Etsy Interview & Giveaway with Miss Pretty Pretty

(Psst... don't forget to enter the giveaway from Yalipaz 

and the one from The Daily Pincushion, too!)

 

Being a mom of two little ones, I was immediately drawn to the "Imaginative Play Toys" at Miss Pretty Pretty.  Let's learn more about the creative mama behind all of the fun...

Etsy Shop: Miss Pretty Pretty

Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi! My name is Julie, and I am the creative force behind my store on Etsy, MissPrettyPretty. I am an *older* mom of 44, with two children ages 5 and nearly 4. I am married to the kindest man on earth (or so I believe), and he is my best friend and biggest cheerleader. We live in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin (a suburb of Milwaukee), at the beginning of a dead end street upon which 17 children under the age of 12 live. (Well, it was 17 that last time I counted!) We love living here! There is so much to do and see in southeastern Wisconsin, and obviously a lot of children for my kids to play with! Sure makes for exciting summers. My husband works for a large banking institution, and I work part time at a local college, run my business, and try to control all of the antics of two very active children.

What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
creative
imaginative
hard working
innovative
outgoing

Tell us a bit about your Etsy shop.
I opened my shop on Etsy in August of 2008 with the idea of supplementing my income from arts and crafts shows. I have sold handmade items at craft shows for over twenty years, and thought it would be fun to try selling some of my handmade apparel online. It was originally my sister who suggested I sell my playhouses on Etsy instead of my clothing. I had been making and selling the playhouses for about 12 years, but hadn't really considered selling them online. I had just finished a Little Red Playhouse for my kids, so took some pictures and listed it and my little shop just took off from there. Soon after I started selling my playhouses, Etsy ran a handmade kids contest, and my playhouse won the Member's Choice category. That helped me out a lot at first! Over the past 18 months, I have gradually added more of my designs to my shop, sales have been great, and I am basically now running my business full time.

What 5 words would you use to describe your shop?
colorful
imaginative
creative
fun
wonderful!!

Give your 5 favorite websites.
 Honestly, this is so tough for me because I am so busy I rarely have time to spend on the internet besides working on my Etsy shop! I do have a few besides Etsy:
Amazon (only because I have a new Kindle that I am obsessed with! Love the freebies!)
Lostpedia (I am also obsessed with Lost)
Google (I am an information junkie)
Skip to my Lou
Mary Janes and Galoshes

Give your 5 favorite Etsy shops. 
This is a really hard one for me, there are so many!
I love these:
The Merry Crown Society
Taylored Arts
Palomino Morgan
danielle
The Beer Soap Company

What advice would you give other Etsy sellers?
For me, the most important thing I have done is to find one item that sells well on Etsy (playhouses) and focus on it. I have about a million ideas I would love to try, but the playhouses are the focus right now because they have been such a successful seller and I love making them so much!! If something in your shop really takes off, perfecting it and making it a focal point of your shop can lead to great success.

GIVEAWAY! 

Julie is so kind to be offering 

***ONE FREE PLAYHOUSE OF CHOICE!!!***

 Just visit Mary Janes and Galoshes to enter to win before February 15th! 

Etsy Interview & Giveaway with The Daily Pincushion

(Psst... don't forget to enter the giveaway from Yalipaz, too!)

Since I've been sewing more lately, pincushions have become a little obsession of mine. There's just something about how you can use a beautiful little work of art for such a utilitarian purpose! I have been eyeing up the gorgeous felt ones at The Daily Pincushion for a while now. Let's learn more...

Etsy Shop: The Daily Pincushion
Other Etsy Shop: The Daily Vintage

Tell us a bit about yourself, Cathy.
I live in Florida now - my sister Jamie and I share a house in Lake Worth.
We are from New York. My dad's family came over from Germany in the 1860's before the Civil War. They settled on Manhattan Island. They once had a farm on the upper west side. My Mom is first generation Italian. The Greatest Generation. I grew up on Long Island. I was a Chef for 25 years. Now I’m an artist with a full time job at home on Etsy. I love what I do now, although I still work long hours. I have always been creative and am so happy to be able to do it for a living.



What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
Creative
Insular
Pragmatic
Irreverent
Reliable




Tell us a bit about your Etsy shop.
My Etsy shop The Daily Pincushion came about after my last stint as an executive chef in a Boca country club. Enough was enough! I needed to earn a living and I was determined not to cook outside the house again. I thought I would open some kind of baking business – cookies or cupcakes. During an Internet hunt for inspiration I saw a cupcake that was made of felt. It was a pincushion. That person sold them on a site called Etsy. I knew I could do that and I wanted to do that. I looked at many things I could make but I kept coming back to pincushions. I have always sewn, and they just clicked with me. I combined a style I had been doing with felt doll clothes and a simple shape of pincushion and I made my first one. When I got good at it (after about a hundred) I opened the Etsy shop The Daily Pincushion (because it took the entire day to make one)! Now I have some custom dies that help me do things quicker and more consistently, but a lot is still cut by hand. Everything is hand sewn and embroidered. My sister has quite a few popular designs too and she does the taxes bless her and most of the post office trips. She also has a 9- 5 job. Working with her helps me break out of my parameters. Whenever I start a big project or when I would write a new menu I built in the dogma. Rules to live by - limits with color or material and I work within that. It makes it easier for me at first to get comfortable and to stretch the limits of what I can do within those limits. Then I break them when I'm comfortable. And set new ones!

What 5 words would you use to describe your shop?
Colorful
Unique
Happy
Helpful
Tactile



Give your 5 favorite websites.
Nest Decorating: A Journal
Posie Gets Cozy
Cute Overload
Very Short List
wfuv.org radio


Give your 5 favorite Etsy shops.
Bossys Feltworks
Mincing Mockingbird
Two Kazoos
Gretchen Kramp
Linda Solovic
I wish I could name ten!



What advice would you give other Etsy sellers?
Be prepared to work hard, be consistent, limit you time on the computer and make things. Be nice.



Anything else you would like to share?
I love what I do. I love when people are happy with their pincushions. I wish I knew more about technology to have a website with a shopping cart. Then I would sell kits. Maybe after we move.


http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheDailyPincushion

GIVEAWAY!
Cathy is so kind to offer...
**Pincushion & Emery Set of Choice**
Thanks so much, Cathy!

Here's how to enter:

Visit The Daily Pincushion 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 Wednesday, February 17th 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!

From the Forums: Secrets to Success

(Psst... don't forget to enter the awesome giveaway from Yalipaz!)

DETERMINATION! Pretty Paris

Having useful, different, high quality products that no one else is selling. Blue Kimono Studio

I would say persistence. (Which I am not always good at!) Keeping up, posting new items, promotions.  Crafts by Katie

As a relative newbie, I have found the forums VERY helpful. The more time I spend in the forums reading and talking, the more I learn and the more my network grows. I try to read and respond to threads in the Business section, but I also spend my fair share of time trying to give out critiques as I found them really helpful when I first started. Without the forums, I wouldn't know about the treasury, treasury clock!, craftomania tool bar (just found it today!), twitter, naming photos, google analytics, and the list goes on.  Pretty Damn Cute

Having confidence. If you don't have the confidence in yourself/your work, then you won't get very far. You must believe in your product, your art, your crafts or no one else will believe they are great enough to buy them. The less confidence you have in your product, the less likely you are to keep going, keep promoting, keep listing, keep networking, etc.  Kendra J Kantor

 

Keeping your current customers happy. Repeat customers account for a large portion of a shop's longevity. They can also spread the word to future customers.  Wasijiru

Putting your own stamp on things, give them a twist.  Pink Sherbert

 

"I am always doing things I can't do and that's how I get to do them." Pablo Picasso. A magnet on my office/studio inspiration board...to that end I'd say, believe in yourself, and keep on pluggin'!  The Well-Seasoned Nest

Etsy Interviews Bobbityboo Giveaway Winner

(Psst... don't forget to enter the awesome giveaway from Yalipaz!)

And the WINNER

of the
ONE ITEM OF CHOICE
from Bobbityboo is...

Number 50 ~~~~~ ICITEA!

(Congratulations, Icitea. I will email you soon!)

Etsy Interview with Art Mind

(Psst... Today's the last day to enter the giveaway from Bobbityboo!

And don't forget to enter the giveaway from Yalipaz, too!)

I'm thrilled to be introducing you to Art Mind today!
I LOVE the modern minimalism of Mitsy's style and her unique use of a wide array of mediums. Let's see what she has to share...

Etsy Shop: Art Mind
Website: Art Mind
Blog: Art Mind

Tell us a bit about yourself, Mitsy.
My name is Mitsy. I'm just a girl living in Belgium, Europe. I make things with my hands in order to maintain a happy heart in a crazy world. I love clay, paper and yarn. I'm very curious by nature and love to experiment. Obviously, my studio is the place where I spend most of my free time and I love every minute of it. I find it difficult to deal with the fact that there is never enough time ot execute all ideas.


What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
happy
creative
driven
open-minded
energetic


Tell us a bit about your Etsy shop.
I opened my shop in the summer of 2007 just for fun. I like making things but never had the guts to go to a craft fair or sell it. Being able to sell my work via the internet gave me enough confidence to sell on fairs later. I'd love to do this for a living but combining it with part-time job is the ideal solution for now.


What 5 words would you use to describe your shop?
Feelings
emotions
colors
happy
purity


Give your 5 favorite websites.
The Red Thread
EvaForeva
Flickr
DeviantArt
Ravelry


Give your 5 favorite Etsy shops.
LilaRubyKing
Sigmosaics
Kreativlink
Mamachee
CabbagesandKingsArt


What advice would you give other Etsy sellers?
Join a team! Etsy is big and you'll feel less lonely and get to chat and share with other like-minded people! Best thing I did when I started out on Etsy.

Sushipot Valentine Collage Block Giveaway Winner

(Psst... today is your last day to enter the great giveaway from Bobbityboo, and don't forget the one from Yalipaz, too!)

And the WINNER

of the
VALENTINE COLLAGE BLOCK
from Sushipot is...

Number 16 ~~~~~ BETH!

(Congratulations, Beth. I will email you soon!)

B.Inspired Giveaway Winner...

(Psst... today is your last day to enter the great giveaway from Sushipot! And don't forget the ones from Bobbityboo and Yalipaz, too!)

And the WINNER

of
ONE ITEM of CHOICE
from B.Inspired Vintage or B.Inspired Supply is...

Number 62 ~~~~~ KIM!

(Congratulations, Kim. I will email you soon!)

Etsy Interview & Giveaway with Yali

(Psst... Today's the last day to enter the giveaway from Sushipot!
And don't forget to enter the giveaway from Bobbityboo, too!)

I just LOVE the vintage feel and intricate detail of the flapper girl brooches
and mixed media art in Yali Paz-Gilboa's Etsy shop.
And apparently I'm not the only one, given the success she has found
on Etsy in just a year and a half.
Let's hear from her how she's done it...

Etsy Shop: Art & Accessories by Yali Paz-Gilboa

Tell us a bit about yourself, Yali.
I am a wife and a mother to a 6 months old baby and I am a full time artist. I work at home which lets me be close to my baby in all times. I have been creating since I was a child and I can say that my art is my meditation, it makes me feel relaxed and happy. I try to create new things all the time, if it is an illustration, painting, paper clay art doll, plush or felt brooches. Before, I sold in my etsy shop mostly prints of my illustrations and paper clay art dolls. Now I am focusing on felt brooches. I find it is easier for me to create these cute brooches since I became a mother and need to take care of my baby at the same time.


What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
Creative
honest
funny
open
not afraid to say what I think


Tell us a bit about your Etsy shop.
I opened my shop after I decided to quit my day job and become a full time artist. It was a dream of mine since I was a child. My life took me for a long time to the safe place where you have a boss and get a salary. For years I worked for other people doing office work and kept on dreaming about becoming a full time artist and a boss of myself. Since I started to be a full time artist, about two and a half years ago, I learned new things about myself and my abilities and became very proud of my life. My goals are to keep doing what I do and be very successful.


What 5 words would you use to describe your shop?
creative
whimsical
adorable
unique
colorful


Give your 5 favorite websites.
To say the truth, I don't read blogs so much and most of the time I am busy creating or taking care of my baby. I read only Israeli news websites to know what is going on.


Give your 5 favorite Etsy shops.
DuBuhDuDesigns - Love her art dolls!
Roadside - Amazing art $ illustrations
MarmeeCraft - Love her work!
tascha - I love the colorfulness in her art!
Dilkabear - Love, love, love her work!


What advice would you give other Etsy sellers?
Work hard on your shop! Your photos are the most important thing! Don't give up if you believe in your work!


Anything else you would like to share?
Since I started to live like I really wanted I became a much happier and better person.

GIVEAWAY!
Yali is so kind to offer...
**2 CUSTOM BROOCHES!!!**
SO, there will be 2 winners (1 for each brooch)!
Thanks so much, Yali!

Here's how to enter:

Visit Yali's shop 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 winners will be chosen via Random.org on Sunday, February 14th 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!