Yes. You are welcome.
Don’t miss a single post.
Follow this blog: Click here
Want to receive the latest Simply Shiny post via email? Click here
Want to be notified of subscriber only sales and other special events from ShinyAdornments? Sign up for my newsletter.
Shiny Spotlight Thursday
There are some really talented artists, designers and creators that sell their handmade items on Artfire and etsy. I thought it might be nice to highlight some of the things that caught my eye this week while browsing.
Clicking on each image will link you to the seller of each item, if you decide you simply must purchase it.
If you haven’t opened an account on etsy to purchase handmade items, you really should. Also, if you haven’t checked out Artfire in a while, you can find some really unique gifts on the site. . Artfire doesn’t require you to open an account to purchase handmade goods. Easy peasy.
According to Consumer Reports “spending on pet products remains robust. Consumer Reports Money Adviser recently reported that total sales topped $43 billion in 2008, and a 4.9 percent increase is expected this year, according to the American Pet Products Association. We spend an average of $1,035 on a cat and $1,580 on a medium-sized dog in the first year of ownership.”
Handmade pet items available on etsy and artfire range from leashes to biscuits. This week’s Shiny Spotlight is devoted to handmade for your favorite four legged pal.
Moda Roses Quilted Dog collar from Spoiled Bratzwear
Cat Snuggle Bed from Photogirl 95
Stinky Pawz Natural Dog Shampoo Bar
Mini S’Mores Dog Treats from Diva Dog Bakery
Leather Collar from Dog Collars
Catnip Eyeballs from HannaPT
Beef Personalized Dog Biscuits from Kb Originals etc
Happy Shopping everyone!
Look for the Shiny Spotlight every Thursday.
Don’t miss a single post.
Follow this blog: Click here
Want to receive the latest Simply Shiny post via email? Click here
Want to be notified of subscriber only sales and other special events from ShinyAdornments? Sign up for my newsletter.
From time to time, I profile etsy and artfire artisans. Today’s profile belongs to Maurice from Sewelson Woodcrafts. Maurice makes the most amazing turned bowls and vessels. Honestly, ‘craft’ doesn’t even come close to describing the artistry in these vessels. They are stunning in their duality: both intracate as well as simple. My birthday is in November for all of you reading this. hint hint.
Etsy shop name: Sewelsonwoodcraft
Website: www.sewelsondesigns.com
Location: Sebring, Florida
Your first name: Maurice
Why wood turning?
I love wood. As a material it is unmatched in its warmth and variety. I also have always admired vessels of all types. With wood turning one can be involved with woodworki9ng in a spontaneous manner. Not as much planning is involved with this craft. It also can be calming experience, almost hypnotic.
Where did you start.
Growing up on Long Island, N.Y, my first job was in commercial marquetry (inlay with wood). There I learned many techniques to incorporate into my current work. I am self taught in all my endeavors.
What are your favorite products.
Most of all enjoy making lidded turnings and boxes. Open pieces somehow always seem unfinished to me.
What was your favorite.
The most rewarding project I remember was making matching urns for the entire family. They were to contain a family members ashes.
What inspires you.
Nature and ancient Asian artifacts. But I was first inspired to try wood turning after seeing the works of Mel Lindquist at the American Craft Museum in New York.
What was your biggest oops.
I’ve been very lucky with no major “oops”. Sometimes piece can fly off the lathe and do a heavy damage and thin walls or the vessel crack and split as wood dries.
How do you spend time.
Wood turning is my hobby. I am a vocational teacher. I work with mentally challenged young adults, teaching them woodworking. When I relax I like to play a guitar, watch a good movie and help my wife rescue feral cats.
Thanks Maurice!
How to Maintain a Healthy Level of Sanity at work
1) Page yourself over the intercom. Don’t disguise your voice.
2) Find out where your boss shops and buy exactly the same outfits. Wear them one day after you boss does. This is especially effective if your boss is a different gender.
3) Make up nicknames for all your coworkers and refer to them only by these names. “That’s a good point, Sparky.” “No, I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to disagree with you there, Cha-cha.”
4) Send e-mail to the rest of the company telling them exactly what you’re doing. For example: “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the bathroom.”
5) Hi-Lite your shoes. Tell people you haven’t lost them as much since you did this.
6) While sitting at your desk, soak your fingers in Palmolive liquid. Call everyone Madge.
7) Hang mosquito netting around your cubicle. When you emerge to get coffee or a printout or whatever, slap yourself randomly the whole way.
Put a chair facing a printer. Sit there all day and tell people you’re waiting for your document.
9) Every time someone asks you to do something, anything, ask them if they want fries with that.
10) Send e-mail back and forth to yourself engaging yourself in an intellectual debate. Forward the mail to a co-worker and ask her to settle the disagreement.
11) Encourage your colleagues to join you in a little synchronized chair-dancing.
12) Put your trash can on your desk. Label it “IN.”
13) Feign an unnatural and hysterical fear of staplers.
14) Send e-mail messages saying there’s free pizza or donuts or cake in the lunch room. When people drift back to work complaining that they found none, lean back, pat your stomach and say, “Oh you’ve got to be faster than that.”
15) Put decaf in the coffee maker for three weeks. Once everyone has withdrawn from caffeine addiction, switch to espresso.
Don’t miss a single post.
Follow this blog: Click here
Want to receive the latest Simply Shiny post via email? Click here
Want to be notified of subscriber only sales and other special events from ShinyAdornments? Sign up for my newsletter.
Shiny Spotlight Thursday
There are some really talented artists, designers and creators that sell their handmade items on Artfire and etsy. I thought it might be nice to highlight some of the things that caught my eye this week while browsing.
Clicking on each image will link you to the seller of each item, if you decide you simply must purchase it.
If you haven’t opened an account on etsy to purchase handmade items, you really should. Also, if you haven’t checked out Artfire in a while, you can find some really unique gifts on the site. . Artfire doesn’t require you to open an account to purchase handmade goods. Easy peasy.
I’m devoting this week’s Shiny Spotlight to handmade stuff that makes you smell good. Stock up… smelling good never goes out of style.
Mango and Papaya Shea Butter and Goat Milk Soap from SoapDeli
Tahitian Tiare Flower Body Frosting from Verbena Custom Blends
Raspberry Vanilla Musk Soap from Pegasus Handmade Soaps
Patchouli Bath Bomb from Layla
Sandalwood Vanilla Soap from Simply Sweet Soaps
Happy Shopping everyone!
Look for the Shiny Spotlight every Thursday.
Don’t miss a single post.
Follow this blog: Click here
Want to receive the latest Simply Shiny post via email? Click here
Want to be notified of subscriber only sales and other special events from ShinyAdornments? Sign up for my newsletter.
I’ve had the idea for this pendant for a while. Just didn’t have any soldering skills to actually be able to make it. I like the idea of the symbol for man encased inside the heart.
Some of the components were pictured in this blog post about my silversmithing class projects.
Here is what the hearts looked like after soldering and hammering, but before I shined and tumbled them.
And here is the finished product. The sterling silver box chain is 18 inches long. Available in my artfire and etsy shops.
PS – The heart with the symbol for woman is in the works. I should have some completed soon and in my shops.
From time to time, I profile etsy and artfire artisans. Today’s profile belongs to Bev from La Paperie & Cozy. Bev makes leatherbound handmade journals, among other things. There is just something warm, tactile and wonderful about her creations.
Artfire Studio Name: http://lapaperie.artfire.com
Etsy shop name: http://lapaperie.etsy.com
Website: La Paperie & Cozy
Where else can we find you and your work? http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lapaperie
Blog: http://lapaperie.wordpress.com
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
Your first name: Beverly
Bev says “La Paperie & Cozy is a small one-woman bindery by the sea in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada. Each book is unique and completely handmade, and often surrounded by cups of tea, three happy cats, and BBC dramas – so all my books are infused with lots of love and felicity! I spend a lot of time selecting beautiful leathers (often times left-over pieces, given a new lease on life) and creating original style combinations to make journal “haute couture.” My books pay homage to favourite authors and classic literary greats, perfect for any enthusiastic literati. ”
Why journals?
This love of creativity has always been with me, and I’ve nurtured it over the years. My love of books started at an early age. After reading The Diary Ann Frank at the age of 10, I started keeping journals (as I’m sure a lot of little girls did), which I’ve done every year of my life since. I’ve always believed that “journal writing is a voyage to the interior.” I remember collecting and obsessing over journals. And guess what? I still do! In my quest for the ‘perfect’ journal over the years, I decided to create my own, and share my love of the blank-book with others. Leather journals have always been my diary of choice, and so I engaged in a self-study of the craft. After a few custom orders from family and friends, and at the suggestion of many, I decided to give my handbound books a wider wing-span, and offer them on my Etsy shop. In 2007, with the support of my husband, I quit my day job at a local newspaper and my little shop, La Paperie & Cozy, was born!
Where did you start and how did you learn to make the products you are creating today?
I hit the books! Yes. I read books to learn how to make books. Rather fitting, non? So yes, I’m self-taught. I have always wanted to make my own journals (due to going through journals at the speed of lightening with my insane writing habits) and so for over the course of a year, whenever I had spare time, I had my nose stuck in a book learning the ins and outs of bookbinding.
What was your favorite custom project for a buyer?
I love working with different closures, so I’d have to say my favorite custom projects are ones where I am asked to come up with a unique closure for a book. An example is my original mother-of-pearl shell peg closure – I came up with this one when a customer sent me a shell peg and asked if I could make a journal closure out of it. I did and now I incorporate it in my shop as a regular feature…it’s one of my favorite closures!
What inspires you? Any artists that influence you?
Many things inspire me! With my journals I’d have to say it’s my favourite classic authors and my great ardor for books in general. I can almost imagine literary greats of centuries past writing in handmade journals like these… Jane Austen writing notes as she walks in the pretty wilderness behind her house, annotating her next great work, Pride & Prejudice. Or a young Charles Dickens reminds himself in his journal to incorporate the comic villainy of Mr. Jingle in his first novel, The Pickwick Papers. Inspired by these literary masterminds, my journals’ first pages pay homage to these outstanding writers and some of their best quotes! When it comes to my art, I’m inspired by the simplistic beauty that is in everyday objects and situations.
How do you spend time when you are NOT creating?
When I’m not making books, I can be found with my nose stuck in a good book (most likely a well-loved classic), volunteering in the community, spending time with family and friends, wandering about nature on foot or by canoe or kayak with camera in hand, painting and drawing, wilderness camping, viewing my multitudinous BBC period drama collection, blogging, strumming my guitar, singing back-up for a local recording studio, and writing in a journal of course! My husband and I also love working on our home, which we purchased back in 2006. It needed a lot of TLC, and it’s been a pleasure slowly turning it into the home of our dreams.
What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
If you are looking to start selling your craft as a sole source of income, it’s very important to do your homework. Research everything! A hobby is one thing, but if you are counting on it as a source of income, it’s important to get all your ducks in a row before starting. It’s hard work but can also be very rewarding. Tell others about what you do, because enthusiasm for your product really goes a long way and it’s contagious. Most importantly, have fun with it! Good clear photos and good descriptions are a major advantage, due to the fact visual impact is so important when it comes to selling/buying online.
Where have you been published or profiled?
I have had the privilege of being featured on my many blogs on handmade and eco-friendly items. Also, my business was featured in a full-page newspaper article in Dec. ’08, which was a rewarding experience (see article here: http://www.novanewsnow.com/
Thanks Bev!
I REALLY needed a bracelet mandrel, but just haven’t gotten around to ordering one. I own most of the Rio catalog, you’d think I’d have purchased one by now. No, ’tis not the case.
My S.O. has one of those kinds of garages. You know the kind. A bit of this, a bit of that. Saving all sorts of paraphernalia for a rainy day. So, I figured I’d ask hubby if he had anything suitable I could use.
I was on the look out for a large wooden dowel or a discarded piece of plumping pipe. Instead, I spied a steel pipe looking thing. It was perfect… it is about 40mm at one end and then tapers down to around 25 or so at the other. I asked him if I could use ‘that’. He gave me a weird look and then proceeded to tell me what it was.
This is what I found.
Its the casing from a 40mm C130 bofors cannon round from the plane below.
And here it is proudly sitting on my work bench.
Oh, and did I mention? Works like a charm. Like it was DESIGNED to be a bracelet mandrel.
I’m enjoying week two of my blog summer vacation.
I’ll be back posting away on Monday.
Have a great week everyone!
more...
