Fabric and Glitter, and Chain, OH MY!

 I am an absolute sucker for anything bright, colorful, sparkly, and shiny. But really, who isn't? I had a sudden light bulb moment last night at work and I thought, "What if I take the hoops for my dream catchers, and wrap them in fabric, and THEN add chain and Glitter Leather Feather's?" Best idea ever in my opinion. I mean if you have any sort of style sense at all you'll snatch one up now. Just kidding, but really, get one. THEY ARE AMAZING.

You can click here to head over to my shop.

Small Business Sunday: The Hobo Train

When you think of bags and purses what do you think of? Do you think of going to the store and buying one, or do you think of logging onto etsy and finding some of the coolest handmade Hobo bags around? Well now, hopefully your thinking of the second option. Renee makes some funky and original crossbody bags that are just dying to be bought! Oh, and did I mention she also makes hats?

1. When did you start making bags?

I started making hobolicious bags in 2006. I was looking for a way to live more freely, be creative, and pay the bills. I've been working for myself ever since and selling my hobo bags mostly at festivals, high-end craft fairs, and markets of all kinds. It has been a journey!

2. How long has your shop been open?

I opened my shop in 2010 and didn't do much with it until this year. Now that I'm putting some sweat into it, the results have been tremendous.

3. How long does it take you to make a bag?

Anywhere from 45 minutes to several hours, depending on the bag. I also make some labour-intensive bags by recycling men's tweed jackets. These aren't in the shop yet, but stay tuned!

4. What types of fabrics and materials do you use?

I search high and low for funky and unusual fabrics that people won't see anywhere else. It's part of the creative process and definitely super fun.

5. What is your design process?

I design mostly by instinct. I'm not schooled in pattern-making, but I think I have a good feel for how things go together. If it feels right, then I go for it.

6. Tell me a little about your hats, and how you make them.

My upcycled hats are a fairly new line. I LOVE thrift shopping and often come across great t-shirts. I designed a funky hat pattern that gives new life to these funky old shirts. Keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming upcycled clothing line.

7. What has been your biggest accomplishment?

My biggest accomplishment is having learned to do every aspect of my business. I not only design and sew all my products, but I also make my tags, displays, write applications, book shows, do my bookkeeping, sell my bags, set up and take down at craft fairs, run my Etsy shop and the list can go on. When I look back over the last 6 years, I can say that I've accomplished so much and learned so much in order to be where I am today.

8. What has been the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge has been the same as the biggest accomplishment. That is, learning to do every part of my business. It's actually really hard work. lol

9. How do you promote your shop?

I do a lot of shows in the summer and at Christmas. I also network online and have been featured on various websites. The best form of promotion for an Etsy shop is to keep your shop active -- add new listings often and make sure they look good.

10. Where do you see your shop in 5 years?

I hope that in 5 years I will be making most of my living off of my online shop. I love doing craft fairs and festivals but they are a ridiculous amount of work and I'd love to focus more on making product and selling to the vast marketplace in cyberspace. Hello out there!

11. Do you sell anywhere else besides etsy?

I sell at craft fairs, festivals, and markets of all kind. My only online venue is Etsy.

To check our Renee's amazing store go here. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and her Blog.

Small Business Sunday: Lit Prints and a Giveaway!

I use to keep notebooks of quotes from my favorite poems, movies, songs, and books laying around all over my room. I look back at this now and wish I would have kept them all instead of going through my rebellious years and tossing them in the trash. Thankfully, Holly, who owns Lit Prints, has a business where she offers up beautifully colored prints with your favorite quotes. She's also been nice enough to offer a giveaway on this: A 4x6 with the quote, "All Good Things Are Wild and Free", and two buttons. (all seen below)

Rules for the Giveaway:

1. You must first follow Holly on Twitter and GFC. (here and here).

2. You must follow me on Twitter. (here).

3. and for extra entries follow me on GFC and like me on Facebook! (here).

4. Leave a message in the comment section and let me know what you did as well as your email!

1. How did you get started making prints?

I've always loved to read. I have a lot of notebooks with quotes written down, and all my books are highlighted and marked up. I wanted to incorporate them into artwork somehow. I tried a lot of different things -embroidery, paper cutouts, stamps- before experimenting and falling in love with Photoshop and digital design.

2. Did you go to school for art?

No, I went to school for social sciences, and got my Associates in December. I took three architecture courses though, and really enjoy composition and design. I'm going to school online for a Bachelors in Business Administration and hope to take courses locally towards a web page design certificate too.

3. What kind of literature and quotes do you like to use?

I'm a hopeless romantic, so I have a few Jane Austen quotes - "Perhaps it is our imperfections that make us so perfect for one another." I also have a lot of happy and inspirational quotes, like Emersons' "Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air," which is a favorite of mine.

4. What made you want to start an etsy store?

I wanted to be able to work from home creating and doing something I love. I've worked in retail since I was 18, but when my son was born I decided to go back to school instead. Etsy has been great, and I love owning my own business and doing something that makes me happy! I think Etsy is a great platform for artists and crafters to sell their work, and also help one another to succeed.

5. What has been your biggest accomplishment?

Making 100 sales! I didn't even think I would make one sale, and to have a little success is really humbling and exciting! (I made a post here - http://www.etsy.com/teams/5002/etsy-success/discuss/9938865/ with advice and tips to reach 100!)

6. What has been the biggest challenge?

Time management. Between my toddler, school full time, marriage, and home responsibilities there never seems to be enough hours in the day.

7. How do you promote your work?

Wanelo.com has been really helpful. I get at least a hundred views a week from there, and I usually get a few sales from trending items too. It's free and really easy to use. On Etsy, I use Etsy Search Ads. I've also tried a showcase, which brought in views and hearts but no sales. I advertise on a blog (cherishedbliss.com), and have done a few giveaways too.

8. Do you sell your work anywhere else?

Just Etsy for now but I've been thinking about trying out a local craft show once the semester ends.

9. What has been your favorite piece you've done?

My "To do list" print. It was something I wrote -things I think everyone should take the time to do: "Take road trips. Gaze at the stars. Listen to records. Read books. Create things. Fall in Love."

10. Where do you see your shop in 5 years?

Ideally, I'd like it to grow to be a full time business! I'd love to do more custom work - like wedding invitations, party posters, etc. - as well as website design. I hope to keep learning new techniques and skills and see where it takes me!

To visit Holly's shop go here, and to visit her blog go here

Small Business Sunday: Books and Beyond

I've always been an avid reader. In first grade I use to get in trouble because I'd be reading chapter books while the other kids learnt how to spell and sound out "elephant" (or some other word). I've never browsed the vintage books in etsy, until now that is. It's a magical place for me, and I can not wait to get my hands on some of the one's I've seen. Especially the books in Gene's shop. He owns The Gene Machine : Books and Beyond. I don't think I've ever been so envious of someone's book collection before!

1. What got you interested in selling books?

It gradually blossomed out of my Etsy shop, which used to simply be Vintage items of all kinds. Vintage books started making their way into my shop, and I suddenly realized that my life long dream of procuring (hoarding?) a vast amount of interesting books could be justified if I were to create a business out of it!. The entire focus for my shop switched to books. And now here I am, surrounded by weird and obscure books.

2. What has been your favorite book you've come across?

I think the most interesting book I've come across was SLEEP, by Gay Gaer Luce and Julius Segal, from 1966. This is my favorite, simply because it was the strangest book I think I've owned. Basically, it's research into the functions of sleep, based on research done on people that today would probably be considered unethical. The whole book is creepy, there was a creepy index card in the book, and it had a stamp from the book store it was originally bought from; Silva MIND CONTROL BOOK STORE, in Laredo, Texas.

3. Have there been any that you couldn't give up and that you kept?

Oh man, there are a few books in my shop that I know are going to be painful to give up; books that are rare enough that I'm not sure I'll ever get a chance to read after it slips through my fingers. My biggest fear with my books is that they'll just end up being used as home decor, and simply thrown out as soon as it doesn't match the aesthetic of the owner's home. Especially with the rare books, if a buyer contacted me to tell me it was simply going to be used as decoration, I might refuse the sale!

4. Where do you find all of your books?

Trade secret. Well not really, used books are everywhere. My selection of used books is a bit different then the average bookshop, I think, in that I search out books that appeal to my tastes, and that I would personally want to read.

5. How do you get the word out there about your shop?

Well, it used to be a little easier. My shop just underwent a rebranding, it used to be called TEXARRAKIS, which was an Etsy shop for a project me and a bunch of friends worked on together to live off grid in the desert. The shop was all my doing though, so now that the project is on hold for a while, I decided to make my shop more personable to my tastes. So I'm in the process now of web development to build some awesome webpage, and I'm building my new fan base on Facebook and Twitter, which is going better than I expected!

6. Have you had a good reception on etsy with your books?

Pretty good. The problem is, the vintage book section on Etsy is kind of a hidden realm, with books only reaching the front page for their aesthetic qualities rather than for the content of their pages. I don't think many people realize how amazing the vintage book section is, and how many amazing sellers there are. Sometimes instead of promoting my shop, I just want to promote the fact that there are 80,000 vintage books (and growing) on Etsy, which I think is a far more interesting place to shop for books then say Amazon or eBay.

7. What has been the most exciting moment for you since you opened your store?

Selling Choose Your Own Adventure books to very excited buyers, who just happened to stumble upon that section in my shop. They're always so excited to get them, and I'm always so excited to sell them! I have about twenty five of these books on my shelf waiting to be listed.

8. Do you have a "real" job?

Sort of. I've worked as a Research Assistant at Harvard University, and done various office support / office manager jobs at a number of offices. Right now, I'm a temp worker, doing one to four week assignments in random offices around Boston; which helps me get by, and in between assignments I have a lot of time I can spend on my shop.

9. What's the hardest obstacle for you to run a book store?

Probably that selling books on Etsy probably isn't the best place to sell books online, in terms of actually making sales. And that, each one of the books I sell, I can't help but spend a lot of time on each listing, photographing and transcribing back covers, inside flaps on dust jackets, forewords, introductions. Every book has value to me, and I think I reflect that in my listings; but I could probably be more successful if I just listed without caring as much about my items. What I love about selling books on Etsy, and what keeps me there, is that it gives my shop a chance to have a personality which it just couldn't have on eBay or Amazon.

10. Where do you see your shop in 5 years?

Oh man. I don't know. I sort of see all of my walls being lined with bookshelves filled with books, coupled with a large online community, whatever that looks like in five years. Also, I own a piece of property off the grid in West Texas; if my book shop ever went successful, I could see eventually moving to that property and running a bookshop out of the desert. Or opening a brick and mortar book shop. A lot can happen in five years, though!

To visit Gene's shop go here. You can also visit him on Facebook and Twitter.

Small Business Sunday: Native Hearts

I meant to post this earlier today, but I ended up having to open the store, and I'm a bad planner. I probably should start scheduling my posts. But, todays Small Business Sunday feature is Native Hearts. Stefani makes really unique and fun jewelry.  The links for her facebook page and shop are at the bottom of the post. 

1. When did you start making jewelry?

 I began making jewelry in Fall of 2009.

2. What made you interested in it?

 I've always been a creative, DIY kind of girl. I fell in love with this beautiful necklace only to find out it was way out of my price range. I decided I was going to make my own version of this necklace and it ended up turning out really well. I made my own jewelry from that point on and eventually it became my business!

3. What are your favorite materials?

I love working with crystals, mineral stones, metal, and vintage findings. I like that each piece is one of a kind and has its own beauty to it.

4. Where do you see your business in 5 years?

In five years I would love to have my own studio space for Native Hearts. I hope to expand my business and have my jewelry represented by boho-chic boutiques all over the world. That would be a great accomplishment.

5. Where do you get inspiration?

I get inspiration from everywhere! From road trips to photos. Lately, I've been really into Pinterest & Instagram. There are so many great photos and inspiration for days.

6. How do you promote yourself?

 Luckily, I have all the social medias to thank for getting the word about Native Hearts out there! I'm probably on every single one. I love being able to share photos of my latest creations and get instant feedback from my fans. I also do local events and farmers markets where I'm able to make new connections and meet new customers.

7. Have you ever been featured in any publications?

This is actually the first time I've been featured on a blog!

8. What is your main goal for your business?

 My biggest goal is to make Native Hearts my sole career. There is nothing better than waking up everyday and doing something you love.

9. What is your design process?

- My favorite part of the design process is sourcing the materials. I love to take roadtrips to an Indian Reservation outside of Vegas where I handpick most of my mineral stones and crystals. Most of my designs are heavily influenced by my Native American heritage. I began practicing metalsmith a few months ago, which I absolutely love. I've been working on some soldered stone rings, metal cuffs, and wire wrapped jewelry that will be available in my online boutique soon.

10. What has been your biggest challenge? 

My biggest challenge so far has been trying to get out of my creative ruts! I've found the best thing to do when I'm forcing myself to create is just set everything down, take a drive in my jeep, windows down & music blasting. It's clears my head and usually inspires me to make an awesome new piece when I get home!

Native Hearts Facebook and Shop Native Hearts



If you have a small business and are interested in being featured during SBS please e-mail me at
  thebeatniq @ gmail (dot) com