Saturday Artisan: BeautifullySpun

Meet Brianna of BeautifullySpun, our Saturday Artisan!

She is a young girl with so much talent in knitting, crocheting and sewing. Let's get to know here a little bit more, shall we?

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
I am 19 years old. I am the oldest of 6 children. I have two cats and one dog. I live in Harrison Arkansas. I am a Christian and I love the Lord. I love to knit, crochet, tat and sew. I make hats, scarfs, baby blankets, cocoons, and other things like that.
What is the story behind your shop name?The story behind my shop name is that God created me with a Beautiful purpose and then I chose "Spun" because of the fact that I love yarn.

Who is your target market?
My target market is mostly women, teen girls and children.

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most?
My favorite part of the creation process is when I see my project taking form. And I love it when it is finished and I am able to try it on or see others admire it.



For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city? 
Harrison is a beautiful town. Its very big but yet it has a small town feeling to it. At least that's what I think. If you go to the Historic side, you will see beautiful Victorian styled houses. The neighborhoods are filled with trees. Dog wood and Magnolia trees are sprinkled everywhere. The other side of Harrison is all practicality. Stores, restaurants, and parks are everywhere. But Since I am not allowed to take pictures of other peoples property to post on the internet. I did not take any pictures of the town.:(


Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?If you are talking about how I organize my products at home, I keep it all in a box in my closet. ( So that it does not get lost or damaged. ) If you are asking how I organize it in my shop then here it is. Everything I make has a select person that I would like to see buy it. If it is for a baby, then I put it in a section called "For Baby." If it is for women, then I put it in a shop for Women. That's how I do it. I don't really have any tips for organization. But I do think that when you organize you should make categories that most people would look for. The same thing with tags. Try to stay away from specifics. Like when you make a category for teens. Don't say, 13 year olds. say teens. Just try to keep it simple.


What is your best seller?
My best seller is the Newsboy Hat.

How does your day go in general?
Well, i wake up and get dressed. Then I do some chores and when everything is done, I sit down and work on a project until it's done. Sometimes it takes me more then one day to complete something. But i usually do it in one afternoon. Making things for my shop is not really a "job". And that's ok because if it seems like a job, then I will lose that enjoyment and I don't want it to get that way. I get to "work" whenever I want to.

How do you balance your personal and work life?
It's all in the same lump. I do it from home, so I get to mix them. If I have to stop and deal with lunch or helping one of my brothers or sisters with something, then I do. I am able to do whatever I want with my work day.

What inspires you?
My family are the ones who inspire me. They will see something that they like and they will come to me and ask if I could every recreate it. They challenge me and sharpen me. 

What is your goal for 2012? And are you on the right track?

My plans for 2012 are to do my best. I don't really have a big goal. But I would love to see my shop take off.

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without?
My favorite tool is my size k crochet hook. I use it for almost all of my projects. It's the one I keep around.

How do you promote your shop?
I try to post my listings on an Etsy team or I tell others about it. I favorite a lot of people and add them to my circle. Once I started posting my listings on Teams, I started getting a lot of views.

Any advice for others running their on-line shop?
My advise would be...
#1 - don't be greedy. When I pay for material to make something. I usually charge double what I payed for it. So if I pay $3 for yarn and I make a baby hat, then I charge $6. or $6.50. Of course it depends on the yarn you buy. But that is how I do it and everyone seems to like it.
#2 - Try to let your customers know that you are their for them. Encourage them to ask questions about your product. This will let them know that you are trustworthy.
#3 - Don't list a product on Etsy unless you actually have the product finished. I have seen others list things made to order, but that has never worked for me. Also, what if you were to list something like that and you were not able to make it. 

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money?
on't spend your money when you know you will need it for your shop. When I make something I charge double what I payed for the materials. Once that item sells, it take the first half and buy more materials so that I can make that item again and then get more money. The I take the rest of the money and I either put it away or invest it again. That way, I am not going over budget. I always stay on top.

Blog Giveway: Beautiful Owl Purse from ShortcakeDesigns

Win this beautiful Hootie Owl handmade purse ($40 value) from ShortcakeDesigns. Gorgeous, and I know I'll envy the winner. You know I love owls :-) Get to know Courtney, our Saturday Artisan this week.

There are many ways to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Contest starts now and ends on May 5, 2012. Contest opens worldwide. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you. Entries without contact information will be disqualified. Entries that do not follow the rules will be disqualified. Contest winner will be drawn on Sunday, May 6. Winner must respond within 48 hours after being contacted otherwise another winner will be randomly selected.

Saturday Artisan: ShortcakeDesigns

Meet Courtney, our Saturday Artisan. Courtney is the artist behind ShortcakeDesigns a shop full of beautiful purses, wallets, coffee cozys and pet collars. I love the cheerful and vibrant colors chosen and put together to create amazing handmade pieces for day-to-day uses. 

I've met Courtney via EFA (Etsy for Animals), and I admire her hardwork for the team and her passion to save animals. Let's get to know this talented and kindheart artist! 

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
Throughout high school and college I spent a lot of time learning and eventually performing middle eastern dance (belly dancing) and it was the amazing costumes that initially sparked my love of sewing. At first I started sewing by hand only. I have to admit that I was terrified of the sewing machine. Eventually my aunt convinced me to practice with her sewing machine and next thing I knew I was making costumes for other dancers and hosting sewing parties late into the night. 

Since graduating from college I have moved to Iowa City, Iowa where I am attending graduate school at the University of Iowa. Some day very soon I will complete my Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology. While graduate school has drawn me away from dancing, it has not hindered my love of sewing. In fact sewing has become my refuge, a place where I can sit down and complete a project start to finish. Sewing gives me sense of accomplishment that I sometimes find lacking in my day job.

I currently make mini wallets, reusable coffee cozys, purses and pet collars.

I really enjoy making the smaller items which to me are great in allowing one to give hints about their personality whether its supporting a favorite football team at the local coffee shop, or showcasing a love of Star Wars while checking out at the grocery store. To me its just fun!

Also I love animals and since I can't adopt them all I try to help out by donating the profits from my collars to either my local animal center, the National Mill Dog Rescue or to the charity of the month hosted by the etsy team Etsy for Animals. It is wonderful that my customers can pick out the perfect collar for their pets, but in shopping with me they are also supporting animal charities and that makes you feel good.


What is the story behind your shop name?
Back in college, I wore a Strawberry Shortcake themed bandanna during a paintball competition everyone joked and called me Shortcake for the whole day. I guess the name stuck with me and since it reminds me of great times with great friends I decided to use it as my shop name.  

Who is your target market?

I find that my mini wallets are a big hit with students and they fly off the shelves when I am out at the local farmers market or craft fair. I just expanded my products to include retro pet beds and with the collars and leashes I really try to reach animals lovers on etsy.  

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most? 

I have piles and piles of one yard cuts of fabric that never seem to get smaller, probably because I can't seem to keep myself out of the fabric stores. I love getting a new pattern and then digging through my piles of fabric to find the perfect combinations. Its like a treasure hunt!

 

For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city?
Iowa city is the third largest city in Iowa. While that may sound intimidating the city only has about 80k citizens, giving it a charming small town feel. Iowa city is home to the university of Iowa (which I attend) and the "old capitol", the site of the former territorial capitol of Iowa. The winters are decidedly chilly, but the spring and summer months bring wonderfully warm days and offer lots to do. Farmers markets, festivals, and athletic events are very common and very fun! Iowa city's revitalized downtown area is actually a pedestrian mall filled with great shops, restaurants, and the occasional jazz concert. Venturing just outside the city gives you the chance to visit apple orchards, berry patches, and of course, corn mazes!  

 

 

Iowa city's revitalized downtown area is actually a pedestrian mall filled with great shops, restaurants, and the occasional jazz concert. Venturing just outside the city gives you the chance to visit apple orchards, berry patches, and of course, corn mazes!  

 

Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?
My most treasured organizational items are my spool holder and my bobbin case.  I keep my thread ordered by color (rainbow order of course) and no matter how messy my work bench gets the thread always looks nice and gives the impression that everything is organized.

What is your goal for 2012? And are you on the right track? 

I want to donate at least $300 to my various animal charities and so far I am right on track. Hopefully I can meet and even exceed my goal.  

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without?

Other than my bobbin box and spool holder, I couldn't function without my rotary cutters. It saves so much time cutting out fabric pieces and I can move my mat and fabric to the living room to watch movies while I cut fabric. 

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money?

A lot of my wallets and collars are made from clothing that I have picked up from Goodwill, garage sales or local consignment shops. Many of these items are in practically brand new condition and you can find the most unusual textures and patterns. Not only is it great to reclaim and give these items a second life, but I also get to spend the day bargain shopping!

Spring Carnival

We were so glad that we could make it to the last day of Carnival. It's an annual Carnival where they just stay about 1 week or 2 weeks at the most and they leave to go to different places in the country. When we passed it over a week ago, we thought we should bring Ethan there. And of course, out of sight, out of mind. I didn't jot it down in my calendar or into the iphone....we totally forgot about it.

 

Thank goodness, a couple old friends came to see us on Sunday and mentioned about going to the Carnival afterward and it just hit us: we need to go to!We had so much fun! 4 parents with 3 young kids running around wanting to go on some fun rides. Because they're still too young (or short) for some of the rides, parents took turn to accompany them. This is for sure one of the memories that I would like to remember and preserve, spending time and relaxing in one afternoon, as a family and with companions of friends and their children.