Iron Butterfly

First, yes I totally listen to them. I am a big fan of classic rock, hair band rock, heavy metal, and the always bad but fun fantasy rock.

Now on with the show. I finally finished the custom cuff for CyberCulinary. You can find her on Twitter and Etsy. I think she is working on a way to bring her love of cooking to Etsy. She tends to represent herself in Butterflies, because of the constant changing in their growth pattern. Knowing her it is extremely accurate. Every time I talk to her she has a new recipe or craft she wants to try. In that way we are very much the same.

So here are some really fuzzy images. I am going to take some really nice ones when I get back from my trip.

On the Move

As you read this I will be somewhere in between St. Louis, Mo and Nashville, TN. I took the weekend and dropped off my niece at the Duke Summer Program. It is amazing to think of what she is going to be doing there. I have never known a person so eager at such a young age to actually work towards her goal of being a doctor. So this week when I get back I am going to be posting about my adventure across country.

I won't actually be back at my home until Tuesday Night. So this weeks posts are going to be rather sparse.

Friday Feature: Kreativ Link

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm a homebody. Apart from traveling to new countries, I'm happy spending my time in our messy little house here in Austria. The only room I like to clean and organize is my studio. Yes. It's becoming a real problem. Thankfully, I have a very understanding husband!

I'm self-employed and have been working from home since 1996. I'm so used to doing things my way, I don't think I could ever go back into a "real" job. And well, I'm also rather unsocial I have to say. I'm not the one you would find at parties or things like that. Most people I find rather ... boring. Yep. There. Now I said it! :D

The Internet is just my thing. I can communicate with people all over the world, have fun chats on Twitter and the like, but I can as easily step away and be my grumpy, solitary self.

2. What first made you want to become an artist?
I don't know. I never planned or dreamed about becoming an artist. It's just what happened in my life. Somehow.

3. Please describe your creative process.
That's another question I always have a hard time answering. There is no "process". I just do what feels right. All the wonderful forms that there are in nature fascinate me. And, I can't get enough of ancient and mysterious cultures. I often think about how it was living in old times. Or how it will be living in the future. When I'm in a deep forest I can't help but keep an eye out to see if I see a fairy. Not that I really believe they exist, but wouldn't it be nice if they did? I can spend hours just daydreaming ... and all the crazy things in my head somehow find a way into my work. But if that is a process, I don't know :)

4. Name your top five books, movies, musicians, and websites besides Etsy.
Ack sorry, can't do that either. I love to read Science Fiction and Fantasy for fun (surprise, right?) with the occasional tough stuff in between. I like old baroque music and smooth jazz and blues. The movies I love most are the ones that make you forget about the here and now. And websites, well, I don't think I know about any cool ones that aren't already well known.

5. What advice would you give to artists on Etsy?

If you are lucky and don't have to earn money with it - just enjoy and have fun!
If you have to rely on the income - prepare for long hours and lots of work. Success on Etsy doesn't come easy. There are thousands of artists who are offering amazing work. It's not enough to make something "nice". You can only survive if you make something that makes people feel "ahhh... I WANT/NEED that". And it needs to stand up to your customer’s expectations when they open your package at home. Your product is the first and most important thing. All other things - like taking good photos, giving great customer service and such - come after that.

6. How do you promote your work?
I do have a website http://www.kreativlink.at and a blog http:///www.kreativling.at
I post photos on my flickr account, on deviantART, and I twitter about it.

A little bit of a change...

There is a change in my normal weekly formatting. I found that most of the shops I go to and look at have so many wonderful items. I always have a hard time trying to pare down my choices to one option. Many of the times I will switch one item out for the next. So I have decided to make Friday Favorites focus more on the shop owners and not just the items for a little while. I am going to call it Friday Feature. If you would like to be featured let me know. I am going to make a list of questions that will help us better get to know you. If you want to go ahead and answer them, here are the ones I have right now. I am letting you know I am borrowing these questions from the Etsy Featured Seller.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.
2. What first made you want to become an artist?
3. Please describe your creative process.
4. Name your top five books, movies, musicians, and websites besides Etsy.
5. What advice would you give to artists on Etsy?
6. How do you promote your work?

Friday Favorites: Pottery

I love buying new dishes. There is a row in Target where they display a full place setting up on the walls. All of the colors, patterns, and shapes all seem to show off while they are next to each other. So when I realized I could turn to the wonderful sellers on Etsy, I decided it was time to share all the goodies with you.

1. PigeonToeCeramics/ 2. vesselsandwares
3. kbrownpottery / 4. dbabcock
5. juditavill / 6. glyntpottery
7. hughespottery/ 8. andersenpottery

Business Sense: Packaging

Lets play a game... Name that companies packaging. The little teal blue box is famous. It is a simple color. It isn't highly decorated. The most the company does is a simple text logo on the center of the lid and it is wrapped in a simple white bow. It is the purest form of package design out there. It is classic, simple, colorful, and easily recognizable.

These are the key concepts you want to shot for in your stores packaging. There are several resources for packaging online. You should think about your product and what it requires. The packaging I have for my Ring Blossoms is very different from the packaging I use for my embroidered cuffs. My cuffs in general are very sturdy and don't need a lot of protective packaging. I do however like to send them in a card stock paper box. This way I don't worry about anything getting damaged. For my Ring Blossoms I created a fold over card that I attach to a clear plastic resealable bag. They look like something you would find hanging from a hook at the store. If someone wants one wrapped as a gift, I use a paper stock box and use a bit of matted cotton to puff the ring up.

However my needs are going to be different from another Etsy seller. Someone who does pottery for example is going to need protective packaging to be included. Think about how you would receive a vase sent from Target. It would come in a cardboard box. Inside you would have a molded piece of Styrofoam or corrugated cardboard supports. Those would be taped in place to keep the vase from moving. Since you cannot mold Styrofoam to each piece, you can consider buying large blocks and cutting them to generally fit. Or, you can buy packing peanuts. If you have an issue with this places like FedEx can help you find the best option for your piece. You can then look for those options at a cheaper price and do it yourself. Consider the one trip to FedEx as research.

If you have clothing you are sending consider a simple piece of tissue around your folded garment and decorative twine. You could also use a sample piece of fabric you have left over and make pouches that button shut. This is a great idea and feel free to use it.

Just remember you want you packaging to be consistent. Pick a theme and go with it. You also want to consider how reusable your packaging can be. If you want to "be green" try to make it a functional piece as well. The pouch your shirt arrived in might be useful as a travel piece. If you have creative ways to reuse your packaging, suggest it on cute little note card. People will love the time you took to make their item so special.

Also consider offering Packaging as an added item in your store. This way if people do not want it, then you do not have to worry about the cost. It also gives them the option of not paying for it with the item. The customer also has the option of not having to wrap the best birthday present they have ever seen for their bestfriend.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any creative ways to package your items.

The Farmer's Market and Me

Over the past few weeks, I have been take more time out of my schedule to cook. I am cooking a healthy home cooked meal three times a week. So I have been going to the Farmer's Market near my home. This allows me to get the freshest fruits and vegetables at a fraction of the cost. The moment this really struck me was last night in the grocery store when I saw organic tomatoes on the vine for $2.78. At the Farmer's Market, I got the same thing for $1.28. So if you have one near you, I suggest finding it and take a trip out there to scout out your options. You do however want to look up their health code scores online. You don't want to go to one that has problems with health code violations.

But, I have also picked up a magazine on Clean Eating. The theory is that the more natural the food is the better it is for you. The more processed foods tend to have more ingredients and therefor are not as good for you. This isn't a new concept. So people who run around buying the diet foods are still not eating the best food for them. I also suggest buying a crock pot. Many crock pot recipes start with 2-3 cups of raw vegetables. This means super healthy. As long as you don't pile on lots of butter it is hard to make it unhealthy.

Here is a link to the magazine I was talking about: Clean Eating Magazine.