Etsy Spotlight: Arrowsarah’s Faith\Hope\Love\Peace\Soul Wooden Box Purse

by Contributing Columnists Nicole M aka
Sugar Shox Crafts

The printed word is a beautiful thing. In both the visual spaces they occupy and also in their meaning, words can artistically rival a Rembrandt or Picasso painting.

Angela Mosera’s (“Arrowsarah”) Faith\Hope\Love\Peace\Soul Wooden Box Purse (her “Word Box,” as she nicknamed it) shows what power words can have on the senses. The 6” by 6” by 6” cube-shaped pine body uses typeface as its main graphical element to pull one’s eyes in. One word (“Faith,” “Hope,” “Love,” “Peace,” or “Soul”) is written on each side in giant capital Arial Extra Bold letters, including on the top lid.

Color also contributes to the stunning visual effect of the purse body. The natural wood finish of the letters sharply contrasts with the body’s black background.

Angela said the body’s design comes from her background in graphic design. She previously worked for a large ad agency in Dallas, where she hails from, and now freelances her design work, in addition to having it as a main focus in her Etsy shop.

She put a great deal of thinking and persistence into this purse. Angela said she felt something was missing from its first design, where the “Faith\Hope\Love\Peace” words simply went around the outside of the box.

“Once it was done, I knew it needed something on the top. It took me a long time to figure out what word needed to go up there, but when I finally thought of ‘soul,’ it was like a light bulb went off,” she said. “‘Soul’ is the root of all the other words and if you lose faith or hope, you still have soul.”

Angela has made five boxes so far with this design. It happens to be the most popular design of all the many box purses in her shop. It is also mom-approved; her mom carries this very same design!

The work of fellow Texan Enid Collins sparked Angela’s original interest in making box purses. Collins was famous in the 1960’s for her wooden rectangular box purses, which featured hand painted scenery and animal designs. Today, Collins’ work is highly sought-after in the vintage market.

“I had been collecting her purses for a while, and they are just so awesome that I wanted to bring them back with a modern twist,” she said.

Since she started making them in 2008, Angela has made over a hundred of these box-type purses, and plans to make more in different styles.

“I’ve made well over 125 by now,” she said. “I’m always trying new boxes like upcycled cigar boxes and boxes that are different shapes and sizes.”

They are all available for purchase through both craft shows and her Etsy shop.

Creating her box purses has also led Angela to love working with wood. Though she had never really worked with the material before, she’s been incorporating it into more of her work lately (including her jewelry, which she also sells), and plans to try some jigsaw-cut designs as well.

Check out all of Arrowsarah’s wooden creations at craft shows in the Dallas area and in her Etsy shop! She’s also on Facebook!

One Shop or Two?
by contributing columnist Ashley Pahl aka AshleyPahl

Having an Etsy, Artfire or Folksy shop can sometimes be a very time-consuming activity. Why would a person want to open a second shop? There are many good reasons for making the decision to have two stores, and sometimes it is the right choice. Some good reasons for opening a second shop include:

1. Introducing a new line of items or a different style.

2. Selling handmade if you own a supply shop, or vintage if you own a handmade shop, etc.

3. A shop appears cluttered and is overwhelming to shop browsers.

4. Separating the popular money-makers from the more serious art forms.

5. Dividing a wide range of prices into two so that shoppers can focus and better compare products.

Buyers may have an easier time focusing on the items they are looking for if they are separated from the additional miscellanea that you sell. For example, if you mostly make knit hats, but also have your handmade earrings peppered in your shop, it may be too distracting for shoppers who came to your shop looking for hats. Alternatively, if you have a shop that specializes in sterling silver jewelry, it may help a shopper to focus on what they really want if the more expensive pieces are separated from less expensive “silver-toned” pieces.

Having a second shop may even get you more exposure. You can be listed in directories twice, in Etsy’s search engine twice (when searching for sellers), and could be stumbled upon twice.

The downside, of course, is that a second shop is twice the work. Two shops to stock; two shops to market and promote; two shops to make listings for; two shops to answer messages for and complete feedback for. Additionally, if you decide to move items that you already have listed in one shop to a new shop, you will need to do so manually: copy and paste the titles, descriptions, and materials, re-type the tags, make new shipping profiles, and upload the photos all over again. Not only that, but you will lose all of the hearts and views you have accumulated for such items. Your shop’s feedback will be back at zero and you’ll have to find a way to bring shoppers to your second store.

For many, it may be worth adding a new product line to the original shop and see how it fairs. Additionally, it may help to organize the “clutter” of the first shop into something more manageable for browsers. The shop sections feature and Rearrange Shop feature are both great for accomplishing such a task.

If the pros outweigh the cons and you decide to go for it, here are some things to remember when opening a second store:

1. You will need a second email address. Each email address can only be linked to one account on Etsy.

2. You will need to disclose your additional shops. You must link from your first shop to your second shop and vice versa either in your shop announcement, profile, or shop policies page.

3. All listings must be manually re-listed. There is no way to just switch them to a new account, and you will have to pay listing fees again.

4. The same PayPal account can be used for multiple Etsy accounts – there is no limit.

5. If you are not using the same banner, avatar, packaging materials and business cards that you use for your first shop, you may need to get new ones, which will add additional costs.

All in all, the decision to open a second online shop is really an individual one. What works for one business may not pan out for another. It may be worth the financial risk to open a new store, or it may be more practical to better manage your first shop. Many Etsy businesses do quite well with multiple shops, and as the old adage goes, “you never know until you try”.

Poster image courtesy of   The LoveShop

“Open” image courtesy of   The Back Porch Shoppe

Picture courtesy of 3gwoodworks

By contributing columnist Pam aka ElectricPenquin
Once your fabulous picture gets a customer to open your listing, it’s the description that makes or breaks the deal. That’s a lot of pressure on a few sentences! Here’s how I attack the description demons:

First, I come up with the answers to these questions. One good way to answer these is to pretend you’re describing it to someone over the phone. What words would you use then?
- To start with, what is it – necklace, terrarium, hat, coat rack?
- What materials is it made of?
- What color(s) is it?
- For necklaces and bracelets (and anything else that closes), what kind of clasp does it have? Extender chain?
- What size is it overall? Most of the world is metric, so measurements should be listed in both inches and centimeters (confession – mine are not!).
- What sizes are the components? I just list the main pieces, not every single bead.
- How is it packaged – gift wrapped, organza bag, recycled padding?
- Any instructions or information the buyer might want to know beforehand – can’t get it wet, will arrive unassembled?
- Is it custom made? If so, it may take longer to ship out than usual.
- If a component was truly handmade and bought from a fellow Etsyian (like ceramic beads or pendants), I think it’s a really nice gesture to mention that. I usually go with something like “The ceramic beads were handmade by xxxxxxx.etsy.com” (no period at the end of the sentence). That syntax puts a link to their shop, once the listing is saved.

Then it’s time to type all of those answers into a persuasive, item selling group of sentences!
- The first sentence has to be snazzy and attention grabbing, as it’s what displays on a Google search. This is the most difficult part!! I try to put as much in it as possible, while still staying at around 100 characters. I always use the “View a preview of how your item will appear in Google search results” link to see the final result, and tweak it as needed.
- I try to type in coherent sentences, with proper cases and grammar. For terrible typists like me, spell check is a requirement!! Hint – put it in Word or an email, and check it there.
- I proper case the title and keep it to a reasonable length. Arrggh, I can’t stand titles that contain 30 words all in caps! I won’t even open them even if the piece looks really cool.
- Finally, in the beginning, I had someone else look at the final version as if they wanted to buy the piece, and had them tell me what they thought was missing.

Ta da, you’re done! Next, it’s off to the dreaded tags. More fun!!

It took me forever to write up just one item when I first started, but now I’m pretty fast. Descriptions do get easier the more you do them, really they do!

The Best Illustrators on Etsy That You’ve Probably Never Seen:  Part 2

By contributing columnist Michelle AKA: Little Toad

I had the pleasure of getting to ask these talented artist questions about their work and where they hope their work takes them. Please not only read this article but visit their shops I promise you will be transported to a different world and look at ours in a new way. These are undiscovered talents that I know will become your new favorites.

12. MaricarmenPizano

Maricarmen Pizano’s work is a beautiful combination of cute and expressive, displayed in muted backgrounds which just add to the beauty of her work. “I like to use different techniques like watercolor, acrylics, and ink, but for my illustrations I prefer the pencil because it allows me to play with contrast and especially because the monochromatic palette gives more drama to my work. My inspiration comes from many places; music, a cup of coffee but mostly from my own life.  Every single experience that marks my life is part of the story I tell in my illustrations.”

13. art4barewalls

Mara’s work is so bright and vibrant it basically jumps off the page at you. Her characters are charming and drawn in a way that makes them truly unique. I asked her how she got started. “I was looking for art for kids and did not like anything I found. I like edgy bright colored work so I decided to make my own. I then discovered that this may very well be the kind of work I need to do since I had so much fun doing it! My son is the reason I got on this track and he continues to inspire me every day.”

 14. Somethingbunny

Lea’s illustrations grab you the moment you look into the eyes of her characters. They are so sweet and gentle you have no choice but to fall in love with them.“I often find inspiration in things I come across in my daily life. In many cases, simple things such as a sweet gesture, a cute animal or even baked goods strike me with a creative brainwave which carries itself into an illustration. I am also highly influenced by colors and emotions and I find that my illustrations often depict things that tug at my heart strings. I can’t say for sure where I hope my art takes me, but I know that art and illustration will be a love that I will carry throughout my lifetime”

15. Kimsieboldstudios

Kim Sieblod’s work is beautifully simplistic yet complex in the emotions she is able to convey. “I am happiest when I am creating and using my creative skills.”  She is inspired by EVERYTHING! “I am inspired by simplicity, innocence, color, texture, interior design, typography, you name it.  The style of art depends on my mood. My true illustration love is traditional hand-drawn art with ink and then color enhancing with Photoshop”

16. juliettecrane

Juliette Canes is truly an original. Not only do her main characters have personality but her backgrounds display just as much character. You really get a great sense of the environment and the season you are viewing. “I love nature and taking walks and traveling and meeting people. I feel like all of those things, everything I experience, makes it into my artwork. At least I try for that anyways.”

17. ginormousrobot

If you don’t instantly get pulled into Josh’s work I don’t know what’s wrong with you! His illustrations are funny, sweet and truly original. I asked Josh where he hopes his work would someday take him.“There is this dream I have of a little studio in the backyard of my house where I sit and draw robots all day. I never have to wear a tie and I can stop and play tickle football with my kids whenever I want. I’m not there yet, but I hope to be.”

 18. borzoiart

I have never seen animals rendered and interpreted the way that Lena Sennikova does with her illustrations. They are truly breathtaking and amazingly original. Lena was planning to be a vet, but at the last moment she turned to Art College. “I am attached to the animalistic genre, but it a little boring for me to draw the ‘right animals’…  I try to increase their individual attitude, to make their characters brighter, to make them more romantic and kind. And, indeed, I take my inspiration from music, fairy tales, books (especially about animals), cartoons, anything beautiful…children, flowers, clouds…everything can be a source of inspiration.”

 19. Candace jean

Candace not only has one great etsy shop but three, all with their unique style and products. “I make a bunch of random, mismatched art that I spread over three Etsy shops so I feel like each piece is appropriately “categorized”. I find inspiration in all sorts of places; usually flora and fauna. I adore nature and the living world and am continuously fascinated by it. I find inspiration in children’s literature and classic fairy tales, historic fashion and lifestyle, books, old and vintage items, and life itself in all its complex simplicity.”

20. Becca26

Rebecca Menard’s work is unbelievably charming and a little wacky. She fines a great balance between being funny and having heart. “At the moment, art is a side business for me, but ultimately I’d love it to be my everyday job, my everyday joy. I hope to be able to support myself doing what makes me happy and hopefully bring other people joy as well.”

21. GouacheRocks

I bet you’ve never seen work quite like Anaïs Goldemberg’s before. Her interpretation of a subject and the medium she uses come together to create an awe inspiring final piece.”I love to create portraits of funny witches, scary ghosts, wild animals… Nothing serious, as you can see. I’m also an enthusiastic follower of many blogs, a great part of them about illustrators.”

 22. Gisellegonzalez

Giselle’s work is warm, inviting and really charming. It mixes very childlike wonder with modern sophistication. “Creating art has always been my passion. Ever since I was a little girl I spent hours drawing and painting in my notebooks and coloring books. I was obsessed with Disney’s Cinderella and I used to draw my mom and aunts with cinched waists and big skirts! I definitely think that I’ve always been attracted to-really girly, frilly things.”

Photo courtesy of Virginia Lindsay aka: ginia18

By contributing Columnist Michelle aka: LittleToad

The Best Illustrators on Etsy That You’ve Probably Never Seen:  Part 1

I had the pleasure of  asking  these talented artists questions about their work and where they hope their work takes them. Please not only read this article but visit their shops I promise you will be transported to a different world and look at ours in a new way. These are undiscovered talents that I know will become your new favorites.

1. Babayagada

Lena Yampolsky is the extraordinary artist behind these magical and sometimes surreal images. She gets inspiration from the melting pot of languages and cultures and also her endless fascination with beauty of nature. “The cores of many of my works reflects flawed irrational features of human beings character”. In the future she hopes to do more illustrations, write a comic book for children and also do some animation. She hopes that her personal projects one day will be her way of making a living. 

2. SoRAd

Jasmine Bashaj is the artist behind SoRad, an eclectic mix of wacky and just plain fun images. I dare you not to get a great big smile when looking at her work. She was working for someone else when she thought, hmmm, shouldn’t I be doing this for myself and getting the credit for it? So she decided to start her own line of greeting cards. She is currently working on incorporating her illustrations into baby clothes-so stay tuned. Her inspiration comes from everything and anything. “Ideas come to me usually when I’m going to sleep, just pop into my head really. My Mac book pro is covered in (virtual) sticky notes with ideas.”

 3. MenageriePrints

Vic Turnbull is a children’s illustrator who creates these amazing humorous and heartwarming images. Her ability to convey emotion in her animals is astounding and one look and you will fall in love with them as I did. ”I want to bring them to life, give them a character and personality.” She is inspired by other illustrators and artists and hopes to one day explore the possibility of creating picture books. “A number of children’s books had an impact on me as a child and I’d love to follow in the footsteps of some of these by writing and illustrating my own story.”

4. Blackmago

Blackmago’s way of creating his animal illustration’s is truly unique and completely original. His work is graceful and extremely charming to look at. He is inspired by his own life, his friends, his mother and his past. When asked where he hoped his art would take him he responded “I just want to be a source for helping others to be happy, to smile with the simple things on life, just to help other dreamers to dream more and to believe dreams can come true.”

 5. deeplyshallow

When I first saw the work of Jason Gurley I was instantly enthralled. His work really does transform you to a different world and the colors alone are enough to make you an instant fan. He is inspired by just about everything. “If a coworker says something embarrassing, I’ll probably have a rough sketch of the moment captured by the end of the day.” Weather,  architecture, other terrific illustrators, novels, a bad dream, science fiction, his adorable fiancée and her own crafty creations are also inspiration for Jason.

6. vcying

Victoria Ying’s work is charming with an amazing sense of style and movement. Her work reminds me of images you would see in a Paris gallery. She is inspired by films; especially films with great stories and great storytelling through images.  Black and white movies are often her favorites. She also loves fashion and fashion design. She hopes one day to write and illustrate her own children’s book and maybe do some character licensing work on the side.

7. LoxlyHollow

When I first laid eyes on Elisabeth Zuniga’s work I was transformed back to my childhood and reading Beatrix Potter in the grass. Her work captures the beauty and the essence of being a child. “I love fairy tales. I love living in a world of make-believe and lovely places. My inspiration comes from my favorite books, which are The Chronicles of Narnia, Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, and the Beatrix Potter tales.”  Her fondest hope is to become an illustrator for children’s books. She wants to create magical worlds through her art that will give children as well as adults a lovely place to visit as they read.

 8. ZarsArt

Zar Galstian’s art is beautifully stylized and how she draws people and the situations around them is truly one of a kind. “A lot of my artwork definitely has an animation influence. But besides that, I always try to put a story behind the artwork I create, or some sort of insight into who that character is. I draw from my family and experiences a lot; they are usually the inspiration behind most of my artwork.” It is her dream to one day design characters for animated feature films and she’s always wanted to illustrate children’s books.

9. SleepUnderStars

I feel in love with Sleep Under Star’s  work the moment I came across it on a random etsy search whim. Her work put a huge smile on my face and I was hooked not only on her unique characters but her bold and unique color combinations. She grew up in Hawaii and spent a lot of time outdoors–running around, flying kites and looking up at the clouds for hours. “I think we adults gain a lot from reconnecting with childhood feelings: a sense of long days and bright colors, playfulness, and waking up each day bursting with new ideas.” She also gets her inspiration from food (my kind of lady) “In my Hawaii Dreams Box Set, I picked envelopes in shades that reminded me of comfort foods: yellow like lilikoi ( passion fruit), the green of honeydew bubble tea, orange for orange cream soda, and red-orange for li hing mui (a salted plum snack). For Christmas, I used minty teals and reds like mint candies and gingerbread house decorations.”

 10. Paperyoyo

 I feel in love with the work of Gwynne Simmons the moment I saw the illustration featured here. She captured the emotion on the cat and girl’s face perfectly and her other work does exactly the same. She is as versatile in subject matter as she is in the medium she uses. “I love making up characters and moments and bringing them to life through any medium.  I like to switch it up and will work with fabric and felt one day, and will be painting or cutting paper the next.  It’s fun to be able to switch because each medium makes me think differently about an idea.”

 11. beautifique 

Nina Mata’s work grabs you right away with very bold color choices and unique subject matter that ranges from oh so cute to totally bizarre (in a good way).  She is inspired by anything and everything around her. “I see facial expressions everywhere! From a bathroom tile to a crack on the wall, they all have a story to tell.” Her main goal is to write and illustrate children’s books.

Picture courtesy of Virginia Lindsay of ginia18

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.”

My name is Lauren and I’m a Professional flutist by night, Etsy seller by day, I love to create jewelry and meditation malas inspired by yoga, the earth and my dreams.

I am a conservatory trained musician with a love for performing both classical and experimental chamber music. Only last summer I was inspired to create my own malas for my meditation practice, which then led to also creating jewelry and eventually opening an Etsy shop. It is a wonderful outlet for me, as I have always loved art and receive great satisfaction from creating with my hands.

I am also an avid blogger, free spirit, aspiring yogini and lover of the indie lifestyle! Presently, I live in New Jersey with my husband and my dog

Visit Jewels of Saraswati

By Contributing Columnist Pam aka ElectricPenquin
Starting out as a new jewelry seller on Etsy last August was not the experience I thought it would be! I expected simple, easy, no work at all. Ha ha, I know, you’re all laughing at my innocence!! But I managed to get up and running and have sold over 60 pieces so far so I must be doing something right! Here’s the full confessions of what I did as I got started.

- Compared other shop’s similar products to mine
This was really useful – you can see what they charge for an equivalent item and its quality. It definitely helps with setting up your pricing and item descriptions. I discovered what I liked and didn’t like about their descriptions and tags. For example, I realized I wouldn’t buy an item if it didn’t mention the size or materials, so I made sure that info was in my descriptions. This is also useful for researching what’s out in Etsyland. I found in looking that there was one type of item that had many fewer postings than others. I created a line of them and that’s what I’ve sold the most of!

- Was totally disorganized
When I started, all my inventory was in snack sized plastic bags, and stored in a drawer in my china cabinet. I couldn’t find anything! New things would get thrown in on top, and I had no idea if I was out of a certain component or finding. Next came labeled one cup plastic containers. Better but still messy, and I didn’t have enough storage space for as many as I needed. I finally invested in some inexpensive flat divided plastic storage boxes. The items are boxed in groups (seed beads in one box with each color in a separate compartment, ceramic beads in another). Each compartment is labeled if needed, and the boxes are labeled with painters tape on both the top and side. That helped a lot! I now know what I have and don’t have, and can find it easily. There was a lot I had forgotten was in the drawer! Definitely plan out your organization, but be flexible when you realize that just isn’t cutting it.

- Borrowed policies from other shops
I browsed through probably hundreds, and reused ideas I liked from their policies. Then I combined all those thoughts into my own. See, it wasn’t stealing, more like idea sharing!

- Lurked on the Forums
Read, read, read, read and read some more. I started with the Etsy FAQ’s and all the info on opening a store. I tried to search for the answers to my questions before asking – almost everything has been asked previously. Read the Storques. I’ve found the Etsyian “GoTo” to be a wealth of information you can’t find elsewhere, especially technical things like getting Google Analytics set up. I read up on what tagging is and how to do it correctly so it’s picked up in searches (and you don’t have to redo them later). But once you have your shop set up, posting on the forums is really important to do if you want to be noticed. I read in silence for a long time before I caught on to that!

- Surfed other shop’s sold items
This is the best way to see if there’s actually a market for what you want to sell. See how many of that type/style of item have sold.

- Expected selling to be a breeze
Not!! It has been much more work than I ever anticipated, even with doing all the preparation I thought I had done. Promoting, relisting, renewing, updating the inventory spreadsheet, posting in the forums, and on and on. Don’t even get me started on the picture taking – that’s a full time job in itself!! But it all needs to be done if you’re going to get your name out there. You’ll be invisible otherwise.

And after all that? The biggest one of all…

- Was not anywhere near as prepared as I thought (or should be!)
No matter how much research I did, my products were not as good when I opened as they are now. Nor were my pictures bright enough. They’re still not front page quality yet! Worse was the great idea I had that was totally unique (and still is great and unique!!!), which I expected to be a huge hit with buyers. Not the case – I’ve only sold a few through the shop. I’ve sold several to friends and family, so they appear to be pieces that you really need to see to appreciate. But I forged ahead with new ideas and have done fairly well. And it’s fun!!

If you go into opening an Etsy shop with your eyes open and as prepared as you can be, you should have no problem succeeding!

Pic Courtesy of Eluna Jewelry of the Lonely Jewelers Team (Eluna is one of my team members!)