Handmade Shop of the Week: Honey from the Bee

Janet Bocciardi opened Honey from the Bee in 2008. In a landscape overflowing with jewelry, she stands out; combining metalwork, beading and color.

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop? 
Jewelry was multiplying and I was losing control! Seriously, I love creating and finding new stones and objects to include in my jewelry. In order to do that, I had to start bringing in some money. After a couple years of successful art fairs, selling to friends and family, and a change in lifestyle that made it difficult to find the time to do future fairs, I decided to go online. It’s been a learning experience, as I spent the first year wondering where everyone was! Just having a stocked shop doesn’t mean folks that will love your work will find you.

Has your inventory changed much since you first opened? 
Yes. I love to learn new things and as I gain new knowledge in techniques I add them to my repertoire of things to pull out of my hat. You’ll find more metalwork and found object pieces now then say 2 years ago. However, I still like to do beadwork and love color, so beads will always be a part of my work.

Who are the majority of your customers? 
Since I don’t meet my online customers face-to-face I’ll just assume they’re similar to those I met through my shows. In fact, those that bought from me there do buy online from me now either directly or with special commissions. Other artists also will buy from me.

They are 25-70 year olds that are confident in who they are and like to wear jewelry that inspires them. They enjoy the interaction they get from others who can’t help but stop them to ask about the jewelry piece they’re wearing. Life’s too short to wear boring jewelry!

Friends and family were my first fans and still some of my biggest.

How did they find you?
my blog http://thehoneyfromthebee.blogspot.com
Repeat customers
Google search
Word of mouth
Etsy, ArtFire, 1000Markets
Newsletter subscribers

What inspires you to create?
Life is the simple answer. A longer answer would be that my love for nature, protecting the environment, family, emotional experiences, new techniques, color, … my favorites to create are those in which I’m telling a story. My story initially, but the most exciting thing happens when the absolutely perfect person finds it and believes somehow I made it just for them. That’s the universal condition isn’t it?

Touching someone with something you’ve created is the best feeling I’ve ever experienced.

What is your favorite item in your shop currently? 

I have a couple that I’ll probably regret selling so I guess they’d be my favorites:
Marie Antoinette bracelet: http://www.etsy.com/listing/33319309/vintage-mother-of-pearl-and-crystal 
And
Happening at the Barnyard as it reminds me of my youth and hanging out and playing in our big red barn:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/16212620/picasso-ammonite-set-in-silver-and-red 

Your most popular item? 
My jewelry is almost all one-of-a-kind, but overall I’d say my earrings are the most popular over the last year. Sign of the economy perhaps or that we all can use another cute pair!

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful? 
Facebook and I believe my blog, which I’ve finally accepted and really enjoy posting in. It’s probably not a coincidence that they are both ways for people to get to know me and what makes me tick.

Any changes coming to your shop in the future? 
There will always be new work popping up. I try to improve my photographs constantly to make it easier for customers to see what they’re buying. Change is a necessity, but I don’t have anything else I can think of right now.

How else can we find you online? 
http://honeyfromthebee.artfire.com
http://honeyfromthebee.1000markets.com
http://thehoneyfromthebee.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/honeyfromthebee
http://facebook.com/honeyfromthebee
http://www.honeyfromthebee.com

Any team affiliations?
EtsyTwitter Team
Olympic Peninsula Team (Etsy)
HAFTeam (Etsy & ArtFire)
Pacific Northwest (ArtFire)
ArtFire Metalsmiths

LET'S DO A GIVEAWAY!

Janet wants you to follow her blog to get the latest happenings at Honey from the Bee. If you sign up between now and July 28th and leave a comment here and on her wall, you will be entered to win a pair of her gorgeous Ginger Jar Earrings. She will even let you pick out your favorite color to make them a one-of-a-kind item!

Interested in being shop of the week? email me for information.

Handmade Shop of the Week: Puzzled1

Jeannette Aragon, of Puzzled, loves wooden toys. Her shop has been overflowing with them since August 2006. All of her award winning pieces are handcrafted, using non-toxic, water based paints so they are safe for your little one and will last for years.

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop? 
I had made so many puzzles I thought to myself "Hey I can sell these!"


Has your inventory changed much since you first opened?   
I am a self taught puzzle maker so as I am inspired my puzzles are born.  I started with just "Paint a puzzle kits" but all I heard was "You don't want that baby puzzle" so then I came up with my wood burned Jigsaw Puzzles and from there the inspiration just keptr coming.  I added my 3D puzzles and then my children's 3D puzzles.  I added my puzzle play sets , photo puzzles, and name puzzles. Finally I added my tray puzzles.  Even my tray puzzles have changed dramatically since I first started making them.  All the while I challenged myself with each new custom puzzle.  




Who are the majority of your customers? How did they find you?

 
According to Facebook the majority of my customers are women aged 25-45.  I have severalmarketing strategies so my customers come from many different venues.  Search engines, Link Partners, Etsy, EBay, Giveaways, Facebook, Twitter, The magic Onion .blogspot.com where I have an advertisement, Squidoo, and thats just to name a few.

What inspires you to create?

  
Everything! Nature, My keyword statistics, the internet, custom orders, But a lot of ideas come from Free coloring book pages that I adapt and turn into a puzzle.


What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item? 
I think my favorite item has to be my 3D Ladybug puzzle.  I sat and mulled over how I could make one that had moving wings and yet was a puzzle.  Finally it came to me one day.  It was just suddenly clear.  Turn the wings into tray puzzles that sits on a solid body.  The wings pivot on wooden pegs and then the whole thing sits on wooden peg legs.  Finally I changed it into a counting puzzle by adding numbers to the spots on the ladybugs wings.  I think it turned out great just like I pictured in my head. It's so unusual.  There is nothing like it out there that I could find. In fact I liked it so much that I have decided to make a green bug just like it.  You know like the bugs that look like leaf bugs.

I think my most poplular items are a tie between my Butterfly 3D Puzzle, my Alphabet Apple 3D Puzzle and my Alphabet Tree 3D Puzzle

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful?

 
I have to say that my greatest resource is The Google Gods for they have given me very favorable rankings through a ton of hard work on my part.  But I have to say that 60% of my business has come through Google.


Any changes coming to your shop in the future?

 
Oh Im posative there will be.  Like I said as I grow as a puzzle maker so do the puzzles that I make.  Lately I have been making about a new puzzle every week or two.


How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations? 
You can find me on Etsy or Etsy Kids as Puzzledone, Bonanzle as puzzled1, Ebay as sweeetjenn71, Squidoo I have three lenses, The Magic Onion, twitter as puzzledone, Flicker as puzzled1.com, Linkedin as Jeannette Aragon, and so much more

Interested in being featured on my blog? Email me for more information.

Handmade Shop of the Week: Stuart Levy Photography

Seeking out special shops to feature on my blog can sometimes be difficult. However, talented artists like Stuart Allen Levy make it very easy to choose. He has been taking photographs for many years and has recently expanded his work from panoramic street scenes to flowers. The web will never do his work complete justice because he likes to print these tiny images in an oversized scale.

Stuart currently works exclusively with digital photography, his trusty high resolution scanner, and prints his own work on a large scale archival photograph printer. He also mounts and frames most of his own work.

Stuart sells his work online as well as in galleries and art shows all around Portland, Oregon where he lives. He has a show coming to the area shortly at a local coffee shop, featuring his latest work with flowers.

I am currently seeking out new shops to feature here. If you are interested, please email me for information.

Handmade Shop of the Week: Cut Your Heart Out

I found Jessica of Cut Your Heart Out recently while searching for fun shops on etsy. She would describe her work as quirky, offbeat and slightly creepy but I just think of it as cool.

Every piece of jewelry in her shop is unique. As she states on her website,"All of the pieces created and sold are pieces that I would wear myself. I don't make anything that I wouldn't be proud to wear. I also don't believe in putting a high price tag on the items I create so everything you find in my store is affordable and reasonably priced."

Jessica's love of tattoos, Alice in Wonderland, and loud music shine through in each one of her designs. Her favorite materials are stones, glass and paper which she uses often and with great flair.

Besides her etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/cutyourheartout , you should check out her blog http://cutyourheartoutstore.blogspot.com/ and her facebook fanpage http://www.facebook.com/cutyourheartout. Jessica is a proud member of the etsynj team.

Interested in being featured? Email me for more information.

Handmade Shop of the Week: Serendipity

Emily of Serendipity Hand-dyed & Hand-painted Yarn & Roving sells yarn & roving hand-dyed or hand-painted  from non-toxic or natural dyes & mordants. She has been selling her gorgeous fiber on etsy since March 2009, all the while raising children!

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop? 

I dyed some yarn in my kitchen with my kids and it was fun. I thought it was nice but I have a ton of yarn so I put some of it in an Etsy shop and it sold. Since I got such great feedback, I figured I would keep dyeing yarn and then added roving as well. Last Fall we did out first fiber show and it went great. I am a stay-at-home mom right now, I'm hoping this will allow me to continue to do that. I have kept the kids a part of it as well, most of the colors are named by them.

Has your inventory changed much since you first opened? 

As I dye new yarn I try to get it listed in the shop. I only carried some worsted weight superwash merino wool & some sport weight alpaca in the beginning. I have since added other weights in the superwash merino & alpaca, and a really nice alpaca / wool blend.

Who are the majority of your customers? How did they find you? 

My customers online have mostly been from Ravelry, I believe. I try to be active on their forums and in the blogosphere but being Mommy comes first and there only so many hours in the day!!!

What inspires you to create? 

Fun! I look for fun colors or whatever I'm in the mood for that day. I don't have a background in art or anything but having kids gives me a bright and colorful perspective on the things around me. The other day my daughter told me to "look at the pretty sky" as the sun was setting (it was pink and blue streaked across an almost white background sky) since I was dyeing roving at the time, the next one I did was pink and blue with some spots left white, she named it "Sunset".

What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item? 

My favorite is the alpaca/wool blends, they take the color in such a pretty, heathered way and they are so, so soft with such a nice luster. I especially like the Seaside, Lime and Outer Banks colorways, since they can be used together for different projects.

I think my most popular item online and at the fiber shows is the fingering weight yarns that are 3 or more colors (mostly used for socks, I'm sure).

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful? 

Ravelry has been really amazing. The experienced people on the threads and all their great advice & support have been indispensable. Meeting people at the fiber shows and handing out cards has been helpful as well. I do have a blog but most people seem to reach the shop from Ravelry.

Any changes coming to your shop in the future? 

After a local show this past week I spent a few days photographing a ton of yarn and roving and will be doing 10 (or more) listings a day on the Etsy Shop until they are all up! Plus, I frequently run sales and promotions (10% off, free shipping, etc.).

How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations?
You can reach Serendipity's shop online at www.lilm4105.etsy.com

The blog is at www.lilm4105.blogspot.com

Facebook as Serendipity Hand-dyed & Hand-painted Yarn & Roving

On Ravelry, I'm Lilm4105

Serendipity has recently joined PhatFiber and was in the March box.

LETS DO A GIVEAWAY!

For a chance to win a full skein of alpaca/wool in colorway "Seaside", visit Serendipity and comment here on your favorite item in her shop.

For additional entries, add a comment when you've done any of the following:

-Favorite the shop on etsy www.lilm4105.etsy.com

-Become a fan on the Facebook page

-Follow the blog at www.lilm4105.blogspot.com

-Post to your blog about the giveaway

-Make a purchase from the Etsy shop

Interested in being featured? I am currently looking for shops. Email me for information.

Handmade Shop of the Week: OneTrueTree

Abbey Taylor of OneTrueTree Creations makes handmade toys and accessories. She has been offering her work online since August 2008 with adorable plush animals and dolls.

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop?
I had been considering it off and on for several months, but I didn't go through with it until one of my friends requested a custom owl plushie, after which I was encouraged by her and others to try Etsy. The owl I made for my friend was made for free, but soon after I received a second request for a custom owl from a girl who'd seen photos of the one I made for my friend. Unfortunately, that order fell through, but I made my first sale the next month (a lion plushie!), and the rest is history!

Has your inventory changed much since you first opened?
Yes and no. I'm still making the original patterns from when I opened my shop, but much less frequently. Recently I've been making a lot of "hugglemonsters," which is one of the first patterns I came up with, but never made very often until the past few months. I've also become fascinated with posable art-toys, like my chameleons and monkeys. I'm actually currently working on another posable art-toy project - a pair of cadejo(s?), which are mythical dogs in Central and South American folklore.

Who are the majority of your customers? How did they find you?
I've had a couple friends order custom pieces from me, but the majority of my customers so far (that I can tell), have come to my shop through Livejournal, which I'm no longer actively using as a marketing tool (having switched over to blogspot and twitter), and a few through Deviantart. 

What inspires you to create?
Oh, man. I think I get a lot of my inspiration from fairy tales and stories like that, legends/legendary creatures, or themes like seasons or ecosystems (jungle, savannah, etc)... I have a pretty active imagination, and I've always got new ideas popping into my head; it can actually be a detriment to my productivity level because I'm always trying new patterns instead of staying focused! Occasionally my boyfriend will chime in with a great idea or modification of my ideas. =)

What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item?
I think my most popular item would hands-down be my "hugglemonsters," and my personal favorites are my posable chameleons. =)

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful?
I think it would have to be Livejournal, thus far! I've always spent a lot of time posting photos of my latest creations on various craft, plushie, and sewing-themed LJ communities. Deviantart has also been helpful in building a "fanbase," and it's also good for keeping a complete gallery of all the things I've created. I recently joined Twitter (@onetruetree), which has been quite fun, but I'm not sure how it has or will impact my shop yet. 

I think more than any particular site, just keeping active, interactive, and listing new things is probably the most helpful thing. =)

Any changes coming to your shop in the future?
I'm really trying to stay focused and keep a steady stream of new inventory coming into my shop, so hopefully in the next few weeks I'll be listing new items at least three times a week. Other than that, I'm considering changing my shipping policy to a set couple of days twice a week, but I've yet to figure out which days would be most convenient for me, so that may or may not happen in the next few weeks or months.

How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations?
I'm not affiliated with any teams, so far, but you can find me all over the place:

Blogspot: http://onetruetreecreations.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/onetruetree
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/onetruetree/
Deviantart: http://onetruetree.deviantart.com
Formspring: http://formspring.me/OneTrueTree

And of course I can be reached by email at ottcreations@yahoo.com =)


A GREAT DEAL!
go to One True Tree Creations and mention TRACEYKNITS and you will receive Free Shipping!


Interested in being featured? email me for more information

Handmade Shop of the Week: Not Your Mama's Mix

Kim and Charissa White, of Not Your Mama's Mix, love baking cookies.
They have been offering their bake mixes online since April 18, 2010. Just a short time, but with great pictures that make your mouth water, they are bound to take the handmade market by storm!

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop?
As a mother-daughter pair, we enjoy cooking and baking in daily life, so opening our Etsy shop was a logical decision. Friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers have enjoyed the fruits of our baking labors for years, so we finally decided to make their baking attempts more successful by offering our Mixes.

Has your inventory changed much since you first opened?
We are excited to add more Mixes and exciting and unusual flavor combinations to our shop in the weeks and months ahead.

Who are the majority of your customers? How did they find you?
Our customers so far have been from our postings on Facebook, and sending emails to all our contacts. Twitter, our blog, and handing out samples have gained us shop interest and even a wholesale order in our first week in business.

What inspires you to create?
The changing seasons, flavors and unusual ways to combine them, colors, scents, and seeing the reactions customers get from trying or products.

What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item?
Gooey Chocolate Toffee Mug Cake Mix by far! It is so easy to make a delicious dessert-cake-in 2 1/2 minutes! It is a huge hit with our customers and a personal favorite.

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful?
Baking skill, attention to detail, an understanding of social media, being proud of what we create and being unafraid to share what we do with everyone!

Any changes coming to your shop in the future?
Keep an eye out for new Mixes, and exciting things coming for the holidays!

How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations?
http://twitter.com/kimwcreations
http://twitter.com/auntienenner
http://www.facebook.com/kimwhitecreations
http://www.facebook.com/charissa.white
http://kimwhitecreations.tumblr.com
http://www.notyourmamasmix.com
Proud members of the EtsyTwitter Team and The OOTBS Etsy team

LETS DO A GIVEAWAY: 
Simply Tweet about your favorite product from Not Your Momma's Mix and use the hashtag #notyourmamasmix
to win Two Gooey Chocolate Toffee Mug Cake Mixes AND Two Double Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Mug Cake Mixes!

Interested in being featured? Email me for information.

Handmade Shop of the Week: Paradise Purls

Elizabeth Humphries, of Paradise Purls, loves handmade. She loves it so much that she could not limit herslef to one category. She has been selling both Hand Knits and Handcrafted Jewelry since January 8, 2010.

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop? 

I've always made knits and given them to close friends and family. When friends of friends starting asking if I "was on etsy" I decided to find out what that was! One look and I was hooked as a shopper, and it didn't take long to progress to opening shop. I thoroughly enjoy knitting as well as beading so I'm excited for the opportunity to bring my creations to the handmade community.


Has your inventory changed much since you first opened?

 

In the beginning, my inventory was mainly baby hats and scarves. As the seasons, changed my inventory needed to change with it. Most recently I've added knitted bracelets and beaded jewelry and bookmarks in addition to my knits.

Who are the majority of your customers? 

Fellow etsians and friends (and friends of friends!).

How did they find you?
 

I spend a significant amount of time promoting my shop on twitter, facebook and in the etsy forums. Most of my customers come from those sources.

What inspires you to create?


Color and texture! I love shopping for yarn. It's always first the color, then the texture of the yarn that draws me in. I also take note of colors that occur in nature and draw inspiration from that beauty as well. On a selfish note, knitting is very calming to me. I knit to relax as well as to create!

What is your favorite item in your shop currently? 

The "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" Chenille Scarf is my favorite. I'm seriously thinking of keeping it! Your most popular item?

Right now my most popular item are the hand knit bracelets. 

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful? 

Time...time to invest in marketing and promoting to get some exposure and to get noticed.

Any changes coming to your shop in the future? 

I am working on several additions at the moment. I'll be adding more knit accessories such as coffee sleeves (very eco-friendly!), possibly ipod/cell phone cozies and eventually some felted soaps.

How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations?

http://www.paradisepurls.blogspot.com 

http://www.twitter.com/paradisepurls

http:www.facebook.com/paradisepurls
And, yes, I'm a member of the Etsyknitters Team, HAF Etsy Team (Handmade Artists' Forum), and BEST (Boosting Etsy Shops Team)

DISCOUNT TIME!

All this week, Paradise Purls is proud to offer a 15% discount to anyone mentioning TRACEYKNITS at the time of purchase. She will refund the money through paypal. This is good on every item in her shop, so stock up on those adorable hats and scarves!

Interested in being featured? Email me for information.

Handmade Shop of the Week: Jenco13

Jennifer Kuebrich, of Jenco13, loves to crochet. Her shop featuring adorable coffee cozies and scarves opened January 19, 2008  but didn’t start selling till 2009. Who knew you could save the earth one cup cozie at a time?

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop? 
I opened up my shop because while my husband served in Iraq I made too many scarves. I didn’t know what to do with them until one of my mom’s friends told me about etsy. I spent a year research etsy and figuring out how to put my shop together. Now I have a new reason to keep doing the art I love so much!

Has your inventory changed much since you first opened?
Yes it has—orginally I only had scarves. Since then I have done baby sweaters, baby blankets, shawls and cup cozies. The cup cozies seem to be really popular from my shop.

Who are the majority of your customers? How did they find you?
Most of my customers come from the United States. I have made a couple of international sales this year as well.

First off I have to thank the Etsy Twitter Team (ETT)and MaryMary from Etsy. The ETT is a team on Etsy and they have been a huge support and helped me with advertisements and setting goals for my shop. My first sale came from and ETT member! MaryMary helps customers on etsy find weekend deals through her picks. She had picked up my sale twice this last year. This helped bring in most of my sales.

What inspires you to create? 
Many things inspire me to create. My mom is a graphic artist and painter. She has taught me a lot about putting colors together and always tells me never to give up. My husband, Joe always tells me if things look right from a different point of view and is very supportive of what I do. The two of us have traveled the country so the colors on our road trips are also big inspirations. I love to sight see while he drives!!

I also find inspiration from my Dad who owns his own construction company. Dad’s final product always inspires me to try different things that I think I can’t do. Its amazing how all three of these people help me to create my items!

What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item? 
Hmmm. This is a tough one cause I love them all!! I really do like my shawl though—the colors are really amazing and it was created on one of my road trips across the east coast.

My most popular item is the cup cozy—did you know by using one of the cup cozies you can help the plant out? If you drink one cup of coffee a day in a take through and use one of the cardboard sleaves take a moment to think about this—one person+one cup of coffee a day = 6 pounds of cardboard sleaves in the landfills each year!

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful? 
Twitter—hands down! The people who are on the Etsy Twitter Team help me promote my sales/items after I post a tweet. This reaches not only my following but also their following. I have met so many amazing people on twitter.

Any changes coming to your shop in the future? 
Yes there are—but you’ll have to come back to find out what I have up my sleave for 2010! Hint—theres a new go green line coming out and one other line ;)

Also I love to get custom orders so if you don’t see what you want please convo me and I would be happy to help out!

How else can we find you online? Any team affiliations?
Several ways:
Shop: www.jenco13.etsy.com A gift for everyone!
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jenco13
Blog: http://jenco13.blogspot.com
FB: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenco13/116522301149?ref=mf

I am also the Team leader of the Etsy Twitter Team so please come check out our blog where we show case over 200 member’s work.
http://etsytwitter.blogspot.com/

LETS DO A GIVEAWAY!

Jenco13 is giving away one of her adorable cup cozies. Contest ends May 9th, 2010

Each action gets you the number of points indicated:
Follow this blog-1 point
Follow Jen’s blog-1 point
Follow Jen on FB-2 points
Tweet about Jen’s giveaway by using @jenco13 and receive 3 points
(must use @jenco13 in order to receive all points)
Follow Jen on twitter – 1 point (please DM her to get point-mention this article)
Buy something from Jen’s store- 5 points

Interested in being featured? Email me for more information.

Handmade Shop of the Week: Mootsie

Audrey Angrisani, of Mootsie, considers her work to be mixed media art, though most of it ends up as wearable Jewelry. She opened her eclectic shop in 2007 as a way to reach her customers without working the craft fair circuit.

Why did you decide to open your handmade shop?
I used to do shows, I found them to be exhausting , was looking for some other way to sell my art that made sense.

Has your inventory changed much since you first opened?
Yes

Who are the majority of your customers? How did they find you?
Mostly Women who appreciate unique handcrafted jewelry, I find alot of customers on Twitter.

What inspires you to create?
Mostly vintage supplies like buttons, ribbons, broken jewels, I lay them out and just play, sometimes I have a sketch, Nature also is a huge inspiration.

What is your favorite item in your shop currently? Your most popular item?
My Nest Pendants are my Favorite, I can't stop making them, and they are probably the most popular next to my Alice in Wonderland items.

What has been your greatest resource to make your shop successful?
Etsy Forums, Twitter and I belong to a group of artists called CAKE, we have a BNR on etsy and promote each other on the forums and on twitter.

Any changes coming to your shop in the future?
try to add more items daily

LETS DO A GIVEAWAY!

Mootsie loves nest pendants and she would love to share one with you.

here's how to enter: one entry for each action, giveaway ends May 2nd, 2010
1) visit Mootsie and comment here on your favorite item in her shop
2) make mootsie one of your favorite shops and heart your favorite item
3) follow her on twitter and be sure to tweet about this giveaway
4) write a blog article about Mootsie and her giveaway
5) make a purchase in her shop!

Interested in being featured? Email me for information!