Shop of the Week - anapinatelier

This week, the Etsy Twitter Team has gone far afield to interview our shop of the week: Meet Ana Pina, the creative mind behind anapinatelier. She handcrafts jewelry which she is happy to ship all over the world.

Ana lives in live in Porto, the second largest city of Portugal, which is a small European country facing the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Ana describes it as "a diverse country, with sunny beaches, a beautiful countryside and mild weather." In fact, Ana is so eloquent, I will let you in on our conversation:

What do you want your customers to know most about your products?
"I create an original, unique and feminine jewelry line using mostly gemstones and metal, but also mixing different materials such as glass, wood or plastic with a vintage touch. I developp distinct collections to match different kind of personalities: some pieces are modern and rich, some are colorful with an ethnic style and some are more simple and light."

What inspires you to create?
"I couldn’t live without art – it makes me feel alive and constantly inspired. When I create jewelry I feel inspired by the versatility of combining different kind of elements, by textures and colors of natural materials such as gemstones. I also feel inspired by art itself and I love to learn watching other artists work – it makes me look at things in a new way and experimenting is a fundamental part of creation."

How does your location inspire/affect your work?:
"...I like the diversity and the small scale of the city, that allows me to walk from my home to the historic center, where I can easily visit exhibitions and craft fairs.I also live relatively near the sea and I can't live long without pay it a visit - it inspires me and makes me feel renewed!"

What is your favorite thing about your craft?
"I love to improvise as I create and my pieces often reflect states of mind – I love this intuitive side of crafting, which is an ally of technique. When I started about two years ago I was so inexperienced and I evolved a lot! It’s great the feeling of creating something unique with my own hands and to realize that other people appreciate it – I feel rewarded."

What is one of your current business goals?
"I have opened my etsy shop a few months ago, but the sales are few… I’d love to see it grow and I’ve been working on it. In my dreams I’d love to make a living with my art or at least to dedicate to it the most of my daily time, so I could evolve even more. I’ve been thinking about the possibility to take a jewelry class and invest more time in painting, which was my first and biggest passion."

What special events or plans do you have planned for Fall/Winter?
"I recently launched a new Collection line that I wish to develop during this season. It’s the Pendant Collection and it’s designed thinking about the colder days, with long and medium necklaces to use over your clothes and some hot colors. I also intend to have a promotion thinking about Christmas shopping, so stay tuned!"

How do you use Twitter? Do you have a business goal with Twitter?"I use twitter to promote my shop and spread my blog posts, which are about my work and my life. I also like to connect with other artists that share some common interests."

What is the single most important way you bring traffic/sales to your shop?"Since I created a blog...writing regularly became part of the whole creative process and this as been a great divulgation tool, but also a way to share my life and connect with others. Lately I've been also receiving a lot of feedback through facebook."

Ana is as gifted with her words as she is with her artistic jewelry!


anapinatelier is offering
Free Worldwide Shipping
if you buy two or more products!
Use the code “etsy twitter team” at check out and
the shipping cost will be refunded through Paypal after your purchase.
~~~~~~~
Etsy Shop: http://anapinatelier.etsy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/anapinatelier
Facebook: http://facebook.com/anapinatelier
Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/kuartzo
Blog: http://anapina-blog.blogspot.com
Website: http://anapina.com

Written by Judy of WellspringCreations

Shop of the Week - starbabyonline

Meet Debby Carter of starbabyonline, this week's Etsy Twitter shop of the week. Debby makes jewelry with an ethnic/organic feel and loves working with glass, semi-precious gemstones, and sterling silver. No newbie to jewelry design, Debby has been intermittently designing since 1973, discovering a love of beads early in life. In fact, she admits "working in a bead shop was the first job I ever landed! The owner was smart; she knew she'd get my salary back in my bead purchases."

Her creations are one of a kind because "I want everyone to have their own unique piece." Luckily, Debby finds inspiration everywhere: a bead, a fashion, a movie. As she puts it "Seriously, it could be just about anything... how the weather feels that day..."!

And she loves a lot about her craft-

* Her materials, "There are *always* new beads coming out";

* the social side of beading: "I've met so many friends starting with a conversation at a bead or craft store"; and

* even sharing her skills: "I'm paying forward everything I've learned from others."

Debby is making a big change this season: "I'm moving my 21 years worth of possessions from my three BR house into a house-share that's already furnished. Not coming at the best time of the year for me, because I can't devote as much time to Etsy as I'd like. After my move is complete in November, I'm going to list as much as I can on Etsy as possible. There'll be some great promotions going on with that too!" Something to look forward to!

As for Twitter and promoting her Etsy Shop, Debby feels it is important to promote others as much as she promotes herself, but it is also critical to speak up and let people know she has an Etsy shop!


It's the tenth month,
so Debby is having a special
starbabyonline deal this week:

10% off your total jewelry order
before shipping
with the code SOTW
No limit to how many items!
~~~~~~~
Etsy Shop: http://www.starbabyonline.etsy.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/starbabyonline
Facebook: starbabygems and starbabyreadings
Blog: http://starbabyslittleuniverse.blogspot.com


Written by Judy of WellspringCreations

Shop of the Week - FrostedTreats

The Etsy Twitter Shop of the Week is FrostedTreats, featuring the creations of Jessica Mount. Since 2008, she's used polymer clay to make delicious looking cupcakes, cakes, cookies, pea pods, roses...and the occasional pig in an ice cream cone! While most of the tiny sculptures are wearable charms, Jessica has expanded her product line to include general accessories: bookmarks, push pins, magnets, etc.

For inspiration, Jessica collects photos, mostly from the Internet, of a variety of items: flowers, cakes, owls, fortune cookies, teapots, butterflies (and a few of her brother's pick up truck, though she's not quite sure how they got in there!) Always open to new ideas, when someone says "Oh! You should make..." she adds it to her list!

About her work, Jessica says "Since clay is my medium, the possibilities of what I can create are only limited by my own imagination. That is why I LOVE custom orders. I love having someone ask for something abstract and being able to say, "Yup! I can do that!" The only greater feeling is when they receive the finished product."

Jessica's goal this year is to continue expanding her product line. She says "Even though I love the idea of wearing a little cupcake around my neck or strawberries dangling from my ears, not everyone is into that sort of fashion statement. I've been working on creating more gift-able items...that way everyone can enjoy a little extra treat without worrying if the color of their frosting matches the rest of their outfit!"

In addition to her Etsy shop, Jessica will be showing her creations at a few craft fairs and market tables through the fall in preparation for the holiday season. She's been sketching out some holiday ornaments and...listening to her customers who are looking for gifts to give, that has defined her holiday focus. Look forward to all these new creations in FrostedTreats over the coming weeks!

Jessica has found that Twitter is her main form of bringing traffic to her Etsy shop "Since I started tweeting about my handmade crafts (as well as cross-promoting for things that catch my eye!) my sales and traffic have been phenomenal!" Her advice: "Tweet others the way you would like to be tweeted! If you see something that catches your eye, tweet about it! Having someone else gush over your work is so much more rewarding than gushing over your own projects. Make connections. Build friendships and networks with crafters like yourself and with people whose talents amaze you!"

Jessica's creativity is matched only by her enthusiasm!


FREE shipping to US/Canada
No coupon needed :)
Free gift to buyers who mention
"Etsy Twitter Team"
in the message to the seller
~~~~~~~
Visit FrostedTreats in all these places:
Etsy Shop: http://frostedtreats.etsy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/frostedtreats
Facebook: http://facebook.com/frostedtreats
Blog: http://frostedtreats.blogspot.com
Written by Judy of WellspringCreations

Shop of the Week - inmyheadstudios

Our Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week is inmyheadstudios featuring altered mixed-media domino and game piece jewelry, microscope slide glass pendants, ACEOs (Art Cards Editions and Originals) by the talented Vickie Porter.

In describing her work, Vickie puts it best "I have a seriously good/bad relationship with perfectionism so my customers can rest assured they are getting top quality materials and artwork. It’s sometimes hard to tell in photos online, but the dominoes and microscope slide glass pendants have real tiny paper collages on them. I work with ridiculously small pieces of paper sometimes.

"My new line of archival prints on my domino jewelry has allowed me to reach new levels of detail for such a tiny canvas. I have been creating larger mixed media collage work in the same proportions as the dominoes. I scan and print them out in wood domino size, which is 1 3/4 inches x 7/8 inches. I usually add another layer of detail to the little collage to make the domino special."

For such a variety of beautiful and intricate results, Vickie gets her inspiration from colors, lines, and shapes (basically everything). "I simply have to create or I’m not happy. It’s like needing air." It follows that Vickie is not confined by rules, but lets her inspiration and creativity have full rein. While she may not stick to one medium, she admits, "Central to almost everything I do is paper. I love paper."

For the upcoming seasons, Vickie plans to show her work at as many shows as she can fit into her schedule. She has big holiday plans, however to add domino Christmas tree ornaments and admits to having a "couple other things up my sleeve"...so we have some holiday surprises to look forward to in her etsy shop!

Vickie is happy to take custom orders and ships internationally, too!

On the business side, Vickie is adept at Twitter (via TweetDeck) and recommends the team to "Engage! Talk. Share! Provide quality content. Comment on links posted. Retweet. Actually, I rarely tweet about my shop. I probably should tweet it more. I get irritated with Etsy sellers who only tweet their shop links. Tell me about you and what is important to you. Let me get to know you. What excites you about your work? I’m way more likely to buy from you that way."

Tweeting links can be time-consuming to research, but Vickie has a tip to share! "One of my tricks is using Google Reader to find quality content to share. I have a feed set up for the keyword “creativity”. So every morning I have a big shiny new list of articles about creativity, which is a subject I really like to read about. When I read really good articles, I tweet them. Providing this kind of content gets me retweeted a lot and that in turn gets my name out there."

For bringing traffic to inmyheadstudios, Vickie has this tip to share: Connect "with people online in a combination of places– Twitter, Facebook, Ning sites. You have to talk about you or no one else will be talking about you. Get out there! All The Universe asks is that you show up."



FREE shipping to anywhere
from August 16-22!
Discount applied through
prompt PayPal refund.
No need for coupons or codes!
~~~~~~~
Etsy Shop: http://inmyheadstudios.etsy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/inmyheadstudios
Blog: http://inmyheadstudios.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/InMyHeadStudios
flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inmyheadstudios
Written by Judy of WellspringCreations

Shop of the Week – smutopia

Our EtsyTwitter Team Shop of the Week is smutopia (smoo-topia), which offers jewelry and accessories by Jessica Smutek. Jessica uses primarily stone, glass and metal beads and components in her work. There is such a variety of materials and techniques, she told me, that it is impossible for her to get bored! She says she “has always been inspired by the diversity of nature--so much so that when looking at my collection as a whole nearly every design falls into one of three categories: Sea, Earth, or Sky.” Her inspiration is very personal and so her art is very personal. As she puts it “Each piece I create is a reflection of the beauty I see in the world around me. I love the thought that my designs are bringing the beauty of nature to my customers’ as they are worn.”

On the business side, Jessica has some modest sales goals in mind for the year, but her artistic goal is to use more of her own lampwork glass beads in the designs she sells on Etsy. “I began making my own lampwork beads in April of this year and am completely hooked! I hope to introduce smutopia Jewelry made with ‘beads by Smu’ sometime in the next few months.

This summer, she’ll not only be working on improving her lampwork skills with the torch, but plans to get out and do some up close and personal collecting of materials. “Think beachcombing”, she says. Later, in the fall, she plans to set up the “smutopia traveling road show” at the Designers Downtown Market in Raleigh in September and November of 2010.

In the meantime, she’ll keep tweeting. Her Twitter philosophy? “Interact with people! Promote others, or offer advice and feedback. You’ll attract followers in greater numbers if you’re more than just a self-promotion machine.” Jessica feels that listing new items is the best way to bring sales to her shop “I find that keeping my inventory fresh keeps the gears turning by bringing in new customers from the Etsy homepage/categories, giving returning customers a reason to check in, and by giving me something new to promote through my social media connections.”


smutopia is offering a Shop of the Week
special from July 12-18:
a free zipper-pull charm with every purchase!
PLUS, through the end of July:
FREE Domestic AND International Shipping
~~~~~~~
Etsy Shop: http://smutopia.etsy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/smutopiaJewelry
Facebook: http://facebook.com/smutopia
Blog: http://smutopia.blogspot.com

Written by Judy of WellspringCreations

Shop of the Week - Lindab142

Amidst the flurry of new members, we'd like to highlight Linda Blatchford and her Etsy shop, Lindab142. Linda creates a variety of personal decorative arts, including beaded and bottlecap jewelry, women's chapel caps (kippot) and Judaica items. Linda is inspired by gemstone colors. She says, "I love to design using different sizes and shapes of beads together. Jewelry design has so many facets and possibilities!" In addition to her inspired art, Linda enjoys custom orders where she uses "gemstone characteristics to enhance a certain spiritual quality" and to fit any budget. Her ultimate goal is that each of her customers is happy with their purchase.

Linda uses Tweetdeck to keep track of the Etsy Teams activities on Twitter. "It's not only a tool for promoting my items, but I've met people on Twitter and we talk about TV shows, movies and other things. I also find it as a resource for asking business questions. It is the 2nd or 3rd Referral site in my Google Analytics program." Linda has two business goals this year: keep organized records of inventory and learn new techniques, starting with wirewrapping.

About the Etsy Twitter team, Linda says "I'm so happy to be on the ETT team, challenging me to come up with more ways to use Twitter. I hope to be able to meet more new ETT team members soon."

Lindab142 is celebrating her
36th wedding anniversary this week!
In celebration, all her shop items are marked down!
Also, in June, a portion of sales proceeds
will be donated to the
Susan G Komen Cancer fund.

~~~~~~~

Etsy Shop: http://Lindab142.Etsy.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lindab142
Blog: http://linorstorecom.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/linorstore

Written by Judy of Wellspring Creations

Shop of the Week - MindyG

Our featured shop this week is MindyG, operated by Mindy Greenville. Mindy designs and sells unique handcrafted jewelry. She says eloquently that her jewelry line "has been created by blending beautiful gemstones, freshwater pearls and fabulous findings with vibrant colors and textures". It's easy to tell that Mindy loves her work, both by her words and the quality of her items. She says, "Inspiration for me comes from many simple forms...positive people, getting outside of my little world by traveling with my husband and two sons, art, fashion and music." The result is a jewelry line of sterling silver, gold, gemstones, pearls and crystals. "Pretty much anything that has facets and sparkles", she says. She loves working with textures and colors and incorporates both new or old into her designs.

Mindy serves on the Women's Advisory Committee for Mira Costa Community College. In early fall, she is participating in a big fundraiser for the college called Wine, Women & Shopping. The proceeds from this event will be used for scholarships for students in the community.

In addition, she plans to design a website, no small task! This summer, MindyG's jewelry line will be offered at some local jewelry events, too.

On Twitter, Mindy says "I am a novice at twitter, but I do follow people that have similar interests and that aren't just spamming." She likes using Twitter to help promote other team members as well and seeing "interesting bits of information" in her Twitter stream.


MindyG is offering
One free surprise gift with each purchase
for the Week of June 14
Mention "etsytwitter" in the message to seller box
upon checking out.
~~~~~~~
Etsy Shop: http://www.MindyG.etsy.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Mindy_G
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MindyGJewelryBoutique?v=info

Written by Judy of WellspringCreations

Shop of the Week - NovaScotiaBeachGlass

This week, the Etsy Twitter Team is featuring NovaScotiaBeachGlass for our Shop of the Week. NovaScotiaBeachGlass is the creation of Lori Stewart who collects seaglass from the beaches of Nova Scotia. She hunts the beach with her black lab, Willow, looking for beach glass, seaglass, driftwood and any other treasures the sea might reveal to her. She turns these treasures into lovely works of wearable art: pendants and necklaces.

Lori told me that beach glass is also called seaglass or mermaid’s tears. "This collectible is formed after years of tumbling in ocean waves, softening the sharp edges of shards of broken glass. Sea glass originates from man-made trash - bottles or jars tossed overboard ships or dumped with other garbage into the ocean, where they would break into pieces and tumble around. Most sea glass found today dates before the mid 1960's (when plastics became the norm). A perfectly smooth piece may have been in the ocean for decades, even a century. Collectors value the glass for its beauty and the mystery of its history - whose hand might have held the original item? What story might the sea glass tell?"

Lori appreciates the history and romance of her chosen material. She says there is nothing so soothing as to handle seaglass. In addition to her interest in recycling the vintage seaglass, Lori also expresses her artistic nature using resin. While she is always experimenting with new designs, this year she would like to improve her jewelry photography.

Lori ships worldwide and the interest in her work is ever growing. "I've been asked to do a home party...plus several stores have expressed interest in displaying my necklaces." On the Twitter front, Lori likes to keep people interested by tweeting a little about everything...not just about Etsy and her shop.

NovaScotiaBeachGlass is offering
Free shipping for the month of May to
Canada and the US
Also, a sale: 25% off orders over $100.00
~~~~~~~
Etsy Shop: www.NovaScotiaBeachGlass.etsy.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/seajewelry
FaceBook:www.facebook.com/NovaScotiaBeachGlass
Blog:www.novascotiabeachseaglass.blogspot.com

Written by Judy of Wellspring Creations

Shop of the Week - Geek Details

Meet Amanda Roberts, the talent behind the Etsy shop, geekdetails, and the Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week.

Amanda makes and sells a variety of what she describes as "geeky things". Her product line ranges from artistically embellished luggage, pinback buttons and art prints, sculpted singing flowers; even some jewelry items! Her product line is varied and reflects the sources of her inspiration. When asked what she loves most about creating, Amanda states: "That I get to make stuff every day...I love the process of making new items, seeing something lovely and knowing that I made that pretty thing."

As she puts it, her inspiration comes from "everything! It can be a music lyric, something a friend says, a glass of wine, the way the colors of my flowers blend. I try to find inspiration everywhere and then I mix it up to create something new." This is further reflected in her business resolution: to step "out of my box" and attend gamer conventions! "I went to my first in January (it was called VisionCon) and had a blast! I’m hooked and glad I did it! I met some amazing people that have been excited about what I do. They’ve become some of my biggest fans and really encouraged me in my retail endeavor." The result is an eclectic blend of fun products which Amanda ships worldwide (on most items*)!

Amanda has several exciting activities planned in the next few months. She's attending many shows this summer, including Origins in June. She's helping to develop a new website called Con-Vixens. AND she's "appearing" on an online radio program called Dragon Talk Radio this Thursday, May 20!

Amanda is @geekdetails on Twitter. Her Twitter philosophy? "Follow who you like and converse with them. Don’t just mindlessly follow everyone...and don’t follow people simply because they’re following you. This may lose you some followers, but the quality of your twitter connections will be higher! For me, twitter is about making connections with people. One connection with a rabid follower of your work is (imo) far superior than 50 followers that don’t really care about what you’re doing and are just upping their numbers. It’s quality over quantity for me!"

This week geekdetails is offering
Free domestic shipping on orders over $80 when the buyer mentions “etsytwitter” in the notes to seller section

~~~~~~~

ETSY SHOP: www.etsy.com/shop/geekdetails
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/geekdetails
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/geekdetails
BLOG: www.geekdetails.com

Written by Judy of WellspringCreations.

* Some large items can vary greatly in shipping price from one country to the next. Convo geekdetails for the international shipping rate specific to your location.