Featured artist: Bri's Crafty Shop

I absolutely had to feature Bri, not just because she's in the top 30 winning averages now, but because she's my co-leader in the big etsy contest team where we chit-chat all day about the contest and wonderful things in it. She stepped up early with some good team-leading experience to help this newbie out and I just love her for it. Her mind-wandering in convos cracks me up too. Anyway she's doing well in the contest so, see, it's not like I'm biased or showing preferential treatment here, she really is a talented artist as well as an awesome person!

You can find her on facebook at www.facebook.com/BrisCraftyShop, on twitter @BrisCraftyShop, and she blogs at BrisCraftyShop.Blogspot.com.

April 6th, 2012 - 68th place
Blue and Purple Upcycled T-shirt Infinity Scarf
by briscraftyshop

Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Brianna but people call me Bri. I'm 26 years young and I live in upstate New York an hour from Manhattan with my son and spouse. I moved here and had my son last year this month. It was crazy!! I'm a California Native (though I was actually born in Manhattan) so I miss the West Coast and it's lack of humidity. Mostly I miss my family. But we still keep in touch.

ACEO Sugar Skull Matryoshka Marker Drawing with Fiery Eyes
by BrisCraftyShop

What got you to open your shop on etsy?
Wow, It's almost a three year Etsy-versary for my shop!! I opened May 18, 2009 with the intent of making things to sell. I did make a few sales but it was nothing serious and I didn't really try. So after a while my shop sat empty and idle for a couple years =(
But a few months after my son was born I decided, it's time to reopen my Etsy Shop doors. I changed the store name but kept the random style. I joined a team (or 9) and got down to business making it look good. It still isn't up to par with what I'd like, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

Custom Birth Announcement Digital for Baby
by BrisCraftyShop

What's your home like?
A lot of my friends like to compare me to June Cleaver. I don't know why though! My house is not spick and span. There's always a dish to be cleaned and tiny fingerprints everywhere. And Cheerios in everything!! But all that aside, we have many things in our house that inspire and delight us. Quilts on the walls along with posters and African art pieces. There's also an interactive piece I've got up for those who choose to help me create it, just grab a marker and go to town! And every window has a view of the mountain side we live on. It's a good thing our favorite color is green because that's what I see in these picturesque windows, trees and plants and flowers and more trees. Beautiful!

Ogalala American Indian Beaded Ruffle Necklace in Navy and Gray
by BrisCraftyShop

Tips for other etsy artists?
Hmmm. Tips? Do what you love. Work smarter not harder. Make sure your policies are filled out, make sense, and aren't overwhelming (of course not everyone reads them but trust me it can save your behind later). Join a team or two that suit you. Have great photos for your hard work (listings), and brighten them up a bit. Work to 100 items if you can. Re-list when things sell that you can easily reproduce or have more than one of!! Promote others! (You're probably saying 'WHY?' and I can tell you, if you do it right you will be promoted a lot more if you promote others. Win/Win) Make treasuries and make them count! But above all else, HAVE FUN!! If you're not having fun then you should take a break and recollect yourself. Then start at the beginning of these tips again ^_^

Sugar Skull Envelope Hand Drawn Matryoshka Black Blue and Pink
by BrisCraftyShop

Have you bought anything cool off etsy lately?
I've bought so many awesome things from Etsians over the years. A passport cover with a vintage map that has gotten compliments from Mexico to Japan. For my birthday I bought from the shop Melanmeal.Etsy.com a work of calligraphy art in the shape of a heart. I love typography!! She was able to put into words the love I have for my son. It is so beautiful. I proudly display it on the mantle over the fire place and someday will frame it and it will hang in my son's room.

Blue Leopard Print - 10 Secret Mini Animal Print Envelopes and papers
by BrisCraftyShop

This week in etsy coupons

I don't mean to brag (or maybe I do?) but the etsycontest.com coupon code page is about to hit 300! Egads, friends, where else do you find that kind of goodness that's even searchable, ranked, and sorted?

Anyway here are a few items with coupons that caught my eye. I'll start with the newbies! Both these shops opened barely a month ago and already we're welcoming them to the contest with our awesome new Welcome Wednesday theme:

Sarah's homemade hemp has a ton of unique jewelry:

May 9th, 2012 - 30th place
Amethyst Crystal Hematite Stone Earrings
by SarahsHomemadeHemp
Hemp4Economy 15% off

Melissa is a talented artist, new to etsy with very unique cat drawings and stickers:

May 9th, 2012 - 69th place
Cat Sticker Prints // 5 Cat Stickers from Original Illustrations // Pack C
by acatinthewindow
internetcats 15% off

And here are more items I just loved, for various reasons:

May 7th, 2012 - 1st place
Acrylic Painting On Canvas - Original - Tiny Miniature Painting - Red Cheps
by Chep
ETSYCONTEST10 10% off

May 7th, 2012 - 58th place
Orange Monkey Around Hats (lg)
by EtsyBroker
FBFAN 15% off

May 6th, 2012 - 68th place
Dark Small Leaf Ring
by thesilversmith
contest 10% off

May 7th, 2012 - featured
Chinese Coin Keychain
by MoonBeansGifts
MOM12 20% off

Hue tuesday treasury: white, the ocean

Yesterday was hue tuesday, and I just love these days to make treasuries! I found lots of seashells and ocean items and they just all went together so nicely:

'An ocean' by spacefem

A day at the beach :) etsy is as close as this kansas girl can get.

BOGO SALE Four Shells 5... beththompsonar... $10.00	High Quality Hand Woven... Turkishtowel $23.50	Rustic or Shabby Chic W... SawdustMarket $18.00	pale mint shell print p... TheGinghamOwl $18.00
GHOST CRAB by DIMDI Or... dimdi $25.00	Think Of It As An Adven... thelittlechick... $10.00	Large Original Abstract... lindadonohue $1150.00	Spring Sale Ocean Hand... dirtydivasoaps $4.50
ON SALE Gold Stackable ... Allybeans $25.20	White Glitter Smush Pol... MonsterMcGee $10.00	Summer Photography - se... CarolynCochran... $30.00	egg figurine - miniatur... SongandBranch $10.00
Waldorf Inspired Kids W... YoureInspired $7.00	Beady Orange Prom (New ... thevicagirl $14.00	Sunshine Peony Soap - M... EcoChicSoaps $7.00	Basil, Vanilla, Lemon B... FusionSweets $8.44

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio

Featured artist: Elycia Camille Ceci pottery & personalized gifts

Today's featured shop is elyciacamille.etsy.com, which features handmade pottery and accessories including lots of WONDERFUL personalized gifts, so even if it's a bit late for this mother's day, I'd say get your orders in now for next year! I just love this shop. Oh and I noticed she's having a 30% off spring sale (use code SpringSale30OFF) so now I'm even more tempted. You can also find her on facebook at facebook.com/elyciacamille.

We're up to 2000 shops signed up for the contest, can you believe it? Anyway her winning average puts her in the top 30, so that's what got me wanting to know more about her!

May 7th, 2012 - featured
white earthenware adjustable ring, brown flowers, antiqued silver
by elyciacamille

Tell us a bit about yourself
Hello! My name is Elycia Camille Ceci, owner, designer and producer of ElyciaCamille Handmade Ceramic Art. I have been living in beautiful Southern Illinois the last seven years. I spend my time in my home studio or outdoors. I live minutes from Shawnee National Forest where I fish, hike, swim, kayak, pick mushrooms, camp and hike. This is where I get most of my inspiration.

April 13th, 2012 - 55th place
reversible anklet or bracelet, pink flower, green print
by ElyciaCamille

What got started in ceramics?
I grew up in a very small town in Illinois. The population was 300 and the high school art program was not very good. I knew I loved being creative though. I learned everything I could including drawing, sewing, jewelry making, crochet, cross stitching, photography, etc. I first fell in love with ceramics when I was in college. I graduated with majors in Ceramics and Graphic Design, with a minor in Art History from Southern Illinois University. I now work at home in my studio, and love it.

handmade ceramic earrings, dangle, purple flowers, antique copper colored fish hooks
by elyciacamille

What inspires you?
I love the calm life I live. Most people live on schedules rushing to work each day. For the most part, I don't have places to be, so I am able to take in the people, nature and other beautiful things around me. This is a big influence in my work. I strive to find ways to bring attention to details and force the viewer to look at an object in a different way, or just take time to look in general. By placing imagery on the inside or bottoms of cups for example, I have forced the viewer to turn the piece over, taking a few extra minutes, to fully enjoy and appreciate all of the details. I often use patterns and textures that are somewhat altered in certain places, causing a person to miss out on the details (or little secrets) if they don't pay close attention. I love being able to slow people down, letting them enjoy things more. I am also inspired by nature. I feel like it is one of the many interactions we overlook. Nature is in the city, growing from the cracks of the sidewalks. I use a lot of animal, flower, and insect imagery. I also use found objects in nature to create texture.

brown and green, business card holder and mug, office set, co worker gift, earthenware pottery
by elyciacamille

Tips for other etsy artists?
Just don't give up. In college I was slightly discouraged by the push to get into teaching art. A great mentor of mine encouraged me to follow my own path of creativity. It's not always over night success, but every day business gets better. I think those little successes each day are part of the excitement anyway.

One Miniature Cup - Customize It With Your Name Or A Phrase - Size B
by elyciacamille

Giveaway to celebrate my 100th sale!

Update: 100th sale achieved! So the free coin purse is taken, but you're still welcome to use the CONTEST1 for 20% off coupon at least through the end of this week - May 14 2012 :)

So after opening my etsy shop a bit less than a year ago I have sold & traded my way to 99 sales! I'm so darn excited I want to do something special for my 100th. So if you're my 100th sale, and you buy something that's at least $8 (before shipping, after coupons), I will also give you a free coin purse of your choice!

View them all here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/spacefem?section_id=10634518

Green robots 4in geek wallet zipper card holder coin purse
by spacefem

AND you can use my contest coupon code - CONTEST1 for 20% off. As long as you're still spending $8, I'll include the freebie! I've got lots of $10 items so this can really work out for someone! I don't usually let people use coupons on supply items but this time, go for it. I've got some very tempting fabric quarters for sale right now I know.

AND if you have an etsy shop, I'll blog about you and how awesome you are for supporting a fellow etsian :)

Just let me know which one you want in the extra comments.

Big flower 4in abstract wallet card holder coin purse
by spacefem

Cheap week soap-off

So I checked the winners of this week's $5 item contest and the top rows seemed to be dominated by soap! Figure I'll give them some shoutouts.

I've bought soap on etsy... last time in the form of trade, bars of lavender and lemongrass scents from this shop. The soap was AMAZING! Lathery, smelled wonderful, and my favorite part... when one bar got down to the last little sliver I was able to just smash it into the next one during a hot shower so I didn't waste a single bit!

All Natural, Handmade Lavender Soap
by BreckenridgeSoapCo

I can never have enough of it. I guess I'm not alone! Here's what won on $5 day, and it's already been SOLD, this is a very successful shop:

May 5th, 2012 - 1st place
Coconut Lime Verbena Cold Process Soap with Coconut Milk, Shea & Cocoa Butter
by WickedScentuals

And this one won on $4 day:

May 4th, 2012 - 1st place
Carnation (Roger and Gallet type) Soap One Handmade Cold Process Soap With Shea Butter 4 to 5 Ounce Body Bar
by LongLeafSoaps

Hue Tuesday this week was green... lots of soaps come in green!

May 1st, 2012 - 2nd place
WATERMELON O.o La La Sugar Scrub Cube glycerin Soap
by His2Hers

May 1st, 2012 - 3rd place
Cucumber & Aloe . Shea Butter Soap . Vegan . Green . Fresh . Clean
by winksoap

May 1st, 2012 - 6th place
Soap-Sweetgrass and Glycerin-New Look
by AutumnRoseBathBeauty

May 1st, 2012 - 30th place
Cabana Boy Soap bar (VEGAN Friendly)
by AndersonSoapCompany

I like the unique edges on some of these:

May 5th, 2012 - 4th place
Thorns Not Included Soap with Sweet Almond Oil and Shea Butter
by DressGreen

May 4th, 2012 - 3rd place
Dragon Fly Wings
by christaedwards2

May 5th, 2012 - 8th place
Green Tea Soap Handmade Cold Process, Vegan Friendly
by Blushie

And finally... soap skewer!

May 2nd, 2012 - 49th place
Soap Skewers - Natural Handmade Organic Soap - Fresh Sweet Orange
by SoapSkewers

Why I'm not protesting Etsy over what "handmade" means

I guess now that I have my own etsy blog I can yammer on about ANY etsy topic I want, without caring about whether I'm talking too much about etsy. That's a nice feature, huh?

So I haven't weighed in yet on the handmade controversy but I wanted to say something because it's an issue I feel strongly enough. This week a lot of people complained that Etsy wasn't doing enough to make sure the items sold on etsy matched up what etsy claims to be ("Your place to buy and sell all things handmade, vintage, and supplies"). Regretsy, a site I love for other reasons, accused Etsy of putting a shop on the front page that doesn't actually make anything by hand but instead resells products made overseas by a wholesale company. Etsy investigated on their own, and said that the shop meets their terms of service.

The controversy I see is that NONE of us make everything by hand, and Etsy allows you to "get help" with the things you do... artists don't have to make their own prints to sell prints, a sewing type like me doesn't have to grow her own cotton and die her own fabric. I can buy fabric from wal-mart if I want, roll it in a big glue ball and call it my creation. It's handmade!

I have my own definition of handmade, and in the contest website I'm up front about it... I don't think digital downloads are handmade. I don't think a single store-bought charm looped through a string with a clasp is handmade. So in the contest, I reserve the right to remove those items... although I usually don't, because they usually don't win anyway. No harm done. And, well, I guess that's how I feel about everything on the internet. Maybe it's doesn't meet MY definition. Maybe it's not something I'd buy. But I am not the queen of the internet so who cares?

Etsy has been accused of not shutting down resellers fast enough, yet there are plenty of shops being shut down... just read Energy Shop's story of being accused of drop-shipping to get what I mean. And so when you say "Etsy isn't doing enough", be careful what you wish for. If Etsy's reseller radar becomes more sensitive, more shops will trip it. Then your shop might trip it. Is that what you want?

I always ask the same questions in politics too: there are people who are okay with starving kids if they can have a welfare system that no one could possibly freeload off of. That's impossible, guys. The only way to have a freeloader-proof system is to have no system at all.

When someone buys a bag from my shop they know what they're getting. They are NOT getting a bag made from hand-spun fibers sheared from my animals and woven in my basement. They ARE getting a bag that's my own design, modified from some tutorials and lessons from family of course. I buy the fabric at a store, cut the fabric into rectangles that I measure myself and sew them to commercially-available zippers using my sewing machine in my house. It fits my definition of handmade, and if someone buys from me it must fit their definition too.

There are also shoppers who'll buy a $3 necklace that looks a lot like one from a store. They can see that the etsy shop has 3000 sales and 500 items in stock. We can all call that shop out or report it or ask Etsy to take it down, but the bottom line is that those shoppers know what they're getting. They're not kidding themselves about it being handmade. Those are not my customers! So who cares?

In the debates and accusation, I've seen a lot of elitism... people calling themselves artisians above the rest. I've seen a lot of racism... as if no artists live overseas? I've seen a lot of classism... "I have a studio in my house so obviously I'm an artist, you people who do this to scrape by, who won't markup your wares to hundreds of dollars, should not be in my same marketplace". And really I think that's where a lot of this handmade debate is coming from. We all want to set the bar at ourselves, we all think Etsy should see why I am different and special.

Etsy is what it is, it's not magic, it doesn't exist to make you happy. And this week, amid all the craziness, they're sticking with their policies. That's good! I think we should follow the example and stick to our shops, and making them better, and keep finding the items that we're interested in. Let capitalism do the talking, and buy from the shops that you know sell handmade. I will not participate in any protest against Etsy because I don't like the roots of it, or what it's asking for. I do not want to make Etsy a police state. The frenzy needs to end.

Paisley treasury for theme thursday

I found a nifty treasury widget so I'll start including treasuries in the blog here! I almost always crank one out for our theme contests.

Today's theme thursday is paisley items. I found all of these using the contest treasury item finder.

'Oh paisley!' by spacefem

Clear Pocket Jewelry Ro... vicandalbie $39.00	Kravet Red, Yellow, Gra... PopOColor $50.00	4 Rustic coasters blue ... damsontreepott... $30.00	Vintage 70s Paisley Flo... FloydandFrance... $42.00
Two 16 inch Pillow Cove... TheBayTreeMaid... $34.00	Blue Paisley Sheer Scar... skirtingthetis... $13.50	Paisley Magnets - Set ... StuckTogetherM... $13.95	Sterling Silver Paisley... jjboz10 $42.00
Stunning Aqua Blue and ... scarletrevolut... $6.00	Long sleeve pullover sc... CalBearScrubsa... $28.00	Black Patterned Button ... PatrickMichael... $45.00	Oscar de la Renta Purpl... mzfytzundergro... $13.00
Jungle Flower TANGLeAndFoLd $32.00	Summer fashion Wristlet... Oyeta $24.00	wine glass - black pais... TimeToToast $15.95	Small Glass Stash Jar :... NewStreetHandi... $8.95

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