Saturday, August 16, 2014

Saturday Artisan: Angel Crafts Shop

Meet Sandra, the artist behind Angel Crafts Shop. She is our Saturday Artisan for this week. It's an honor to know Sandra and to feature her shop. I admire her dedication in helping special need orphans. Check out Sandra's shop and you will see that her products are beautifully made. 

Without further a due, let's get to know her, shall we?

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?

I'm a WAHM (Work-At-Home-Mum), living in Switzerland with my sweet 10-year-old boy and my loving husband. We moved here for my husband's work and love living in this picture-postcard-beautiful country. 

I make Kanzashi-inspired Hairclips as well as Suffolk-Puff Flower Hairclips. I also make Hairbow Holders which help keep all those pretty hairclips organised and available at a quick glance. I have recently added Fimo Keyrings to my craft items.

I decided to combine my love for crafting and my love for these kiddos. So this store was born. 
50% of the sale price of every item goes back to the orphans. The other half goes to buying more supplies and keeping the store running.
Every month i will select a couple of special needs orphans who are listed on Reece's Rainbow to benefit from the sale of my crafts.

You can read more about the orphans 
I advocate for on my blog - trippingdifferently.com.



What is the story behind your shop name?  

AngelCraftsShop started out as a project for a Sunday School class to help a couple of special needs orphans, initially called Angels for Orphans. After that one project, I felt the need to do more and have been advocating for special needs orphans since 2012, mainly working with Reece's Rainbow, a Christian advocate ministry. After a year, I wanted to have a constant way of giving to these precious children.

Who is your target market?

Anyone who supports handmade and orphans really. Of course, with my current range of items, mostly women and people who have little girls to dote on. I hope to expand my range of products to include some things for boys in the near future.


Which part of creation process that you enjoy the most?

The actual making of the item, cutting up the material and putting it all together.


For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city? 

What you see in postcards about Switzerland is indeed what you get to see when you come here. It is a beautiful country, with stunning scenery and lovely old towns to explore. Of course, it also produces some of the world's best chocolate!


Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?

I use Ikea's inexpensive yet durable self-assemble cardboard boxes to store all my materials. Divided into different categories such as Knitting, Fimo, Cloth, Beads/Buttons, Ribbons etc. I find having boxes of the same size allows for easy stacking and moving them around is also a breeze.


What is your best seller?

It's a tie at the moment. The Classy White and Turquoise Kanzashi Flower Hairclips and the Sweetie Blue and Orange Kanzashi Hairpins.


How does your day go in general?

Different days of the week vary, depending on the activities the family has on. On production days, when i'm working on making items, I generally start after I had a quick look at my emails, about 9 am. Then I work till about lunchtime. Usually I try and make production days when my boy gets to stay in school for lunch. That way I can have a quick lunch and can get back to work for a couple more hours before he gets home from school. Other things, such as updating the website and social media etc, I usually do after my boy is asleep.


How do you balance your personal and work life?

Family comes first so if there is a need to, I will shorten production days or move things around to fit the family schedule.


What inspires you?

Nature! I love how pretty and intricate flowers are. And I keep on making because I want to help the special needs orphans I advocate for.


What is your goal for 2014?  And are you on the right track?

To do my first fair and have at least 100 items listed. I think I'm more or less on track ;)


What is the key to success?

Perseverance and Patience

Any advice for others running their on-line shop?
I just started myself so my advice would be to just start and learn on the job cos that is how I'm doing it.


What does handmade mean to you?

Handmade means something which someone has used their very unique set of skills and put their heart into creating. It means one of a kind, it means intentionally and lovingly made.


What is your favorite quote, song, or movie?

My Favourite Things from The Sound of Music



Would you like to be featured as a Saturday Artisan and sponsor a giveaway? Here is how to apply.

21 comments:

  1. Thank you Nat for the beautiful write-up. :)

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  2. very nicely done, I would like to see more hair bows geared for adults

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  3. wow, all lovely! seems a dream!

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  4. Magnificent photos, and such an ordered arrangement of materials in the workspace. Don't ever look into my work room! ;)

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  5. What a beautiful place to live and work! I enjoyed seeing the scenic photos of Switzerland, as well as your colorful fabrics and threads. I like how you use your gifts to support special needs orphans.

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  6. it is only with dedication that one's true worth comes out. for you it is those orphans who need your support and concern and your creative instincts which come from the beauty in nature. nice combo! :-)

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  7. love your work - and those pics! I'd be a terrible WAHM, because I get easily distracted. especially in such a beautiful area!!

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  8. very beatifuls your works

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  9. Hmm... i posted reply but it has not seemed to have appeared - so i will try again...
    Thank you everyone for the lovely comments and encouragements. It means a lot.
    Yes Switzerland is a beautiful place and one can get very distracted enjoying the scenery but with a school-age son who comes and goes to and from school, working at home keeps me occupied.
    i do have a few adult hair bows but i will definitely try to come up with more. Thanks for the comment.
    Oh and my work area is not always so neat and tidy - ahhaa ;)
    i hope you all will come over to the shop and make a purchase soon, in support of these precious children. Thanks.

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  10. love the pictures. What beautiful scenery!

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  11. Your work is lovely!
    As is your scenery. I was born in Switzerland, so I do know how breathtakingly gorgeous it is! Unfortunately, I haven't lived there since I was a kid.

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  12. Fascinating post, wonderful photos and lovely art. I visited Switzerland many years ago for a week - lives on in my memory. Am somewhat jealous that Sandra gets to live there (: Thank you, Nat, for sharing this artist with us.

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  13. How interesting. Your work is awesome. Where do you get all that inspiration? Following your blog :)

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  14. Once again, thank you all for your wonderful comments! Happy to see that people who have been to Switzerland have lovely memories of it... well, to those who have been here before - come back & visit... to those who have not been here, you have to at least visit Switzerland once in your lifetime - bucket-list item?

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  15. Stunning photos! Also nice to know she's helping out orphans. Thanks for sharing!

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  16. what is it like to live in such a beautiful place?

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  17. What do you hope for your shop in the future?

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  18. Roxanne - Thanks!
    Sol - what's it like to live here? It is amazingly beautiful and you feel much closer to nature cos it's everywhere here - you are never far from a forest or a walking trail, even if you are in the city center. The people are nice and considerate, even though more reserved than what i am used to. But once you get to know them, they are lovely.
    Megan - i hope to gather a small group of crafters who would be happy to craft for orphans and use my shop as a platform to sell their wares.

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  19. I agree that Switzerland is a beautiful country (I live in Italy and, since it's nearby, I've been there for a couple of times as a tourist)~~~ but if you had to choose another one to live in, which one would it be~~? :3

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  20. WinglessMaka - do you mean if i could choose any country in the world to live in? Well, then it would be Australia, specifically Perth - i lived there for 1.5 years during my uni years & absolutely LOVE it!

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