Featured Etsy Artist: Sugar Village

Featured Etsy Artist: Sugar Village

1. What is your shop name and what do you sell?
Sugar Village. I sell small, original watercolor paintings.

2. What is your shop URL?
http://www.sugarvillage.etsy.com/

3. What is your blog URL?
http://wanderingnancy.blogspot.com/

4. When did you start selling on Etsy?
October 22, 2008

5. What is your favorite thing about Etsy?
That it's a place to find unique, one of a kind, handmade items. The community is also very nice and helpful.

6. What is your favorite thing about what you sell?
The process. I love coming up with new ideas and imagining what the creatures of Sugar Village would be doing.

7. What is your favorite item in your own shop and why?
My Giraffe and Flowers piece (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16513239) because it was the painting that made me realize I wanted to continue to make these little paintings and share them with other people. So it was basically the first Sugar Village resident.

8. What teams do you belong to?
None at the moment

9. What is the most fun thing you do to promote your shop?
I created my own business cards and I have mailed a few to other Etsy members that offered to promote. I also have Twitter, Myspace, Facebook and Flickr accounts, as well as my personal blog.

10. What are some of your favorite finds by other sellers on Etsy?
Vintage cameras by Domistikate http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5363986
The animal portraits of BerkleyIllustration http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5404421
The feminine necklaces by RachelleD http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5139840

11. What do you do in your spare time?
Photography, bake and spend time with my geeky husband and weird sheltie.

12. What blogs do you follow?
I follow many blogs! Just to name a few favorites are:
http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com/
http://decor8blog.com/
http://prettyinthecity.blogspot.com/

13. Do you have anything else you would like to share?
Nope, just thank you!

Featured Etsy Shop: Simply Sophia

Featured Etsy Shop: Simply Sophia

1. What is your shop name and what do you sell?
My shop is named Simply Sophia and it specialized in handmade hair clips, tutu's and accessories for the baby in your life.

2. What is your shop URL?
http://www.simplysophia.etsy.com/

3. What is your blog URL?
http://www.simplysophiababy.blogspot.com/

4. When did you start selling on Etsy?
I started in December 2006 with my friend. We had a mishmash of great items, but I decided to open my own shop with just baby items in July 2007.

5. What is your favorite thing about Etsy?
I love searching for items for sale. I just love all of the wonderful items that are out there. I love buying things from my daughter.

6. What is your favorite thing about what you sell?
I love knowing that parents can enjoy my products. There is nothing better than buying something for your child and seeing the expression on their face when they see it. I try to think of that when I create my items.

7. What is your favorite item in your own shop and why?
Right now, it's my newest item. It's completely different from anything I've ever done before but I think that it came out fantastic! Its a Forest Fun Car Mat / Felt Board.

The car mat features a forest scene, complete with a lake, cozy cabin, a parking lot, and trees. When they get tired of car play, take out your felt pieces and flip the mat over for lots of open ended learning activities.

8. What teams do you belong to?
None right now.

9. What is the most fun thing you do to promote your shop?
I love having people show me their shops on the forums. I enjoy looking at everything. If someone stops by my shop, great! If not, I still enjoyed taking a peek in a shop that I may never have known about.

10. What are some of your favorite finds by other sellers on Etsy?
I had bought a pair of Baby Leggings by MonkeyLegs and I love them! I bought them in February for my then 9 month old and they still fit her at 17 months. She loves wearing them too.

I also adore the Dichroic Pendants by Luv2Have. They are just gorgeous! I drool over them.

11. What do you do in your spare time?
I either craft or I spend time with my daughter. I'm introducing her to the fascinating world of crafting. Right now we're just coloring, finger painting and making making play dough but she's learning a lot.

12. What blogs do you follow?
It's not an Etsy blog, but it's a blog about art activities for young children. It's very detailed and easy to follow. I highly recommend it!
http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/

13. Do you have anything else you would like to share?
I would like to share my website:
http://simplysophia.biz/
and
http://www.myspace.com/simplysophiababy

Featured Etsy Artist: Bellflower Textiles

Etsy Artist Feature: Bellflower Textiles

1. What is your shop name and what do you sell?
My shop is BellflowerTextiles, and I sell embellished toddler and baby clothing, felt floral hairclips, burpcloths and baby accessories, wall quilts, and home accents. All of my items incorporate gorgeous, high-quality quilting fabric and traditional quilting elements into unique, modern designs.

2. What is your shop URL?
http://bellflowertextiles.etsy.com/

3. What is your blog URL?
http://growingnotes.blogspot.com/

4. When did you start selling on Etsy?
I joined in September, 2008, so I'm brand new! So far business is going great.

5. What is your favorite thing about Etsy?
I love how simple Etsy makes it to set up a professional looking shop, and also how easy it is to connect with a fantastic community of talented crafters.

6. What is your favorite thing about what you sell?
Getting to play creatively with beautiful colored fabric and then share it with other people. I love the excitement of posting a new item and watching to see how many views it get or who marks it as a favorite. And I love the sense of playfulness in many of my items, such as my toddler dragon tees or my rubber duck onesies.

7. What is your favorite item in your own shop and why?
I love my sea monster toddler tee: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15681900. It's fun and playful and the colors are great. I make these in all sizes and colors!

8. What teams do you belong to?
I'm a proud member of the Seattle EtsyRain team, and a member of Team Etsybaby and Team Etsymom.

9. What is the most fun thing you do to promote your shop?
I love promoting in flickr -- I try to add my products regularly to a bunch of appropriate groups so they get a lot of views. My flickr site is http://www.flickr.com/photos/bellflowertextiles/.

10. What are some of your favorite finds by other sellers on Etsy?
Here are a few of my current favorites:

Pretty little doll quilt: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15930153
Platypus placemats: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15502573
Tabby cat travel pillows: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13876364
Black and white quilt: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5253063

11. What do you do in your spare time?
I have a toddler so I have very little free time, but when I'm not parenting, sewing, crafting, photographing new items, processing photos, or blogging I like to read, garden, and cook. I'm an obsessive tomato grower and make a killer homemade tomato sauce. I try to read a book a week.

12. What blogs do you follow?
Way too many!! A few of my current favorites are Crazy Mom Quilts (http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/), Cool Mom Picks (http://www.coolmompicks.com/), Sew Mama Sew (http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/), and Sweet Figments (http://sweetfigments.blogspot.com/).

13. Do you have anything else you would like to share? Thank you so much for featuring me!