Koko Candles Giveaway Winner...

(Psst... today is your last day to enter the giveaway from ClaySwan! And don't forget to enter the giveaway for Etsy Mini Ad Space right here on Etsy Interviews!)

And the WINNER of the
LOVE Candle Gift Set from Koko Candles
is...

Congratulations, Ashley of Rejoice!. I will email you soon.

New Look from Dumplin Design Studio & Ad Space Giveaway

(Psst... today is the last day to enter the giveaway from ClaySwan!)

You may have noticed a "little" change around here... I hope you likie as much as I do. I'm more than THRILLED with my brand-spankin'-new blog design courtesy of fellow Etsian, Shay Bocks of Dumplin Design Studio! Shay comes HIGHLY recommended. The process was fast and painless. In fact, it was even FUN! She sent a little questionnaire to make sure she understood exactly what I was looking for, and it must have worked, because she nailed it on the very first try! The best part is that the new design offers PRIME AD SPACE right there in top right sidebar for a few of you lucky Etsy sellers! (Just make sure to enter the free giveaway below.) And make sure to keep Dumplin Design Studio in mind for your graphic design needs, too!

Etsy Shop: Dumplin Design Studio
Website: Dumplin Design Studio
Blog: Dumplin Design Blog

Tell us a bit about yourself, Shay.
I am a stay-at-home mom and army wife who LOVES graphic design. We currently live in Fort Knox, KY but Chesapeake, VA will always be our home.

What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
dedicated
creative
mommy
loyal
inspired

Tell us a bit about your Etsy shop.
History: Dumplin Design Studio started out as a small Myspace site called Bocks Creations. After the birth of my son in April 2008, I found myself up 3 times a night with nothing to occupy my time and keep me awake while feeding my baby. I decided it was time to take on a project and that became Bocks Creations. About six months later, I teamed up with Lisa at Carried Away then later branched out on my own with Dumplin Designs. At the inception, it was just a myspace page providing free and custom graphics. In August 2009, DumplinDesigns.com was born and later migrated to DumplinDesignStudio.com.

Mission: To provide high-quality design at affordable prices.

What I Offer:
* Blogger Template Design
* Cards & Stationary Design
* Business Identity Design
* Event & Party Design
* And More!


What 5 words would you use to describe your shop?
sleek
simple
creative
blogger
design


Give your 5 favorite websites.
Queen of the Castle
SIMPLEmom
zenhabits
Smashing Magazine
Twig & Thistle

Give your favorite Etsy shops.
Carri Ann Designs
Centsational Style
dimple prints
Simple Sage Designs

GIVEAWAY!
This great new blog design has inspired me to
feature some of your lovely Etsy shops in my new sidebar (at right)
so you get the attention you so deserve!
Therefore, I am offering...

5 lucky Etsy sellers
**30 Days of FREE AD SPACE**
on Etsy Interviews!

Includes:

YOUR Etsy Mini in the top right sidebar for 30 days,
a Featured Sponsor Interview,
and promotion on Twitter & Facebook!

Here's how to enter:

Leave a comment introducing yourself and your Etsy shop you'd like to advertise along with the shop's link. Let me know why you think you'd be a great fit for Etsy Interviews. Give me your PITCH!

For more chances to win, leave a separate post for each of the following:

*Visit Dumplin Design Studio's Portfolio and leave a comment on this post
mentioning your favorite design.
*Blog about the giveaway (please leave the link)
*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.
*Add EtsyInterviews to your blogroll.
*Submit to be Featured on EtsyInterviews, too!

Because I want to make sure to have a good fit for Etsy Interviews, 8 semi-finalists will be chosen using Random.org on Friday, February 26th, 2010. I will then use my own discretion to choose the 5 winners from those 8 semi-finalists. The winners will be emailed within 24 hours. Please make sure your email is in your profile or in the comment. GOOD LUCK!

From the Forums: Tips for an Etsy Mompreneur

It's amazing that on any given day, I can find others just like me, going through the same things I am, right in the Etsy Forums. What a vast yet seemingly small Etsy world it is! I truly believe that the sense of community and friendship is Etsy's most endearing quality.

I was so relieved to see that Sarah of BlueBirdHandmadeBags asked this question; a question I (as well as presumable many other stay-at-home mamas) struggle with EVERY day...

She asked:

I have a toddler and we are adopting again, so I have about 3 hours at the most maybe a day to devote to business including all aspects of running a business and making things for my shop. Since I sew it takes a while to make items, and with everything going on with the adoption and raising a child, sewing has taken a back seat right now, thus not many items in my shop. :) I'm looking for specific tips on better marketing strategies and store promotions as well as any other nuggets of wisdom y'all can pass along specifically for a stay at home mom. Any other advice is really welcome.


They answered:

I work outside of the home, but we have a similar amount of time to work on our business...I suggest a facebook fanpage. I invited some friends and family to join, then between Etsy and people seeing it on other people's pages, I got more members. I've had a few sales from it so far. PhineasandLou

I'm not very good at time management, so I can't really help you out on that, but when mine were little, I worked at night.... justgivemepeace

My big tip is to have a dedicated space for your work so that your not spending half of your time setting up and tearing down. Then pop in and work at nap time, bedtime, when your partner is with the kids, whenever you get a second. I also leave the computer on (with sleep mode) so that I can quickly check and update things. Most of all, don't pressure yourself to much! Let the laundry pile up!! LuttrellStudio

I am a SAHM of a 3yo and 1.5yo. I sew as well. I have a little nook in our kids playroom, which is gated off from the kiddos. Most of the time they are very good about letting me work as long as they can see me. I try to take advantage of nap time, but a lot of times the housework consumes that time. The kids go down at 8pm. I spend a little time with DH, and from 10-1 (or 3am sometimes) I am sewing or promoting my business. It also helps to make several of the same items at once. My diaper clutches use to take 1hr to make, but that was because I did them all 1 by 1. I have an assembly line going now and it takes 30-45mins to make 1. modmomME

I've toyed with the idea of utilizing an iPhone or any other internet-browsing phone as a tool for promoting; if you're waiting in line somewhere you can tweet or answer convos, etc. and you're not tied to your computer. NoriaJewelry

And just look (above) what these busy mamas manage to do. AMAZING!
Visit the forum thread to read their full responses and many more not featured here.

Do YOU have any tips for a busy Etsy mompreneur?

New Blog Design Teaser by Dumplin Design Studio

Just a little taste of EXCITING CHANGES to come

with the help of the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

Dumplin Design Studio on Etsy

The Daily Pincushion Giveaway Winner...

(Psst... don't forget to enter the giveaway from Koko Candles and the giveaway from Clayswan, too!)

And the WINNER of the

Choice of Pincushion & Emery Set from The Daily Pincushion

is...

Number 79 ~~~~~ M

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

Etsy Interview with Noica and her Craftomania Toolbar

(Psst... today is the last day to enter the giveaway from The Daily Pincushion!
And don't forget the giveaway from Koko Candles and the giveaway from Clayswan, too!)

Since I've gotten my Firefox browser (not that you NEED it), I am all about the fun add-ons and toolbars. So I was ecstatic when I came across Noa Brumberg's Craftomania toolbar especially for Etsy-lovers!! It puts everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) Etsy right at my fingertips. And it didn't hurt that it already listed EtsyInterviews under the blogs button when I first downloaded it. (Thanks, Noa!) Let's hear more about it and her cute little Etsy shop from Noa herself...

Etsy Shop: Noica
Blog: Craftomania Tools

Tell us a bit about yourself, Noa.
My name is Noa, but you can call me Noica. I'm 26 years old and on my 4Th year of visual communications design studies, live in Tel-Aviv, Israel. I love making plush, graphics and short animations. I created along with my boyfriend the Craftomania toolbar for Etsy users. A couple of months on Etsy were more than enough for us to assemble a very detailed and ever growing list of favorite Etsy related links, and we were baffled; Navigating through the endless list of blogs and magazines and tools. Every site or blog led to a new exciting one, and on it went... We were wondering to ourselves that there had to be a better way to manage our stores and our time on Etsy. And so we started to build Craftomania toolbar. We felt so excited starting Craftomania Toolbar; creating order from mayhem, neatness from Chaos! We categorized our lists of everything Etsy (Craftopolis, Craft cult, treasuries, blogs, sites that offer promotions, groups, and many more). And finally there was serenity: we were 1-click away from everything we need and even the morning coffee tasted better. We thought it's selfish to keep it all to ourselves and that others should benefit from the toolbar as well. That’s when we teamed up and created the Craftomania Tools Team. Here you can see the toolbar's map- all the menus and links on it. To download the toolbar click here.

What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
possum
fun
sunshine
optimistic
carebear

Tell us a bit about your Etsy shop.
I just love the idea that people from all over the world can have their own Noica plush or graphic. I Love kids, and it makes me happy knowing that they can hug my reindeer. :) As for the toolbar, it is fun to help others and find new friend. We are building a community here. Now we are dedicated to anything Etsy and handmade. Our goal is to create a Tool which is a synonym to managing your store on Etsy. The Craftomania toolbar is a lot more than a links index; it's a community of Etsians, where all are invited to join freely.

What 5 words would you use to describe your shop?
soft
funny
whimsical
unique
sweet


What are your favorite websites?

I have so many this one is hard, but you can see all websites I love on the toolbar. NOTCOT.org Poppytalk Handmade FFFFOUND! Amy Holton Designs doll stories

Give your favorite Etsy shops.
Baby To Go
Nurit Design
Opus Muse
Netamir's Designs
Amy Holton Designs

What advice would you give other Etsy sellers?
Just have fun with it, make yourself a fun workspace, find new friends from far away countries, try to help others, create during positive thinking and let the world do the rest.

Anything else you would like to share?
I offer my toolbar for free here!

And a free iron it patches for ordering from my store. Iron-it are my original handmade illustrations made into ironing patches! You can decorate shirts, hats, napkins and more! Just Place the patch, facing down on the fabric, at the desired location. Set the Iron to maximum and Place it on the patch, steam for about 5-15 seconds in small flattening motions.

YOU'LL GET A BAG WITH-
5 desired characters
1 "NOICA" try-out patch
Detailed instructions in English or Hebrew!

Etsy Interview & Giveaway with Clayswan

(Psst... only one more day to enter the giveaway from The Daily Pincushion! And don't forget the new giveaway from Koko Candles, too!)

I just LOVE the bold bright colors of the hand-built porcelain pottery at Clayswan. I was thrilled to be able to interview the creator, Lyn! Let's meet her...

Etsy Shop: Clayswan
Second Etsy Shop: Lynswan

Tell us a bit about yourself, Lyn.
I am a ceramic artist living and working in Sonoma, California. My current body of work is very much inspired by early California Pottery, Bauer Ware and Fiesta Ware. I love to hand build, I love color, and I always seem to imply function in my work. This does not necessitate daily use, but it is always nice to know that on that special occasion, you have that special piece to use .... you know, like that first cup of coffee in the morning!

What 5 words would you use to describe yourself?
happy
encouraging
inspired
creative
out-of-the-box

Tell us a bit about your Etsy shop.
My shop opened just over a year ago. Fellow potters in the bay area kept on prompting, nudging, compelling me .... just to try Etsy. Then, last year at the ACC Baltimore Show, an Etsy team gave a wonderful presentation about the Etsy world. All of a sudden the doors opened wide, and I never looked back. I continue to try to bring new pieces to my shop all the time and just LOVE to try out new ideas on a world wide audience.

What 5 words would you use to describe your shop?
happy
playful
whimsical
smile
useful

What are your favorite websites?
Apartment Therapy

Give your favorite Etsy shops.
Susan Eastman
raedunn
Whitney Smith Pottery
Village Clay Works

What advice would you give other Etsy sellers?
Stay with it, visit and "fluff" daily, check out what everyone is doing and let it inspire you.

Anything else you would like to share?
I have undying gratitude to the Etsy team for providing this wonderful venue in which we can present our work. Etsy is a simple and inexpensive format. There are so many talented artists that would not have had the opportunity to showcase their talent (and I am one that believes that every one has talent) on such a level, reaching far beyond their back door. Thank you, Etsy!

GIVEAWAY!
Lyn is so kind to offer one of her most popular pieces...
**A MEDIUM PORCELAIN TRAY OF CHOICE!!!**
Thanks so much, Lyn!

Here's how to enter:
Visit Clayswan and Lynswan 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!

The winner will be chosen via Random.org on Sunday, February 22th 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!