Here is one of her beautiful designs:
French Vintage Bike at Eiffel Tower
Mint For Wall Decor by Anna from Inmyc
Until next time…
This is a blog about creative fashion, art, interior, graphics, and handmade products. Zoica Matei and Susan Newberry share their tips, experiences, and invite you to join the conversation. There are DIY projects, pictures of handmade art, and links to shops.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Friday Finds- Beautiful Mint Wall Decor
Welcome to this week's Friday Finds! The theme was "Wall Decor" and we picked a spring infused treasury curated with a mint color theme. It was created by Anna from Inmyc ( In my closet). We hope it will inspire you to decorate! Anna is from Greece, and she creates beautiful woven printed pillows. The process requires a labor of love. The original illustrations are woven by her loom at the family weaving mill and then sewn by hand.
Here is one of her beautiful designs:
French Vintage Bike at Eiffel Tower
Mint For Wall Decor by Anna from Inmyc
Until next time…
Here is one of her beautiful designs:
French Vintage Bike at Eiffel Tower
Mint For Wall Decor by Anna from Inmyc
Until next time…
Monday, January 27, 2014
Artist Spotlight - Kim Rose Colored Glass
Welcome to another edition of Artist Spotlight, our regular Monday
blog. This week’s artist is Kim Rose. Kim
is the designer and owner of Kim Rose Colored Glass. Kim creates beautiful hand Crafted stained glass style art. Here is one of Kim’s gorgeous pieces.
Thank you Kim for sharing your story with us. Want
to see more of Kim? You can visit Kim here:
Tell us a little about
yourself and your creative business.
how did you got your start?
It all began when I moved into my present home. There was a large window in the front door that I wanted to cover for privacy. Since I don't do anything in the conventional way, I wanted something other than curtains. I had seen this cool glass paint in a magazine and thought, "what a great idea.” I painted an exact replica of a stained glass window in my home. It turned out so well, I just had to create more. I gave my creations to family and friends as gifts. It was suggested I try a craft show, so I did...and wow, I was thrilled at how fun, and successful it was, so, for several years I did weekly craft shows and markets. I love the face to face interactions I experienced when selling at shows, but wanted to try selling online as well. I've tried everything from, ads, well known selling venues, to creating, and maintaining my own websites. They have been valuable tools in helping me to get where I am today, a shop owner here on Etsy (my favorite yet) I love the atmosphere here. There is always someone nearby to give advice or lend a sympathetic ear. It feels like family here.
I live in a quaint little town on the Grand River in Ontario, Canada with
my husband and two of our three children. Life is a little slower here, which
really helps with allowing the creativity to flow. I enjoy creating new, one of
a kind pieces of art in my studio. Glass paint is definitely my favorite
medium. I love how it looks just like stained glass without the possibility of
breaking it, because I paint on plexiglass, which is great for kids décor as
well.
I`ve been using this medium for almost ten years now, but only registered by
business in 2006, and shortly after ( 2009 ) opened my Etsy shop.
how did you got your start?
It all began when I moved into my present home. There was a large window in the front door that I wanted to cover for privacy. Since I don't do anything in the conventional way, I wanted something other than curtains. I had seen this cool glass paint in a magazine and thought, "what a great idea.” I painted an exact replica of a stained glass window in my home. It turned out so well, I just had to create more. I gave my creations to family and friends as gifts. It was suggested I try a craft show, so I did...and wow, I was thrilled at how fun, and successful it was, so, for several years I did weekly craft shows and markets. I love the face to face interactions I experienced when selling at shows, but wanted to try selling online as well. I've tried everything from, ads, well known selling venues, to creating, and maintaining my own websites. They have been valuable tools in helping me to get where I am today, a shop owner here on Etsy (my favorite yet) I love the atmosphere here. There is always someone nearby to give advice or lend a sympathetic ear. It feels like family here.
Where do you get your
inspiration?
I am inspired daily by so many different things, such as, a song, a
commercial or t.v. program, a color, a piece of clothing, or even a dream. I have been known to get up in the middle of
the night to write down my ideas, because they won't let me sleep until I do,
he he!
What has been your biggest
successful moment so far?
I think my proudest moment in nearly 10 years of business was surprisingly, not
when I received 2 awards, or when I was featured in a local magazine, or the
entire front page of a local paper (although, I am proud of these accomplishments)
but rather, when I was told that the private lessons I was giving to a young
autistic student had helped to bring him out of his shell more, he was very
proud and happy with his artistic accomplishments during these classes, and was
able to communicate, and express that to his family. I was so deeply touched,
that it literally brought me to tears. My proudest moment to this day!
What challenges do you face
selling online?
Anyone who sells online, knows firsthand, the challenges we face on a daily
basis. It's hard to stand out in a crowded market. It can be difficult trying
to be different from everyone else.
What advice would you give
someone just starting out on Etsy?
My advice...don't be afraid to “toot your own horn." Tell everyone and
anyone that will listen about your business. I use every opportunity to tell
people about my Etsy shop.......while standing in line at the grocery store,
sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s or dentist, or shopping at the
mall. I've handed out thousands of business cards over the years, it's a great
way to get yourself out there. As
difficult as it can be, by the same token, it can be amazing. I wouldn't give
it up for the world......Etsy, I'm here for life!
Well that wraps up another edition of Artist Spotlight. We try and run this column every Monday and
we’re always looking for artists to spotlight.
So if you are interested or know someone that we’d enjoy reading about
please pass on the information.
Thanks for stopping by,
Until next time…
Friday, January 24, 2014
Friday Finds- Love is in the Air
Welcome to this week’s Friday’s Finds! This week’s theme was “Love is in the Air” and we had a hard task in choosing from many treasuries sent. Thank you Etsy artists! We settled on the treasury curated by Fieke from HandmadebyFieke.
Fieke is from Belgium and she makes beautiful crochet items for kids. Here is one of her booties:
Crochet Baby Booties
Next week’s theme is “Wall décor”. You are more than welcome to submit a treasury and if your treasury is selected we will feature an item from your shop. Just convo Susan or myself. We’ll let you know if your treasury is selected. Also feel free to pin any of the items on our blog and follow our blog with bloglovin’.
Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time…
Fieke is from Belgium and she makes beautiful crochet items for kids. Here is one of her booties:
Crochet Baby Booties
Love is in the Air by Fieke:
Treasury tool by StylishHome
.
Next week’s theme is “Wall décor”. You are more than welcome to submit a treasury and if your treasury is selected we will feature an item from your shop. Just convo Susan or myself. We’ll let you know if your treasury is selected. Also feel free to pin any of the items on our blog and follow our blog with bloglovin’.
Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time…
Monday, January 20, 2014
Artist Spotlight - Shulamit Raanan
Welcome to another edition of Artist Spotlight. This week's aretist is Shulamit Raanan. Shulamit lives in Israel. Her shop is called Shuli Designs. Shulamit makes uniques handmade beads, artistic gifts, home décor, accessories, and jewelry using polymer clay. Here is one of shulamit's beautiful items.
Tell us a
little about yourself and your creative business.
Thank you Shulamit for sharing your story with us today. Want to see more of Shulamit? You can visit Shulamit here:
I live in a small country community named
Timrat in the lower Galilee in Israel with my husband and three wonderful kids.
I am a creative artist in nature since I can remember myself in the
fields of painting, ceramics, paper works and graphic design. In the last few
years I am fascinated with Polymer clay endless options to combine colors,
shapes, designs and products using mainly the Millefiori technique that
combines different surface textures. You might say I'm addicted.
I teach Art and Technology. I have a B.ed degree in Technology, Drama and
Art and a Master's degree in Humanities.
I have an Etsy shop in which I display a variety of my original designs,
products and supplies. Among them you can find Wall décor (love birds, owls,
HAMSAs…), unique colorful spinning tops, rich variety of beads and more…
How did you
get your start?
For many years I had been working with materials as an art teacher and
always had the urge to prove to myself that I can promote my artistic ideas and
capabilities to a professional and commercial level.
Where do you
get your inspiration?
Living along the Mediterranean Sea and especially in the Middle East is
very inspiring.
The colors of the sun and the sea, the green of the mountains and valleys
alongside the yellow desert, the taste of wine, the smell of local spices, the
cultural variation and the rich history of the region are all rooted in me.
Since I remember myself, I was inspired by our beautiful nature. I always
had the passion to create with my hands and to experiment different crafts and
materials. I am very optimistic by nature - That's why I have chosen to
concentrate in Polymer clay designs which allow endless colors and shape
combinations.
What has been
your biggest successful moment so far?
I have many big moments when I sale internationally on Etsy. I have
customers all over the world most of them from the USA and Israel. My favorite
customers are the returning customers that are happy with what they got and
come back again to buy another piece. These customers give me a good feeling
about myself and my art. Usually they feedback and tell me about the
complements they get when wearing my necklaces, earrings and so on.
What challenges
do you face selling online?
Marketing and maintaining my business is the most difficult part of my
work. It consumes a lot of time at the expanse of creating new designs.
Promoting my designs in the social networks and on line requires time in front
of the computer and in photographing and editing it for the media.
What advice
would you give someone just starting out on Etsy?
My best advice is persistence and consistency together with renewing the
sources of inspiration from different art fields. To learn from one own mistakes
which may lead to new ideas. Never give up when things get tough and
frustrating and believe in yourself.
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ShuliDesigns
http://www.facebook.com/ShuliDesigns
Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/shulidesigns/
http://pinterest.com/shulidesigns/
Wanelo:
Twitter:
Well that wraps up another edition of Artist Spotlight. We try and run this column every Monday and we’re always looking for artists to spotlight. So if you are interested or know someone that we’d enjoy reading about please pass on the information.
Thanks for stopping by,
Until next time…
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