Sandyvern Soaps and Things

Tuesday - BESTeam Mosaic
weekly shoutout to the dedicated workers that like to help other handmade artists...


sandyvern on Etsy... sandyvern on Etsy has a beautiful selection of soaps, stitch markers, earrings and other things in her store. Sandy herself is a self taught crafter and by day runs a pet sitting business alongside her soapmaking, knitting and creating of stitch markers. She really enjoys being with animals and even has a family of pets at home including 4 bearded dragons, a kitten and a dog :)

sandyvern's Blog... sandyvern's blog is a sweet account of Sandy's crafting adventures with her soaps, pet sitting adventures, artisan features and anything that springs to her mind. Well worth checking out and following :)

All items are clickable and will take you directly to sandyvern's listings...

BlushingDoveBoutique

Friday Finds... BlushingDoveBoutique


Interview # 35

BlushingDoveBoutique on Etsy by Amy Sarah Lilley is a pastel shade haven of cute candy colored jewelry. Almost everything she creates is wonderfully girly and almost takes you back to your childhood, particularly the sight of those gorgeous love heart pieces! I remember the days of eating and savouring loveheart sweets and can still remember the taste of them quite vividly!
Amy also creates interesting headbands made from a variety of different beads and lace which apart from being up my street bohemian, are also extremely feminine and unique. She has kindly taken part in this weeks interview and it's been lovely to learn about her growing passion for her new craft and life outside of Etsy. Enjoy the interview!


(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)

-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) My full name is Amy Sarah Lilley, I am twenty-two years old, and live in Newark-on-Trent with my hubby of almost a year and our naughty puppy. A random fact about me is that I prefer to eat with long-pronged forks and really small spoons. Food just tastes better that way!

-- What is your business about then? My aim is to create cute, quirky and fun jewellery and accessories that are still ultra feminine and a bit classy too. I want the women who wear my designs to feel confident and creative, and to realise how beautiful they are!


-- How did Etsy come into your life? After finishing a degree in English, getting married and moving to a new place last August, I felt a bit down in the dumps because of all the massive changes. Despite my joy at being fortunate enough to find and marry the man I love at a younger age than most, I still had to get used to all of the adjustments, and I found this really tough at first. I'd never had much time for a hobby when I was studying, so started experimenting with various things. I started out by making and selling headbands on eBay. A lady I met on eBay told me about Etsy a few months later, and here I am!



-- Are you working a day job too? Not at the moment, I've taken a year off after getting married. I have just registered as a personal English tutor though, so am hoping to start working soon.


-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? That's an interesting question, I've never thought of myself as an artist before! But I guess I've always been 'arty' in one way or another. When I was at university I expressed this in the way I dressed. I used to have really short, sometimes platinum blonde or pink hair (I'm a natural brunette), and odd earrings, all that sort of crazy stuff: people often mistook me for an art student. Since graduating, I no longer have the desire to dress in such a flamboyant way, so I guess I have found another way to vent my creativity via my Etsy shop.


-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? My love of cute and girlie style has really motivated me to set up my little shop, also my love of creating. My main inspiration was the thought that this was something I could really put 'myself' into. I feel that what I do is very personal, and my Etsy shop reflects 'me'. I have a pink dove tattooed on my right foot. I got this a few years ago whilst in my 'arty' phase, and have lived to regret it since. When I was trying go think of a name for my shop, I decided to incorporate my own pink dove into my shop's title, it is now a part if me and a direct result of that 'arty' side I've talked about. And so 'Blushing Dove' was born.


-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Fun
Feminine
Delicate


-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? I must confess there is little structure as I am not yet in a proper 'working routine'. It is normally like this:
Get up, check Etsy and eBay orders (yes, I sell on eBay too!), clean the kitchen, make orders, promote on my iphone over a late breakfast, work on new designs, clean something, walk the dog, occassionally I fit in an exercise DVD, cook for my husband for when he gets home at four, rush to the post office. As I have applied to be a personal tutor, I spend part of the day studying for this, as I love English and want to do the best job that I can. My husband and I then usually spend some of the evening together.


-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? I love the Japanese craft of sweet deco, and love making cute food items out of clay. I also love using pearls! As I mentioned, I am learning to crochet too, so this may well become a favourite technique of mine!


-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? If I'm being really ambitious, I would like to get some of my designs featured in magazines, and maybe to stock some boutiques. I am secretly hoping that I will do well enough to enable me to grow this from a hobby into a small business (so that I can do just this and personal tuition to support my husband, and will not have to look for a day job!). As long as women buy and love my items, I consider myself successful. This is what I love, and I consider anything else a bonus.


-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I love to read, swim, learn to play guitar, cook and watch movies with my husband. I'm also learning to crochet at the moment.


-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? I love all of the supplies on Etsy! I also love many of the dresses, and hats by Janine Basil. I hope my shop does well enough for me to be able to afford one.


-- Any last words? I hope I have not bored you with my essay-like answers! Come and visit my shop and know that I have put a lot of myself into getting it to take off. I hope you will find something that you love at 'Blushing Dove'.

Jazjewels

Friday Finds... jazjewels


This is my 34th interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy!

jazjewels on Etsy is an incredibly talented jewelry artist with an amazing eye for unique detail and color. Her pieces to me feel very grounding and natural looking in their appearence as the shapes and designs have a weaved spiders-web look to them, reminding me of the beauty of nature. She uses enamel and metal to create each piece and has kindly included a Handmade Portraits video at the bottom of this interview sharing a bit more about herself. Please take the time to to visit the listings below and her store :)


(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)

-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) Hi, my name is Judy Azoulai. I just turned 50! (A young 50, maybe like 20s?) I was born and raised in the beautiful land of Israel. I moved to the states in 1981. We lived in Brooklyn NY for about 10 years, then moved to Manalapan, NJ and we're still here, we love it !!


-- What is your business about then? I am a jewelry designer. I consider my jewelry pieces as small works of wearable art. My specialty is enameled jewelry.


-- How did Etsy come into your life? It all started because of fingerless gloves! On a freezing January day I was shopping at my favorite bead store. The lady who helped me was wearing these beautiful and simple black fingerless gloves. I asked her where could I get those gloves, since my hands are always freezing in the winter. She said, “On Etsy”. I had no idea what she was talking about so she went on explaining what Etsy was. I came home, checked the Etsy site, and I was hooked!


-- Are you working a day job too? Etsy is my day, evening, and in between job, I love it!
I’m an out of work (by choice) graphic designer.


-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? Since I can I remember, I've had my hands in something. As a student of Art and Design I have had my hands in oil for painting, charcoal for drawing, wool for knitting, and clay for pottery. But most of all, the creation of modern, elegant, one of a kind jewelry is my passion.


-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? My inspiration comes from anything that is free flowing. It may be the trees blowing in the wind, ocean waves, insects on a quest for nectar, or the movement of a dancer. I don’t plan much and I’m not rigid in my design. Just like a jazz musician, I improvise as I go.


-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Bold, Organic, Colorful


-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? First thing is my morning coffee. I check jazjewels for any sales. I read and post comments on my favorite forums. I go to the gym and run some errands. I come back home and check on my garden, I love my garden. I check Etsy (my family thinks that I’m an Estyholic!!) I go upstairs to my home studio to work on the next creation. I cook diner for my family. I go on Etsy again!!


-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? I love to enamel but I’m always exploring other avenues. I like the excitement of the new, something I’ve never done before. Currently I’m exploring what a very hot torch does to copper and I’m coming up with some cool colors on copper. I also like to work with silver. Its all fun and the possibilities are endless.


-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I would love to have my work shown in galleries. I would like to have more sales on Etsy. I don’t think I’ll become a rich women selling on Etsy I just want to know that people other than myself, friends and family appreciates my art.


-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I play tennis, I ride my bike, I go hiking, I dance; I love to spend time with my family. What can I say? LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!


-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? There are so many talented artists on Etsy that I can spend days (if my family would have let me) looking for cards, pottery and knitted goods.


-- Any last words? I’m glad you found me! Thanks for having me on.

If you still want to know about me a little bit more please take a look at my video.

http://vimeo.com/12863461

TheGardenRoom

Tuesday - BESTeam Mosaic
weekly shoutout to the dedicated workers that like to help other handmade artists...


TheGardenRoom on Etsy... Today's BESTeam artist is Patricia Snow of TheGardenRoom on Etsy, whose craft is specialising in making fine jewelry using semi-precious gemstones and supplies. Even fresh water pearls! Her Jewelry is gorgeous and her use of the camera (and a lightbox im guessing :) ) for me is an ideal example of how product photos should look considering I have recently written a Handmade Spark article about how to NOT present your product photos lol! :) Stunning throughout. Make sure you give her a visit! (and a heart!).

And Patricia's Blog... Patricia's blog's gorgeous black and pink design is the one thing that initially grabbed my attention, and of course it is full of great posts on her craft and those of other artists including BESTeam members!

All items are clickable and will take you directly to TheGardenRoom's listings...

FRIDAY - Friday Finds... LunarBelle

Friday Finds... LunarBelle

This is my tenth interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy.

Today I want to introduce a wonderful jewelry maker that hails from Australia, whom came into my awareness after contacting me via the Etsy Promotions forum. I am in love with her work, there is something very romantic and delicate about her jewelry that appeals to me and I think she pieces together the findings and beads she uses in an extremely beautiful way. So here is LunarBelle on Etsy


(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)









-- Tell me a bit about you! My name is Regina, I am 37 years old and I live in Australia. I lived in Austria when I was a little girl and had to translate for my English speaking mother!

-- What is your business about then? I design and make jewelry that I love and hope others do too. My jewelry design is more of a hobby than a business, I get great satisfaction creating beautiful peices and even greater satisfaction when people enjoy what I make.

-- How did Etsy come into your life? I had been selling peices at a local gift shop and found that I needed another outlet for my designs. It was through a google search that I came upon Etsy. I had never heard of it before but thought it was a wonderful way to get my jewelry out there.

-- Are you working a day job too? Yes and no! I am a stay at home mum to two beautiful girls. I have been very fortunate in that I am able to do this. I really appreciate my time with them.

-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? I have been plying my family and friends with my creations for around five years now. Before jewelry making I was dabbling with other arts and crafts such as stained glass, sewing and painting with watercolours.

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? A new bead shop opened up at the local shopping centre and I had never seen such a pretty shop before. I fell in love with all the beautiful things in there. Ever since then I have had a passion for beads. I feel like they have taken over my life! When you start dreaming about them and your designs you know its a passion!

-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Pretty, unique and colourful.

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? It starts off with getting everyone off to work and school, then I spend one or two hours promoting my business. After this it is housework, washing and shopping (not a very exciting part of the day!). I then do the school pick up and start thinking about dinner. Often I will bake at this time as well. After dinner and everything is done I sit down and start creating (this is my favourite time).

-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? I love crystal beads and use them all the time. I accent these with metal and I am particularly fond of antique brass and gunmetal. It highlights the colours of the crystals nicely. I love gemstones and pearls also.

-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I am very happy with how everything is at the moment and hope to keep on creating. Sales are good because then I can continue buying lovely peices to work with!

-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I play tennis twice a week - Wednesday is competition day and Friday night is for fun. I love to read, garden and catch up with family and friends. Fun is watching my husband's band play at functions so I can have a dance!

-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? I like to look at the treasuries and would love to try one of my own. I search art as I am in awe of their talents. I also like to look at other jewelry designers beautiful work.

-- Any last words? Thanks for the interview! I have really enjoyed it and am glad to be featured on your gorgeous blog. If I can make somebody happy with one of my creations then I get so much in return.

FRIDAY - Friday Finds... ChocolateCreative

Friday Finds... ChocolateCreative

This is my eighth interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy.

It has been a long while since I have done my weekly searches through my favourite newest of the new on Etsy so over the weekend I almost felt peace washing over the diffiulties that have surrounded my families lives lately, by just being able to do what I love doing the most here on Blogger and Etsy. I haven't managed to finish updating my own store as of yet, but as you discovered on Monday I found 12 great new artists with wonderful work to share that I wanted to share with the community as my favourite finds of the week. Today I want to introduce my favourite artist of the week in my artistan interview, that makes beautiful home decor printed cushions and textiles. I love her work because it is fresh, unique and elegantly abstract that reflects times of old, as well as the fact that she likes to use eco sound materials like organic cotton and hemp in her eco collection. I think her concept is just so carefully thought out and produced so well that I couldnt resist asking for an interview, and thrilled that she wanted to take part! I'd like to introduce you to Designer Margarita of ChocolateCreative. Also check out her wonderful blog http://chocolatecreative.blogspot.com.



(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)







-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) Margarita Lorenzo, 38, London, Spanish at heart, living and enjoying my English life in London.

-- What is your business about then? My business is about creating sustainable handmade textiles and accessories for the house, spreading the word about craft and traditional skills and promoting handmade design above mass produced one.

-- How did Etsy come into your life? I learned about Etsy last year while browsing an American blog, and thought what a brilliant idea!! As it reaches out globally and have a great designers/makers community.

-- Are you working a day job too? My background is in Graphic Design, and have been doing this for the past 15 years, still work part time for a company, but trying to give up on this job to concentrate on my textiles business.

-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to do/study art, I went to University to do Fine Art, specialised in Graphic Design, and since them never have stopped studying and learning new ways of expressing my creativity, printmaking and textiles have been my latest studies.

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? I suppose the main reason is my passion for what I do and make, and wanted to be my own boss for a long time. I believe in handmade design and love making my own things. I look for inspiration in traditional craft, embroidery, stitching, old linens, vintage textiles, the colours and look of old houses in Cuba and Brazil, etc…I like mixing the old with the new and that is what I try in each design, to bring a bit tradition into a contemporary piece.

-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Sustainable handmade textiles

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? It differs from day to day, (this is when working on my textiles from my studio at home), I am not an early bird, so start around 9.30/10am,
have my coffee while I browse a magazine
read and answers emails
organize the day’s work
If time, go for a walk in the park/have lunch
Print/sew/make cushions
Work on new ideas
Market the business
Run the blog
Shop for materials
And last browse blogs and sites for inspiration and networking while I watch TV on my sofa, absolutely exhausted but very happy!!

-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? I only work with natural fabrics, such as Linens, hemps, 100% cottons and organic cotton, I soon hope to start introducing some old linens and vintage fabrics. I want to reuse as much as possible, I value old textiles and believe in recycling very much. I screen print my own designs and use transfer paper for some motives, I love using traditional skills such as cross stitch and embroidery.

-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? In the ideal world and hopefully in my near future I see myself dedicated to Chocolate Creative full time, and living between Spain (Canary Islands where I come from) in Winter and spending Summer/Spring in London. Expanding the textiles lines and introducing stationary and ceramics. Running the blog, and who knows what my creative mind and new opportunities will bring along the way. I am very certain this is what I want to do as I feel very passionate about it.

-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I love being with my friends and family, (they are a very important part of my life and feel very privilege to have so many supportive people around me), cooking and entertaining at home, traveling as much possible, going home to my local beach and relax by the sea. I love going to the cinema, museums, galleries, browse second hand shops and antiques markets, and above all a good piece of cake, cup of tea, good magazine, my cat next to me and my confy sofa, HEAVEN!!!

-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? Anything that looks gorgeous and is being well crafted, I have already bought a few pieces from it and I am always surprise about how much talent is out there, it is such a source of inspiration!!

-- Any last words? The piece of advice that has helped me the most and that I pass on to you all is: “Be true to your heart, believe in yourself and follow your dreams”. I want to thank to all the amazing global community that is out there, making, designing and creating for being a constant source of inspiration!!

FRIDAY - Friday Finds... RAJewelryDesigns

Friday Finds... RAJewelryDesigns

This is my seventh interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy.

There are quite a few jewelry sellers in the world, and some are far from being unique. Yet on Etsy there are so many people with incredibly innovative ideas that I personally find awe inspiring. Particularly the seller I have interview for today. Her work is simply AMAZING and very artistic, inspired by the beauty of floral designing, and very carefully considered. For anyone looking for the perfect wedding adornments, or gifts to bring beauty into one's life I'd like to introduce you to RuthAnne of RAJewelryDesigns.



(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)







--Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) My name is RuthAnn, I am 64 years of age, live in the Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., area. I am married with one son and one grandson. I worked over 40 years as a legal secretary. In my spare time, I would tinker with making quilts and jewelry. About 4 years ago, I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis which altered my daily life tremendously. No longer being able to work, I turned my interests to the hobbies I had and am now a full time artisan making custom designed jewelry and wedding floral designs. Thanks to the wonderful people who purchase my designs, I keep busy 7 days a week sometimes 12 hours a day making complete bridal party flowers and jewelry. I thank God every day for awakening me to this hidden talent I have had for so long.


-- What is your business about then? I design and create custom made jewelry and silk floral designs. My jewelry is mainly sterling silver and 14k gold filled. I create items from simple necklaces and earrings to elaborate wire wrapped designs. Sometimes when I have a piece of wire and a lovely gemstone or cameo, my mind just goes on and on and next thing, I have created a lovely pendant. My floral designs range from complete wedding packages including cascade and round bridal and attendant bouquets, boutonnieres, cake toppers, pew bows, pomanders (kissing balls), hair accessories and more. I was asked to make a flower girl halo for a friend's daughter's wedding and it all started there. My love for floral designing has been enhanced ever since.

-- How did Etsy come into your life? I started as a buyer on Etsy, purchasing my jewelry supplies, ribbon, flowers, etc. Then one day it hit me, why not sell what I buy. I opened RAWeddingCreations.etsy.com first and a bit later opened RAJewelryDesigns.etsy.com.


-- Are you working a day job too? No, due to my spinal stenosis, I can no longer be gainfully employed. Etsy has helped me feel like I am still contributing to the income and not a burden on my husband.

-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? I was "artsy" from grade school but never to the extent it is now. I wish I had realized years ago how much I love making things and began full time much sooner.

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? My illness. If I was still gainfully employed, I probably would not be doing my crafts to the extent that I am.



-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Beautiful, stunning, well made.


-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? We are up at 5 a.m. every day. Get my husband off to work by 6 a.m. and he does not return until 5 p.m. After he is gone, general everyday household chores get done (takes me a bit longer than the average person). Usually by 11 a.m., I am working on my orders or creating something new I may have thought of or saw something that gave me an idea. I work on my orders and crafts until about 4 p.m. when I begin to prepare dinner for the 2 of us (in between there, I have to take a few minutes to pay attention to Patty, our cat). After dinner, I will go back to what I was working on for a few more hours. In the course of an average day, I spend about 8 to 10 hours crafting -- creating or completing orders. Of course, there are days with doctor's appointments, repairmen, etc. which totally messes up my day.



-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? With my jewelry, gemstones of all kinds, sterling silver, gold filled, wire, fancy beading. With my flowers, all silk florals, lovely satin ribbon.

-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I would love to see my shops grow to the point where I can make a total living just doing the crafting that I love. It would benefit me not only financially but also as part of my therapy. I encourage all my customers (especially weddings) to send me photos so I can see my crafts "at work" and to see how much joy my handiwork has brought to other people.


-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I like reading and canning foods we have grown in our garden.

-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? Gemstones, wire, beads, silk flowers, ribbon.

-- Any last words? Thank you for contacting me and especially for your interest in RAJewelryDesigns. I think what you are doing is a fantastic thing and wish you well with it. I deeply appreciate your interest in me and my crafts.