Etsy Artist Feature: Solis Handmade Jewelry

So once again, it's time for another feature of one of my talented, local Etsy teammates. This time, solisjewelry! She makes very beautiful silver and gold-plated crystal jewelry, among other fabulous stuff. You'll fall for each piece...I just know it!

Remember to go visit her shop and show some Etsy love. Click on her header, below, to check it all out!

Tell us about how you started making jewelry.

It began as a therapeutic and creative outlet while recuperating from Interstitial Cystitis, a chronic illness I was diagnosed with in late 2007. At first I just gave the jewelry away to friends, but I soon started selling and volunteering at a local boutique in Nelson, BC, where I was living at the time.

How did you end up on Etsy?
  
While volunteering at that boutique, my co-workers encouraged me to try etsy. Since I moved back to Vancouver, BC, I have been selling exclusively on etsy, with plans to expand to a few local boutiques and to try craft fairs.

There are a LOT of jewelry sellers on Etsy. How do you compete?
  
I use high quality materials and spend a lot of effort making sure the pieces are sturdy despite how delicate they appear. I am also constantly trying to approve my photos as I think that is the best way to get noticed on etsy.

What do you think makes you stand out from all the others?
 
While in Nelson, I came to appreciate the notion of healing crystals. The mountains there are sunny and filled with quartz crystal, which some say contributes to the serene and healing atmosphere there. That atmosphere, and the process of making jewelry really helped renew my optimism in a very negative time for me. I try to infuse my pieces with that spirit of healing and renewal, hence the inspiration for my line’s name, Sol Invictus, “The Unconquered Sun”.

Tell us about an average day for you.
 
I wake up, walk Aggie my Jack Russell, check my shop, answer convos, mail any orders, and try to do a blog post every day. I don’t design every day, but when I do I am most creative at night.

What do you use for inspiration?
 
I find inspiration in nature, specifically crystals, and in fashion and art.

Share one business tip with all the Etsy sellers out there.
 
Don’t buy materials unless you have a plan for them! It can get expensive really fast.

Do you sell in any other venues?
 
I currently sell only on etsy.

Do you have a blog or any other social media people can check out?
 
My blog is at http://solisjewelry.blogspot.com, my twitter is http://twitter.com/solisjewelry, and my facebook is http://facebook.com/solisjewelry. Come say hi on any one of these sites. I always welcome new twitter friends!


And finally, what's your favorite thing in your Etsy shop and why?
 
My favorite item would have to be one of my single plated crystal pendants http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37382773. They are so simple and naturally beautiful. Quartz is said to bring about healing and to amplify positive energies. Call me crazy, but I feel a little of that power when I wear one!

Thanks so much, solisjewelry!

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Etsy Artist Feature: wildheather!

So it's time for another feature of one of my talented, local Etsy teammates. 

This time, it is Heather of Wild Heather Handcrafted. She makes lovely, handcrafted silver, semi-precious stone and crystal jewelry.

Make sure to check her shop and blog out and join her on Twitter. Show the Etsy love!! Click on her shop header below to head on over to her shop.

On to the interview!!

Tell us about how you started making jewelry.

I have dabbled in many different arts: tole painting, ceramics, watercolours, photography.  It wasn’t until the last few years that I really found my niche.  In the summer of 2006, I went into one of my all-time favourite Victoria shops and was looking at all the beautiful sparkly things and wishing that I knew what to do to put them together. I finally got up my courage and put a few things on a tray.  When I had an idea in my mind what I wanted them to look like, I asked a staff member if she could put them together for me.  Reluctantly, she said, “I could, but then I would have to charge you a design fee.  However, if I put one together to show you how to do it, and then you put the other one together, I wouldn’t have to charge you anything!”  So she did, and that is what started this whole obsession.  At first, I was making them just for myself, and had no thoughts about selling.  Then, people at work started commenting on my jewellery, and asking about buying it.  So I bit the bullet and took a basket of earrings (that was all I made in the beginning) to work, and at the end of the week, I had almost $300 in sales!  I haven’t really ever looked back since.

How did you end up on Etsy?

Hmm...I don’t quite remember, to be honest!  I think it’s because a friend through LiveJournal turned me onto it.  She does wonderful steampunk jewelery (nullalux.etsy.com) and I started investigating it and decided to try it.  It’s been about 18 months now, and I have made a lot of great friends, even if I haven’t totally set the jewellery world on fire.... (yet!)

There are a LOT of jewelry sellers on Etsy. How do you compete?

That’s a really good question.  It’s definitely a saturated category.  I do my best to create items that I think women like me will love...I buy my materials wholesale now, and so I am able to keep my price points reasonable while still using the best quality stones pearls and crystals I can afford.  

What do you think makes you stand out from all the others?

I would hope that my style helps me to stand out somewhat, as well as my unwillingness to cave to trends or slash my prices to barely cost plus just to get sales.  As I said, I think I try my best to create items that women like me will love.
What do I mean by women like me?  Forty, funky and fearless!  Women who know how and when to channel their inner diva (or their ‘true redhead’)!  Women who enjoy classically styled jewellery with just a little funky edge. In the New Year, I plan to consolidate my look a lot more by offering a ‘collection’ for spring.  Included in that will be coordinating pieces, including bracelets in a style that is relatively rare on Etsy, but that have proven popular with everyone who’s seen them. 


Tell us about an average day for you.

Ha!  Nothing about my days is average!  Some days I am making jewellery all day or all night long; sometimes days go by before I pick up my tools. I am a total random abstract creative thinker!  Nothing lateral or linear here!  One thing that is constant though: I check my email while I wait for the coffee to brew! 

What do you use for inspiration?

I take my inspirations from classic movie stars like both the Hepburns, Aver Gartner, Rita Hayworth, Natalie Wood.  I am also a singer and a real music lover, so I have named pieces after classic songs, whether they are from movie musicals of the 40s and 50s (My Romance, Blue Skies) or modern rock icons like Stevie Nicks, Cher and Deborah Harry of Blondie (Heart of Glass, Gypsies Tramps and Thieves and Gypsy!)  One other art form that I have continued to express myself through is my photography, and I have chosen some of my best photographs to list in my shop as well.  I love the beauty of this wild province of ours (British Columbia) and the wonders of Nature inspire me.  I take my camera with me whenever I go walking with my two lovely dogs, and sometimes I see things that inspire me to create, other times I just see things that I absolutely HAVE to photograph.

Share one business tip with all the Etsy sellers out there.

Whatever is your media, try to keep something with you at all times that reflect it, and that draws attention to you.  Pick something that people will notice.  When they comment, let them know that you made it, you sell it, and give them a business card!  I can’t stress enough how important it is to have some kind of pre-printed media with your contact information and shop name on it!  I kick myself for having run out of business cards at this busy time of year when everyone is buying! 

Do you sell in any other venues?

Yes...I have merchandise available for sale at Arbutus Emporium in Qualicum Beach, and in the New Year I will again have items at the Clothesline Consignment in Cloverdale and at Crush Clothing Company in Grandview Corners. 

Do you have a blog or any other social media people can check out?

Do I ever!  I LOVE social media!  I have a Facebook fan page (for WildHeather Handcrafted), a Twitter account (I’m wildheather there), and a blog! 


What's the one thing in your Etsy shop that you think would make a fantastic Christmas present?

All of it!  Seriously, though...I think the “Many Hearts” bracelet would be a magnificent present for anyone you love.  I will soon have a pink version in my shop, but only in time for local shopping.  Look for more in spring fashion colours!

Here's Heather, hard at work:

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Etsy Artist Feature: DeanDymentStudios!

Welcome to my first feature of a wonderful, local Etsy artist. She's Lori Dean Dyment, and she works out of Richmond, BC Canada!

On her Etsy profile, she says: "Born and raised in Vancouver I went to Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design where I fell in love with printmaking.  I have my own press at home where I create linocuts, collographs, drypoints and monotypes. Monotypes make up the majority of my work and are really just paintings printed onto paper."

Click her header below to go to her shop. Show some love!

So I'll get right to the interview!

Tell us about how you started creating art.

I’ve had the urge to create for as long as I can remember. Actually, I feel like a huge part of my life is missing when I’m not creating so it has been like breathing to me, it’s necessary.
I took every art course available in high school and later went to Emily Carr Institute of Art where I studied printmaking. After graduating, I got a press for use in my own home.

How did you end up on Etsy?

I found out about Etsy in a home decor magazine as a great venue to buy artwork. I had been looking for a way to create some income from my artwork while staying at home with my children.

There are quite a few artists on Etsy. How do you compete?

I find this very hard because there are so many great artists on the site and you can get something amazing for very little money. I try my best to be seen in the masses by listing an item daily. As well, I keep a current Facebook fanpage with interesting links, a blog in which I weekly feature other Etsy sellers and then I use Twitter to post links to my shop and connect with other sellers/artists.

What do you think makes you stand out from all the others?

I think my artwork is a bit different from the majority of pieces on Etsy. and it doesn’t really fit the “Etsy look”. The reductive monotype medium I use is rarely seen on the site, so you’ll definitely find something unique in my shop. I think the thing that probably makes me stand out from others is the quality and skill in my artwork. As well, I believe the authenticity of my work shows through. I create pieces that mean something special to me and are not merely one-offs of the same image in a different color.

Tell us about an average day for you.

An average day involves taking my kids to school, making lunches, cleaning house, doing laundry, playing pretend, reading stories and tucking everyone into bed. In between, when I get a couple free minutes, I check in on my shop and follow up on links and emails. Once the kids are asleep, I am able to spend a few hours working in the studio or updating my shop. I’m looking forward to the average eight hour day in the studio.

What do you use for inspiration?

I find inspiration in so many different places but I tend to gravitate towards ideas and imagery around children and animals. I especially enjoy looking through children’s storybooks for subject matter and variety of techniques.

Share one business tip with all the Etsy sellers out there.

I have found using Stumble Upon for tweeting my latest listing has really helped to increase traffic to my shop.

Do you sell in any other venues?

I have a shop with Artfire as well as various shop windows to my Etsy such as Dooreen, Big Cartel and Soopsee.

Do you have a blog or any other social media people can check out?

I have a:

Facebook fanpage: http://tr.im/mwvp

Blog: http://ldeandyment-soiwasthinking.blogspot.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldeandyment
Inkteraction:http://inkteraction.ning.com/profile/LoriDeanDyment
Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/photos/ldeandyment/

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