Artist Spotlight-The Wildasins

Meet Aaron and Nicole Wildasin, a husband and wife team of multi-talented artists and owners of The Wildasins shop on Etsy. Aaron & Nicole were kind enough to answer a few questions for us AND they were also awesome enough to pass along a coupon code just for you-my fabulous readers!Use code ADORNED15 for 15% off anything in their shop! You can also find The Wildasins- On their Website, their Photography Blog, their Food Blog and on Facebook

Early Morning Light Fine Art Print

                                                                  
Please tell us a little bit about yourselves…

We are Aaron and Nicole Wildasin, a husband and wife team of photographers, designers, and artisans. We've known each other since 6th grade, went to college together, and now live with our two awesome cats in Denver, Colorado. We run our Etsy shop with the branding of Live Beautifully where we sell all natural handmade body products, fine art prints, and handmade antique brass jewelry.   

You have multiple product lines-can you tell us what appeals to you about each of these mediums & if you have a favorite?

Summer Fields Solid Perfume

 



















It's too hard to pick a favorite medium :) We both have a degree in graphic design and I suppose the artist in us enjoys photography the most. Being able to express yourself visually, blending and interacting with reality and how you can perceive it is one of the coolest things and our fine art photography helps satisfy that.  

Foggy Ferris Dream Fine Art Print

     
 That being said, we absolutely adore our live beautifully body product line and want to see it grow exponentially! We didn't set out to be perfumers and body product artisans, it happened really organically and out of the blue and it hooked us right away. It was so much fun designing the overall look and feel of the brand, styling each scent's photo shoot to convey the smell and personality of each line… Not to mention, making and experimenting with scents!

The handmade jewelry that we feature on our site is the creative achievement of my (Nicole's) mother, Shoshana Drummer. She has such wonderful style and unique designs for her jewelry, when she asked us to help her sell them, we knew they would just fit in beautifully with the overall vintage french boutique look and feel of our store. Photographing and modeling her jewelry was amazing. We love the soft, feminine feel of every piece.

Sweet Cream & Berries Lip Balm

When/how did you make the decision to open a shop on Etsy?

There are so many amazing and talented artists and crafters on Etsy. It started with being super inspired, then growing slightly jealous of those out there who were able to just jump for it and put their work out there. Being successful doing what you love for yourself is the most rewarding thing in the world and it's worth working towards.                                                                   

What is your favorite part of running a business with your spouse? What do you find most challenging?

The best thing about working with each other on our business is we both know that we have the same set of goals, principals, and aesthetic. We can rely on each other whole-heartedly and put our trust in each other. That, and having your best friend on hand at any time for a laugh, a critique, or a break is awesome!

Antique Brass Earrings

 The worst or hardest thing that we have found is knowing when to turn off the work and just be ourselves, husband and wife, again. We spend most of our day being partners and co-workers, it's hard to snap out of at the end of the day. It's super important to make sure you set aside time for yourselves to just be you not working, not thinking about the million little things you have to do.

Dark Gossamer Wings Fine Art Print

How do you promote your work?

We're learning what works and what doesn't work right now. Unfortunately, being a smaller start up business, we don't necessarily have the funds for advertisements. We rely on our Facebook page, word of mouth, wonderful blog friends who help us promote, and Etsy's marketing tools. Renewing items on Etsy is super helpful. We've noticed the most views at our store after continual renewals. Now that spring is almost here, we will definitely be trying our hand at craft shows and art fairs in the Denver area.

Fine Art Print Nature Botanical, Blue

 

















Do you have any advice or tips for artists wanting to start their own business?

Know what you want to sell and be true to yourself and your artistic abilities and style. There are a LOT of sellers on Etsy and it can be hard to differentiate yourself. Be unique without copying other's work and ideas and take really good pictures of your work! There is a lot of poor photography on Etsy and it can hurt your chances of a sale. Also - have a plan in mind for your business! Know where you want your business to go, can it be sold in brick and mortar stores as well? How can you expand or handle large amounts of sales? Knowing the answers to these questions, or at least thinking about them, before you even begin is a great step.

Cotton Candy Dreaming Lip Balm

Where do you want to be in five years?

Hopefully, we will be doing more of what we love but on an even grander scale! When you passionately believe in something as strongly as we do about our business and our products, failure is simply not an option. We see us growing our body product line and being in brick and mortar stores nation-wide. We see needing to hire on extra help down the road to keep up with demand. Hopefully, these all come true and we can keep living our dream and working together doing what we love!

Is there anything else you want people to know about you?

We love to cook together and try to make something super awesome and unique about once a week. We chronicle our cooking adventures with lovely food photography and printable recipe cards on our food blog, 'food, beautifully' which is here: foodbeautifully.blogspot.com/  We are avid hikers and love the mountains of Denver! We just moved here late last year from Cleveland, Ohio and we are just so unbelievably more inspired here. The sunshine, the fresh air, it really helps to be somewhere that you love to feel more at peace with yourself. Our cats think it's pretty awesome here, too!

Solid Lotion Bars Sweet Strawberry Honeysuckle

Artist Spotlight-The Orange Windmill Handbound Leather Journals & Notebooks

Meet Shirley Lynne the artist and shop owner behind The Orange Windmill.  This talented creator of gorgeous leather journals, housewife and stay-at-home-mom, has graciously lent us some of her precious free time to tell us a little more about herself and her Etsy Shop-The Orange Windmill. Click on the link above to visit her gorgeous shop, drop by her Facebook Page & grab a coupon code or follow her on Twitter.



Lime Green Embossed Leather Journal Gift Set
















 Please tell us a little bit about yourself:
My name is Shirley, and I live in Hamilton, Ontario. I am a housewife and stay-at-home-mom to two extraordinary children. I started The Orange Windmill in August 2011 selling handmade leather journals. Before I became a mom, I worked in the administration field. My ideal job would be to work in an old library, full of classics and manuscripts, with the smell of the pages lingering all around... mmm...

How did you first get started making journals?
I wanted to buy a journal, since the journal I had been using was almost full. I started looking around, and then my husband said to me, "Why don't you make a journal, instead of buying it?" And that started it all! Although, I did take my time in researching the different styles of binding, covers, paper, etc. before I made my first journal. And after I made that journal, I knew I was going to open up shop, selling them - I LOVED it.


Shiny Black Embossed Leather Journal



Can you walk us through your creative process?
My creative process is pretty much the same for each journal, it doesn't matter what size it is. I play with what colour of leather I want to use, and which colour thread and closure I want to use, and how many pages. Then I cut the leather down to the size I need. The pages are then torn down to size. I measure and poke the holes in the leather and pages. Then the binding begins (my favourite part!). Then I make and "install" the closure. And, Voila! It really is sort of cut and dry.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? 
My inspiration really comes from the leather. Almost every day, you can find me looking at different colours and styles of leather, finding the pieces I want to work with. When I get the leather, I look at the piece I need to cut to form the cover, and it all blooms from there.


Small Mocha Leather Journal


 

What’s your favorite part about running your own business? What do you find most difficult?
My favourite part about running my own business is the enjoyment that my customers get out of the journals I make for them. There's nothing like that feeling of accomplishment, knowing that people will pay me their hard earned money for one of my journals!
The most difficult is finding time! My kids are 3 years old and 10 months old, and I don't have a lot of time for creating or networking or marketing, etc. So when I have that time, I have to be really careful not to let the time get away from me, and manage my time very well.




Blue Hardcover Coptic Stitch Journal


Do you have any advice or tips for artists wanting to start their own business?
I would tell anyone starting their own business (specifically a shop on Etsy) to get everything prepared first. Build up some inventory. Figure out your branding, your business cards, your shop banner and avatar, your policies, everything. Once that is all done, then open your shop.
Also, do what you LOVE to do. Don't create something just because it sells (even though that's tempting!). I could sell the items I paint. However, if they sell, I would have to make them over and over and over and over again, I would end up hating it! So do something you really enjoy doing, so that when you are doing it so often, it's not a chore.


Large Orange Handbound Leather Journal


Is there anything else that you would like people to know about you?
Here are a few things that I love: campfires (without the mosquitoes), burnt marshmallows, a good book, napping, classical music, and interior design.Thanks so much, Samantha, for giving me the chance to get to know you and your readers!



Turquoise Embossed Leather Journal Gift Set



Artist Snapshot-Seaurchin Ceramics and Sculptural Jewellery



 

Porcelain Dish 100-365 Dish a Day Project by Seaurchin























Meet Lisa Stevens of Seaurchin on Etsy, a mum,  model-maker for Aardman Animations and sculptor extraordinaire. Lisa was generous enough to take time out of her very busy schedule to answer some questions for us-so prepare yourself for a truly fascinating read! Click on the link above to visit her gorgeous shop, drop by Flicker and have a look at her amazing A Dish A Day 365 Project or join her on Twitter!

Please tell us a little bit about yourself 
I am Lisa Stevens, 36, married, mum to a six year old boy and two year old girl who keep me very busy :) Before becoming a mum I was one of the senior sculptors for Aardman Animations, sculpting plasticine puppets for feature films such as Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit - Curse of the Wererabbit, which, apart from being immensely satisfying, was great fun. I hope to go back to it sometime.

Porcelain Dish 37-365 Dish a Day Project

How did you first get started sculpting /what most appeals to you about it?
Sculpting...I guess I sort of fell into that! I have always been creative, but found that I enjoyed all aspects of art and craft, so I found it hard to focus on one discipline. I studied Theatre Design at college, but after a trip to the Aardman Studios, I put all my effort into securing a job there. Whilst there, we had the opportunity to study a further craft in evening classes and again, as the sculpture class was full, I ended up in ceramics. It was a great loosening up exercise after the detailed, tight, and sometimes stressful day to day sculpting at work. Since leaving work, I have found I can earn a small amount of money from my ceramics, and every little bit helps ;) I love the texture of clay and I am obsessed with surface texture, which I find relaxing. Glazing, especially when working with glass or metal oxides can be unpredictable and I love opening the kiln to see what treasures await! I am often pleasantly surprised (seldom disappointed) by what I find.

Porcelain Dish 123-365 Dish a Day Project by Seaurchin 




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Can you walk us through your creative process?
My creative process.... I'm a bit of a ' let's make a start and see what happens' type of person. I don't make sketches and I often don't know how the piece will turn out. I make beads and bowls in batches, which I bisque fire. Sometimes pieces need a sand, which I try to avoid as it is a tedious job, especially the pierced pieces...the holes need to be tidied before glazing. As the pieces are small, I paint glazes on rather than dipping, but that gives me more control. Sometimes glass beads are added to the pieces, which melt during firing. A few pieces will be fired once more at a lower temperature with metallic lustre's or fused beads of glass.

Porcelain Dish 85365 Dish a Day

Of all your work-which piece is your favorite right now and why?
My favourite pieces are usually the latest pieces. I love the pieces with glass in them; there is so much depth to them. I also love the very thin, textured pieces of porcelain which have such wonderful translucence and luminosity when held up to the light. I have 'lighting' on my to do list... It is a very long list though. Right now, my favourite piece is a low dish, only out of the kiln two days ago. It has loads of craters filled with seawater-like glass and a sandy body. There are random piercings around the edge as the craters get smaller.

Porcelain Dot Pendant-Green Gloss by Seaurchin on Etsy

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when you find yourself in a creative rut?
I feel ill if I don't have time to create! I try to do a little bit of work every day, with my favourite part being the texturing....but I do love the glaze firings. I have so many ideas on my to do list, although I often find I start something I hadn't thought of before when I actually get my hands on the clay. I wish I didn't have to sleep! I really would work all night if I could. So far I haven't had a creative block....mostly I find I am inspired just by the clay in my hands. Lucky I guess!

Porcelain Dish 25365 Dish a Day Project

How have you handled the business side of being an artist?
The business side is the part I find difficult. I find it hard to focus on a particular idea and stick with it, which means I tend to make one-off pieces. I would rather make a series of pieces which I can re-list once sold. I am trying to do that with my new 'dot' cabochons and pendants. What I think I am good at, and I sincerely hope I am, is customer service. I answer questions and ship parcels as soon as I can and pack my pieces well. In over a thousand sales, I have only had one breakage...and I've learned from that!



Porcelain Pendant Turquoise and Ivory Feathers




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Do you have any advice for artists wanting to start their own business?For artists wanting to start their own business, Etsy is a great place to start. Just getting your work out into the public domain is a great way to see what works, and what no-one has an interest in. Do what you love, price pieces realistically, be polite to customers (even behind their backs on Twitter!), join networking sites and generally engage with other crafters and artists. Oh and one very important point, if you're selling on line. please take good, clear photos!

Charity Listing Porcelain Dish 36-365

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Is there anything else you want people to know about you?Anything else I want people to know about me? Humm....my ideal job, although I don't think it is done this way any more in the digital age, would be a forensic sculptor, recreating faces on skulls. Slightly morbid, but absolutely fascinating! 

Porcelain and Glass Black Current Coral Flatback



Porcelain Dish 47-365 Dish a Day Project by Seaurchin on Etsy

Porcelain Pendant Cobalt Chrysanthemum



Artist Snapshot-Red Brick Glass

Wendy Jeavons of Red Brick Glass on Etsy was kind enough to answer a few questions for us. She makes absolutely gorgeous glass decorations and gifts. Visit her shop on Etsy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/redbrickglass or check out her website at: www.redbrickglass.co.uk

 

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

From my studio Red Brick Glass on the Dorset coast, I make rather gorgeous handmade kiln formed glass products such as bunting, fairy lights and lanterns. My studio is in a converted outbuilding at home where I live with my husband and three children.

What inspired you to start creating with glass/what appeals to you about this particular medium?

Glass is a magical material. It is unique in terms of colour and transparency and when lit it seems to come alive. I gained a 1st class honours degree in Glass and Architectural Glass from Edinburgh College of Art in 2000.




Blue Glass Bunting by Red Brick Glass



Can you walk us through your creative process?

To make my glass products I start my cutting glass sheets into my shapes. The glass is then fused together in my kiln. When the glass is cool I then apply my screen printed patterns to the glass. These are then put back into the kiln. All my glass is then finished by hand and can be engraved with personal messages.

How did you come up with your shop/business name? Is there a story behind it?

In 2002 I received funding from the Crafts Council's Setting Up Scheme. I set up my first studio in a tiny red brick building so it became The Red Brick Glass Studio, and my business Red Brick Glass.

What piece are you most proud of?

I love the glass products I make and am very proud to be running my own business and being a mummy to three small children.





Pink Petal Fairy Lights



Where do you want to be in 5 years?

In 5 years time I will still be making gorgeous glass goodies, and I hope people are still buying them. I have a little dream to have my own retail outlets, but there is plenty of time for that.



Is there anything else you want people to know about you?

Here are a few things that make me smile: Log fires, blossom, fish finger sandwiches, running, beach huts, my bell tent, polka dots, fresh eggs from her chickens, weeping willows, stripy deck-chairs, the aga, eating al fresco, family duvet days, the sound of seagulls, my pink radio, stars and Benny my Morris Minor.

Blossom Glass Fairy Lights in Blue by Red Brick Glass

Artist Snapshot-Ozetta Handmade Knits

Meet Hailey of Ozetta Handmade Knits on Etsy 

Hailey was kind enough to take time out of her busy designing/knitting/making schedule to sit down and answer some questions for us. I really enjoyed getting to know more about her and I am certain you will too! Click on the link above to visit her gorgeous Etsy Shop and drop by her Blog or swing by Tumblr to check out her 365 Project!

Please tell us a little bit about yourself

Hello! My name is Hailey, the proprietor behind Ozetta handmade knits. I grew up and currently live in a small town in Oklahoma. I married my high school/elementary school sweetheart and we were blessed by a little boy almost two years ago.

The Alaskan Infinity Scarf-Oatmeal

How did you first get started knitting…what appeals to you about this particular medium?

I started crocheting when I was ten years old, but took a long break from it and picked up knitting. However, I have found that both are equally important in this industry. So, I do both. This art form appeals to me because you start with yarn and needles. That's it. And with great care and process I begin to create something. It's amazing what you can create with so little and make something so extraordinary. When I work on an order, I like to look at it as something entirely different than just an order. It means so much more to me than that. Each piece I create is full of meaning, love, and high attention to detail. According to my father-in-law I am building a piece. And I guess in reality, I really am.

Can you walk us through your creative process? Every season is like a new beginning to me. I get to add to my previous collection and sometimes that proves to be a challenge. I sketch, decide what colors to use, create sample swatches of patterns, and build on the foundation of all things knit and crochet.

 

The Aztec Chevron Chunky Cowl-Cilantro

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I constantly draw inspiration from this beautiful world-Nature. Music. Fashion. Words. Photography. Family. I once lived in Alaska for a short year of my life and very few places have been close in comparison. You may notice a lot of the titles in my shop are named after places; it's my personal way of having a piece of Alaska with me. My handmade items are mostly named after cities, bodies of water, and small towns that make up Alaska. This cold and mountainous place made a huge mark on my life and I wanted a part of it to always belong in my shop.

How/when did you decide to start your own business?

Ozetta handmade knits is deeply inspired from my great grandmother. My grandmother taught me how to crochet, among many other things, and most importantly she showed me to lead by her example in life and that was to do what makes me happy. When she passed away a few years ago, I stepped back and took a look at my life and where I was heading. I was heading down the monotonous path and I wanted to become something greater than ordinary. I wanted to make something of my time and myself, just as she did.

The Montana Infinity Loop Scarf-Citron

How did you come up with your shop/business name? Is there a meaning or story behind it?

Ozetta is the middle name of my great grandmother. What's surprising is the name was never really an issue; I always knew my shop was going to be Ozetta. My Memaw was the brightest person in any room. She had the best advice, was so very patient, and dropped subtle hints of what she knew you could become. She would always say "little Hailey, you can do anything". I would sometimes stay for weeks with her in the summer months. We would wake up early to cook a huge breakfast for the two of us, watch movies, curl up in her handmade quilts while crocheting and talking talking talking. I think she always knew what I could become with my creative abilities. I wish she could see the skill that she alone taught me from just a chain stitch, has grown into something bigger than maybe even she imagined. Well, maybe she knew all along.

  

What’s your favorite part about running your own business? What do you find most difficult?

Being able to stay at home with my little boy has been the absolute best outcome I could have imagined. I love being my own boss, having time to be a wife and mama, and being able to make things full time. I am my best person when I create. The most difficult (and I should add, the most fun as well) is the holiday months. Being the sole person behind Ozetta can be exhausting but is rewarding at the same time. To be able to say that I alone have sent out every order in my shop, well, it’s quite amazing.

 

The Selawik Cowl Button Wrap-Pumpkin

How do you promote your work?

I promote on Etsy, my blog, and my 365 project. I also build relationships in the Etsy community and have found amazing friends through there.

Do you have any advice or tips for artists wanting to start their own business? If you fail, try try again. Do not give up. Take perfect pictures, have a unique shop name, and keep your shop organized and up to date.
Where do you want to be in five years?Exactly where I am now but even more successful every month.
Is there anything else that you want people to know about you?
A quote that has always stuck with me is “a dream deferred will hurt you over time”-Michael Emerson (most of you may know him as Ben on the TV show LOST). When I heard this quote I was even more determined to make my dream reality. What was I waiting for?

 

The Kobuk Chunky Scarf-Grey Marble



Artist Snapshot-Elegance Farm Homestead

Meet John and Jane, the husband and wife design team behind Elegance Farm Homestead on Etsy. Both have degrees in science (John in Chemistry and Jane in Biology and Environmental Science) and work full time in science fields...

Once the owner of a victorian home restoration company, John is now a research chemist, but still loves creating things with wood. Jane, a full-time children’s science book editor by trade, has always been crafty. She can’t walk away from a pile of great fabrics, and has been known to make her share of quilts, dresses, and drapes. She also has another Etsy shop where she sells her personalized beaded book thong bookmarks (that’s right, book thongs!). You can check it out at http://www.elegancefarm.etsy.com/

Tell Us a Little Bit About Yourselves…

We are John and Jane, husband and wife, living in a turn-of-the-century colonial farmhouse in NJ. We love to make things together! We both have degrees in science and work full time in science fields.
Being creative in our shop is a fun opportunity to use the other halves of our brains. We work really well together and are celebrating another wedding anniversary next weekend! We also love to grow lots of our own fruits and veggies – even corn on our front lawn; luckily the neighbors like it, especially at harvest time. That’s why we used the name “homestead” in our shop title.

When we are not banging wood together or working, we enjoy hanging out with our families, including our 12 nieces and nephews, whom we adore. The oldest just left this week to start studying at Harvard, and he'll be hanging a magnet board in his dorm room, the oldest building on campus!

How did you get started designing & making memo boards?

Our niece Mary Cate was actually the inspiration for this new business. She liked the idea of a magnet board because her teacher had one, but Mary Cate wanted a pretty one with bright colors for her bedroom . John got to work in the shop and I went shopping for fabric. Voila, our new business was born. We opened the shop in mid-February 2011

Would you walk us through your creative process?

We love the look of really simple design, letting the material speak for itself. Whenever we see great fabric, we make sure to grab it. We are inspired by elegant cottage style and think it is reflected in the selection of items in our shop.

We individually handcraft each memo board frame from hardwood using our original design. We are currently offering four different sizes of frames for our boards, and each one can come in the customer's choice of wood color and fabric. Customers can also order custom sizes for frames. We pick fabrics that are either really rich and neutral or crisp and vibrant in order to appeal to a range of tastes.

John does most of the woodworking with me as his assistant. We work in our basement shop or out in the yard and garage when the weather is nice. John does not use nails or screws and the pieces fit together like a glove. Together we cut and apply the decorative molding, paint or wax the frame, and assemble the final piece. I photograph each board and do the Etsy listings and customer service. I think what we are most proud of is the quality of John’s construction and the duality of the magnet boards. They are both functional and artistic, with the decorator’s fabric complementing a home’s décor. We love knowing that we are giving a really well-made product to every customer that will be a special addition to their home. We also love offering an unpainted frame option: natural beeswax and carnauba oil finish. We are glad that we can use natural products like these instead of solvent-based finishes.

What has been the most gratifying part of running your own business?

Happy customers! We have started selling to brides for their wedding escort card displays and knowing that the board will be used on their special day is an honor.

We love hearing the little back stories of how our boards are being used: for a Mum in the UK who is in a home and can't use a pin board due to shaky hands but still wants a place to display her postcards;

a young girl getting a bedroom makeover; an adoptive family bringing home 2 daughters from Africa, adding to their family of 5, who need a wall organizer for the paperwork and photos. These are the stories that we LOVE to hear. Each board is unique and special to us and we take lots of care in making each one.

What advice would you give small business owners who are just starting out?

LOVE LOVE LOVE what you make, and love what you do! Don't make something because you think it will sell. Make something that you feel passionate about. Tell your story in your product descriptions; people who buy handmade like to connect with the seller and feel like it is more than a manufactured product. Also, keep records of all expenses from day 1, and keep all your receipts.

Don't undercharge for your items, either. You must account for your time to photograph and list an item, package it (up to an hour for a deluxe board), shop for materials, and still make a profit if you want to do this as a business. When we started out we added up the cost of materials for each board, right down to the glue, dowels, magnets, and paint and followed a formula for what we wanted to earn per hour (each board takes about 4 hours to make, at least). Charging a fair price makes it easy for us to take our careful time with each board and to never rush a job.

What are your best marketing tips?

Great customer service. We treat each customer with our full attention to all the details of their order, from the time they place their order to the time it ships. We all love special attention, right? And people remember that. Since we really love what we do, it is a joy to interact with the customers and create something for their home, office, or wedding. Word of mouth is also great. It is not in our nature to talk about our business or hand out cards to everyone we know, but we are starting to do that more and more. Since we work full-time in addition to running this shop, we don't have much time for blog posts, giveaways, or social networking. We were featured in the Etsy Finds email, and that sure boosted sales and shop hits. It also seems like our product is selling well on Etsy since there are not many shops offering custom made boards. Because we hand make the frames, we can create them in any size a customer wants, to fill the exact wall space they have in their home. Filling a niche is a great way to succeed.

What are your plans for the future of your business?

Cork boards, magnetic chalkboards, wedding table numbers in frames, magnetic picture frames, and on and on!! There is just not enough time in the day. But we will slowly get these into the shop.

We daydream of being able to “quit our day jobs” and create things full time (while living on a farm next to the bay, of course. Hey, we can dream, right?!)