I came home from an awesome vacation to Better Homes and Gardens Country Gardens Magazine in my mailbox. Weee!!
in da house
in da house - nico papergoods - Plus giveaway!
This week I am so excited to introduce Andrea Kohler and her etsy shop Nicopapergoods.etsy.com.
Andrea has generously offered to give this week’s lucky winner a Notebook Map Set. To enter, cruise on over to Nicopapergoods.etsy.com and pick a favorite listing, then return here to tell us what it is. One entry per person, please. The winner will be chosen at random next Wednesday, February 24th. Now read on!
Tell
us a little bit about yourself, you know, the boring stuff. Where you
live, married, single, spinster, polygamist, kids, pets, three thumbs,
etc.
My name is Andrea Kohler. I am a homesick (occasionally) Swiss Heidi. I grew up in Zurich Switzerland where I met my Swiss/American husband. After a few years back and forth, we decided to move to Seattle, Washington. We live with our thirteen year old son Nico in an 100 year old modest but characterful house. No dishwasher, dryer or TV. (If anyone has an extra dishwasher, please send it our way!)
How long have you been making your craft?
When I was sixteen I started a 4 year bookbinding apprenticeship. I am 53 now and still at it, you do the math.
Can you elaborate how you got to this point in your art/craft?
For fifteen years I run a thriving bookbindery in down town Zurich. In the evenings I taught bookbinding in a craft School and earned my living. Today I have the freedom to explore the creative proses.
What is your greatest weakness/dirtiest pleasures?
I am rather messy but in a creative way. Not very patient. I am addicted to etsy and to nuts, bad combination!
Who are your favorite artists/craft persons/etsy shops?
I still discover new great people every day here are just a few
ilee.etsy.com
madebyhank.etsy.com
TreAnelli.etsy.com
blancucha.etsy.com
Any favorite blogs?
http://www.mixedplateblog.com/
http://scissorsandpaperrock.blogspot.com/
http://pikaland.com/
Make sure you check out Andrea's shop and say hi!
Do you want to be featured in the "in da house" here on Monkeys Always Look? You do? Cool! Email me!
in da house - handmade by anne potter
This week I am so excited to introduce Anne Potter and her etsy shop handmadebyannepotter.
Tell
us a little bit about yourself, you know, the boring stuff. Where you
live, married, single, spinster, polygamist, kids, pets, three thumbs,
etc.
My name is Anne Potter, I’m married to a high school physics teacher
and I am a stay-at-home mom to five kids – ages 14,9,7,2,2. (And I DO
have three thumbs – it’s funny you should ask! . . .) I’m originally
from the Chicago area, but now I live in Champaign, IL. I’m
32-years-old.
How long have you been making your craft?
I have a lot of different media that I work in (I knit, crochet, quilt,
bead, sew, paint, needlepoint, etc.) but I have been sewing for as long
as I can remember. I teach myself what I want to learn, so while I have
been doing all of these crafts for a long time, I am more proficient in
some than in others.
What are some of the struggles you face trying to get sales and how have you overcome that or how do you plan to over come it?
I think it is incredibly hard to match up a product with the right
customer. I know that my pieces are right for someone, but a lot has to
happen to get that piece to a customer who will LOVE it. I am often
frustrated by the sales part of building a customer base; like a lot of
artists I know, I am not a salesperson! So I am trying to be fearless
about promoting my pieces even though I face (personal!) rejection. I
plan to make more and more connections because I know that my product
is worth promoting.
What is your favorite part about your business?
I love how free I am to make the piece I dream up. Up until etsy, I
made pieces for me, my kids and for countless gifts to friends and
family. I also took commissions. Now I can make that wonderful obi I
designed even if it doesn’t match a specific friend’s aesthetic. This
is such an exciting concept because my pieces can be more about
expression and less about fulfilling requirements, meeting criteria.
What is the hardest part about your business?
The hardest part about my business is the business. I personally love
the process of designing, planning, constructing and finishing, but I
would love to have underlings that manage Type A systems like Excel
spreadsheets.
What is your greatest weakness/dirtiest pleasures?
Great question! (long list): 44 oz. fountain Diet Cokes from the local
Kwik-E-Mart, frosting from the tub, almost any pizza, travel shows,
Spinal Tap, funny movies, Red Carpet fashion reviews, road trips, and I
try not to read the tabloid covers in the grocery store, but I always
do.
Who are your favorite artists/craft persons/etsy shops?
I love fine artists like Caillebotte and Remington, but my favorite art
comes from cultural artistic traditions - Thai pagodas, the dragons on
Viking ships, Coptic crosses, Mexican Milagros, and German gothic
ironwork.
Etsy artists:
Audzipan
Pavalu
BBrunophotography
theeye
alamo2003
Make sure you check out Anne's shop and say hi! And if you purchase something (how could you not!)Anne donates 50% of all proceeds to missions.
Do you want to be featured in the "in da house" here on Monkeys Always Look? You do? Cool! Email me!
in da house - sweet harvey letterpress
I'm so happy to be kicking off a regular feature here on the little old blog - in da house! A good old Q & A with some very talented people. First up is Brandi Powel of Sweet Harvey Letterpress.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, you know, the boring stuff. Where you live, married, single, spinster, polygamist, kids, pets, three thumbs, etc.
I am a
full time artist from the Midwest. I am married - no kids. I worked for
many years in the corporate world before returning to art school to
earn my BA in Graphic Design & Fine Arts.
How long have you been making your craft?
I
have been a full-time illustrator for almost two years now. I started
letterpress printing nearly a year ago which is the work I have
available on Etsy.
Can you elaborate on how you got to this point in your art/craft?
The
bulk of my work is created as digital illustration and as much as I
love working on the computer I also enjoy traditional art mediums.
Letterpress printing has given me the opportunity to express my digital
artwork as a more traditional/tangible hands on medium.
What are some of the struggles you face trying to get sales and how have you overcome that or how do you plan to over come it?
Getting
yourself noticed is a difficult task. While the world of online sales
has opened up many doors it also makes for a huge amount of
competition. I have confidence in my work so the challenge for me is
getting my work noticed by buyers. Advertising and online participation
are my goals for this year to really get my name out.
What is your favorite part about your business?
I love everything about my business. If I didn't enjoy it, I would not be doing it!
What is the hardest part about your business?
The
most difficult aspect of working for yourself is that you work 24/7 and
you wear every hat. I am customer service, the printer, the artist, the
accountant, the packager, the production artist, the salesman, the web
designer - I am it but at least it is all fun!
What is your greatest weakness/dirtiest pleasures?
I am a super sugar freak. I crave it all the time. Ice cream, chocolate - anything sweet!
Who are your favorite artists/craft persons/etsy shops?
I
have a long list of favorite Etsy shops so I will just list a few - Mental Embellisher, jill2day, californiablue, Creative with Clay,
Dingbat Press, bagladee and Sharma Designs.
What are your favorite blogs?
I
have a long list of favorite blogs so I will just list a few - Oh So
Beautiful Paper, Poppytalk, Pikaland, Mixed Plate, Modish, Design
Sponge and Indie Icing.
Make sure you check out Brandi's shop Sweet Harvey and say hi!
Do you want to be featured in the "in da house" here on Monkeys Always Look? You do? Cool! Email me!
