(Belated) Feature Friday: Nicole's Homemade Treats

Ok, so I totally spaced out this Friday, and I completely forgot to put up the Feature Friday post! I don't even have an excuse, I wasn't even super busy-I just plain forgot! My apologies to Nicole, who I had interviewed last week.  Her shop is a bit different from most found on Etsy, because she makes things you can actually eat!! And my, do they look tasty! I think I might need to order something with dark chocolate soon! (Hey, it's organic, and dark chocolate is good for you, so they say...)

First and foremost, what is it that you make/sell?

Preservative free, all natural, homemade chocolates, candy and granola. I try to use mainly organic ingredients.

What do you most enjoy about your craft?

The smell of the chocolate when I am "creating" and the pleasure people get out of eating my product.

How has your experience on Etsy been?

Etsy has been a great venue - as with everything, it is not perfect, but what is! I am able to have a "website" to sell my
products and do not have to worry about site maintenance. I have met some wonderful people and purchased amazing items!!!

What would you like to see from the CNY Etsy Group in the future?

I think as a group we need to do more promotion, I wish more members participated in the forum and other venues.

Thanks so much Nicole, for the interview and for not even complaining when I forgot to put up the post!!!

Make sure to visit Nicole's shop to order a batch of delicious chocolate goodies, and check out her blog to learn more!!

June Events

If anyone has any upcoming events, sales in your shop, treasuries, artsy things going on around town, ANYTHING of interest to our group, let me know via email at luckalilly@yahoo.com. (two l's at the end! I'll email you back to let you know I got it, if I don't email you, I probably didn't get yours.)   I'm going to be putting another post together about these upcoming events.  

Thanks!

-Caroline

Feature Friday: Originals By Lauren

Finally another Feature Friday post! I know it's been a while, but I had a down internet connection, as well as some other things going on that prevented me from getting it done!

This week, I interviewed Lauren from Originals By Lauren.  She sews beautiful quilts, aprons and more.  Her shop is coming up on it's one year anniversary this month, and she has over one hundred sales to show for it! Congratulations, Lauren! 

First and foremost, what is it that you make/sell?

I sew and make jewelry. My items are original designs, and I make everything I sell. My main focus is on quilts, aprons and potholders. I have a little bit of sterling silver and copper jewelry too, but I am primarily a seamstress.

What do you most enjoy about your craft?

I love to sew. I enjoy picking out fabrics, mixing prints, and coming up with new items. I have been sewing since 6th grade, and I still love to try new things.

How has your experience on Etsy been?

I joined etsy on May 1 of last year, but started listing items on May 23, so I am coming up on 1 year of sales. I looked around for a few weeks to see what sells and what doesn't. I originally was going to focus on jewelry and saw how saturated etsy was with jewelry and changed my focus, and it has worked out well. My sales started out slowly, and I dropped items that didn't sell and focused on the ones that did, and around the holidays things started to take off for me. I belong to 2 teams and really enjoy being on etsy. I have sold things as far away as Fiji and Australia, and as close as New Hartford.

What would you like to see from the CNY Etsy Group in the future?

I am so glad that our local team was formed. I loved meeting other etsy sellers in person, love the postcard, and look forward to going to some of the shows to meet more members. I no longer do craft shows, but still think I can get alot out of this group. I started a team thread and hope more members begin to stop by. It can be a great tool for bouncing ideas off each other and sharing successes. This is a great group and I think together we can enjoy alot of success.

To see more of Lauren's work, visit her Etsy Shop,  and don't forget to check out her blog!

Also, Lauren can answer any other questions from the team in the "comments" section below!

Upcoming Events!

Ok, ok, so instead of the usual "Feature Friday" post, I went ahead and did something a little different this week.   I put together a list of upcoming events/shows/sales team members are participating in.  I know everyone is super-busy promoting their shops around town, and so I thought if we had one place where they were all promoted it would be easier to get out and support each other!!  I'm thinking this might become a monthly thing for the blog.  *If you have an event coming up in May thats not listed here, just convo or email me, and I can add it! I put this list together somewhat last-minute, and I'm sure there are more things going on that I missed!*

Ok so here is the list!

• Cathy will have a table set up at the "Ted Moore Walk and Run" at MVCC on Saturday, May 2. She will be promoting her Lotus-Butterfly Project Items at this event, and the donations go to the Mohawk Valley Council on Alchohol and Addictions. 
• Lynn's paintings are being featured at the Oriskany Library through the month of May.  The artist's reception on May 7.  More info about the event on her blog.
• I (Luckalilly) am going to be in a Pottery/Jewelry sale at "The Other Side" next to Domenico's Cafe on Genesee Street on Sunday, May 3 from 11 am to 5 pm.  I am also participating in a Bridal Expo at Angela and Co. Hair Salon  on Commercial Drive in New Hartford on the same day from Noon to 3 pm. 
• Nicole will be having a sale soon, so check back for more details!
  

Again, if anyone has any more upcoming events, be sure to let me know so I can post them here!!

Feature Friday: Ecoleeko

This week, I thought that it was about time we got to know the person who is responsible for getting this whole group started! Therefore, this week's featured shop owner is Sue from Ecoleeko.  She makes adorable eco-friendly little critters for kids! Check out her interview to learn more!

First and foremost, what is it that you make/sell?

I make colorful fun eco-friendly plush dolls, soft baby rattles and bath mitts. I use all natural fabrics like organic cotton blends and bamboo fleece and use all natural fillings, threads and yarns. I hand dye and print all the fabric with low impact fiber active dyes to get the bright colors. I make everything by hand and sell Ecoleeko through my website, my etsy site, through various retail stores across the U.S., Canada and soon at the Hamilton farmers market in Hamilton NY this summer starting in May! The market will be a first so I hope it goes well. I am in the process of making and designing the displays.

www.ecoleeko.com
www.ecoleeko.etsy.com


What do you most enjoy about your craft?

I love working with all natural materials, fabrics, designing fun stuff and love to sew, so it merges everything I love! Kids toys are fun and colorful to design and I enjoy researching new animals or insects and trying to come up with an interesting way to make them. I also love the freedom to come up with new designs, play with color combinations & research new natural or recycled materials whether it be for my items or for packaging and wrapping. It's really exciting developing a small business yourself.


How has your experience on Etsy been?

Etsy has been amazing. I started my own website, but also felt like Etsy could be a great venue to sell through as well. I find that it is a wonderful venue to network. I've been introduced to a lot of wholesale accounts, press and blog interest through Etsy, as well as meeting great people and other Etsians! It's a great way for anyone who wants to sell their handmade items to have their own shop and feel their way through.


What would you like to see from the CNY Etsy Group in the future?

I'm really happy to see how far we've come already! Postcards are getting printed and our first show coming up is pretty great. Also the volunteering that everyone is helping with shows that the team has some really great people who want the group to prosper, which is wonderful.
I hope in the future to see more shows or more group events. I want other members to feel free to organize an event for the team on their own if they have an idea they feel would be fun. I'd like to see events in various places, like shows in different towns. We'll see!

Thanks so much, Sue, for starting the CNY Etsy Team and being responsible for all the great things that our team is now doing as a result! 

To see more of Sue's work, visit her Etsy Shop or her website, and don't forget to check out her blog!

As usual, Sue can answer any other questions from the team in the "comments" section below!

Feature Friday: Spongetta

Its Friday already?? AND we had two sunny/ almost warm days in a row up here in Central New York?  Lucky us! This week's feature is Spongetta, a shop comprised of two women who love to sew and quilt, Betsy and Sara.  Together they have built an impressively successful shop with loads of sales all over the world-very inspirational!

First and foremost, what is it that you make/sell?
Spongetta is known for the ring purses and stockings predominantly, but Betsy and Sara are both quilters at heart. Sara employs more traditional techniques and fabrics. Two of her quilts are currently available in the store. Betsy has been side-tracked from a love of piecing unexpected textures and colors by the success of the bags. Most of the fabric for the purses has been found in the back of fabric stores, pulled out of trunks in the attic of various friends and family members or are repurposed clothing.

What do you most enjoy about your craft?
Designing something unexpected by substituting a nontraditional fabric or technique to make a piece that is unusual or one of kind.

How has your experience on Etsy been?
Etsy has been an amazing experience. I (Betsy) had been selling at local craft shows with family members and could not give my items away in Upstate New York. The Etsy store opened up an international marketplace and helped me to find an outlet in places I did not dream I could reach. Most of my sales are to Texas, California and Toronto. For someone living in such a rural area with limited resources, this has been astounding.

What would you like to see from the CNY Etsy Group in the future?
I look forward to more opportunities to meet in person with others who are making and selling their items. So much is gained when we all share in that creative energy.

To visit Spongetta's shop, click here.

If you have any additional questions for either of the lovely ladies, feel free to ask them in the comments section below (or just leave a note about how cool their stuff is!!)

Feature Friday: Beaded Bird

This week's featured seller is actually a group of 3 talented ladies, known together as Beaded Bird Design.  It was very interesting to hear about how they got started selling their beautiful jewelry on Etsy together - read on to learn more (ps-they have free shipping ALL THE TIME!)

First and foremost, what is it that you make/sell?

Actually there are three of us in Beaded Bird Design LLC, Barbara, Tara and me, Patti. I had two close friends who both created beautiful and well-made jewelry. One of them approached me about the idea of going into business mostly so she could start to pay for her hobby. I thought about the other friend and well, as they say, the rest is history.

So to answer your question, we make one-of-a-kind jewelry, no two pieces are ever exactly alike. Tara is a graphic designer and makes jewelry from found objects, keys, old baby pajama buttons and stuff like that. She works with mostly darkened chains such as Vintage brass or antiqued sterling and natural stones such as amazonite and jade. Barbara uses her attention to detail as an RN and applies it to metal work. She weaves chain maille, hand-forges sterling, hammers copper, solders her own chain designs and is at times concerned she might burn her house down!

I will eventually also design jewelry, but for now I am busy doing the photography for our site, the marketing and book work.


What do you most enjoy about your craft?

All of us love the creative outlet. Tara loves the design aspect of jewelry making. She would love to set up ideas and have the Assembly Fairy appear and “poof” - done! Barbara loves the nuts and bolts of assembling her elegant and modernistic designs. Give her a tiny hammer and a piece of metal and she is in her element. I enjoy coming up with the names for the pieces of jewelry and trying to write an engaging story about each piece.


How has your experience on Etsy been?

It has been surprising. We intended to have our own web site, but etsy has made it so easy to sell through their site that we have focused our energies there. We have made some sales, which we are happy with since we mainly want to sell in craft shows and to friends. So overall we are thrilled. It is easy to use and fun!

What would you like to see from the CNY Etsy Group in the future?

We loved getting together and meeting the other local artisans. We would like to be involved in more face to face interactions and are also looking forward to the craft show season and working together to promote the hand-made lifestyle.

To see more of Beaded Bird Designs jewelry, visit their Etsy shop!

If you have any more questions for the girls, just ask them here on the blog in a comment!