• Tell me a bit about yourself

We are a duo of artists, our names are Nathan and Annie and we live in San Antonio TX.

• What is the name of your Shop?

The name of our shop is “VerdigrisDye”

• Please describe your creative process

We first create our designs digitally in a vector program, occasionally we will sketch them out on paper first but that’s usually when we are not near one of our computers, then we test the design on our cutter and make any necessary changes, once that’s done we have a new product. We create whenever the mood or inspiration strikes even if all we do is talk about what we would like to create next or if we visualize an idea in our minds to share or work on later.

• Where do your ideas come from?

We are inspired by nearly anything. I personally believe that everything can be seen as inspirational and never let myself be limited in any of my creative endeavours.

• How did you get into your craft?

Quite by accident, but the best things in life always simply seem to fall into place. Nathan was using the type of equipment that we now use at his place of employment and thought it would be a nice thing to get into for the purpose of making car decals. I had seen the Etsy site a few years earlier and mentioned it to him. We started buying equipment and I did a lot of research to see what other people were doing with adhesive vinyl and discovered its use as temporary to semi-permanent wall art and was amazed. A few months later we joined Etsy and began creating and listing our work.

• Apart from creating things, what do you do?

We spend most of our time creating stuff, so there is little else we do besides creating things. But when we are not creating we are making dinner, watching movies or caring for our pets, Aurora our energetic lab mix and Akio our spoiled rotten silver tabby. Nathan is essentially an electrical engineer, I say essentially because he is still studying at the University; and most of what he does at work is help the company improve their electrical and sometimes mechanical products. I am an artist and fashion designer who recently graduated with a major in fashion design and a minor in art, and am currently employed as a seamstress. I hope to branch our shop out into other fields such as clothing.

• How do you promote your work?

We have attended a toy and comic show recently, we promote our business by word of mouth, we have just made up some business cards so we have begun to pass those out, and we have a Facebook page. And we have only been technically in business (actually listing and selling products both online and offline) for a little over a month.

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• Tell me a bit about yourself

My name is Heather. I am a college student in Southern CA. I am the youngest of 3 girls and definitely the most creative when it comes to crafts. I am a youth leader for high school at my church (Hope Community) and love movies! I have 5 piercings and a tattoo covering my entire upper back. I’m a daddy’s girl in every sense of the word and I am studying neuropsychology. (How was that for a random sampling).

• What is the name of your Shop?

”HopscotchAndScars”

• Please describe your creative process

My creative process involves falling in love with a charm, stone, bead or crystal and basing a design around it. I use lots of charms and lots of Swarovski Crystals. I’m getting into using more real stones and semi precious gems. I usually craft in my spare time and while I’m watching movies I’ve seen millions of times!

• Where do your ideas come from?

I’m inspired by everything around me. My high schoolers, my ex-fiance’s Mom, my sisters, the music I like, the movies and TV I watch and the world around me. I design around the phrase “where girly meets edgy” because I absolutely love wearing skulls and sparkles. I like to be tough, but pretty at the same time and I thought that other people would appreciate my aesthetic.

• How did you get into your craft?

I learned to make jewelry from my ex-fiance’s Mom who is one of my favorite people in the world. She and I are still great friends and she is a great mentor.

• Apart from creating things, what do you do?

Aside from jewelry making, I scrapbook, make cards, hike, bike, walk on the beach, ride ATVs, do archery, help at my church’s youth group, dance, sing and study.

• How do you promote your work?

I promote lots and lots by word of mouth. I give out a lot of business cards and write down my Etsy Store address for people all the time. I also promote in chat and forums on Etsy. I love to promote myself and market my product. I also use MySpace and facebook!

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• Tell me a bit about yourself

Hi! My name’s DEBASHRI. I am located in Hawaii currently. I am originally from India. I came to the US two and a half years back, a few months after I got married to Sarang.

• What is the name of your Shop?

BLOSSOMS. But on ETSY, I go by DEBASHRI (I did not know that the username would be the shop name by default.

• Please describe your creative process

I don’t have any specific time at which I work on my flowers. I create whenever I feel the urge. Sometimes even late at night or early in the mornings. If I have an idea, I just HAVE TO translate it into my creations. I only use DECO Clay. I haven’t tried to use any other material so far.

• Where do your ideas come from?

I get inspired by things all around me. Nature is naturally, my biggest inspiration, since I create flowers out of clay. But sometimes, I get inspired by clothes that people wear, and even inanimate objects. Sometimes I see a particular color on a box and I want to make flowers in that specific color. Then of course, my teacher and my clay school members - each one of them is an inspiration for me!

• How did you get into your craft?

When I came to the US, I did not have permission to work. Having worked 5 years in the corporate field before that in India, I was somewhat restless when I had no job here. I am a very shy person and cannot make friends easily. I find it easier to engage myself in reading, watching movies or some such solitary activity. I decided to learn something new while I was here. I started by learning crochet lei-making at the Honolulu Craft Supply. But after a while, I lost interest - partly because I found it monotonous but mostly because I wasn’t good at it. But while learning lei-making I came across a book about DECO Clay. I had learnt how to make paper and satin flowers in India and I was looking for something on the same lines, because I LOVE flowers. One look at the DECO Clay book told me that it was what I was looking for! My husband and I went to the DECO Clay Craft Academy in Honolulu. I was struck by how real the flowers looked. I wanted to start learning right that moment. But we were not doing well at that time. Sarang was still paying off his loans and I was without a job. We did not even have the minimum of 50 dollars required for membership, leave alone the class fees and the cost of materials. But I really wanted to learn this craft and Sarang was very supportive. Finally, after saving for 3 weeks, we were able to pay for the membership and we decided that I would just attend one class a month. Even that was more than what we could afford at that time. But we are glad we didn’t let it stop us. Slowly, things got better and I started taking classes more frequently. And here I am today - a certified instructor from the DECO Clay Craft Academy. As soon as I got my work permit, I registered my business. Now, I sell my creations online. Also, I get orders from friends. And everyday, I make more and more flowers, sometimes trying my own techniques.

• Apart from creating things, what do you do?

When I am not creating clay flowers, I create music. (I have been learning music since I was 3-4 years old) I also love stirring up gourmet dishes :). I even make jewelry for relaxation. I love reading books, watching good cinema. Whenever I can, I also catch up the game of cricket on the internet. I love travelling too. And recently, I have started taking an interest in photography. So, there are lots of things that I love doing! But more than anything, I have a fulltime job taking care of my home and husband :).

• How do you promote your work?

I am still learning this one! Like I said, I am very shy. I can’t get myself to go up to people or shops and try to promote my creations. Therefore, I find the internet forums very convenient since I can just give a link to my work and request people to check it out. That is about the only promotion that I do. I guess, I have to get better at this

Also you can visit my Blog to know more about me!

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• Tell me a bit about yourself

Hi! My name is Mandy. I’m 19 and currently residing in Springfield, Mo. I’ve been crocheting for about 4 years now and its pretty much my addiction. I love the feeling I get when I can use something I made myself and not have to go out and buy it. I have a blog that you can check out that shows what projects I’m working on and what shenanigans I’m up to.

• What is the name of your Shop?

”miss indie”

• Please describe your creative process

My creative process is a mess. Basically I’ll get inspiration from other projects, books, pieces I see around town and then I’ll tweak it and add my own flare to it. I’m a yarn junkie and a good portion of my bedroom is a yarn stash. I also dabble in appliqué and felts, so I’ve got random materials here and there. I’m such a night owl, so I tend to stay up until 3 am crocheting with my mom and watching reruns of Days Of Our lives.

• Where do your ideas come from?

Crochet books, my mom, yarns[that sounds weird but its true], Ravelry.com[thank God for Ravelry], and stuff I see when I’m out and about.

• How did you get into your craft?

My mommy :] She taught me how to crochet a few years back and I would not have my own business if it weren’t for her. She is a huge part of my inspiration and I am very grateful to her. I love you mom!!

• Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I read [Jane Austen, Stephenie Meyer, Francesca Lia Block], sing in choir at church, watch old movies, add to my yarn stash, write insightful and horrible poetry, and blog.

• How do you promote your work?

I hand out business cards to everyone, blog about my shop, try to get my shop featured on blogs [thanks again Emma!], and write a lot on the Etsy forums.

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• Tell me a bit about yourself

My name is Carla Beerbower I live in Garrett, IN. My shop on Etsy is “Cutting-Edge Creations”
I am a stay at home mom of 5 children. I have been in the craft business for 13 years. I have been in craft shops, craft shows, and I had a rep. sell my jewelry to gift shops, boutiques, and Hallmark stores in Indiana and Ohio. Now I sell on a few internet sites. I love to create, that is who I am as a person.

• Please describe your creative process

I have made so many things with so many materials through the years. I have done charcoal portraits, oil painted landscapes, mohair bears, painted on glass, wood crafts, jewelry, rubber stamping, doll clothes for OOAK sculpted babies, and needle felting. (Geesh, did I leave anything out?)

• Where do your ideas come from?

I love to try new things. I am trying to sculpt babies out of polymer clay and I am getting ready to reborn a doll. There is nothing I won’t try. Before I die I would like to try glass blowing!

I got all this creativity from my parents. My dad could draw with pencil and pen. My mom loved to crochet and sew. She would come up with the crafts for Vaction Bible School for all the age groups.

• How did you get into your craft?

How do I get into my craft? Hmmmm, whenever a child does not demand my attention. Many people ask me “how long did that take to make?” My response, “5 minutes here, 5 minutes there.” I does get easier as they get older.

• How do you promote your work?

I have a hard time promoting my work. I am a crafter not a promoter, is doesn’t come natural. I have a Blog. I promote in the Etsy forums, I don’t know if works, but I do it.

I love what I do. I can’t quit, it is a part of me.

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We are John and Tracy Seekins. We have been married for 18 years and been through our life ups and life downs. Over the last year we have become Full Time RVers. We live and travel in our camper, as well as create all of our art and jewelry there.

John creates all of our sculpture, paintings, woodburnings and other art as it strikes him to do so. He has a creative hand and an eye for detail. He is on a constant search to create the perfect item. He strives to achieve beauty and detail in all that he does. John has been drawing/sketching since he was 9 years old. Creating art has always been his love. Only recently, within the last 6 months, did he begin creating sculpture and paintings. Most days you will find him at the table with all his art items around him creating something new and wonderful.

I, Tracy, craft all of the jewelry items. I have been crafting since I was about 10. I have used many different mediums of crafting including but not limited to plastic canvas, crocheting, card weaving, jewelry making, and much more. I decided to focus on jewelry because it brings me the greatest amount of satisfaction when I see the completed product. Not often do I create two items that are the same. I like variety and creating unique items. Though, when I find something I like a lot I have been known to create a few similar items so that I can have a pair and then sell some too.

Our Shop is “Jinxy’s Fine Gifts”. I named it Jinxy’s with the original intention that it would be for my jewelry. Jinx is a cute little nickname I got when I was 16 and I have always loved it and used it. I quickly realized I wanted to include John’s art in my shop but we already had people who loved the shop so I didn’t want to change the name. So we added the Fine Gifts to envelope the entire store.

As I said we are Full Time RVers but we also do workamping. What that means is we do a few hours a week of work for the campground in exchange for our rent and utilities. So usually on the weekends we are working but the rest of the week you can find us busily creating arts and crafts in our camper.

John gets a lot of his inspiration for paintings from places we have been or things we have seen along our journey of life. Lazy Days, one of his paintings, is actually a combination of two different campgrounds we stayed at.

John’s sculptures come from somewhere deep within. He often just throws a lump of clay on the table and stares at it until something starts to form in his mind. Then he will begin to work the clay and quite often it becomes something much different than he originally thought it would.

I myself just see the jewelry create itself right in front of me. If it could do it without the help of my hands, sometimes I imagine that it might. It just becomes what it wanted to be. I created a necklace just recently that I was sure was finished but apparently it wanted more beads because I finished it three times before it finally felt and looked finished.

We opened our etsy shop during Memorial Day weekend 2008, so we are still very new, however promoting is a vital part of running any business. I spend at least an hour a day in the forums on etsy learning, chatting and promoting. I have business cards on order for handing out locally. I wear my own jewelry and I am often asked about it. I also provide links to our shop on every site that I belong to online and in my signiture line in my email. This week I plan to completely overhaul my myspace page to promote my Etsy Shop and my newly published poetry book, “Poems for the Soul” published through lulu.com.

All in all John and I enjoy creating our art and jewelry. We love what we do and we love to share what we do with others. We hope that this will become a good income for our family but even if it doesn’t we won’t give up and we won’t stop because we derive great joy from creating.

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• Tell me a bit about yourself

My name is Sara Czukal. I’m originally from Northeast Ohio. I’m a Sophomore at The Columbus College of Art and Design, where I’m majoring in Industrial Design. I recently joined etsy (May) and have fallen in love with the creative etsy community.

• What is the name of your Shop?

My shop is “CzukART”

• Please describe your creative process

Sometimes a single word can inspire a series of art pieces. My sketchbook is full of ideas. I make sure to take it everywhere I go so that when an idea strikes me I can jot it down or draw it out. From there I elaborate on the idea. I draw it over and over making improvements. I take notes on construction, materials and color possibilities. By the time I’m finished sketching I have lots of designs to choose from.
Also, I love to work really late at night! It’s not unusual for me to still be working a project at 5AM

• Where do your ideas come from?

Mostly I’m inspired by the little things. The thickness of the paint, or the movement of the fabric I’m using. The materials I use give my artwork life and inspire new projects.

• How did you get into your craft?

I’ve always had a strong interest in art and the desire to learn new techniques. I started taking my art seriously around my Junior year of high school. My teacher at the time saw I had potential and urged me to apply to art schools. Now, I can’t function without my art. If I’m not creating something, I’m just not myself.

• Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I’m a full time student the Columbus College of Art and Design. Aside from school work I love playing the guitar, gardening and listening to The Beatles!

• How do you promote your work?

I try to promote myself through forums, and word of mouth. I also have a Blog where I write about the projects I’m working on in my studio.

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Hi my name is Michelle Button and I live in the small city of Swift Current, Saskatchewan. I’m affiliated with the Fall Into Christmas Show, which is a big craft show held in 3 different cities. One in Saskatchewan and the other 2 in Alberta. I’m also affiliated to a new little shop downtown (The girl next door) where my stuff can be seen. My Etsy Shop is “Buttons’N Such”.

I am a 30yr old stay at home mother of three, 22mts, 3 & 9. I went to Fashion Design School right after high school and then ended up having a little girl so wasn’t able to keep with the program for my last year. I have worked mostly in retail with fashion. In my last job I did the buying for the stores Teen department and really enjoyed that. I have always been artsy fartsy, doing sewing and crafts with my grandma during the summer when I was little. After having my first kid I did a lot of sewing projects, like my sisters bridesmaid dress and clothes for my girl. I also made lots of jewellery for her too. I luv dolling up the kids in stuff that’s “Just Like Mommy”. I stopped doing project for awhile until my other 2 kids showed up, then I started again. I started up a home based business called Buttons ‘N Such where I go to craft shows and do home parties. I heard about etsy and joined up for fun in the beginning of January and called my shop buttonsnsuch also. I have included vintage clothing to my shop which I really enjoy. There’s just something that intrigues me about vintage and the stories behind each piece. My sop name came to me from my last name and I also luved and wanted to work with vintage buttons. I thought it was perfect and I needed something to do besides the kids, so my projects get made during nap time and at night. I have taken over our spare bed room and bombarded the recreation room. I luv to work with nature and recycled products. I use a lot of drift wood, recycled leather, vintage fabric and items,
recycled metal, paper, etc. I get a lot of inspiration from fashion, my children and nature. I have a hard time staying on track because I’ll start a new project and my mind starts to wonder into different ideas, so I stop and start that. Its never ending. I have a scrap book that I sketch ideas and drawings in as they come so I don’t forget. You lose a lot of your memory after 3 kids. I do a lot aside from what is in my shop which can be seen at my flickr account. Aside from crafting the kids are my number one. I luv spending time with them. During the summer we live out at the lake and spend most of our time at the beach but aside from the kids, which leaves no time, I enjoy shopping, snowboarding, walking, going to garage sales, relaxing, and visiting friends.
As far as promoting my shop I use the forums every once and awhile, my flickr account and have pics on my facebook account. I’m pretty computer illiterate so can’t do a whole bunch.

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My name is Inci (pronounce as “In-gee”), which means “Pearl” in Turkish. I am originally from dream city Istanbul, TURKEY.
I started to correspond with a Japanese girl named Tomoko-san as a part of my English studies when I was still a middle school student. Through her letters, I took an enormous interest in Japan, the Japanese language and the Japanese culture and I started to learn the Japanese language from a Japanese teacher as a hobby in Istanbul. Through my private Japanese lessons, I fell in love with the country and the culture and then when I took a Japanese-speaking tour guide license, my love for Japan and the Japanese language turned into a way of life. In the mean time, I made several trips to Japan and made a lot of friends over there. I had worked as a tour guide for 10 years and then I married to a Turkish-born American citizen and I moved to Oklahoma City, USA 3 and half years ago.
So far the Japanese language was my passion, but in the US I gained another passion: patchwork quilting. And it’s also thanks to a Japanese lady named Midori-san living in Oklahoma City and she is coincidentally a friend of one of my Japanese friends in Japan.
Patchwork quilting is a new passion for me. I didn’t attend any courses to learn it. Midori-san was my first teacher. She kindly taught me the basic steps about patchwork. Right now, my knowledge about quilting comes from mostly the books and magazines in Japanese language which I can read easily. I like the self-teaching approach in learning things. And my husband thinks that I am quite good at teaching myself stuff. I am hoping to make further progress in quilting in the future.
I like hand piecing, hand appliqué and hand quilting on cotton fabrics. I don’t know how to machine sew and I don’t have a sewing machine, but I am not sorry for that. I like the rustic feel of hand quilted quilts and I find the time spent in hand quilting to be soothing. The motion of stitching is very calming to me and during these quiet moments I can get in touch with my thoughts easily.
Apart from creating things, I’m a housewife now.
I’m trying to promote my work on flickr and several Blogs. And I tell about my Etsy Shop “Pearlsquiltedcrafts” to all of my acquiantances. That’s it.

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