Friday Feature No. 38 -- Featuring Pretty Pear Designs

Happy Friday! It's been a good week for me. I hope it has been for all of you as well.

Today, we are featuring Amy, from Pretty Pear Designs. Amy has a unique product, that I know I haven't seen anywhere before. She makes fabric stationery....and it's SO cool! Let's hear a little more about Amy.

TDB: How did you get your start making fabric stationery?
Amy: I started making fabric stationery, because apparently I had issues collecting fabrics that I thought were pretty. I would buy a yard here and there because it made my eyes happy. I was convinced that someday I would do something with it. Well, one night I just had this huge to make something, anything. I pulled out my stash of fabrics and started thinking what could I make that does not involve pulling out my sewing machine ( with a 2 yr old and newborn at the time, I knew that sewing projects were out of the question for me). I stared at the pretty fabrics and they reminded me of my mom. I started to think about my mom, and thought I would love to send her a card with some of these pretty fabrics.
It was an hour of what if I did this, and then tried this, and this printed this, what would happen? That was the start of my first fabric card. I sent out a few cards to all the important ladies in my life for Mother's Day knowing they all loved handmade items, and well that was the start of it.


TDB: What other creative abilities do you possess?
Amy: It depends on who you ask. I got my degree in art education with a concentration in pottery ( so I am a secret potter ). When I let my mind and inhibitions go I can paint a little. I love to design and decorate, and I am always playing around with making different things when I have time.

TDB: What does "a day in the life of Amy" look like?
Amy: Yikes! A day in the life of Amy is not so exciting. I am up by around 6:30 am and start my motivational round up of getting kids ready. My daughter is 5 and in kindergarten and my 3 year old daughter is home with me. I get my 5 yr old ready to go on the bus (an ongoing battle of remotely staying on task, so we can catch the school bus). After she is gone to school, I have my breakfast and coffee with the computer. I use the morning hours to do Etsy, twitter, blog and try and do my online promotions. I can only do this for a little while and then it is time to clean-up the house a bit and entertain the little one.
My day is a balance of mommy and work, grocery shopping and fresh air. I do not do much actual cardmaking during the day. I have to save that for the evenings when I know I will have no interruptions. I love making stationery and these cards, but I am also very aware of how precious this time is with my girls when they are young like this, so I try to spend a lot of time with them.

TDB: What are three things in your life that you just can't do without?
Amy: Right now I feel like I cannot live without my computer (sad), I can't live without water - seriously if I don't drink water throughout the day I am so tired and I get headaches, and not to sound cliche but hugs, I need them.


TDB: If you had the power of tele-transportation, what would you do with it?
Amy: If I had the power, I would transport myself to Crested Butte, Colorado to snowboard whenever I felt like it. I would see my mom more, and when I was in the mood for some wonderful food I would go to NYC for an evening out with my friends. Oh, and we would take our girls to Disney World, because right now with the way the economy is going not sure if we can do that now.

TDB: As a young child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Amy: Ok, here I go. In this order, from when I was very young through High School - Miss America, Veterinarian, Architect and Interior Designer, and Wildlife Biologist (with a concentration studying grizzly bears).



TDB: Who has been the greatest influence in your life, and why?
Amy: My mom and dad. My dad because he passed away from Leukemia when I was 15 years old, and from him I learned the greatest lessons in life that keep me balanced and happy. I learned to live your life without regrets, to understand the seriousness of life, but to not take life too seriously. I learned from him that family, love and relationships are what are most important, not material things. That time with your kids are precious and that it is more important to create memories then to buy them. From my mom I learned strength and courage. I learned that women are the silent rocks of every family. I learned from here to appreciate what is beautiful and to laugh even when you don't always feel like it.

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Today's giveaway from Amy is this fun white, green, and blue polka dotted fabric stationery. It is a boxed set of 8 notecards.

To enter, please visit Pretty Pear Designs and then come back here and comment on your favorite item from Amy's shop. Please make sure to leave a valid email address with your comment.

For an additional entry, you can blog about our giveaway. Please leave a separate comment with the link to your blog post.

For another additional entry, you can follow us by clicking on "Follow this blog" up at the top right of this page. Please leave a separate comment letting us know you're a follower.

Deadline to enter is Thursday, January 29 at midnight PST. Giveaway is open worldwide.

Have a great weekend!

Angie

Friday Feature No. 33 -- Featuring Jenny Karlsson

Well, it's late, and I have a toddler, who just got up from his nap crying, sitting in my arms. Please forgive me if there are typos that I don't catch.

You might have noticed that we have not had a Friday Feature for the past two weeks. This is much my fault because I sent out my reminder emails a little too late...like the day before! I have been sick, and so has our little guy, so things aren't getting done as well as I had hoped.

Today, we are featuring Jenny of Jenny Karlsson Design. Jenny lives in Sweden, and is one of a very few featured guests who live outside of the USA! Jenny's shop is a delightful display of cozy items, such as crocheted flower brooches, unique (and numbered) handbags, and more.

Here is a little interview with Jenny:

TDB: When did you first get into crafting, and who taught you to craft?

Jenny: I think it must have been my mother at some time. She used to make some of our clothes when we were younger, and also some soft toys. I remember getting a simple little loom that you could weave scarfs & such in.. At least I know that now - back then I made mats for my dolls' house :) But I have always been interested in making things, the creativity have always needed to come out somehow. I am mainly self-taught I guess..

TDB: From where do you get your inspiration for your crafting?

Jenny: A lot of it comes from nature, flora and fauna. Some times it's things that I see that inspires me, most times though I think it is that the things that brings me energy is the things that I get inspiration from. The will to make something must be there. Then I also love beautiful magazines, children's books, art, history, times past. I like a lot of old things. They have feeling to them.

TDB: What is your favorite thing to create?

Jenny: I like variation. Simple and complicated. I do love to do embroidery and such and would like to have time to make more intricate things. It is easy to get caught up in the 'must make & sell'- circle.. Then again one of the best things with handicrafts is that it must take its time, and then it turn out best. When I have made something it has filled its purpose for me somehow. It's the making that I like, and I don't have trouble parting with my work. I rarely keep something for myself.

TDB: Please tell us a little about your family.

Jenny: There's my beloved one, mom, dad, two brothers and Lilly the dog. I live on my own but I talk to my parents really often and one of my brothers lives in the next door house :) I talk even more often with my beloved one, we live about 300 kilometres apart at the moment..

TDB: If you had 3 wishes granted to you, what would you wish for?
Jenny: Tricky question.. Hm.. I think I would have to be a bit materialistic and ask for 1. 'never have to worry about money', you know - so you have enough to get by and a little more. 2. For my loved ones to be happy and live well. 3. Being able to teleport myself all over the place (would be very practical).Hm, that last one might change a bit, but the other two will stay the same. :)Then again, you gather wisdom all your life by living & learning.

TDB: If you could travel back to any time period in history, where would you go, and why?

Jenny: I have thought about this sometimes.. and there are a few options.. victorian England, 1920's, beginning of the 19th century and perhaps Egypt. These are a few of the time periods that fascinates me and I find a lot of inspiration in. I guess it is also down to The Pre-Raphaelite movement, Arts & Crafts, Arthur Rackham-Edmund Dulac-Walter Crane ( illustrators), The House of Eliott (series) & Jane Austen.. Oh and Charles Dickens.. I do like times past. I can get quite nostalgic about periods in time that I haven't even lived, but am longing for somehow.

TDB: Please share 3 random, little known facts about you
Jenny:
* I was in a youth circus when I was younger. Doing simple acrobatics dressed up as a native american (in a shirt & pants made out of brown flanell that my mother had made, and with red & white stripes in my face).
* I really like playing computer games, especially where you get to chop around with swords and such..Guns works too :) .. There must be a plot though, adventure and excitement. My favorites are Monkey Island x 4, Morrowind, Fable, Half-Life and NoOneLivesForever.. Those are the ones I've played the most. I think...
* I have never smoked a single cigarette. Er.. Oh well, I couldn't come up with any other fact just now.. :)


Thanks Jenny! It was great to find out a little more about the woman behind the designs!
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The Giveaway: A $15.00 "Gift Certificate" to Jenny's shop on Etsy.com.

To Enter: Please visit Jenny Karlsson Design, then come back here and leave a comment about either your favorite item in Jenny's shop or what you would spend this gift certificate on, if you are the winner. Please be sure to have a VALID email address attached to either your comment (like this: downtownboutique (at) sbcglobal (dot) ne), or your Blogger account. You do not have to have a Blogger account to enter, as long as you have an email made available to us.

For one extra entry: Please blog about this giveaway and leave a separate comment with the link to your post.

For another entry: We'd love to have you follow our blog! You will get updates in Blogger with each new post. Yes, you must have a Blogger account for this one. No, it doesn't count if you are already following.

Deadline to enter: Thursday, November 27th at Midnight PST. Giveaway is open worldwide.

Have a great weekend!
Angie

Wordless Wednesday Featuring MoonMum

Newbie Tuesday

Here are some "newbies" on Etsy. If you buy, please make sure you tell them where you found them!

Newbie Tuesday

I've started a new segment! It's called "Newbie Tuesday", and each Tuesday I will feature shops that have not had any sales yet. Maybe they opened shop awhile ago, and haven't had sales, or maybe they just opened and haven't had sales. I know that I would have loved this when I was a newbie, so I want to help other newbies get their first sales. Let's show these newbies the love by encouraging and supporting them with their new shops!!!









Little Towheads has a store opening sale, where the first three buyers can buy one, get one free on any listing!!!


Be sure to let them know you found them on The Downtown Boutique.
Angie

Wordless Wednesday Featuring Art of the Moment

Friday Features No. 6 -- Featuring RavenX

Good Morning and Happy Friday! Today is the day we give away the "Best Friends" scarf from Fringe. And our winner is: ladavies. Congratulations! I will be contacting you soon!

Our Friday Feature today, features someone many of you might know....RavenX, whose shop name is Dirty Pretty Things. Raven is a "mixed media artist" based in Los Angeles, with a lot of different passions when it comes to creating. She has a very fun profile in her Etsy shop. Raven also has a "wunderfully creative" husband, mikiep.

Raven's creativity includes such wonderful items as Cherry Vanilla Mineral Bath Soak, Greeting Cards printed on the finest Italian cardstock, Delicious Long-Lasting Soy Candles, Clay Sculptures, and Acrylic Paintings. So let's get to know Raven a little better:

TDB: How and when did you get started crafting?
RavenX: Growing up, I remember helping my mum decorate cakes or sew clothes {both for Barbie and for us kids}. She always wanted to be a fashion designer, but like so many other women of that time, she gave up her dream to become a housewife and mother. She was thrilled that I later decided to follow her dream. I moved to New York City 2 weeks after high school with only $300, a dream, and a lot of perserverance…. I literally became a fashion designer with no formal school training. I stayed with that dream for 13 or so years of my life {and eventually got my degree in fashion design too!} …and then moved on to a different artistic side of myself, which is what I do now: acrylic paintings, sculpture, customizable greeting cards, yummy soy candles, bath salts, etc….

TDB: What is your favorite thing to make?
RavenX: Lately, I’ve really been into clay sculpture and pretty painted silhouettes. With clay you can have an idea in your head or sketched out on paper and never really know what you’ll come out with once your hands start to shape it. I’ve been working on new pieces for our Fall 2008 show here in Los Angeles. In the meanwhile, I’m hard at work on some sweet little cutie and some painted silhouette shapes that will be filling my shop soon!
TDB: To what do you attribute your success on Etsy?
RavenX: I am so happy to be where I am on Etsy, especially for only having been a member about eight months now. I have lots of great customers, some who have even now become friends. Many of them tell their friends about my work and are repeat clients, which is always the ultimate reward.
I think my success could be attributed to my doing what I want…mixing it up and offering all the things that I personally love to create. I don’t limit myself into just selling art or candles like many shops do. On one hand, offering only a single type of item is a plus on Etsy since there is no real way to move your store around and you are usually judged by what’s currently on your first page; but I feel that my store is more of a lifestyle…through my eyes. I love the store Anthropologie, so I wanted to create that sort of feeling, selling things that you might wish to have in all aspects or moods of your life. It's a work in progress. Of course I have yet to start doing clothing again…but in time, I’m sure I’ll be back to sewing again and will be offering off-beat wearable goodies too.

TDB: What advice would you give to an Etsy newcomer?
RavenX: Etsy success is all about promoting yourself and great customer service, like any other sales business. You’ll notice that when you’re not out “pimping” yourself, sales will go down. Etsy is so infiltrated with sellers now, that it’s hard to get noticed otherwise. Great photos and descriptions are also a must…think something you might find in a magazine. A sweet little blog with a following doesn’t hurt either…and it’s fun too! I have people find my blog and shop just by their “Googling” certain words. Ultimately, just keep doing what YOU love to do and the sales will follow.

TDB: What do you love to do when you're not crafting or selling on Etsy?
RavenX: Well, since the hubs is also an artist, there isn’t much time that were not being arty or working on our historic house that was last renovated in the Seventies! I also enjoy reading books on spirituality {currently reading the Oprah pick “A New Earth”}, going to low-brow art shows here in LA or eating Sushi. Now, that we have a house with a large yard, I also work in the garden a lot. I’m discovering a new found love of the flowers my mum used to teach me about when I was a child.

TDB: If you could learn a new skill, what would it be?
RavenX: Oh, there are so many, but a main one would be to work in oil paints since I currently only paint with acrylics. Currently, I'm learning how to use a Wacom Tablet to draw and it takes a lot of time and practice!
…and this may sound slightly strange, but I want to learn to weld. I’ve always wanted to work in metal, but have not ever had the chance. ;)

TDB: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be, and why?
RavenX: I am thankful to have been able to travel as much as I have so far…but two places that are still on my list are Iceland and Japan. I have always felt connected to the Japanese culture and think I was a Geisha in a past life. I remember studying the Japanese lifestyle when I was in school and I was always totally enchanted. I love their genuine curiosity, forward thinking and ability to see things totally opposite than we do here in the West.
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Raven has generously offered to give away some of her fantastic creativity. Up for grabs are:

• Black Dahlia Card - Photographic image on fine Italian cardstock with envelope
  
• Black Cosmos Card - Photographic image on fine Italian cardstock with envelope


• Pink Floral Trio -3 Large Glass Gem Magnets

To Enter: Please visit Raven's Shop, then come back and leave ONE comment with your favorite item from her shop. If you neglect to follow directions, you will not be entered in the drawing. We do this because we really want to promote our featured artists, and that means getting people to go look in their shops! Thanks for helping out. Please make sure that we have a VALID email for you. I have more than once, had to re-pick a winner because someone left an anonymous comment and didn't leave their email!

Giveaway is open worldwide. Deadline for this giveaway is Thursday March 27th at Midnight PST.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

Angie

PS...Don't forget to scroll down to the next post to try and win a month of FREE advertising here on The Downtown Boutique!