The power of etsy—first sale after just two days

Who knows if this is the beginning of a trend, or simply beginners luck. I sold my first Ketubah on etsy yesterday after having the shop open for two days.

I have been a bit overwhelmed by the power of etsy. I guess I am fortunate to be benefiting from all of the excellent resources that etsy offers, from helping you think carefully about the name of your shop to tutorials on subjects such as SEO, to creating  your mini etsy on your blog and facebook.

I am not trying to say that it is easy—on the contrary, it takes a lot of work to get a shop going, but the folks at etsy really help you out every step of the way. 

The community is also very supportive. Other shop owners are very generous with advice and etsy shoppers are generous with their hearts and feedback.

Great experience so far. We will see what day three brings!

Etsy shop officially open for business!

It seems like forever since I made up my mind to open an etsy shop. Life always seems to get in the way. Well, I opened the shop yesterday with four fresh ketubah designs and added five pattern paintings today. I still have some work to do on the fresh notes front and I also hope to spend some more time on spoonflower so that I can offer my fresh fabric as well. One baby step at a time!

My mini etsy gadget is now on my blog (look to your right) so you will be able to link to my shop easily if you see something you just have to have!

Jenn Ski

I discovered Jenn Ski this morning. She is an award winning designer and artist with a flare for mid century motifs. She sells her work as giclee prints in various sizes. You can see more of her work at her etsy shop and you can read her blog to see what inspires her. So simple and fresh—I love them all.

Fresh Ideas I can relate to—Mara Girling

I just came across Printspace on etsy. Mara Girling is an Australian illustrator and designer living in Melbourne. I love the simplicity and warmth of her work. So fresh! These little birdies are just so cute, I can't stop looking at them! She and her husband Nick have a design studio in Melbourne and sell their work through etsy and other retailers. You can see for yourself at these links:

Printspace (this is Mara)

Australian:printspace.com.au
Etsy community:printspace.etsy.com
blog: printspace.blogspot.com
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/printspace/
Facebook: Printspace on facebook
Latest Printspace Newsletter

Otispepper (and this is Nick)

On Etsy community: otispepper.etsy.com
blog: otispepper.blogspot.com
Flickr:flickr.com/photos/nickgirling/
Facebook: Otispepper art on facebook

In her bio, Mara mentions that one of the reasons she does what she does is to make you smile. Hey Mara—Mission accomplished!

Fresh Ideas I can relate to: Aijung Kim

I was doing my morning etsy browse, to get inspired for names for my etsy shop (yes, it is really close now!) when I came across Aijung Kim's shop called sprouthead. She calls these BURNING HOUSE Pocket Picture - Mini Letterpress Prints. They measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/16. How cute! She also writes and illustrates exquisite must have zines. Here is an example.

Then of course there is her fine art ...

 You can see all of her art on her website, or her blog. Oh so beautiful and inspiring.

And...I'm back

Finally! I have had some time to get back to patterns. I have been working on J & A's ketubah over the last week or so, and the motifs were itching to become patterns. So last night I started creating repeats to create this new grouping. Off to spoonflower I went to add the swatches. Not quite finished yet, but feeling good about this Arbutus tree inspired collection.

A fresh idea I can relate to: Aimee Myers Dolich doodles

Due to selling our house, having to downsize to half the space in a short period of time, packing, moving, unpacking and generally using up every ounce of energy left in my being—my forging forward with producing pattern paintings for my soon to be open (when will I ever be ready?) etsy shop been put on hold. Once I finally got past unpacking, there were Ketubah commissions to finish and new commissions to start...

And of course blog posts to read and new posts of my own to think about.

As I wandered through my favourite blogs, I came across Aimee Myers Dolich  and her doodles at her etsy shop.

As is always the case when wandering around from click to click, I found this little piece of inspiration. Thanks Aimee! I needed the reminder. I encourage you all to check out her doodles. There is a piece of inspiration for all of us!

You have to see this to believe it: Aoyama Hina's super fine lacy-paper-cutting!

Aoyama Hina uses an ordinary pair of scissors to craft these amazingly ornate and delicate designs. It seems completely impossible, yet it is actually true! Have a look at her photostream. Born 1970 in Yokohama, Japan she has been making super fine Lacy-paper-cuttings since 2000. Currently living and working in Ferney Volaire, France.

Fresh Ideas I can relate to—Katie Daisy

Packing boxes all day and thinking about boxes still left to pack all night, I find myself wide awake at 4:30 am. So I sit myself down in front of my computer and check out the lastest design sponge post. One click leads to another and...

It is hard to stay calm with so many amazing inspiring people out there!

These beautifully fresh designs are by Katie Daisy. I just melted when I saw her website home page and immediately went to her etsy site. She works full time as an artist for clients such as Target, HGTV, American Greetings & Chronicle Books. Her work is so full of positive energy. Hey Katie, thanks for the big dose of inspiration!
All images are copyright Katie Daisy

Packing my favourite things—Folkart by Philip Melvin

It has been many weeks since my last post—I have been very busy... With our house sold and only four weeks to convert 2100 square feet of belongings into 1200 square feet of space, there have been many hard decisions to make. What to keep, what to store and what to give away.

Each time I explain to friends and family that we are moving into half the space in anticipation of moving into even smaller space in the next couple of years, the first question is—what will you do with all of your folkart? There are many things I am willing to part with—but my folkart collection is not one of them! As I took each of my favourite pieces down from their homes in my studio, and every other room in the house, I cleaned them with care and stood them together ready for packing. When I looked back at them, I couldn't resist the photo op. How could I ever be without them!!!