Saturday, April 17, 2010

Saturday Artisan: filigreephotos

Meet this week Saturday Artisan couple, Liga and Janis of filigreephotos. A couple who each has a special talent and sharing it with the world. I'm in awe of how beautiful snapshots of nature Janis was able to take. And calling himself, ameteur photograph? Hmm...he's just being humble, IMO.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
We come from small country in Europe – Latvia. We live in beautiful rural area, in fact biosphere reserve. So almost every day we se beauty of nature and it’s inspiring. Janis is amateur photographer. I’m unemployed for now so as I have free time I decided to promote my husband’s wonderful artwork.

What is your favourite item in your shop?
In fact there are two – Snowflake photo

Snowflake – it was a miraculous moment to see it after uploading from camera to PC – so detailed, fragile and unique...you’ll never see something like this with naked eye.


and owl photo

Owl – this kind of owls are quite rare here in our country so we were very lucky to see it and even more to take photo of it. This photo also shows skill of Janis as a photographer – it’s taken with vintage heavy manual lens (MTO-500)... and it’s not easy to photograph flying bird with manual lens!


What is your best seller?
We haven’t had many sales yet, because we’re newbies on Etsy. But for now our best seller is photo cards.

How does your day go in general?
Janis has regular job, so he goes to work in the morning. I usually do what’s needed to be done at home – like cleaning, cooking...but most of my day 10.00am – 4 or 5 pm is dedicated to promoting our Etsy shop. Listings, promoting in forums, twitter. Not very long time ago we started our blog and I plan to make facebook fan page also! (and they have a FB fanpage by the time this interview is posted). Actually these things take a lot of time. In the evening Janis often does some photo projects and I do my crafts – I make lamps. (and she finally opened a store selling the lamps, yei!! It's FiligreeCreations.

Do you have a favourite Etsy seller?
We don’t have one particular favorite. But I have a favorite thread – in Etsy forums promotion section there is a wonderful thread with many lovely and helpful people – Enyaeires thread. Many thanks to people of this thread for helping and being so nice to us!

What inspires you?
I’m inspired by many small things like good tea, snow, smell of rain, but I never can get an answer to this question from Janis – he says to him inspiration just comes from somewhere and it has nothing to do with outer factors... :-) he does not know himself.



What is your goal for 2010?
Hmm..hard to say – we have a list of goals actually. It’s about being seen and inspire!

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without?
For Janis it’s his pile of photo equipment – especially he loves manual lenses. My is not a tool – it’s my senses. It may sound wierd, but I mostly get my inspiration from all the small things (like I mentioned before) – smell of tea, rain, trees, seeing moments in nature – like birds playing in the snow. And I can’t do anything properly if I don’t have inspiration.



How do you promote your shop?
We’re always looking for new ways to promote our shop. For now it’s Etsy forums, blog (www.filigreephotos.blogspot.com ), and twitter (http://twitter.com/filigreephotos ).

Any advice for a newbie running his or her on-line shop?

We’re newbies, so we don’t have much advice to give...but I guess I could mention some things... 1) Be kind and nice to everyone. Treat them as you want yourself to be treated. 2) Good photos are important if you want to be really successful. There’s piles of info available on internet about improving quality of your photos. Invest time in visual appearance of your shop and it’ll pay back.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's giveaway!

17 comments:

  1. Hi, I went over and "checked " out Janis and Liga's Etsy shop. I also have hearted their shop :) Their photos are exquisite and so lovely

    aunteegem@yahoo.com

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  2. Oh my those photos are SO BEAUTIFUL! If only I could take pictures like that. Not that the country I live in would allow for those.

    Sigh.

    I look forward to browsing your lovely shop! Good luck with it! And remember to have fun!

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  3. Wonderful photography...I really like all of their work.

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  4. WOW! I learned so much - I guess what stands out is Janis' inspiration and how he says he is amateur! God is glorified in your work!

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  5. I would like to add that these gifted and professional, and friendly!, sellers are so wonderful to work with - they will work with you on different sizes etc . if you have a request ~ just ask - they did custom sizes for me on the Butterfly photo
    http://www.etsy.com/listing/37962930/butterfly-8x8-fine-art-print
    I am extremely pleased and HIGHLY recommend their work - it is a gift you give yourself or to someone else!

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  6. Such a nice couple and inspiring work! I look forward to seeing new photos and picking up any tips for showcasing my items on my etsy shop.

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  7. I am following filigreephotos blog

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  8. Hi posted a comment on yesterdays post. I have learned the value of good photos , now just have to accquire the skills :) I'll try to soak up as much as I can and check their bog regularly! Amazing photos.

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  9. I thought your reaction to the snowflake photograph was very interesting! It must be amazing to see that and know that you created the image!

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  10. I love that you consider a manual lense a tool - I'm just starting out with photography and I would agree with that! It's hard work to use a manual lense, but the results are amazing!

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  11. I really enjoy your photographs. You have a good perspective on nature, which shows in your pictures. I would love more pictures of foxes. They are one of my favorite animals.
    debp
    twoofakind12@yahoo.com

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  12. Thank you so much for all the kind words! :)

    Very_Married - our reaction could be probably described as "jaw dropped" lol

    Nicole - manual lenses are his favorite ones!


    Liga
    (and hello to you all from Janis!) :)

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  13. Christina - xristya@rock.com - I was so surprised to learn that you were in Latvia! The photos are very lovely, and it's amazing that you can catch owls in flight!

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  14. beautiful photogrpahy! I would like to see more black and white with flower/tree. I think the tree print on the blog is beautiful and my favorite!

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  15. I am so amazed by the detail and clarity of your photos!

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  16. I learned that Janis is inspired by the small things like the smell of tea, rain, trees, and nature.

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  17. I think their photos are STUNNING! I learned that Liga also makes lamps, which I think is really cool! I wish I had half as much talent!

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