artist of the month

i recently caught up with etsy seller ktjean. you can check out the interview below!

1.)Tell us a little bit about yourself! (name, location,pets, family, etc.)

I am Katie Jean Walker from Phoenix, Arizona. I am married to the coolest guy ever, his name is Jonce and we have 2 awesome boys, Cade is 4 and Clive is 2. We have 2 dogs, Laredo and Benny, 5 Chickens, Myrtle, Venus, Chickadee, Batman and Cockadoodledo, and 1 fish, fishy power ;)

2.)How did you become to be an artist?

It was really by accident, I met my neighbor at my old house and she was great at making clothes. She inspired me to try my hand at it and we started a kids line that turned into an adult line that eventually broke off into 2 of our own lines. Her stuff is available at ouma.etsy.com ~ we have both moved and now just live a few blocks away again so it is really fun!

3.)What inspires you?
Pretty much most of my inspiration comes from times past, anything old really gets my attention. That is something that shows in all my designs and the line I am working on is going to be awesome!!

4.)What is your creative proccess like?
I just get ideas, then chat with a lot of my friends and my husband to get feedback before I start sketching or anything. My friend (and another neighbor) Jenn from mignonnehandmade.etsy.com is really awesome. We get together to drink wine and chat and she always helps me compile everything together and focus my ideas.

5.)What do you do in your free time?(besides creating)
I love to take my kids out to do fun stuff and hang out with my husband, either just watching movies at home or having friends over to hang out or play games.

6.)What would give as advice to someone just starting out on Etsy?
Just try to make your stuff stand out from others and show your style with good photos. I know I can take quality photos of my own work, but I always use professional photographers who specialize in wedding photos or fashion. I am positive that this has been detrimental to the success of my business.

7.)How do you promote your work?
so far it is all just word of mouth or people finding me on etsy or my website. I would love to do some intentional advertising, I am just making sure I have everything organized on my end so that when I invest in that step, I am ready for the orders that result.

8.)In ten years, where would you like to be?
For a while, I wanted to stay small, but I think it would be fun for people to know what I do and who I am! I would love to have a famous person wear one of my dresses and inspire people to try doing something they love, even if they weren't technically trained for it :)

9.)What handmade possesion is closest to your heart?
i have some jewelry friends have given me that they got from artists on etsy. I love those and wear them all the time!

10.)What would you like to see more of on Etsy? Less of?
I feel bad, but I think that people think that because they know how to sew fabric on a burp cloth they should start an etsy store. I do think that stuff is super cute and fun, but everyone should make sure they have something special about their stuff and a way they can stand out.
I LOVE the stuff that is innovative and I think, "Wow! how did they think of that!?" I love it!" that especially happens when I see stuff that has been re-purposed :)

wow....thanks katie jean! i am totally in love by katie jean's designs and wish i could buy out her whole store!

you can check out her store HERE !

xoxo,
gracie

april artist

first off, can i just say that i'm really, REALLY happy to have this month's artist on my blog? if you take a peek at my inspiration slideshow on the right-hand bar, many of my items were hers. like i had to cut back to give others a chance to be in that little photo montage. i totally don't remember how i found her shop, but i do know that i love everything in it. EVERYTHING! which is almost impossible...i'm quite a picky girl!(: so, here's the one, the only, barberryandlace ...

1.)Tell us a little bit about yourself! (name, location,pets, family, etc.)My name is Leigh and I live in Loveland, Colorado. I live with my boyfriend, Mike (who also works from home), our pup Sadie and our two kitties, Molly and Bert. Needless to say, our two bedroom condo is quite busy!

2.)How did you become to be an artist?
I've always loved to create things. I made greeting cards for a while and loved doing it. I kind of fell into jewelry and it's such a great fit for me! I love seeing things come together and ordering supplies that I think will make a great piece. It's all very exciting!

3.)What inspires you?
Lots of things. I really love vintage things, pastels, the "shabby chic" look... I like that my studio has a window so I can see nature. I love watching the seasons change.

4.)What is your creative proccess like?Usually I'll find something that I absolutely love and try to make it into something someone else might love. I just love the creating process... finding things that inspire great pieces.

5.)What do you do in your free time?(besides creating)
Free time... what's that? :) I have a part time job as a waitress/bartender that takes up my weekends. I usually work about 25 hours in those three days to afford myself the time to create and sell jewelry the rest of the week. I'm also getting geared up for my first craft fair in May, so getting my booth design put together and making the jewelry for that is also very time consuming... but I love it.

6.)What would give as advice to someone just starting out on Etsy?
Don't give up and MARKET. I was fortunate to have built my blog up before I started my shop, so I already had free ears to listen. I think my biggest success has come from word of mouth... friends blogging about the shop and sponsoring giveaways. I always remind myself: you have to spend money to make money and marketing is the best money spent.

7.)How do you promote your work?
My blog, others' blogs, giveaways, email marketing, handing out business cards like it's nobody's business, twitter, etc. Social media networks are AMAZING... as is word of mouth.

8.)In ten years, where would you like to be?
Goodness... that's tough. I can tell you that THIS year, I'd like to move my shop into another location. Possibly a store front, or maybe just my garage. I just need to have room to expand!

9.)What handmade possesion is closest to your heart?
My grandma made me a cookbook of all our old Amish family recipes and I think it's awesome. I'm not a great cook, but having it all in one place and made by my grandma is really special to me.

10.)What would you like to see more of on Etsy? Less of?
Oh my gosh... I'm obsessed with the little knit animal hats for babies. I think they're DARLING! Less of? Can I say jewelry? I'd like to corner that market! ;)

visit her on facebook here and on etsy here .

can i just say that when i linked to her etsy i spent like 20 minutes looking at her site when i was supposed to only test the link for correct-ed-ness? yeah....i've got the b.a.l. fever!

artist profile

this is our first artist's profile! i am now featuring artists monthly in addition to my blog posts! feel free to email me if you think you would be a good fit for this blog(:

this month's artist is....mentalembellisher! woot! here are her answers to my questions! (click on her name for a link to her shop)

1.)Tell us a little bit about yourself! (name, location,pets, family, etc.)
I'm an expat Londoner called Ann now living in a medieval town in France having lived out in Australia for a while

2.)How did you become to be an artist?
I don't think I 'became' an artist, it's just something I've always done, much preferring to draw inside than play outdoors when I was little...my mum was very creative and my dad was an upholsterer which I suppose is where I get my love of textures and colour. I studied art in London and worked as a professional portait painter, illustrator and muralist for many years in London, Paris & Sydney

3.)What inspires you?
Absolutely everything and usually obscure stuff! I create all the time and live in a very visually stimulating environment

4.)What is your creative proccess like?
Chaotic

5.)What do you do in your free time? (besides creating)
I have three Weimaraners, two cats and an acre of gardens, live with a thai chef and am the mother of two artist and musician sons, so eating, laughing and running around a lot are my main occupations :-) I also love driving fast and going out to sea in the boat when the weather's good. And travelling is something I continue to do....

6.)What would you give as advice to someone just starting out on Etsy?
Take great photos as if there was no description. Write the description as if there were no photos.

7.)How do you promote your work?
I have a Facebook fan page and I use Twitter too. That's it.

8.)In ten years, where would you like to be?
Still happily ensconsed in my studio surrounded by piles of recyclable bits and pieces and mabe a grandchild or two....

9.)What handmade possession is closest to your heart?
Nearly everything in my house is handmade, I can't stand mass-produced things or the idea of someone else having the same thing as me so that's a very difficult one. The one that is literally closest to my heart is a fantastic crocheted granny square jacket made especially for me by my fellow etsian Shelleden, I wear it constantly and it makes me smile :-D

10.)What would you like to see more of on Etsy? Less of?
I'm so happy with Etsy, I can't see what more of anything there could possibly be...

thanks so much mentalembellisher! we loved having you!
check mentalembellisher out at the link above.

thanks also to my loyal followers! have a lovely holiday, new posts coming soon! be prepared for a total revamp of blog content by new year's for sure!