize you, perhaps with a ding on your credit report. Does that make sense? Of course not - the seller needs to take responsibility here.

Anyway, that topic has been done to death on ebay, so enough from me....but the overall impression is that plenty of people are threatening to leave. Some will (some will probably return in a few months) - no doubt all the auction/ecommerce sites will see an upsurge.

And before anybody points out that *I* am new...I opened my etsy store in December, well before ebay's announcement!