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
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