Etsy Interview with The Wheatfield

(Psst... Don't forget to enter the giveaways from B.Inspired, Sushipot, and Bobbityboo!)

I'm SO excited to be introducing you to The Wheatfield today!
I am in utter awe of her combination of crisp typography and whimsical flowing watercolor. And the artist's name is almost as cute as her work!
Meet, Katie Daisy...

Etsy Shop: The Wheatfield
Website: katie daisy

Tell us a bit about yourself, Katie.
Hello! My name is Katie Daisy and I am an illustrator/designer/typographer originally from a little farm in Illinois. Currently, I'm living in Minneapolis, Minnesota about to move into a sweet little cottage. However, it's best not to keep tabs on my whereabouts! My sweetie and I like to up & leave whenever we feel moved to!

Although I'm situated in the busy city, country life is really what drives me to create. I find inspiration in simple things -- hikes through the woods, wild chamomile, a sunny creek, a big patch of clover... I absolutely love being in nature, and I think my work is a reflection of that.

Just nine months ago, I graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design with a BFA in illustration. Like many, I was stumped what I wanted to do with my education. I have since decided that I will commit myself to freelancing, running my Etsy shop, and getting my work in boutiques around the globe. Luckily, the effort has paid off, and I am now busier than ever! I love being able to support myself through my artwork. It's a dream!

After getting established in the next few years, I plan on returning to the country to enjoy early-morning strolls around the pasture, and long catnaps in the afternoon sun...


What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
Cheerful
Simple
Prairie
Inquisitive
Loving


Tell us a bit about your shop.
I opened The Wheatfield in October of 2008. I created it with the intent of getting a wider audience for my artwork and inspiring others around the world.

In my shop, I primarily have colorful posters with uplifting, simple messages. I am in love with hand lettering! The Wheatfield is about simplicity and kindness. Love your neighbor and love yourself.

I have many goals for my shop, but the biggest is to inspire others. Whether it be through a print that says "Be Kind To Others," or a rendering of spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle -- I want people to feel good about life.

What 5 words would you use to describe your shop?
Vibrant
Farmhouse
Springtime
Typographic
Uplifting


What are your 5 favorite websites?
Dancing Elephant Studio
decor8
Early Bird Acres
Luke Redfield (my folk-singer sweetheart!)
Cafe Cartolina


What are your 5 favorite Etsy shops?
While Owl
Stout Woodworks
Spread the Love
Golly Bard
Giant Dwarf


What advice would you give other Etsy sellers?
Dive in! Have faith in yourself, and dream big. Life is too short to not do what you love...


Anything else you would like to share?
After months of moving around, I am finally setting up my own studio! Stay tuned to my flickr page for pics :)

From the Forums: Best Photography Tips

Ooopsi-daisy! This was supposed to be a post for Friday, but I published today by accident. Lucky YOU!

(Psst... Don't forget to enter the giveaways from B.Inspired, Sushipot, and Bobbityboo!)

Light...lots and lots of light. Lack of said light is the biggest cause of most photo problems, and one begets the next. It causes slow shutter speeds, high thermal noise, high ISO settings, poor depth of field. It's the single most important ingredient in good photos. bomobob

Light is so important. Natural light is best unless you can afford expensive equipment. Once you have enough light, you need a good background. Busy backgrounds are not pleasant to look at, and typically swallow the item you're trying to sell. I opt for plain white backgrounds, but I've seen some lovely photos with other neutral backgrounds as well. Another very helpful thing is lowering your fstop. This widens your aperture, which also lets more light in. But the best part is the fuzzy background effect you get by doing this. There's just something about having your item in perfect focus, and having everything else slightly blurred or fuzzy, that really makes items look great. Photography isn't something you can learn or perfect overnight... I'm still learning and changing my photos, and have gone through many rounds of photos with my items. Creek Bed Threads

Study some photo basics instead of flailing in the dark...or buying a new camera. Strauski

My answer is simple....edit your photos! re-size, crop etc. L F Jewelry

Outdoor photography will give you the best lighting but it can be a pain in the butt depending on what you are taking photos of. I like to take mine indoors that way I don't have to be concerned about the sun position, wind, rain, bugs, etc. I use a photo tent box to soften the light and reduce shadows. Two adjustable desk lamps with daylight bulbs. I had to refer to my camera manual on how to change the white balance setting. This will make a big difference in the clarity and coloring of the photos. Also in my opinion you should stay away from busy backgrounds. You will also need to use some type of editing software to correct color and lighting. Every once in a while I take a photo that needs no editing but in most cases I have to edit them to get the best photo results. Majestic Pieces
I like playing around with perspective (i.e. where I am focusing, shooting from the side or above the product, etc) to get interesting and compelling images. Joy Rebel Images

Its essential to use the macro option on your camera and a tripod. Also make sure to set the camera at the right shutter speed and ISO (depending on the light). Alina & T

Use photo editing to adjust contrast, light, and saturation/color. If you're Photoshop savvy but can't afford it, there's a great free download called Gimp. Moody Girl Aromatherapy

If your camera has an aperture priority, use it! Don't be afraid to get up close to your items. If need be, you can crop and rotate your pictures using picnik.com (it's free!) to get a visually appealing angle, and format your pictures to fit Etsy's suggested 1000x1000 pixel guidelines.If you sell clothing, use live models! I love to see what clothing will look like when it's worn :) Most of all: Keep playing, and don't get discouraged Pictures are something you can always work on...and you don't need a huge fancy camera to get results :) Rock Fern Designs

If you have items that are difficult to photograph in a light box, use a window! Find a window in the house that has lots of sunlight streaming through, and cover the window with a white sheet. The white sheet will give you a great diffused effect for your photos. I used a coffee table next to the window, and poster board for the background. I turned the table so that the light from the window hit the front of the items (you don't want the window directly in front of you.) Also, make sure you cover any other windows in the room with white sheets, so all the light in the room is the same color. Joyous Treasures

I did a blog post about this in my blog. I found a fantastic website that I decided to share with all my followers. It explains the best way to photograph artwork in particular...but the rules really apply to many different mediums. Dirksen Dabbles

Check out my complete etsy photography tutorial! Green Heath Treasures

Luck, lol :) andreacreates

Etsy Interview & Giveaway with Bobbityboo

(Psst... don't forget to enter our other giveaways from B.Inspired Vintage & Sushipot!)

Today's interview is from super sweet Bobbi, of Bobbityboo. I found her shop when I fell in love with her colorful little apron skirts and was over the top when I entered and saw adorable little man ties, too! Let's hear what she has to say...

Etsy Shop: Bobbityboo
Blog: Bobbityboo

Tell us a bit about yourself, Bobbi.
I live at the base of the beautiful Rocky Mountains with my sweet hubby of 25 years and 4 crazy kids (three teenagers, AAAAAH, and one little 8 year old caboose). I love to create, no....I need to create. Taking a little bit of "nothing" and turning it into "something" is total therapy for me, my anti depressant if you will! Give me a Diet Coke, a nice fresh piece of fabric and a couple of uninterrupted hours and I am in Heaven.


What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
fun
friendly
honest
thoughtful
A.D.D.ish!


Tell us a bit about your Etsy shop, Bobbityboo.
Bobbityboo was totally the product of a midlife crisis. My last child had just started 1st grade and I found myself at home....alone! You can only clean the house for so many hours a day, so out came the sewing machine. I really missed sewing for my girls (they were in that "I wouldn't be caught dead in my mothers hand made clothes" stage), so I decided I'd sew for other peoples girls. The funny thing is that now my daughters BEG me to sew for them. Love it!

It's important to me that my clothing is affordable. When our children were young we were starving college students, money was tight and I have never forgotten how hard that was. It is important to me to create adorable, stylish clothing that is also affordable. I have been told that my prices are too low, but I honestly can't feel good about charging an arm and a leg for something so simple.

You see OOAK a lot in my listings (that's "one of a kind"). The reason being that I am a little A.D.D.ish when it comes to sewing. I get tired really quickly of working with the same fabric. I usually only buy about 2 yards worth of a fabric to make skirts out of. Once it's gone I move onto another pattern. I also use a lot of scraps in my pieces, which makes duplication kind of tricky.


What 5 words would you use to describe your shop?
unique
inexpensive
quality
cute
friendly


Give your 5 favorite websites.
Tatertots and Jello
One Pretty Thing
Pretty Little Things
Allsorts
LDS.org


Give your 5 favorite Etsy shops.
pretty little me
Rosierosies
Fab Addiction
Giggles & Grins
Paper & String


What advice would you give other Etsy sellers?
Renew, renew, renew. If you want your things to be seen you have to make sure that they are towards the top of that list of "thousands" in your category. I usually renew something three times a day, morning, noon and night. That way my shop is always in the top several pages in my category. Don't let the .20 cent charge bother you, you have to spend money to make money. BLOG... if you don't have a blog, create one. Your blog is basically the front door to your etsy shop. Don't be afraid to approach other bloggers to host giveaways for you or write up a feature about your shop. If your stuff is great, they will jump at the chance.


Anything else you would like to share?
Although I love selling and creating my little ditties for children, I equally love getting to know others in the bloggy world. I would love you to come play at my blog, and link me to your blogs as well....we can soak up so much creativity from each other if we share!

GIVEAWAY!
Bobbi was so kind to offer...
**ONE ITEM OF CHOICE from Bobbityboo!!!**
Thanks so much, Bobbi!

Here's how to enter:

Visit Bobbityboo and leave a comment on this post mentioning your favorite item.

For more chances to win, leave a separate post for each of the following:
*Become a Follower of EtsyInterviews.
*Subscribe to EtsyInterviews via RSS.
*Tweet about this giveaway (please leave link to tweet).
*Follow B.Inspired Mama on Twitter.
*Become a fan of B.Inspired Vintage on Facebook.
*Share the giveaway on Facebook.
*Blog about the giveaway (please leave the link)
*Add EtsyInterviews to your blogroll.
*Submit to be Featured on EtsyInterviews, too!

The winner will be chosen via Random.org on Tuesday, February 9th at 9PM EST. The winner will be emailed within 24 hours. Please make sure your email is in your profile or in the comment. GOOD LUCK!

Etsy Interview & Giveaway with Sushipot

(Psst... Don't forget to enter the giveaway from B.Inspired Vintage & B.Inspired Supply!)

For our first EtsyInterview (aside from myself, which just doesn't count), I'm so excited to introduce you to one of my long-time favorites (& HUGELY successful), Sushipot! We can surely learn a lot from the wizard behind the retro collage magic, Suzanna.
So, here's what she has to share...

Etsy Shop: Sushipot
Blog: Sushipot

Tell us a bit about yourself, Suzanna.
I'm a 35 year old artist living in Manhattan, Kansas (also known as
the "Little Apple"). About 10 years ago (this June) I married my best
friend Patrick. We have a daughter, Lizzie who just turned 5 and keeps
us young at heart. My husband is a graduate student at Kansas State
University and I am a full-time artist and mom.


Give 5 words to describe yourself.
curious
creative
collector
cynic (always)
cantankerous (sometimes).


Tell us a bit about your shop.
We opened our Etsy shop, "Sushipot" in September of 2006. My initial goal, when I discovered Etsy, was to eventually earn enough to pay a couple of the monthly bills. After 2 months I was able to make our mortgage payment. Now we look back over the past 3 years and realize
joining Etsy has been a life altering event which allowed us to quit
our management and retail jobs, send Patrick to graduate school and
keep one of us home full time with Lizzie since she was born.


Give 5 words to describe your shop.
art objects for your life!

What are your 5 favorite websites?
Elsa Mora
Aesthetic Outburst
One Pretty Thing
Morbid Anatomy
The Jealous Curator


What are your 5 favorite Etsy shops?
Artsy
Stiksel
Dolan Geiman
Margaux Lange
Journey and Landscape


What advice would you give other Etsy sellers?
A few years ago, I opened a fortune cookie with a very useful fortune.
It reads: "Customer service is like taking a bath; you have to keep
doing it." Take it or leave it--I've found this to be an apt reminder
for doing business.


Anything else you would like to share?
I finally started a blog for Sushipot this year. I'd love to have you stop by and take a look around! Any comments and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, too. :)

GIVEAWAY!
Suzanna is being so generous in offering a lovely
VALENTINE COLLAGE BLOCK
created with an adorable image from a 1950s children's magazine. LOVE IT!

Here's how to enter:

Visit Sushipot and leave a comment on this post mentioning your favorite item from her shop.

For more chances to win, leave a separate post for each of the following:
*Become a Follower of EtsyInterviews.
*Subscribe to EtsyInterviews via RSS.
*Tweet about this giveaway (please leave link to tweet).
*Follow B.Inspired Mama on Twitter.
*Blog about the giveaway (please leave the link).
*Add EtsyInterviews to your blogroll.
*Submit to be Featured on EtsyInterviews!

The winner will be chosen via Random.org on Monday, February 8th at 9PM EST. The winner will be emailed within 24 hours. Please make sure your email is in your profile or in the comment. GOOD LUCK!