I live in Glasgow, Scotland with my husband Jamie aka Mr Kapow! we got married in June 2009. No pets or kids…yet! I grew up on a small farm on a tiny island in the Inner Hebrides called Seil, from there I moved to Glasgow aged 17 to study English Literature at University. I’ve had all sorts of jobs since then from waitressing to bank teller – I’ve even been a porter at antique auctions! I currently work full time for a Mental Health Advocacy Project in Glasgow.
My passions are music (Patsy Cline, Drive By Truckers, The Jayhawks, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Gillian Welch, Wanda Jackson, Alison Krauss…), books (Margaret Atwood’s my favourite author), knitting, watching whodunnits!

I spend evenings, weekends and most of my lunch breaks working on our shop Konnie Kapow! which we started up in September last year selling offbeat greeting cards and artwork. I have an unhealthy obsession with stationery and have made my own since I was a little girl, the wackier the better! Mr Kapow! has a Fine Art degree and is most useful when I want a drawing done that’s actually good!

Konnie and Mr Kapow! are just two superheroes trying to keep a low profile and to quote a friend, “saving the world from dull greeting cards!” We’re a team when it comes to Konnie Kapow! – we make all of our cards together holding hands – not really! Seriously, we’re two enormous personalities (and persons! Mr Kapow’s 6′5 and I’m 5′11!) who love making offbeat greeting cards!

ARTICLES by Konnie Kapow

Article by columnist Michelle aka: Little Toad

I had the opportunity to talk to some great artists on why they chose bigfoot and yeti for their pieces. Not only do I hope you get a kick out of their answers, I hope you will take the time to discover these great shops and add them to your favorites. I certainly have! Be sure to check out Part 1 for even more yeti fun.

katiekylie designs: Katie Kylie’s shop not only has a yeti but a Bigfoot as well. She creates amazing loveable monsters that are adorable while being totally one of a kind. Not only are her creations super cute, they are portable, like her Yeti keychain so you can have your yeti with you at all times.  “I’ve never really thought of myself as a full-fledged artist – I’m just a goofball who has been sewing funny little monsters for my friends for years and finally decided to take their advice and sell them online. My shop is really just full of the things that live in my brain, each with their own “teenie” little personality.” She may not consider herself a full-fledged artist but after seeing her great work I disagree and I know you will too.

scientificculture: This shop is an eclectic blend of all things offbeat and geek, so it’s no surprise that we found a yeti lover in the shop’s owner, Kate. “I’ve always been a fan of all things mythical (yetis, jackelopes, anthropomorphic smiling pinecones) and thought no better way to spread my enthusiasm than to draw some up into buttons and magnets!” Her unique illustration creates a loveable yeti that you just want in your backyard.

 brokesy: Sarah combines her unique characters on wonderful products that range from laptop cases to pillows. “The yeti was one of my first designs (originally as a pillow set with the yeti chasing a terrified lemming). I grew up in a forest surrounded by bears and wolves and other furry beasts. So I’ve always felt a connection with bigfoot – my husband actually jokes that I am a sasquatch and that they took me from the forest and shaved me and forced me to live in “civilization”. I guess all of this has culminated in my yeti.”

anatomyofaskirt: This store may have the widest range of subjects that I’ve seen.  It’s not only a great shop, but each creation is really fun to look at. “I was doing a fair number of mythological creatures and Greek myths for my robot a day project, so it was a natural extension to do a crypto zoological beast- a modern day myth. I chose the yeti because I found this fabulous long white faux fur at the fabric shop; I just knew it was perfect! I’ll be doing Bigfoot eventually, as soon as I find the right material!”

 orangetwist: Claire’s shop has wonderful, unique cards that I guarantee you won’t find on the rack anywhere in stores (but with her talent I wouldn’t be surprised to see them soon) “Happy Birthday Sasquatch” was inspired by my love of Squatch, the now defunct Seattle Sonics mascot. I couldn’t resist creating a card that featured a Sasquatch (in its iconic stance) carrying a group of balloons.” Her goal is to create affordable, useful items that are chuckle inducing, sweet, improbable and cheeky, all while being individually lino- or screen- printed.

 gerishields: Geri Shield’s shop is the epicenter of all things cute with a twist. She takes creatures you wouldn’t normally associate with being cute and manages to render them in an adorable way and her painting of the Bigfoot is no exception. “I was listening to The Groovie Ghoulies and they have a song called “Running with Bigfoot”. While listening to that particular song, I started thinking about running barefoot outdoors, which I did a lot as a kid, and all the different crap that I would accidentally step on: thistles, nails, and bees.  Then I thought if I was Bigfoot and ran around all day in the woods, I would have some pretty sore feet by the end of the day, and picking out giant splinters would probably be a nightly ritual.  Thus, the idea of the painting was born.”

OrigN8  I randomly came across Nathan’s great shop and I was instantly addicted to it. His characters are drawn beautifully and rendered in a way that makes them instantly stand out. “The piece was partly inspired by the winter storms we experienced here in Charlottesville this year. I am currently experimenting with a short series of monster paintings. After a rough sketch, I realized that this one would become a Yeti wandering through town experiencing the winter wonderland like the rest of us, waving at snowmen and such.”

 LemonCadet: Beth’s shop Lemon Cadet is another place where you’d never expect a yeti to be hiding but low and behold, there it was. ”I’ve always been a huge fan of the yeti. In fact, one of my first big school projects was in 4th grade. I did some research and constructed a Bigfoot out of newspaper, wire, tempera paints, and wallpaper paste. It was terrible. I remember hiding under a table and crying because it turned out so badly.  I decided it was high time for some redemption and created the shirts. I’m working on a fabric design based on that same drawing.”

 Becca26: Rebecca’s illustrations are so whimsical and full of wonder and I was so happy to see her interpretation on the Yeti. “This piece was inspired by a good friend of mine who loves daisies. So, I painted a daisy and stared at the canvas. I needed a creature who loved daisies and Carlos, the Midget Yeti was the creature that emerged! Carlos, the midget Yeti loves the simple things in life, food, sleep and flowers. This rarely seen but outgoing creature can be found in many a wood. He enjoys clearing the forest floor so that small plants and flowers can grow. If you should ever be lucky enough to see one, please don’t disturb his work, but a small vanilla cupcake would be greatly appreciated every now and then. Although Carlos has big feet, he has a big heart and would love to share it with you. He works wonders on home gardens.”

I was able to ask these artists two fun questions. Their answers were hilarious and really give you a great sense of their unique personalities.

What would you do if you ran into Bigfoot or a yeti?

“Give it a hug. I would think being the only one of your kind would be really lonely!”- katiekylie

“(Hope they recognize the fur-less me and) give them a big hug, catch up on all the bigfoot gossip, and tell them about my city adventures.”- brokesy

“As a scientist, fact and logic always seem to override any possibility of imaginary undiscovered North American creatures so if I ran into bigfoot or yeti I’d be sure to give him a killer high five and request a small fur sample for microsatellite genetic species analysis! Interestingly enough, during my undergrad I actually performed genetic tests on hair samples collected from scientists in attempt to identify the unknown species of Sasquatch. Unfortunately the fur ended up being black bear…but it was exciting nonetheless…” – scientificculture 

“Hopefully shoot some non-shaky film, get some un-fake-able photos, and throw a press conference.”- anatomyofaskirt

“If I ran into a Bigfoot I’d ask he or she why they are so camera shy. I imagine they’d say it is because they are extremely vain creatures and hate having their pictures taken when looking anything but their best, and since Bigfeet always seemed to be caught unawares by people with cameras, they naturally try to run away. If I ran into a Yeti, I would invite them to tea to discuss their views on the world” – Becca26

“I would try to make a contact with it and then probably start up a game of kick the can or hide and go seek with him. I have a hunch that these guys are pretty stellar at hide and seek”- Orgin8

“compare shoe sizes”- gerishields

“Give the dude some space. I’ve heard they’re pretty smelly” – LemonCadet

“I’d probably be startled and hide behind a tree until I’d figured out if it was friend or foe!” – Orange Twist

Photo courtesy of PearsonMaron

By contributing columnist Nicole Majewski aka Sugar Shox Craft

Move over Morris; this week’s Etsy Spotlight pick shows that cats aren’t just meant to be seen in cat food commercials—not when they can imitate humans so closely.

Instead of burying his face in a bowl of mush or hard brown shapes, a short-haired orange and white tabby cat named Hamlet takes his first whiffs and samples of birthday cake. This tender moment was captured by Etsy seller Cathy Gangwer (“Celticcatphotos”), and is sold in her shop
as the Birthday Cat Greeting Note Card.

Taken on Hamlet’s first birthday, the image perfectly personifies an animal’s life. It shows an animal acting completely human in the context of the mostly- human situation of a birthday party. Hamlet is shown at just the right moment conducting himself in a reserved, thoughtful manner like any person would when first taking in the sight of their birthday cake. The picture also shows some human body language with the way the cat curiously leans toward the cake to examine it.

Surprisingly enough, Cathy said the card’s image was a lucky shot, as she was only able to get this one image from the party.

“It was Hamlet’s birthday and so I bought a small cake and tried to see if he would pose with it,” she said. “I only got one good frame of him, and none of his [feline] brothers.”

Cathy said she turned this image into the Birthday Cat cards about six to seven years after it was taken. The card features a cut out window for the image, a simple thin-lined border around the image and, of course, the image of Hamlet, which is professionally printed. They are also blank inside so buyers can write in their own message and give the card for either a birthday or at any time.

This card happens to be Cathy’s favorite card—its image says it all.

“It is simple and needs no text,” she said. “You also know that it is a birthday card, or you can just give it to a cat lover.”

Cathy is approaching her 20th year of selling her photography. She attends numerous art shows from late May to early December in southeastern Michigan (she is from Detroit), and also sells her work online at both the 1000 Markets and Etsy websites.

She has been involved with photography since her girlhood, and has used many of the various technologies that have popped up in the field in that time.

“I have been taking pictures since I was a young girl. I remember my first camera, my first 110 camera, and then my first SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera,” Cathy said. “I wasn’t sure about stepping up to digital, but on a trip to Newfoundland a roll of film was damaged, so I switched to digital and kept a film camera only for panorama captures until I learned to do a pano in Photoshop.”

Is beautiful as the Birthday Cat card and her other animal images are, she prefers to photograph a very different kind of subject even more.

“I think of myself as more of an architecture photographer,” she said. “I love capturing lighthouses, old barns, farms and old buildings in Detroit and Ireland.”

Whatever she will be photographing, count on seeing much more of Cathy and her unique work. Her future plans include expanding the number of shops she has online, to keep selling at art shows and to get into even more creative photography that is “outside the box.”

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When cat lover, Mishkat in the Etsy Forums mentioned the combo print, note cards and magnet sets at Visual Smiles Gallery (aka LindaGJ) I became quite curious and decided to take a peek. When I clicked to view her amazing shop I savored items that were a cat lover’s dream!

This was especially true for myself since my cat Yingy, a female Tuxedo, resembles the cat that Linda features in her prints - Miss Peanut Jones! She not only resembles her in looks, but in size and spirit as well!

Sadly, Miss Peanut is no longer part of Linda’s household but her memory will never be forgotten! You will find Miss Peanut in Linda’s numerous prints sets and in the two books that she has written, “The Itty Bitty Kitty from New York City” & “Peanut Jones Thinks about Fun!”

Now if you fall in love with her prints, as I have done, when you purchase anyone of these darlings….included is a matching magnet and a matching boxed set of seven gift cards! Wow, I was floored! How does she do all that at such a fantastic low price? Needless to say, I am a proud owner of a couple of her print sets, the quality of these items are great and you’ll love her whimsical subject matter!

Listen to what Linda has to say when describing her beloved kitty (see her shop for the full story):

I just have to say that she had such an itty bitty tail, itty bitty cow legs, & the cutest itty bitty face…yet,lo & behold…she had a very big round body! Perfect shape for aN ornament ball, that you will see in my store as a sculpture figure adorned in a variety of costumes as well as a magnet. This lovable feline who was raised in an art studio environment & exposed to the visual & performing arts her whole life, made Miss Peanut, not only a very cultured feline, but also a legend!

With the holidays now upon us, I am always looking for fantastic decorating ideas, and this clay and paper mache figurine of Miss Peanut Jones is just perfect as a display item or as a beautiful gift for a lover of cats.

LindaGJ’s shop is highly recommended! I hope that you stop by and take advantage of her Miss Peanut lovelies!

IndieSmiles favs are unsolicited reviews of Sue and El’s favorite indie shops and are not compensated for these reviews. If you would like Sue and El to notice your shop, please send them an email at info@indiesmiles.com