Indie/Pretty/Perfect

Katrin Schwulst ... Dresden, Germany

2008-09-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

Artist: Katrin Schwulst
Business: seasprayblue
Web sites: seasprayblue.com, seasprayblue.etsy.com, seasprayblue.dawanda.deLocation: Dresden, Germany

What do you create?
I create Illustrations and offer them as prints, cards and compiled into a calendar at the end of the year.

Where and when do you do your creative work?

Whenever I have a new image in mind and have some time, I go to my couch. I turn on the TV and look for some useless TV-shows. This is the best position and the best surrounding for me to concentrate on my drawings.

Do you have another "day job"?
I work in an architectural office and am busy with drawing construction plans and doing calculations all day. It sounds boring but for me, not at all. When I was in school I was addicted to math. Also I’ve always dreamed of designing a tiny house for me and my family some day.

Where and what did you study?
I’m not an architect, although I really would like to be one. I studied civil engineering at the Technical University of Dresden with a focus on environmental planning and sustainable infrastucture. I know it sounds naive, but I always wanted to make the world little nicer and healthier to live in.

Where do you find inspiration?
Most of my inspirations come from listening to music or happen in the very moment when I close my eyes before falling asleep. The most impressive pictures I keep in mind until I wake up. I also find new images while going for a walk or when I’m on the train.

What motivates you?
As an artist I find it very motivating to finish a new illustration and find a great title for it. Receiving positive feedback from others is very motivating too.

When did you start doing this?
I created my first image in august 2007. By September I found myself lying on the couch each evening creating a new illustration.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I remember one picture I made in kindergarten. Each kid had to paint a tree. I drew a birch tree that really caught the eye of my teacher. She was so impressed that two of the branches crossed each other – so she really celebrated it. I didn’t tell her that this only happened because my brush slipped.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
In summer 2007 I had a lot of time together with my 8-month-old son. So I borrowed some magazines from the local library. I skimmed through the pages and found in one edition of “PAGE” a story about the ‘Seven Web Wonders'. Number three on that list was Etsy. I was so impressed by this platform where everybody can offer his own handmade products. I got so excited and decided that I wanted to be part of this community. In July 2008 I registered to sell on both Etsy and Dawanda (the European version). It’s strange, but after that I never heard or read anything about Etsy or Dawanda in the press again. I guess that is was just a fantastic coincidence.

How did you choose the name for your business?
The name ‘seasprayblue’ was chosen long before I started my art business. In 2000 I had a crush on a boy who was studying in the same class that I was. Part of my strategy of getting to know him was writing him an email. Of course, I needed a very special and well chosen new email address to write him this note. So I rememberd a few words from the song that we had to dance to in our modern dance course. They came from the song “Ode to the Sea” written by Pablo Neruda: ...says yes – in blue – in sea spray – raging... The name stuck with me through the years.

A book you love:
Actually I don’t read that many books. Sometimes it takes ages just to finish one. But I love murder mysteries – especially from the Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason. Some years ago I read The Catcher in the Rye from Salinger, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol – from A to B and back again from Warhol himself and The Hotel New Hampshire from John Irving and loved them all.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I speak Swedish.

What achievement are you most proud of?
There isn’t just one thing. I am proud of my University degree, my little son and the fact that I haven’t drawn a lot in the past but am now getting such huge amounts of positive feedback.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Everyone has potential to create something special. Before you start find out what it is and then try, try, try! You will get better at it with time. Also, when you’re going through a dry spell, you should look back on your achievements and develop fresh, new ideas.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Writing messages for my illustrations. I love to make people laugh, smile, dream and think about my images.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I like drawing, meeting good friends for ice cream, listening to music, biking, laughing with my son, watching movies, going out to dance, reading. The last two things I haven’t done for ages.

What are you working on right now?
Another artist interview for Dawanda (I hope that I will finish that one faster). I’m designing my own web site, and fortunately I have a little helper for that. I’m also developing ideas for Christmas illustrations and creating a cover image for the legendary Moleskine books. I collaborate with Modofly who sell these designed Moleskine books on Etsy. I also was asked by an indie band from California if I could design the cover of their next album. I wish that my days were two hours longer than everyone else’s days; that would be great. Could someone please arrange that for me?

What do you hope to achieve next?
I would like to attend a workshop in screen printing and doing something in that field too. And as a mother I think about creating a small zine for kids, which I could offer in several languages.

Kristiana Pärn ... New York, USA

2008-07-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Artist: Kristiana Pärn
Business: Krisblues (on Etsy)
Web site: kristianaparn.com
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA

What do you create?
"Hey Kristiana, what's new?" asked one of my long lost friends recently.
"I paint harmless creatures," I wrote.
"And the creatures are never capable of even the slightest harm?" he asked.
"No harm," I replied.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I live and work at a studio apartment in Brooklyn, New York. I tend to be a night-owl but I also love early mornings. These two extremes are my favorite times to be creative. Once the sun is high up in the sky I like to be in sync with the city life.

Do you have another "day job"?
I don't have a day job at this time. About three years back I started to get more freelance work and I loved the lifestyle that came with it. Having time to think and take care of myself was important. With less money the quantity became quality and using intuition as a guidance made a great impact on who I have become today. Jobs are great but you have to love what you do, or find it challenging.

Where and what did you study?
First attempt to find myself a profession was to study accounting and I did so in Estonia. Feeling unsatisfied with the accounting life I decided to let the profession find me instead. I took painting lessons from a local painter and that's where things became more serious. I left Estonia in search for something new. Being an artist is like being in an art school for life. So, I am still in school...

Where do you find inspiration?
Ideas sneak up to me so quietly that I never quite seem to understand from where or how they come. Everything around me is so inspiring. The city, colors, people, seasons, and memories to name just a few.

What motivates you?
Success and feeling of accomplishment are great motivation.

When did you start doing this?
Painting harmless creatures? It was spring of 2004, I lived in Kew Gardens, Queens at the time. It was during my great escape from Manhattan. I had very little then but everything I had meant so much. I think it was the time I discovered what it means to be happy and free and creating art was part of the process.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I was more interested in playing with sand, rocks, sculpting with moss and clay or making things grow. I can't remember being into drawing or painting that much, though I loved, loved looking at drawings in encyclopedias and trying to copy them as well as I could.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I don't know if I can call it a business, it might as well be the art of making a living. I try to be business-like as little as I can, although I know that selling work is a way to continue doing what I love.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I am still choosing my business name. It's a tough one. My current Etsy store name is "Krisblues", which is put together from my name, Kris, and one of my favorite shades, blue.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I really enjoy working with colors. I feel like my artwork often speaks through hues. For example: combination of earthy light blue and dusty yellow creates a feeling of safety and love; once the blue becomes more green or turquoise, though, the peacefulness changes into restlessness and feeling of wanting to understand. I could go on...

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Living in New York City is fascinating. I love how ugly here becomes beautiful, how large things feel small. Cultures, communities, tolerance, ignorance, dark and light existing all together.

A book you love:
Naked Came I – a biography of Auguste Rodin by David Weiss.

Also, I used to have a Hungarian fairy tale book called The Magic Flute by Emil Kolozsvar Grandpierre, which my father would read to me every night. One of the stories, about a needle and an egg traveling around the world, must have been pretty good because I asked for it over and over. I also remember a tale of a king who had one eye crying and another laughing at the same time... fairytales fascinate me.

What achievement are you most proud of?
Ever since I received a painting from my grandfather for my sixth birthday (it was a funny picture of two rabbits interviewing one another with an old tape recorder) I've wanted to be able to draw like him. I wanted to be able to create whimsical pictures for grown-ups. And that's exactly what I do now. I'm happy that I've followed my heart.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Do what you love.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Asking money for what I do. Art and money have a relationship I don't quite get still.

What do you love to do in your free time?
When I'm not working I love getting on my bike and riding around Brooklyn, stopping in different neighborhoods, absorbing the different lifestyles and meeting new people — or just observing them: people-watching is great. I also like going to galleries and markets, watching movies, seeing live music, taking photographs, and spending time with friends.

What are you working on right now?
I am always working on few different projects at once. Right now I am getting ready for exhibits in Nashville, TN and one here in Park Slope at a store called Pink and Olive. This month I also have few commissioned pieces, and I'm always working on fun little graphic design/illustration projects – greeting cards, CD covers, posters.

What do you hope to achieve next?
The next big step? I wouldn't want to project too much but I think it is going to be a book for little kids and for already grown up children.

Ashley Akers ... Texas, USA

2008-07-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Artist: Ashley Akers
Business: Ashley Akers Jewelry
Web sites: ashleyakersjewelry.com, ashleyjewelry.etsy.com, ashleyakers.blogspot.com
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

What do you create?
Hand-fabricated jewelry with a modern, organic aesthetic. Mostly utilizing sterling silver, semi-precious gemstones and pebbles.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
Ideas are always brewing. When I come up with a design or even a component I have to sketch it. I have books full of sketches for jewelry designs going all the way back to my beginning jewelry class in college. Of course many of those have never come to fruition, so looking through them provides more inspiration. My studio is in my home and I work seven days a week and anytime of day based on what needs to get done. I do get up at the same time every day and get to work about the same time. I am a very much a schedule and habit-oriented person.

Do you have another "day job"?
I worked for seven years at a charming local garden shop, Home to Garden. I just got up enough courage to quit that job this past December. That move was one of the most exciting and scariest things I have ever done and I have absolutely no regrets. I do continue to work part time on my husband’s and my other endeavor, which is a landscaping and lawn care business.

Where and what did you study?
I studied at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas under master metalsmith and enameling genius Harlan Butt. I majored in jewelry and metal-smithing, and minored in anthropology, graduating with a BFA in 1999.

Where do you find inspiration?
My design process is very much informed by my materials. I will play around with gemstones and pebbles until I find a pleasing combination. The metalwork usually plays a supporting role to whatever material I employ for color and texture. I also get excited about trying out new materials like fiber or polymer clay. I feel like I gather inspiration from all around. I am a very visual person and cannot help but be inspired by my surroundings. I am attracted to pattern, both natural (plant structure, pebbles on the ground and wood grain) and man-made (textiles, recycled metal, and architecture). Color is a huge inspiration and ingredient in design for me. I love creating and surrounding myself with color combinations of all types. I have a love of mid-century modern design and I think that is reflected in the simplicity and organic lines of my metalwork.

What motivates you?
Motivation goes hand in hand with inspiration. I thrive on design challenges and definitely work better with deadlines, such as submissions for exhibitions.

When did you start doing this?
My first jewelry class was during my sophomore year of college in 1994 and I have never looked back. Wow, so 14 years ago.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I don’t remember a time of not being interested in creating things. My mother is an art teacher and fiber artist and my father is a talented wood worker. I always loved to paint and draw as a child. In high school I took watercolor classes and already knew that I wanted to learn to make jewelry.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I worked part time after graduating from college, but always did jewelry on the side. Before discovering Etsy I was selling at local craft fairs and to friends and family. I started my business out of a need to create and wanting to love what I do for a living.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I just used my name. I feel like it is important for my name to be associated with my work.

What do you love most about creating your work?
Gathering inspiration, designing, and the finished product. I enjoy the actual process of creation as well, but many jewelry-making tasks are quite tedious and unglamorous. The more enjoyable pieces for me to make are more complex and involved designs.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Definitely Mexico. I spent a month in Xalapa, Veracruz for a college anthropology course and was able to travel to Oaxaca as well. I love the indigenous crafts, the colors, cuisine and the warmth of the people in Mexico. I also aspire to travel throughout Latin America.

A book you love:
Rain of Gold by Victor Villasenor. I particularly like novels based on historical fact.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I am a plant-oholic. I can peruse public gardens, cool garden shops and gardening magazines endlessly. Even when I worked at Home to Garden I visited other garden shops while on vacation! I love succulents, cacti and agaves especially.

What achievement are you most proud of?
My college degree and taking the leap to quit my day job are my most proud achievements.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek advice from your peers and mentors. Try to join a group of fellow artisans. I am a member of the Etsy Metal street team, and I have learned so much in the past year and a half from my fellow Etsy Metal members. Their knowledge has been invaluable to me.
Also, be prepared to balance many different aspects of your business and do everything yourself in the beginning. You must serve as an accountant, marketer, customer service specialist, photographer, web designer, as well as designer and maker. Sometimes the creation part comes last, unfortunately.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Staying on task and off the computer!

What do you love to do in your free time?
Spending time with my husband and two dogs. Going to the bookstore to read magazines. Visiting the weekend flea market and local antique mall. Watching travel and food shows, preferably with the two combined. Favorites include Mexico One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless, No Reservations with Anthony Bordain and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmer. Seeing live music. Traveling, but don’t get to as often as I would like. Ditto for camping and swimming.

What are you working on right now?
I’m working on three trades with fellow Etsy Metal members. I am really enjoying building up a collection of jewelry by friends. I feel like these pieces will become heirlooms and each has a story behind it. I’m also working on several more involved pieces to enter into exhibitions.

What do you hope to achieve next?
Not so much one particular thing as the big picture. I hope to continue to be able to grow my business and be a self-supporting artist. I want to learn new techniques, improve my skills and have a successful lifelong career as a jewelry artist.

Robin McGauley ... Ontario, Canada

2008-05-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

Artist: Robin McGauley
Business: RDMdesign
Web site: rdmdesign.etsy.com
Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

What do you create?
I create little tiny pieces of wearable art – usually called jewellery.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I have a room in my house that is called my "art room". It is a great little spot for all my silversmithing equipment and jewelers bench. I create on my time off from work.

Do you have another "day job"?
I am an Ordained Minister with the United Church of Canada serving as Coordinator of Adult Programming at an Education and Retreat Centre called Five Oaks. I work for three weeks in this job and then have a whole week off to spend in my 'art room' creating (my husband and I call it 'tinkering'). I feel really lucky to have such a wonderful day job that allows me time to be creative and pursue my other interests.

Where and what did you study?
I have a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Religious Studies from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. I also have a Master of Divinity from the Vancouver School of Theology. It was while I was doing my Masters that I really felt a yearning to be an artist and use my hands. I was on internship in Nova Scotia and found out about the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design where they offer Continuing Education courses in jewellery making. I signed up for a full year of courses, and was hooked. I decided that after I graduated from my Masters I would take a year off to take more silversmithing and art classes. Since then I have taken courses at the Vancouver Community College and at the Haliburton School of the Arts to gain more skill in my craft.

Where do you find inspiration?
I actually find the materials and tools themselves to be quite inspiring. I am amazed at what metal can do. I feel like I am just beginning this journey as an artisan and so when I get a new tool or some new equipment I usually spent lots of time being inspired by what it can do, and what it can add to my work.

What motivates you?
I often feel like I don't have a choice but to be creative. When I don't spend time using my hands I start to feel uneasy, like I have too much bottled up energy.

When did you start doing this?
I took my first course almost six years ago.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I was a totally crafty kid. I did really badly in school as a child because instead of studying I would sit in my room and do arts and crafts. I used to make beaded necklaces all the time as a youth. It is funny though because I never took art classes, not even at school. That seems so strange to me now and I often regret that I didn't.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I really never envisioned selling my work. For a few years I just made on-of-a-kind pieces that I wasn't able to part with because they were so special to me. One day I decided that I had too much jewellery so I started making five or six pieces of the same design. I also started making rings that were too big for me so that I wouldn't keep them. I set up my store on Etsy because I had to get rid of these extra pieces somehow.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I actually wanted to be called 'Divine Design' but then I noticed that there is a TV show called that, so I had to come up with something else. RDM are my initials (Robin Donalda McGauley) – it just seemed to make sense and is also easy to stamp on to the back of my pieces.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love how relaxing it is to create. I experience creativity as meditation – time when I feel most grounded and myself.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I lived at a Castle in England for seven months where I did my first year of University. It was called Herstmonceux Castle and was built in 1441. There was a moat and everything!

A book you love:
My husband and I read The Tao of Pooh to each other before bed over the course of several weeks – it was so great!

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Given that I am a United Church Minister, people are usually surprised to hear that I am also a silversmith. But I think those who will be reading this interview would probably be more surprised by the fact that I am a minister.

What achievement are you most proud of?
At this point I am so proud (and am still pinching myself) that my work is being sold in the gift shop at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Trust that magical things can happen when you are doing what you love and yearn to do.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Being original. It is really hard to come up with a concept or a design that hasn't been done by somebody already.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I spend most of my free time creating.

What are you working on right now?
A couple of weeks ago I spent quite a bit of time designing some new pieces – mostly pendants. These pieces have multiple parts, some hollow, some stone settings, some combinations of silver, copper and brass. I was feeling the urge to create some things that are more complex and interesting since so far my designs have been quite simple I think. I am also working on a series of hollow rings of various shapes. My impulse has always been to bring things to a high polish finish, so with these rings I am trying to create a lot of texture on the silver first and then fabricate the rings.

What do you hope to achieve next?
My next goal is to be in a craft show – I haven't done that yet.

The Noisy Plume ... Arizona, USA

2008-05-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Artist: Jillian Susan Lukiwski
Business: The Noisy Plume
Web sites: thenoisyplume.etsy.com and thenoisyplume.blogspot.com
Location: Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation, Arizona

What do you create?
I create jewelry from sterling silver, copper, brass, and precious/semi-precious stones. Lots of it.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I work here at the Achii Hanyo Native Fish Facility (USFW) which is run by my husband (the head fish biologist). We live by ourselves on-station and I have a workshop outside in our gigantic Quonset. I have also claimed a room in our house for workspace. I am a night owl by nature, but Robert isn't so I usually work during normal 9-5 office hours so that we get to see each other at the end of the day.

Do you have another "day job"?
I quit my librarian position at the elementary school in town about 2 months ago to go full time with silver smithing. I miss reading books to the wee kiddies but can now see very clearly that I was living a high stress life when I was splitting my time between jewelry and the art of librarianship. I am much happier now. Perhaps healthier too?

Where and what did you study?
I attended the University of Saskatchewan in my hometown of Saskatoon, Canada but not long enough to finish an English degree since I decided to marry my man and moved to The States. That old scrap of paper documenting my intelligence haunts me constantly and I'm yenning to finish it up! I also attended a community college in Lake Havasu City, Arizona for 4 semesters to learn a few silver smithing basics as well as lapidary techniques. In terms of my craft, I am largely self-taught.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find plenty of inspiration in the stones I use in my pieces. I consider myself rather lucky to have studied silver smithing in the Southwest where more often than not, a piece is designed around stone, silver is allowed to be brightly polished to a blinding sheen, and color is paramount. Southwest style is right up my alley. When I find a big free form cut cabochon in an amazing color, or struck with a fantastic matrix... I can't help but be flooded with inspiration. I'm also inspired by shapes I see in nature, the work of other jewelry designers, and other times the inspiration simply finds me. Sometimes I sit down with a few pieces of metal and a stone and the piece just builds itself slowly and steadily as though the design is being breathed into me as I work. It's a really great workday if such a thing happens.

What motivates you?
Selling 20 pieces on a weekend and having to make them all lickety-split so I can ship by Monday afternoon is quite motivating! Also, when I have a new design idea, it's difficult for me to tear myself away from my workbench, I want to stay there until the moon is high and all the desert critters are sleeping. I really like to finish what I have started in one go. The thought of seeing a finished piece of jewelry brightly polished and ready to photograph really elevates my pulse! When a piece is nearing completion I am bouncing off the walls with excitement, practically breathless...my voice turns into a high-pitched squeak. I'm sure it's frightening and ghastly to watch, but it sure feels great!

When did you start doing this?
I started silver smithing in 2005 when I was taking classes in Lake Havasu. It took a while to actually get set up at home with the right tools and start working independently of the workshop at school.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I was a funny blend of jock and art-geek when I was younger. My father fostered the athlete in me and I must thank my mother for cultivating my creativity when I was a youngling. She enrolled me in piano lessons as soon as I was out of the womb, as well as playing violin and trumpet for a few years; she also popped me into drawing classes with a local Saskatoon artist. She taught me to sew (she's a master seamstress). I was really into photography and graphic arts in high school and took a few semesters of painting as well. I used to stay up until 3am on school nights making beaded jewelry in my bedroom. I was continually crafting.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
Last summer I took a trip to Europe with a girlfriend of mine and whenever we met someone new in a hostel she would introduce me as her friend who was “a maker of fantastic jewelry.” I thought about that title a lot while on that trip and realized I didn't want to make a liar out of my friend and I had best get serious about making jewelry. Looking back, I think it was really a sort of quarter-life crisis in that I didn't really love being a librarian, and was in desperate need for a creative outlet. At any rate, I came home and told my husband I wanted to open an Etsy shop and make and sell jewelry. We drove to town to buy a digital camera, photographed some of the pieces I had already made, and opened my Etsy shop that very same afternoon on July 18, 2007.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I actually picked three words and said them over and over to myself to see if the sound of them falling off the tip of my tongue was pleasing to the ear. It was.
Also, no one on the planet earth has ever been able to correctly pronounce my last name on the first go, so I thought I would spare you all fumbling your way through "JillianLukiwskiDesigns". Blah. That last name of mine is a Ukrainian mess. I confess.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love that all of it is mine. From the start, each component that builds a piece of jewelry is designed by me, sawed, cut, dapped, formed, forged, sized, set, buffed, and polished by me. This work is MY work, no one else tells me what to do. It comes from my heart and my soul, and is crafted beneath my furrowed brow with joy and obsessive attention to detail. I really make exactly what I want to make. I don't worry about whether or not the item will sell. I just make the things that are in my mind and trust that someone, somewhere shares my taste in jewelry. If I wouldn’t wear it, I don’t make it. My art is really the epitome of selfishness but I have to feel like a design is true to my ideas and my style. I have turned down a few commissions in the past because I wasn’t willing to be untrue to my style. For example, I don’t “do” Celtic jewelry… I do what I want to do. I love feeling like I have appeased my need to create at the end of the day. Anything that jeopardizes that feeling is not allowed in my workshop.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I need to give you five:
1. A glow worm cave in New Zealand (Rob and I collected a nalgene bottle full of the little guys to make a romantic sort of flashlight).
2. Every inch of the 230 miles of the John Muir Trail.
3. The Havasupai Falls below the remote Supai Indian Village on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
4. Alone.
5. The chain lakes, and river systems of Northern Saskatchewan… in a canoe.

A book you love:
Good grief! I really adore books. Books have always been such good friends to me...here are some of my favorite authors/poets instead: Gene Stratton Porter, Diane Ackerman, Annie Dillard (swoon), Willa Cather, Roald Dahl, Chaim Potok, Zane Gray, Leonard Cohen, CS Lewis, Flannery O'Connor, Madeline L'Engle, Rilke – each one of them continues to change my life and widen my eyes.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
My lifestyle. I grew up in the National Parks of Canada doing backcountry patrols by horseback with my dad on the weekends (sometimes on school days too). I know how to chop wood, fly fish, paddle a canoe, start a fire with wet wood, and clean a horse's hooves among other things. I am most at home in the natural world and prefer the freedom and simplicity of the country life.

What achievement are you most proud of?
Knowing at the young age of 25 exactly what I want to do with my life, and doing exactly that. Every day.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Just start. If you try to get everything organized perfectly from the very beginning you probably won't ever begin. Don't be afraid, just go for it. It's ok to start small and build your way up into a bigger and better business. It takes a lot of courage to put oneself and one's art out into the world for all to see, don't ever doubt the courage that lies inherently within you. It's there. Draw on it.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
My dial-up internet is my greatest challenge. It's positively medieval. I can't get a faster connection because of where we are situated on the reservation. We are lucky to even have a telephone! My internet speed makes me crazy and drinks up a lot of my spare time and workshop time. I used to have to do all of my uploading for my Etsy shop from the library in town a couple of times a week, but I bought a new computer and am able to do all of my work from home now. What a nightmare it was.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I love to bake. I bake my own bread once a week. It's a happy thrill every time I see it rise up.
I also sew, rock climb, walk my dogs, do a heap of yoga in the living room, garden, run, explore the desert, collect honey from the wild bee hive in the bulldozer, play my piano, make zines, write poetry, and read. I am also a member of "The Letter Writers Alliance" and write many, many, many letters to friends and family.

What are you working on right now?
As soon as I finish this interview, I've got to polish up a few pieces of jewelry which were ordered over the weekend and ready them for shipping. This afternoon I am working on a few pieces featuring Alunite cabochons. In the larger scheme of things, I just completed my wholesale catalogue for 2008 and am going to be posting those out to a few different boutiques in Alberta, Canada and Oregon.
Interestingly enough, I'm just working hard at being me.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I'd love to live someplace where I could apprentice a goldsmith. How I would love to get my little fingertips on some gold and dip my small hands into buckets of faceted gems. I'd also like to write something worth publishing someday. I'm much more into short term goals as it's difficult for me to see past lunchtime.

Shannon Tudyk ... Oregon, USA

2008-05-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

Artist: Shannon (Sam) Tudyk
Business: TudykDotCom (or tudyk.com)
Web sites: tudyk.com, tudykdotcom.etsy.com
Location: Portland, Oregon

What do you create?
Big messes – and artwork in between. My work is usually a combination of materials, oftentimes including acrylic, pencil, tea and rice paper, machined top-stitching thread, sand paper – all ending up mounted on wood as a wall hanging in the end.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
In my one-bedroom apartment, I've taken over the living room and dining nook. The big chair recently got pushed into the tiny kitchen to make more room. I also use a friend's garage for wood cutting and framing up work. When? The creative idea work happens all of the time. I could have an idea for a project in the middle of a conversation about top soil. And the actual doing happens sometimes at night when I get home, every once and a while right when I wake up before I trek to my day job, but mostly on the weekends, when I have a long stretches of time to work fresh and undisturbed. I can easily work for 15 hours straight, three days in a row when given the chance.

Do you have another "day job"?
I haven't yet left the steady paycheck life; I get too stressed out not knowing when and where the money to pay the bills is coming from. I worked part-time at a letterpress greeting card studio (Egg Press) for the past three and a half years, doing an assortment of jobs – the most interesting being web project manager and product photographer. However, this month I will be leaving that job and moving to my next chapter in life, as a full time studio artist at a hugely respected advertising agency (Wieden + Kennedy). Very exciting!

Where and what did you study?
I had two majors at Savannah College of Art and Design – Illustration and Graphic Design.

Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere! Magazines, books, the internet, found objects, patterns in a building's shadow... I think I have been loving art for so long, my brain sees everything as inspiration now. I also have a love for paper and a healthy addiction to office supplies, especially vintage. Old accounting ledgers, receipts, labels... I've been working to translate those inspirations into my artwork for the past few years. I am also currently obsessed with the golden ratio and fibonachi series, Egyptian art, sigils and symbols, and typography.

What motivates you?
Deadlines! I must have deadlines. And reminders of deadlines. Seeing another artist's exhibition can motivate me too. Or having an inspiring dream or vision.

When did you start doing this?
I think I have always been interested in making art; it continuously grew as I grew. I remember having good ideas before having good execution back in middle school. My brain has always been ahead of my hands with art. As far as creating art for people to view in a public space, I have been doing that since 2002.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I do remember getting into trouble over art in kindergarten on a field day (art outdoors!) ...there were long rolls of paper stretched out on the sidewalk for the whole class to all draw on. I was punished for painting on myself rather than the paper. Silly teachers.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I guess I don't consider it a business really. I do feel responsible for getting artwork made for people and shipping it safely to them... but that's more just the finishing result of a passion that I do for myself. Although it does feel like a business when it's time to do taxes...

How did you choose the name for your business?
I think I put more thought into naming my teapot, Tiwi, than naming my shop tudykdotcom. I was anxious to get to posting and see what it looked like and really only had in mind the desire for people to link back to my main website, tudyk.com... And tudyk.com came about with the hope of memory for my name. We all want to be remembered, don't we?

What do you love most about creating your work?
Feeling an idea "click." Sometimes it bings – that's really great. I love coming up with an idea that I feel no one has had or no one has done quite the same. And I love hearing the different responses from viewers; it feels very powerful to create a sensation in another person through something that came from inside of me.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I have been to a lot of amazing places... A Masai tribal village in Africa; inside an Orthodox Church in Serbia; an archery bar in Spain! (Yes, alcohol was served and bows were handed out!) ...I hope to keep collecting more.

A book you love:
The Power of Limits: Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art & Architecture by Gyorgy Doczi

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Maybe that I changed my name (unofficially). For the past seven or so years I have gone by the name Sam rather than my given name, Shannon. It seemed to be a stronger name and more memorable. Introducing myself as Shannon (which I do in some circles) feels awkward now. It's fun to confuse people too. I respond to both, but I only like to say the name "Sam."

What achievement are you most proud of?
In 2004, five pieces of my artwork were published in Communication Arts Illustration Annual. It was a very exciting month for me.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
I don't know that I'm qualified to give advice on that... but I believe that if you work hard enough at what you love, something good will come out of it. You have to be willing to make sacrifices for it. Positive thinking goes a long way too.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
How can I obtain an 8' x 13' piece of artwork when they don't sell appropriate sheet sizes...? and how will I transport it? Also, what to do with the ideas that seem to only be fit for installations? (I guess have an installation is the answer, but how does one get into the installation business?) Mostly, the biggest challenge I face is gaining financial security to push everything else aside to make it happen 100 percent.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Free time... hmm... that sounds familiar... I like to go and see art out in the world, follow art and design links online, take hot baths, and eat cookies. And travel as often as possible.

What are you working on right now?
A 6' x 3' commission piece, a show deadline, and three other small commission pieces. And very soon I'll be working on finding a balance between a new full time creative job and my own artwork.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I've always wanted to fall into some sweet deal with Chronicle Books and become a household name. I would love for my passion for making things to work into a consistently paying, dependable job somehow.

Tammy Antoinette ... Florida, USA

2008-04-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

Artist: Tammy Antoinette
Business: Jewelry by Tammy Antoinette
Web site: girlinworld.etsy.com
Location: Orlando, Florida

What do you create?
Handmade jewelry, fabricated with sterling, brass, and other materials such as vintage glass and gemstones.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I do my work from home. I have a workbench and all my tools set up inside a screened-in patio. I love all the natural light and the sounds of nature I have while working out there. I do my metal work out on my bench, and my beaded work inside the home.

Do you have another "day job"?
Yes, I work as a graphic artist during the day.

Where and what did you study?
I received a Bachelor's in Graphic Design, and am mainly self-taught in jewelry and metal. I have taken a few basic classes in beaded jewelry and metalsmithing, but most of what I've learned comes from reading a lot and experimenting on my own.

Where do you find inspiration?
It is difficult to get specific with this one, because I find inspiration in everything – sometimes in people, in music, in architecture, in food, in nature. Inspiration from any of these things can lead me to a new idea in my jewelry designs. I try to leave myself open to everything, and I am constantly aware of the beauty and inspiration in even the smallest things that surround me.

What motivates you?
I love to figure things out. I am in awe of the idea of something coming from nothing. What motivates me is the entire creative process. I love starting with nothing but raw materials and pieces of glass or stone, and using tools along with my imagination, to create something that only a while ago did not exist.

When did you start doing this?
I remember making necklaces from seashells and flowers as a little girl. I grew up in western New York, and my father used to take us to Florida to visit my grandparents every summer. For those of you who have not experienced western New York, it is cold and gray for the better part of the year, and there is no ocean... pretty dismal if you ask me. When we reached Florida, I was like a caged animal ready to be released into this sunny paradise that was unlike anything I had ever known. I can remember it like it was yesterday, running down the shore by the surf with my sister, without a care in the world, collecting seashells. I remember stringing together a necklace with my shells and tying on flowers by their stems. I am not sure that was really jewelry making, I think it was more just play, but in any case that was the first piece of jewelry I remember making. I've been making jewelry for about seven or eight years now, but decided to turn it into a business about two years ago.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
My mom was an exceptional artist, when she wasn't busy working her day job and taking care of us. She was into oil painting and watercolor, and then later woodworking. We always had tools of the trade laying around the house, so yes I was very much into art as a kid. I think most kids get into creating art in some fashion or another, whether it be with crayons, finger paints, or mustard and ketchup.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I started making jewelry as a hobby, just because I enjoyed doing it. But I started getting many compliments and requests for custom designs from friends and family. I was at the point in my life when I was still trying to figure out what I was best at. I think sometimes when we can't figure it out for ourselves, we should listen to what other people tell us we are good at. I realized that throughout my life, I always received compliments on the things I would create. Growing up, I used to make my own clothes, belts, greeting cards, jewelry. It didn't matter what it was, I was always creating something. Once I realized that this is something that is not going to go away, that I am always going to feel the need to create, and that people actually like the things I create, that is when I realized that I wanted to start my own business selling my creations. That was about two years ago. I started off selling my jewelry by word of mouth and then I found Etsy and opened up a storefront in June of 2007.

How did you choose the name for your business?
Well, the name used to be Girl In World and that is because I never want to lose my sense of wonder – no matter how old I become, no matter that I am now a grown woman, I always want to look at the world through the eyes of a girl, a girl who still believes in magic and mystery, because believing in these things keeps me inspired. I changed the name of my store to Tammy Antoinette a while ago because I want my name to be linked to my jewelry.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love the entire process, but most of all I feel very honored and extremely happy when others buy or compliment my work. It feels great to know that people like what I create!

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Ummmmm, can I get back to you on that? I still have some traveling to do. Any place that I have not been is the most fascinating place to me. I haven't traveled outside of the country, except to the Bahamas when I was very young. I am so very eager to explore other countries.

A book you love:
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I can run really fast, and I used to leave even the boys in the dust.

What achievement are you most proud of?
I am proud that I am doing what I love and making a living at it, both my jewelry and graphic design.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Have faith in your capabilities, and don't be afraid to take chances.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
TIME... having enough time to get it all done and still have time to come up with new ideas.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Spend time enjoying life with the people I love.

What are you working on right now?
I am working on my first collection (complete set) of exclusive designs for a jewelry boutique that contacted me about my work!

What do you hope to achieve next?
I hope to drop my daytime graphic design job like a hot potato, in order to concentrate first on my jewelry and possibly offer my services in freelance graphic design work as well.

Betsy Walton ... Oregon, USA

2008-04-09T06:58:00.000-07:00

Artist: Betsy Walton
Business: Gridplane, Inc
Web sites: morningcraft.com, betsywalton.etsy.com, flickr.com/betsywalton
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA

What do you create?
Paintings, drawings and illustrations.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I work in my home studio. I work at different times depending on my schedule, but I try to get some drawing or painting in every day when possible.

Do you have another "day job"?
Not right now. I left my last job to work on my art and illustration business full time.

Where and what did you study?
I studied printmaking at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Graduated in 2000 with a BFA.

Where do you find inspiration?
I had a teacher once who said that inspiration comes from work. I really try to develop my inspirational momentum by working as often as I can, even when I feel totally flat. If things aren’t flowing, I usually try to get a change of scenery. A walk outside or through Powells books here in Portland usually snaps me out of it.

I’ve been doing my own sort of religious/cultural/philosophical studies course by cobbling together books, podcasts and conversations with friends. I think this has really informed my work over the last several months also.

Nature is always amazing to me. Traveling to a new place is also great for inspiration. I also look to aesthetic traditions in different cultures and lots of art for inspiration. I like to keep my eye on design too. I love to look at other artists work also, both old and new. Ultimately though, I get most inspired by the chase – trying to find that new image and story that can show me something I wouldn’t see otherwise.

What motivates you?
A combination of curiosity, fear and joy.

When did you start doing this?
I started to focus solely on my art and illustration business in 2006, but I have been making art since I was a little kid.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Yep. Seems like I was always taking some type of class, and I did lots of coloring and drawing at home and at friends' houses. I went to ceramics class and made weird little sculptures. I was into carving soap for a while.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I made the leap to art-making full time in 2006. I really love the freedom of being self-employed. It's full of surprises.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I use my own name mostly, since name recognition is so important in this field. Technically, though, my business is part of Gridplane Inc, which I co-own with my husband. He has been using that name for several years.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love that it is engaging on lots of levels. It can be so much fun and so challenging, often at the same time. I like to get immersed and lost in the process. I like that I can work on my own terms, and I can do lots of different types of things.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
The ocean.

A book you love:
There are lots. At the moment, I’m getting reacquainted with a book I got in college called Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art. It’s a collection of artists' writings about their work, and it’s really great for getting a sense of perspective.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Hmm, I have a freckle in my right eye.

What achievement are you most proud of?
I’m just thrilled to be at this point in my career, I get paid to draw and paint and make stuff!

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Give yourself the benefit of the doubt.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Decisions, decisions. Both on the creative side and the business side.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Catch up with friends. Wander through junk shops and bookstores, maybe get a coffee and take a walk in the forest. The best is to get a beach house or a cabin or a campsite and get out of town for a couple days.

What are you working on right now?
I’m working on my May show at Rare Device San Francisco. I also just started a new project called Today's Painting Progress. My goal is to document my work at the end of each painting session and post it on my Flickr page.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I have some ideas for little 3-D versions of my characters that I want to explore. And I want to grow some vegetables.

Michele Maule ... Michigan, USA

2008-03-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Artist: Michele Maule
Business: Michele Maule
Web sites: michelemaule.com, how2drawacupofcoffee.blogspot.com, michelemaule.etsy.com
Location: Pontiac, Michigan

What do you create?
Paintings, original prints, giclee prints, ACEOs.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I work from my apartment. I am a morning person so I typically work in the morning and throughout the day.

Do you have another "day job"?
This is it! This is my job and I couldn't be happier. I moved to Pontiac this last summer. My boyfriend was accepted into grad school at Cranbrook Academy of Art and I decided to go with him. I looked for a job for two months. I turned in over 30 resumes and 20 applications. Nothing. I did get interviewed twice for a similar position that I had in Portland, and I didn't get it... that was the final straw. I don't remember ever feeling so down about myself. I decided that while I was looking for a job I would make some small art and try to sell it on Etsy... and that's how I got started!

Where and what did you study?
I studied fine art with an emphasis in printmaking at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.

Where do you find inspiration?
This is a good question for me. When I lived in Portland I seemed to find inspiration everywhere. A rainy spring day walking down 23rd with my iPod could fill me up for days... but Pontiac, Michigan... not so much. I have been relying a lot on my feelings of missing home as well as all the uncertainty that comes along with Michael, my fiance, being done with grad school. There are so many unanswered questions, and there is so much waiting for the next step. Those have been recurring themes in my work lately.

What motivates you?
Well, bills! Really, I have always had this little rumble inside telling me to do something. If there is one thing that I can never be accused of is being lazy. I always have to be doing something, and I just don't feel right when I haven't gotten anything accomplished. It's not something I can really put my finger on. My fiance likes to call it crazy.

When did you start doing this?
Like I mentioned before, I started my little business this last summer. I have been on Etsy since March of last year, but it wasn't until about October that I started to take it seriously. I posted a couple of small paintings and a print, and they sold! So I just kept it up.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I loved art as a kid! I remember my first art class in the first grade. We made little clay bears and the teacher fired them for us. It was so fun. She also gave me my first art career advice. She said, "Don't expect to make any money as an artist unless you're dead." Ha! I still remember that. I have always loved making things and have been interested in art as far back as I can remember. I remember thinking when I was really young that I either wanted to be an artist, or Wonder Woman.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
Well, I have always wanted to make art for a living. Well, since I was in my junior year of college. The last few years I had been working for a small locally owned grocery store in Portland. I loved the people I worked with, but it wasn't something that I could see myself doing as a career. I would often dream about being able to quit my job and just make art full time. It's so hard for me to believe sometimes that it actually came true... and I have to stop and just take it in once in awhile... I mean how often is it that people get to do what they are really passionate about?

What do you love most about creating your work?
What don't I like? It's fun. It can be frustrating at times. When things aren't turning out like you'd like them to. But for the most part, I just love painting. It gives me a certain amount of confidence, and I really enjoy what I paint. I use a lot of collage in my work, and the tearing and gluing of paper is really cathartic for me. I tend to get lost in my thoughts.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Italy! My boyfriend and I went to Rome, Florence, and Venice a few years ago. It doesn't get more interesting than a different culture, food, and language. Not to mention the art and the museums. It was amazing.

A book you love:
The Time Travelers Wife, and always The Little Prince.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
My dad was in the Navy so I moved a lot growing up. I think I have lived in eight different states. I also moved out of my home when I was 16 and I have been taking care of myself ever since. With the help of my grandmother, and student loans, I was able to finish college. My mother and I didn't have the best relationship, and I decided to leave. Over the last few years we have definitely opened our communication and things between us are much better.

I can also touch my tongue to my nose and after a couple of beers I magically start speaking French fluently.

What achievement are you most proud of?
If you had told me a year ago that I would be making art for a living today I wouldn't have believed you or anyone! It's not every day that people get to wake up and go to a job that they love. I am so lucky. I also think that it's quite an accomplishment that I went to college to study art, and I am still making art today. I think one out of ten fine art graduates continue to make art after school. I am still here painting and creating and I think that says a lot.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Go for it! If you can manage it financially I say do it. Even if you aren't making as much money as you would at your day job, just being able to do what you really love to do is worth it.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Keeping up! It's hard for me to keep more than 15 items in my shop. Also, working from home can have it's moments. I am a neat freak, but when I am working I make a huge mess. Everywhere. Before moving to Michigan I had a studio and I could make a mess and just leave it, but I can't really do that here. So trying to adjust to having a studio at home as been a challenge.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I love to shop! I also really just like going out for coffee with my fiance and doing the NY Times crossword puzzle.

What are you working on right now?
I am currently working on a show that I have in Portland in April. It's at a little coffee place called The Fresh Pot. I am also painting some little painting for my Etsy shop. I am also working on a second degree in graphic design.

What do you hope to achieve next?
Well, I am hoping that I can get gallery representation in the future, and that I can continue to make art. I'd love to go into graphic design and work for a small company again. Either way, I know I would be just as happy.

Johanna Wright ... Oregon, USA

2008-03-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

Artist: Johanna Wright
Business: Johanna Wright
Web sites: johannawright.com, johannawright.etsy.com
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA

What do you create?
Paintings!

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I paint and draw in my lovely studio in south-east Portland, usually five days a week, unless I have a big deadline. I tend to do other creative stuff, like playing music or writing, when I'm kicking around the house.

Do you have another "day job"?
I'm lucky enough to be a painter full time.

Where and what did you study?
I went to the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where I studied puppetry and children's books. When I moved to New York after college, I took a few children's book writing and illustration classes at SVA, which were incredibly valuable to me.

Where do you find inspiration?
Mostly from childhood memories, nature, and playing with my niece and nephew. I recently moved back to Oregon (where I spent my childhood) after living in Brooklyn for nine years. I feel like I hit some kind of creative spurt when I came to Portland. I've been flooded with nostalgia and inspiration by everything that surrounds me here.

What motivates you?
Hmm, well... if I'm not working on something creative, I feel jittery... like I have ants in my pants. Painting and writing are very soothing to me.

When did you start doing this?
As a career, in 1998.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I really liked to draw as a kid, especially people. Actually, I just really loved to draw girls. I remember watching Fat Albert and copying a hairdo that one of the girl characters had. All of my old doodles from childhood are of women in weird 80s outfits... big shoulder pads and big hair. I would write long meandering stories to go with the drawings. I also loved to illustrate songs that I liked, or that my sisters liked. Songs that told a story, like Copacabana, or Maxwell's Silver Hammer.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
Well, in 1998 I started selling my artwork on the street in New York. At the time I was just trying to make enough money to eat and pay rent, but the more I did it, the better I got at what I was drawing, and a lot of wonderful things started to happen (job offers, freelance work, press). That time was very exciting and difficult all mixed together. It took a long time for me to think of what I was doing as a business, but once I did, things got a lot more organized and a lot easier.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love the actual painting process, a lot. I like to watch all of the crazy stuff that water can do to with a bit of acrylic paint. I also love it when something I've made resonates with another human, it makes me feel like I'm on the right track.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Hmm, that's a tough one. I'd say it would be a tie between two entirely different places; the winding streets of a tiny town in Morocco, and the tide pools on the Oregon coast. I could spend hours staring into a tide pool. There's a whole universe in there!

A book you love:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I'm easily hypnotized.

What achievement are you most proud of?
Keeping my heart open and free, even when it wants to close.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Read Martha Beck's book, Finding Your Own North Star. It has been so helpful to me over the years.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Taking downtime. Unplugging. Turning off the part of my brain that feels like it needs to work all of the time.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Going to coffee shops to write. Swimming (especially in lakes and rivers and oceans), playing music. Hanging out with my hubby and friends and family, knitting with my sister, playing 'squirrel family' with wee ones, Tetris, watching TV on DVD, going to thrift stores, listening to audio books, yoga.

What are you working on right now?
I'm finishing up my very first children's book for Roaring Brook Press, Secret Circus, and getting ready to start my next children's book, Rabbits on Skates.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I hope to get a bit more organized with my artwork prints, and I want to launch a card series this summer. I would love to get back into puppetry and try a bit of animation. But otherwise, I just want to keep making up stories and painting and growing and feeling inspired!

Michelle Moode ... California, USA

2008-03-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

Artist: Michelle C. Moode
Business: michellemoode on Etsy
Web sites: michellemoode.etsy.com and millionsofpeoplehappy.blogspot.com
Location: Los Angeles, California

What do you create?
Primarily small mixed media works on paper. My work usually combines two or more of the following: paper, ephemera, drawing, etching, silkscreen, Xerox transfer, tea, ink, typing, watercolor, acrylic medium, sewing, beeswax. I also make books, shrinky-dinks, little woolly things and sculptural things.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I recently moved into a wonderful teeny-tiny studio apartment, which is also (rather appropriately) my art-making studio. I tend to have pieces in various states of being: works-in-progress arranged on the wall so I may consider them as a group, used tea bags drying on heavy paper in the kitchen, and little bits being stitched together over near my Ikea sofa-bed. Sometimes I work on the floor, sometimes at my table. It sounds pretty chaotic, but I have a master's degree in arranging little things in little spaces.

Do you have another "day job"?
I currently teach part-time: non-major drawing and printmaking at Loyola Marymount University. I finished grad school less than a year ago, so needless to say I am still figuring out what I'm doing, and what I want to do. And how I will pay for things.

Where and what did you study?
I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts from Murray State University in Murray, a wonderful little town in Western Kentucky. At MSU my focus was Drawing and Printmaking. I fell in love with Printmaking because of my instinctual attraction to repetition and process, but also because of the sense of community I found working in the MSU printshop. It was a crazy-fun time.

I received my Master of Fine Arts from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia (an hour south of Pittsburgh, PA). Technically my MFA is in Printmaking. However, my time at WVU was hardly limited to printing editions. My artistic research and obsessive tendencies led me into sewing, bookbinding, sculpture, installation, collecting teabags and thread, and taking watches apart.

I’ve also spent time studying at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and Frogman’s Print Workshops in Vermillion, South Dakota. I whole-heartedly recommend both experiences. I also recommend the long cross-country drives that will get you there.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration on the ground, and also in the sky. I find inspiration in a good cup of tea, a thoughtful walk, or a wander through an antique store. My older brother’s robot drawings, good science fiction, distant ferriswheels, familiar songs, Muppets, flowers, and rainy days are all sources of inspiration. Signs I drive by in LA inspire me. Businesses including “Coffee & coffee”, “Hollywood Star Muffler” or “Celebrity Quality Cleaners”...maybe these don’t inspire my art directly, but they make me laugh.

What motivates you?
I find Etsy to be very motivating. Like most twenty-something artists, I am motivated by deadlines and a need of money. I am prolific by nature. My obsessive tendencies are mostly a blessing, as I only feel productive if I have a pile of things in progress. I am not a one-at-a-time artist; I make art in “crops.”

When did you start doing this?
I've been making work that looks or feels like this since I was an undergrad at Murray State University. My work has progressed, and become more refined (more "crazy" some might say...) but the imagery and marks I draw have been popping up since before college. As for Etsy, I opened shop in September of 2007, so close to six months ago.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Yes, I have been drawing my entire life. My mom saved and dated all my early work. One of my favorites is a whimsical outer-space crayon drawing with transparent garden “capsules” as part of a space station. “Michelle in Space!!!!!!” is the title at the top of the piece. In retrospect, I see this drawing as a logical combination of what I knew from my youth: I spent most of my time playing in our amazing garden and orchard, and I was also exposed to my big brother’s “boy” interests, like Star Wars and Star Trek. My interest in gardening and space continue to inform my work.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
In school I sold art when the opportunity presented itself. At conferences, workshops, open portfolio events, and gallery shows, I discovered that people were actually interested in owning my work. Last summer a friend at the Penland School of Crafts suggested that I check out Etsy. Since moving to LA I have also tiptoed into doing craft shows, which has been a fun, friendly, positive experience.

How did you choose the name for your business?
Well, when I selected my Etsy username I went for simplicity. I want my art to be associated with my name: Michelle Moode. Maybe I’d be more popular if I had a cute “brand,” like “sunshine crumpet” or “princess polkadot surprise,” but that’s not really me. However, my Etsy shop and blog are named “Millions of People Happy.” This is a quote from the original Muppet Movie. The possibility of making millions of people happy is suggested to Kermit-the-Frog by Bernie-the-Agent, prompting Kermit to leave his swamp and move to Hollywood, where he and his friends sign a “standard rich-and-famous contract.” It’s a simple, sincere, wholesome goal.

What do you love most about creating your work?
The meditative mind-wandering that comes with repetition. Arranging piles of paper. Drinking cups of tea. Filling a space with things I create. The satisfaction of sharing my work with those who love it.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Hazel, a small town on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. On afternoons when I needed a break from the hustle and bustle of slightly-larger Murray, I would drive eight minutes south to Hazel with Paul Simon blazing and the windows down. Hazel is full of antique stores housed in antique buildings. Hours would slip away as I explored the musty spaces. I’ve made so many discoveries there: beautiful broken time-pieces, blue typewriters, the dress I wore to the opening of my thesis show. But more than these purchases, it’s the time spent exploring that makes it a fascinating place.

A book you love:
Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Probably exactly what’s coming across in this interview: the things I make, the things I think, the things I collect, the things I know-by-heart. I’m really not much of a conversationalist, but I have a lot of cool stuff in my apartment and in my brain.

What achievement are you most proud of?
My Master's Thesis, “Pieces of the Universe.” The written thesis with images of the installation can be found here. I had a sinus infection the week before installing my show, the Southern Graphics Council conference a couple of days after the opening, and I took down the installation a couple of days after that. Besides the silly time-line of events, it was a huge space, and I filled it with innumerable little tiny things. Writing has never been my strong point (although I’d take writing over talking anyday!) so I will always be proud of the written portion of my Thesis.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Honestly, I think I am still in a position of needing some advice. How about: “Remember who you are and where you were born.” My aunt has been telling me that my entire life.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
I just hope I can make my work....work! You know? I hope that my success continues, and that I can continue to be an almost-full-time artist. I am good at staying motivated, and making things. My challenges are all business-related. I need to become cleverer with my computer, and I need to get up earlier in the morning. Like everyone.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I like to hula-hoop when I need a break. But honestly, these days I am working on trying to have less free time!

What are you working on right now?
I have pieces to post in my Etsy store. I am working on submissions to juried shows and galleries. I have stacks of works-in-progress. I would really like to make more books.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I’ve been saying this for a while, but I hope to list some things for sale on Etsy besides my small scanner-friendly mixed media works-on-paper. I’m also itching to have a show. I love selling things on Etsy, but scattering my art one-at-a-time across the world is not the same as filling a gallery with my work. Both are good, though. I want to do both.

Still Room Studio ... Florida, USA

2008-02-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

Artist: Jen Renninger
Business: Still Room Studio
Web sites: pleasebestill.com, pleasebestill.etsy.com, jenrenninger365.blogspot.com, pleasebestill.blogspot.com
Location: Tampa, Florida, USA

What do you create?
Mixed media illustration and artwork.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
Oh, that is such a good question! I try to keep regular working hours. I get up when my husband does (he's a teacher so he's up at 5:30am) and I'm usually working by 6:30am. I try to stop working by about 3:30, when Bill gets home from work. Now, that doesn't always happen! There are plenty of nights when I'm in the studio after Bill's fallen asleep... The studio is actually the second bedroom in our place. It's a good size and I have my desk right next to the window where I can look out at the goings on. Since I do about half my work on the computer I often sit on outside on the front patio and work there. Wifi is nice isn't it!

Do you have another "day job"?
Nope. I left Graduate School to pursue illustration nearly a decade ago, and I've been lucky enough to have been doing it all along!

Where and what did you study?
I studied photography at RIT in Rochester NY (Rochester Institute of Technology) and then fine art photo at University of Miami for Grad School. I left before finishing though... to start working.

Where do you find inspiration?
I spend a lot of time at the bookstore, looking at magazines and books. The internet, of course. But being outside is really good for getting the creative flow going too. Nature is good for the soul!

What motivates you?
That feeling that appears when I've made something and it feels complete. Oh, my dog Barley. I have to get things done so he can go out for a walk. He's a loud motivator!

When did you start doing this?
As a career, about 10 years ago. In reality I've been working and thinking the same way since I was a kid. I have some cards I made for my Grandmother when I was six. In many ways they are similar to the sort of things I do now.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I've been a stuff maker for as long as I can remember!

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I was in grad school and not terribly happy with the program. My undergraduate degree was actually in commercial (advertising) photography and my grad school program was fine art. I'd always loved looking at the images is magazines (and really didn't like the whole gallery scene) so I started spending a lot of time at bookstore magazine racks, thinking I should be sending my images to these people rather than galleries. After a few month of looking, looking, looking... I made a few images, sent them to art directors and was working right away. Oh – I started out with photo illustration (collage) and then over the years moved into painting.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I really liked the saying 'please be still' and wanted to use it for a website. It didn't feel right as my business name though. So the business name is Still Room Studio. I really like how you can play with it (please be still... still room for more... ) and it's connected to a business my husband and I are working on together: Picture Distillery.

What do you love most about creating your work?
The thought that people enjoy it.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I'd have to say Alaska.

A book you love: Anything by Judy Budnitz, and most recently (non-fiction) The Omnivores Dilemma. Oh: and Edward O Wilson. Anything he says instills awe. I know... that's more than one. I have serious book problems!

What is the most interesting thing about you?
This is tough. I think I'm pretty average. I asked my husband and (this is going to sound funny but would make sense if you knew me) he said: My sneeze! I know... how can a sneeze be interesting? Well, I'm a fairly quiet, soft spoken person but I have a sneeze that is uncontrollably loud, nearly deafening to anyone with in my immediate area. Seriously, it's deafening. So there you have it: complete normalcy, except for the sneeze.

What achievement are you most proud of?
That I'm able to balance work and being as available to my family as much as I can.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Just believe you can do it, with all your heart. Be positive. Smile when you answer the phone.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Paperwork.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Spend time with my husband and family and friends. Get outside.

What are you working on right now?
I am finishing up a job for Food + Wine magazine today, doing another illustration for my 365 series (updates for February will be on Saturday!). Those two things will fill my day today.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I promised myself that this year is all about the immediate. I'm doing an illustration every day for a year (jenrenninger365.blogspot.com) and I'm forcing myself to play and not think about what comes next for a little while. I'm a pretty notorious over-planner (yep – I heart lists!) so this has been good for me.

maryandjane ... Oregon, USA

2008-02-19T06:11:00.000-08:00

Artist: Sojung Lim
Business: maryandjane
Web site: maryandjane.etsy.com
Location: Portland, Oregon

What do you create?
Handmade jewelry.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I work from home. I have a workbench in the corner of my living room. Nothing fancy, but I like it.

Do you have another "day job" or did you leave one to pursue your art?
I used to be a teacher in my home country. I have had a couple of different jobs since I came to the US in 2004, and making jewelry has been my hobby/part time job since then. Fortunately, I became a full-time jeweler last summer. Yeah!

Where and what did you study?
I studied Early Childhood Education and Teaching English as a Foreign Language in South Korea. A lot of people who have known me as a teacher for long time were all very shocked when they found out that my career had totally changed. It was quite fun to see their reaction.

Where do you find inspiration?
I hate to say it, but I have to repeat what artists all over say to answer this question: everywhere! I wish I were more creative with my answer.

What motivates you?
Finding something that I love to do and that I am good at. Plus my mortgage.

When did you start doing this?
About three and a half years a go, when I moved to the United States. Since I had no friends here, I started jewelry making as a hobby. I had no idea how big it was going to get.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I always liked to make things with my hands. My first memory of me really being into it was knitting. My mom was a knitter, so I started learning it at the very early age. I had fun.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I started going to local, outdoor crafts shows here but, all things considered, they were a lot of work, and only for what actually amounted to only a few weeks of selling days per year. Since everything can be done online these days, I thought: why not me? I think that was the way to go.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I initially made a pair of girl figurine earrings and somehow decided to name them Mary and Jane. I guess I liked them a lot, and I decided to keep the name and use it for my online shop.

What do you love most about creating your work?
Making jewelry has been a process of learning, discovering, and exploring not only materials and skills but also myself.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Paris, France. I was there a long time ago, but I vividly remember the lively energy and artistic atmosphere (and cute guys!)

A book you love:
I love travel memoirs. There’s a Korean writer of this genre — who’s never been translated, I’m sure — who has several great books about her journeys around the world. She writes with an open heart and you can feel that. One thing I’d love to do (a kind of personal goal) is to translate her books into English.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I’m a very intuitive person (be careful when you’re with me!).

What achievement are you most proud of?
Unexpectedly having an online shop that I could run full time. I’d never planned on “being an artist,” so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I had it in me.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Don’t give up. I know it sounds trite, but it’s true. When I find something that I’m interested in, I put my heart into it, take my time, do the necessary research, and then just stick with it. It’s tough but can be very personally rewarding. Most likely, nobody will come along side you and show you how to do things, so there’s a lot of trial and error, and it can feel a little lonely and frustrating at times, but don’t give up!

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
I work alone from home, often for many hours, which means no socializing during work hours! Someday, my dream is to have a shared studio, with other artists.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I love yoga, walking, and watching movies.

What are you working on right now?
I’ve had quite a lot of time off from work during the last few months, due to my pregnancy, so I guess you could say I’m busy with that!

What do you hope to achieve next?
Being a successful, jewelry-making mom (with a shared studio space!).

Kate Endle Collage ... Washington, USA

2008-02-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

Artist: Kate Endle
Business name: Kate Endle Collage, Kate Endle Illustration, Kate Endle Collage Illustration
Web sites: kateendle.com and kateendle.etsy.com
Location: Seattle, Washington

What do you create?
Illustrations and boutique art.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I work from my home. I work whenever I feel like it. I'm mostly a night owl (no pun intended) but these days it seems like I'm working all hours of the day.

Do you have another "day job"?
Well, the only thing I've ever done "full time" is my art career and it's been an on-and-off kind of full time job – mostly with pay, sometimes no pay. I've always had weird little part time jobs. Right now, I spend about five to eight hours a week selling hard cider and exotic Japanese vegetables at our local farmer's markets. I also work about four to eight hours a week at Anthropologie helping in their visual department installing window displays, etc. Next month I start a worldwide tour with my boyfriend's band selling merchandise. I've made sandwiches, modeled nude, sold art supplies, worked as a decorative painter and muralist. I always have volunteer jobs, too. I love my weird little worky life. I never know what's going to happen from day to day – keeps me on my toes. It also keeps me from holing up in my studio – I have hermit tendencies.

Where and what did you study?
I've been studying art my entire life. My parents got me into art classes when I was very young. I never had that "What am I going to study?" dilemma. I received my BFA in Illustration from The Columbus College of Art and Design, in Columbus, Ohio.

Where do you find inspiration?
Oh, everywhere. For sure, Anthropologie – another good reason to keep the part time job. I try to stay away from blogs, but I can't help it. I can't believe the huge amount of brilliant creativity that is on the planet; it overwhelms me, which is why I try to avoid the internet. I love watching birds and hanging out in nature. Seattle is a truly awesome combo of urban, flora, and fauna. I look at lots of books and listen to music and stare into space. I had an ideal childhood and I draw a lot of inspiration from those times.

What motivates you?
Money and fame and happiness. Money pays my mortgage and fame..... well, how does the song go? "Remember my name. FAME! I wanna live forever. I'm gonna learn how to fly. HIGH!" I don't know why, but I want to be famous. Not like Madonna famous, but like my true loves – Marimekko, Orla Kiely, Lotta, Sukie, School House Rock, Charley Harper, and so on. Those artists have done such lovely work that makes everybody feel good inside.

When did you start doing this?
I started illustrating professionally while I was in college. I developed my painted illustrations a couple years out of school, around 1995. I started collaging in 2001. It took a few years to develop that style. I started selling the originals in 2004. I've been licensing and freelancing in the collage/collage illustration style for a couple of years.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I have very early memories, maybe as a toddler, of drawing on paper bags. My dad used to bring home paper from work, too – I would use the back side of his reports to draw and color with.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I started my business in 1995. I took baby steps, which is the great thing about art. You can put in as little or as much time/money as you can. Now a days, with blogs and online stores, it's so easy to get your work out there.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I like my name and I like how it sounds with "collage".

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love so many things about it! I really love the feeling of completion and knowing that everything just jives.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
One time I walked into a history museum on an island in Greece. I found myself in a gallery that housed hundreds of tiny, terracotta, primitive figurines. I had this massive feeling of chills running from the back of my head and down through my back. Then, I burst into tears. I'm not emotionally unstable, but I really lost it. Once I composed myself I started to read about the work on display. I was looking at sculpture from the Mycenaean period. I went onto read that this was the first time in the history of mankind that artists began signing their name to their work. I started to cry all over again; I'm crying now.

A book you love: Wind Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami – that's a stunner. Lust for Life, Irving Stone. Poor Van Gogh...

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I have a dark streak – it's not very wide but it runs deep. My mother has always referred to it as my "devil look". It's not evil, mostly mischief.

What achievement are you most proud of?
I'm most proud of what I have achieved with my collage style. That's a good example of me making lemonade out of lemons. That style was developed during a very sad time in my life – both professionally and personally. To see it get out in the world makes me happy.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
I don't think I have anything that hasn't already been said – do what you love and don't worry about what other people think. Don't be afraid to screw up. Ask a lot of questions. Know all you can know about what you're selling. Down time is just as valuable as up time – maybe even more valuable. That one was a hard one for me to learn.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
PAPERWORK!! I hate paperwork!! Invoicing, putting together quotes, bills, contracts. Ugh.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I love going to see live music, spending time with my fella, hanging out with my friends and family, going to the gym, eating, sleeping, traveling, organizing, cleaning, riding my bike, museums, staring out the window, buying art... stuff like that.

What are you working on right now?
I'm working on a lot of super cool projects right now (when it rains, it pours). My boyfriend is the singer/songwriter for The Presidents of the United States of America. His songwriting is so luscious! We want to put together a CD/picture book for toddlers. His kids’ songs are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and I've seen him turn tots into crazy dancing maniacs. I'm just finishing up the final touches to note cards for Papyrus – a dream job for me. I'm starting work on a book for Cartwheel/Scholastic called I Can Help the Earth. I have a bunch of art shows I'm preparing for and commissions to complete. All good stuff!

What do you hope to achieve next?
I need to reproduce my images onto fun products. I need to create prints for my Etsy store. I need to move onto the next bigger and better stage of things. Always moving on up...

Lauren Urban ... Virginia, USA

2008-02-06T14:21:00.000-08:00

Artist: Lauren
Business: Lauren Urban
Web site: laurenurban.etsy.com
Location: Alexandria, Virginia (just outside Washington, D.C.)

What do you create?
I am a fused glass artist who primarily focuses on jewelry and house wares. My most popular items are sushi dish sets.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I have a studio in my garage and can be found creating something nearly every minute I am at home.

Do you have another "day job"?
Like many artists I have dreams of leaving my "real job" to work for myself, but the truth is that I also love my career. I am an engineer who specializes in automobile safety testing. I spend my days crashing cars and working with child safety seats.

Where and what did you study?
I have a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Throughout college and afterwards, I supplemented all that left brain education with as many studio art classes as I could take. One of those classes was a one-day glass fusing workshop in April of 2005, which served as the foundation for my current endeavor. Besides that I am largely self-taught.

Where do you find inspiration?
I actually get a lot of it from the glass itself. I also obsessively monitor high fashion and home decor design and love trickling those concepts and trends down into my pieces.

What motivates you?
I love to create things, obviously, so that is a factor. I've been pretty strong-willed and independent since I was a kid, and I love the feeling of seeing something through from start to finish. I find that's about all the motivation I need!

When did you start doing this?
I have crafted all my life, but I began glass fusing about three years ago, in the spring of 2005.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
My mother is extremely artistic, and we were rather poor growing up. Lots of our childhood games and activities revolved around egg cartons, toilet paper tubes, pipe cleaners and crayons. She always came up with the neatest ideas; she is the #1 reason I am a creative person.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I officially started a business in April of 2007. It was a combination of trying to offset the cost of my hobby as well as demands from family and friends. At the time I also had an abundance of product that I didn't have any room for... a girl really can have too much jewelry! Once Etsy was created I knew that would be a great solution for me and it has just gone on from there.

How did you choose the name for your business?
Unfortunately my real name is rather common; I also have to share it with a teenage Canadian actress. In an effort to better distinguish myself on the Internet, I decided I had to come up with a "stage" name and liked the rhythm and feel of "Lauren Urban". I also think it reflects the modern feel that a lot of my work has.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love ending up with finished products, of course, but I also find working with glass very relaxing – scoring, breaking, arranging, stacking, grinding – I actually find the monotony to be kind of Zen.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
London, hands down, though Vancouver is a close second.

A book you love:
I love The Stranger by Camus, as well as The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
People are often surprised to hear that I was born and raised in Brooklyn.

What achievement are you most proud of?
I am most proud of learning to love and listen to myself. It sounds so corny, but it's really true.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Seek out your local small business association! I took a number of business start-up classes and the majority was either free or cheap. They are an excellent resource.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Time! Glass fusing is a lot of hurry up and wait… It can take up to eight hours for a single dish to cool properly.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Fuse glass! I also love bad television, cooking, sewing and traveling.

What are you working on right now?
I’m working on quite a few sushi sets, as well as earrings and bracelets, which are both kind of underrepresented in my shop right now.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I’d like to hit 100 items on Etsy in the next few months, and I always think about incorporating soft goods into my shop as I’m also an avid seamstress. We'll have to see, though – I feel overwhelmed sometimes as it is, but I really wouldn’t have it any other way!

seaurchin ... England

2008-01-04T01:12:00.000-08:00

Artist: Lisa Stevens
Business: seaurchin or c-urchin
Web sites: seaurchin.etsy.com, c-urchin.blogspot.com, c-urchin.deviantart.com
Location: Bristol, England

What do you create?
I create unusual, experimental ceramic pieces, often with the inclusion of glass. Mostly these take the form of ceramic pendants, but my true love is the larger sculptures.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
Erm... mostly on my sofa, in front of the telly in the evening! One day I will have a proper workshop! My kiln is in the garage, but I do also attend a weekly ceramics evening class... at the moment I am learning to throw.

Do you have another "day job"?
Well, I'm a Mum. I have a three-year-old son. So technically I did not leave my day job to follow my art, but to have a baby! Before that I was one of the senior sculptors at Aardman Animations in Bristol, making plasticene puppets for animated films and series, such as Creature Comforts, Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit – The Curse of the Wererabbit. If you're looking for credits though... I'm credited with my maiden name, Lisa Newport.

Where and what did you study?
I studied in the seaside town of Worthing on the south coast. I did a Theatre Design HND (shorter and less academic/more practical than a degree). I specialised in costume design and construction, but I also loved making the scale models of the sets and characters.

Where do you find inspiration?
My main inspiration is the clay itself! I love the way you can do practically anything with it. I love the chemical reactions between the glass and glaze and love experimenting! Texture wise... I take inspiration from sea creatures, geology, pollen and honeycombs amongst others. I love the graphic illustrations of Earnst Haeckle.

What motivates you?
Making things is as much a need as exercise and eating fruit... I feel ill if I don't make anything for a while!

When did you start doing this?
I started my ceramics course about six years ago, but it took a couple of years to find my style.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I always did it! Apparently my Mum was told by the nursery teacher, when I was three, that I was going to be an artist! I guess it always gave me a sense of satisfaction.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I have been on Etsy for nearly a year now. I had sold a few pieces before at craft fairs before that, but basically Etsy gave me the opportunity to sell and therefore develop my work. It was, and still is, a way to make some money without having to leave my son in full time child care. The hours at Aardman were long... I went back for a short contract, but it nearly killed me!

How did you choose the name for your business?
The spherical sculptures I was making look like sea urchins... must make some more of those!

What do you love most about creating your work?
It's always different....I'm often surprised when I open the kiln... it's like alchemy!

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I love the eroded coastline of the Big Sur in California... ooh, and the Underground Gardens in Fresno... and Yosemite! (That was a great holiday!)

A book you love:
His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Working at Aardman on feature films.

What achievement are you most proud of?
Working on Wallace and Gromit – Curse of the Wererabbit

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Do something you love.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
There aren't enough hours in the day... or evening.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Other than ceramics? I love walking, especially in woods.

What are you working on right now?
Another batch of pendants, some custom orders, and I hope to make some more sculptural pieces soon.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I intend to open another Etsy shop for handmade supplies. I'd like to exhibit my sculptures in a Gallery.

The Dangerous Mezzo ... Nova Scotia, Canada

2007-12-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

Artist: Nina Scott-Stoddart
Business: The Dangerous Mezzo
Web sites: dangerousmezzo.etsy.com, operatic.etsy.com, trunkt.org/dangerousmezzo lunenburgartist.blogspot.com, lunenburgartist.com
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

What do you create?
Original multi-media collages and acrylic paintings. I also make costume jewellery for myself (and sell a few pieces via Etsy, under the name Operatic).

Where and when do you do your creative work?
Usually in the evening, in my office/studio upstairs in my big old house in the historic town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Sometimes I take some of my stuff down into the nice, warm Red Room downstairs (where the t.v. is) and I'll collage while hanging out with my guy. In good weather (or on vacation) I'll take my clobber outside and paint en plein air.

Do you have another "day job"?
I left my last regular "day job" (library technician) about 15 years ago to pursue my principal art, which is classical singing. (I'm a mezzo soprano, hence my user name!) I am now a professional singer, opera producer and opera director and am pretty busy with it. But my husband David and I moved to Nova Scotia five years ago, which has given me more time to do visual art, which was my first love.

Where and what did you study?
I did a two year college diploma course in library techniques, then went to York University in Toronto for Music and Visual Arts. I have a BFA as a result of that excursion into higher education.

Where do you find inspiration?
I love old black and white glamour photography, as exemplified by photos of opera diva Maria Callas. I also have always loved typography, so I enjoy starting a collage with pages from old books or music manuscripts. For my paintings, I'm inspired by the landscape of Nova Scotia – rocks, sea, trees and old houses.

What motivates you?
Selling my work has been fantastically motivating, for which I thank Etsy. Beyond that, I have two modes of operation, artistically. 1. I plan something carefully, with sketches and studies, and execute it (this generally works for paintings). 2. I start to fling things together and something interesting (or disastrous) emerges (this generally works for collages).

When did you start doing this?
I started collaging about a year ago. I picked up painting again (after a long absence) about five years ago.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Oh yeah. My mother self-published her own text books all through my childhood, so we had, literally, reams of paper lying around. My father's father was a professional artist (an engraver and painter), and my mother's father, my mother's uncle, my mum and dad all painted, to one extent or another. I was surrounded by original art, and it was natural that I start creating my own.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I've always been the entrepreneurial type (I've started a few opera companies in my time) so setting up as a freelance artist seemed to make sense. I had been selling some of my work in Nova Scotia, but the principal demand here seemed to be for pretty sea pictures and I was sick to death of doing those. I investigated Etsy because I bought a painting by Heather Murray on Etsy, and it seemed like a perfect venue for me.

How did you choose the name for your business?
Dangerous Mezzo Productions is the name of my opera production company, chosen because of my voice type (I'm a mezzo soprano). My artist website is lunenburgartist.com, but when I signed up on Etsy it was as a buyer (to buy art, natch!). I didn't even think about opening a shop there, at that point, so I just used dangerousmezzo as my user name. About two weeks later, I thought, what the heck, and signed up as a seller. I'm really, really glad that my Etsy shop name is dangerousmezzo – it sums me up much better than lunenburgartist, which is a little too dull.

What do you love most about creating your work?
Getting really messy and sticky! I also love the sense of exploration I have while collaging – there are almost infinite ways the darned things can turn out, and I like trying to feel my way towards when I should stop or when I should keep going. I often get it wrong, but it's a lot of fun!

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Southwold, on the Suffolk coast of England – I could spend weeks there. It's just a little seaside town, but so relaxing and attractive.

A book you love:
This is really hard, because I'm just about addicted to reading. Okay: Jane Austen (especially Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice); E.F. Benson's Mapp and Lucia books; mysteries and thrillers by Minette Walters; fantasy by Terry Pratchett.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I'm not terribly interesting, I don't think. I'm either very funny in person or a complete wallflower.

What achievement are you most proud of?
Starting and running the Halifax Summer Opera Workshop.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Just do it. Yeah, do all the planning and so forth, but don't let your fears (or the opinions of other people) stop you from trying something. We all need the courage to just jump in with both feet and risk failing at something. Failing isn't a big deal – but letting fear hold you back from even trying, that's very sad.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Keeping myself organized enough so that I spend time on all the things I want to do.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I love to sail: my husband and I have a very old, beat up 30-foot classic full keel Alberg sailboat (I demur at calling it a "yacht") which we sail all around the South Shore of Nova Scotia, generally with a drink in one hand... I also ride and teach riding to a few young friends of mine (I fell off my horse a year or so ago, and broke my upper arm, which has set me back a bit). I knit like a mad thing (but no socks, damnit!) and I can't stop reading.

What are you working on right now?
Bigger collaged works – 8 x 10 inches and up. I'm also planning my fourth annual Opera Workshop in Halifax and I'm preparing to sing Carmen in June, which is a huge deal.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I want to get started in encaustic – that's a technique that's fascinated me for some time. One of my favourite Canadian artists, Heather Murray, does some amazing work in encaustic and I really want to explore it. (It's the ancient technique of painting with hot coloured wax – mmm... hot wax...)

Lilymoon ... Cyprus

2007-12-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

Artist: Stavri
Business: Lilymoon
Web site: lilymoon.etsy.com
Location: Nicosia, Cyprus

What do you create?
I make illustrations mostly based on imaginary stories that I write.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I work in my studio surrounded by my books and other things that inspire me.

Do you have another "day job"?
I used to be a full time graphic designer but I left that job to pursue illustration.

Where and what did you study?
I studied illustration and graphic design at a local college.

Where do you find inspiration?
I'm inspired by human emotions, by books or strange stories, by my travels and by the little things in life that are overlooked... I like holding an imaginary magnifying glass over them and wonder at their beauty!

What motivates you?
An insatiable hunger to create.

When did you start doing this?
I loved drawing from an early age and always knew it was wanted to do with my life.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Yes – I would draw for hours and make up stories with the characters I drew.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I didn't "intend" for it to be a business. I just wanted to share the images and stories with other people. I was very lucky to find Etsy and join a community that embraced my little world.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I just joined two names of things that I love: lilies and the moon. I liked the way that it sounded – it felt right.

What do you love most about creating your work?
Creating alternate worlds where anything is possible.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
The Alhambra, Spain. I'm still haunted by my visit there, it felt like walking in to a living fairytale!!

A book you love:
One Hundred Years Of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
That's a difficult question... umm... I can think of odd things about me but I don't know if they are interesting... For example an odd thing about me would be that I always read books in English but I mostly write my stories in Greek – I think in two languages...

What achievement are you most proud of?
Following my own path in life and being true to my self.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Do what you love and be certain that it will lead you where you want to be.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Sticking to one story and finishing it. I usually hop from one story to another...

What do you love to do in your free time?
Take long walks, read books and make up new stories.

What are you working on right now?
At the moment I spend most of my days packaging and going to the post office as it's really been a busy period for my store. I do write down ideas though and have plenty to work on when the holidays are over!

What do you hope to achieve next?
Publish my stories in full one day so they could travel round the world and maybe inspire others to write their own stories...

Lucie Summers Designs ... United Kingdom

2007-12-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

Artist: Lucie Summers
Business: Lucie Summers Designs (Lusummers at the Blu-Shed Shop, on Etsy)
Web sites: lusummers.etsy.com and blu-shed.blogspot.com
Location: Mildenhall, Suffolk, UK

What do you create?
I mainly make mixed media paper collages that find themselves made into a couple of different products... sketchbooks, sketches for customers to frame, and paper quilts. The paper quilts are generally created for exhibitions.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
Well, the 'where' used to be a garage, but was converted into a room by the previous owners of our house. Although I'm lucky to have a space to call my own, it's certainly no homage to high design. It's also the family dumping ground; I share my space with several hundred half-used tins of paint, unused furniture, a million magazines and books, and old toys waiting to be taken to the charity shop.
The 'when'? Whenever I can! I have two small boys (aged two and five) so my time is precious. I've actually only realised that since having children! I do the bare minimum of housework, just enough so we don't all collapse from some hideous illness, so I have more time to create. (As I type, the ironing pile is perilously close to the ceiling and if I get up I risk serious injury from treading on some form of toy tractor/truck/car.) I literally snatch any five minutes I can; while I'm waiting for the potatoes to boil, after the boys are in bed, when my youngest has a nap. It's amazing what you can get done when your time is limited. I also couldn't do this without my mum and my husband; mum has my two-year-old every Thursday and my husband has both boys on a Saturday so I can get a good run at it!

Do you have another "day job"?
Nope – mother, terrible housewife and mixed media artist, that's me! Although I do write articles for Quilting Arts magazine sometimes.

Where and what did you study?
I studied 'design crafts' at Norwich School of Art and Design, a small city art school in Norfolk, a million years ago.

Where do you find inspiration?
Oh, everywhere. Leaves are a big thing for me, and flowers. I also get very excited by text and fonts, particularly old handwriting. Architecture, patterns on old teacups, old printers' blocks, the insides of envelopes, vintage bits, everything! I made a series of small paper quilts for an exhibition in the States this past September all inspired by the stories I wrote at school when I was five or six. Colour combinations are also a great inspiration; bright pink and red, turquoise and blue, red and white. I find living in the countryside a massive influence on my work.

What motivates you?
I'm actually quietly ambitious, and that really motivates me. One day I'd like to have a whole range of products (paper goods, textile designs, house goods) available both in the UK and worldwide. I want to be a household name! So I'm not setting myself up for a fall or anything... wanting the best for the boys motivates me too. Just wanting to create something everyday motivates me.

When did you start doing this?
I started by having a simple website made and tried to sell my personalised name wedding and birth samplers two years ago. I literally sat back and waited for the orders to flood in because I knew I'd got a good product. The trouble was, they were too expensive on their own... and I didn't sell one. Not one. So I decided to design and make smaller personalised 'plaques' for kid's rooms and opened another 'shop' on a UK site called notonthehighstreet.com this time last year and did much better. Then at the end of august this year I opened my Etsy shop selling completely different products which has worked much better for me, so I've dropped the other site. I'll probably add the personalised stuff to Etsy early next year.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I come from a long line of women who sew, so I grew up with fabric around me. I can't specifically remember getting into art, it was just always there. I had a doll's house that didn't have dolls in it (I'm scared of them) but I used to change the decor all of the time. My boys actually still play with the little bits and bobs I made, vintage fabric covered beds, and funny little curtains made with matchstick poles.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
Just after my youngest son was born, so two years ago. I must have been mental, what a ridiculous time. I blame the hormones! I've made tons of mistakes, some of them quite costly, but I've learnt a lot. I decided that if I was going to be a stay at home mum, I was going to have to find a way of earning some money that used the skills I knew I'd got that didn't take me away from the kids. And it sort of works, most of the time.

How did you choose the name for your business?
Erm...well, my name is Lucie Summers, and I design stuff.
'lusummers at the blu-shed shop' came about because we have a blue shed in our garden that I can see while I work at my laptop, but I decided that it should be 'blu' rather than 'blue' because it was more like 'lu'. Complicated, huh?

What do you love most about creating your work?
The weird inner peace I get and the little funny fuzzy feeling of excitement in my tummy when a piece is working well. I almost have to remind myself to breathe.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Ohhh, good question. I've loved lots of places, but I've just come back from a weekend in London and while I've been there lots of times, this was the first time with the boys and I suppose I saw it through their eyes. It's an incredible place, around every corner is something new to see and experience. It's so full of history, it's amazing.

A book you love:
Oh, crikey. Just one? Probably Echoes by Maeve Binchey. I first read it as a teenager and I must have read it ten or so times since. I was so in love with Gerry Doyle. I get sad when I finish a really good book, it's like friends leaving you. What a sap.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Hmmmm... I've known my husband, Sam, since I was about five years old. We went to school together and (according to my mum) one day I came home and told my parents that there was a boy at school with the most lovely name, Sam Summers, and I was going to marry him. He lived on a farm and, aged five, I quite fancied being a farmer's wife. Then I did marry him 20 years later and I am now the worst farmer's wife in the history of farmers' wives.

What achievement are you most proud of?
Apart from the obvious answer of my boys, who I'm soooo proud of, this year I had two big achievements with my paper quilts. One, called Revealed 2 won a big award at The Festival of Quilts exhibition in Birmingham, UK. Also, a series of five paper quilt collages (boringly called 20/20, 10/10, 5/5, 2/2 and 1/1) made it through to the final of Quilt 2007 at the same exhibition. It's a huge, huge honour just to chosen. That was amazing.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Do what you love. If you put your heart and soul into something, it will shine through. Don't give up if you know you've got a good product. I was so low before I joined notonthehighstreet, but I knew I'd got a good product, so I modified it, made it more accessible and they sold well.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Probably getting enough time to do everything. I feel terribly guilty that my children don't live in a perfect home, with perfectly ironed clothes and a kitchen floor so clean you could eat off it.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I try to spend Sundays with the family and we'll go to the park or swimming or visiting friends. If I get time completely to myself, I love to shop!

What are you working on right now?
Right now I've got more sketchbooks to make for Etsy. I've also got an exhibition with a group of other textile artists in Ely Cathedral next year...I've not done much so far, but that's at the top of my never-ending 'to do' list.

What do you hope to achieve next?
Ohhh, so much! My short term goal is to get to 100 sales on Etsy. (I'm at 98 at time of writing!) I've also got plans to do a collaboration with another paper goods artist that I'm really excited about. Next year I'd like to start supplying my sketchbooks to indie and lifestyle shops. My long term goal is really as I mentioned previously; I'd like lusummers to be a household design name.

Nectar Jewelry Designs ... Pennsylvania, USA

2007-11-21T16:28:00.000-08:00

Your name: Sharon Fiorini
Your business name: Nectar Jewelry Designs
Your web site: nectarjewelry.etsy.com
Your location: Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA

What do you create?
Jewelry – sterling silver, polymer clay, and a combination of both sometimes.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I work at a tiny jeweler's bench in my living room. Since I work full-time and have a family, I create when I can fit it in – usually late at night and on the weekends.

Do you have another "day job"?
I'm also a graphic designer during the day.

Where and what did you study?
I was an art major in college concentrating on printmaking and sculpture. I think that now that I'm doing jewelry, with some of the techniques I use, I'm combining both of those areas of concentrations, just on a much smaller level than I had in the past.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in looking more closely at things. I want people to notice the fine details in my work. It's kind of my motto regarding people – don't judge by looking too quickly. Notice who they are, not just what they look like. I like to concentrate on kind of the hard outer shell but there's so much more if you look inside.

What motivates you?
What motivates me is a need to create. If it was painting as a child, drawing, sculpture, papermaking, printmaking, photography, graphic design or jewelry.

When did you start doing this?
I actually started doing jewelry only about 4 years ago when I was pregnant with my son. I started with stringing beads, graduated to wire-wrapping (I did a lot of that), and now I've moved on to metal and more of a mixed media technique when I also use polymer within my metal designs.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Yes! I used to draw on the floor of my parent's basement with glue. They loved that!

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
As I started to do wire-wrapping, I was wearing my jewelry. People were noticing it. So I would bring it in to work and I would also have jewelry parties.

How did you choose the name for your business?
You know, I don't even remember. I think I saw a commercial on TV, Nectar popped into my head and that was it.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love every aspect of it. When I'm at my day job, I'm constantly sketching new ideas. I have tons of Post-its and pieces of paper with drawings on them of designs I'd like to create. I love the challenge of creating that design that I first saw in my head. And I love that people seem to really like my jewelry – that they find it unique and new and beautiful.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I haven't travelled all that much, but I'd have to say that I love San Francisco and NYC.

A book you love:
With my day job, my family, my jewelry, and Etsy, there's no time left to read. I think the last book I read was Night by Elie Wiesel. But mostly, I'm reading books to my son.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Hmmm, it's maybe not the most interesting but I'm actually pretty shy until I get to know people. I think that's where my inspiration comes from. People sometimes tend to misread shyness as arrogance. I'm totally the opposite – I'm extremely down to earth.

What achievement are you most proud of?
I'm most proud of the fact that I have learned jewelry making completely on my own. Of course, I'm always striving to learn new techniques. There's so much out there!

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Don't settle and don't give up. If someone tells you they're not interested in your business, keep trying and striving. Listen to your instincts regarding business opportunities. If your instincts are telling you that something doesn't feel right, listen to it. And market, market, market. It's tough out there. You need to keep getting your name and your craft out to the public. I'm always working on that.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
My biggest challenge is finding time to create.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Free time? What's that?

What are you working on right now?
I'm working on a new line of jewelry – mostly sterling. But it doesn't involve soldering at all. I'm trying to find new ways to attach and join using my little "pins". It's always about the details with my jewelry.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I really hope to have my jewelry take off so I can give up the day job. Jewelry is my love, my obsession, my creative outlet. It's what I need to do.

Groundwork ... South Carolina, USA

2007-11-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

Artist: Danna Ray
Business: Groundwork
Web site: www.groundwork.etsy.com
Location: South Carolina

What do you create?
Paintings, drawings, and children's illustrations.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I work at home in my studio, where I keep somewhat erratic hours. I often get inspired late in the evening and work straight into the morning. I like the quiet and the focus of working at night. I also don't like to take breaks while painting. I prefer to start a new project and just keep working until its finished.

Do you have another "day job"?
I work part-time as an rock climbing instructor for a junior climbing team.

Where and what did you study?
I received my BFA in Communication Arts and Design from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

Where do you find inspiration?
I grew up in a log cabin in the woods of rural South Carolina. I spent nearly all of my childhood playing in those woods. I didn't care for dolls, but I was fascinated with animals, and plants, and rocks, and water, and changing seasons. This was really the basis for everything that I know and love. Additionally, I draw inspiration from energetic people, idealistic people, and artistic people. I like searching for a balance between the tedious and the transcendental.

What motivates you?
The act of creation. I think that's why I don't like to take breaks while painting. I'm just so excited to see ideas come to life.

When did you start doing this?
I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. I opened up my Etsy shop about a month ago.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Absolutely. My mom likes to tell the story about a Thanksgiving turkey collage I made in preschool. The class was given worksheets printed with a line drawing of a turkey, and instructed to cut feathers out of construction paper and paste them to the turkey. Mom laughs about seeing the collages when she came to pick me up. Apparently all of the kids had cut and attached five or six big lumpy feathers, except for me. My page was covered with dozens of the tiniest feathers I could cut out. Sure, it was partly because I had seen turkeys in the woods and I knew they had more feathers than I could count... but mostly it was because I was obsessive. You know moms like to tell stories that both brag about you and make fun of you at the same time. This obsession with tedious detail is still very much present in my work.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I decided in high school that I wanted to write and illustrate children's books. So, I chose to attend VCU for their illustration program. After college, I spent the next four years traveling, working as a horticulturist, renovating a house, getting married, and rock climbing. Finally, I am back to drawing and painting! I've missed it terribly. I hope to never take a break from being an artist again.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I thought of the word groundwork as two words: ground and work...it seemed fitting for my naturally inspired artwork. A thesaurus can be a great resource when trying to think of names.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I really enjoy the unexpected surprises and fortunate mistakes. No matter how much planning and sketching I do, I'll never know precisely how a piece is going to look in the end. Many times I get to a point in the middle of a painting where I think its just not going to come together. When I was younger this was quite discouraging. But, then I realized that project after project, I was always able to pull it off in the end. Now, I've come to embrace this part of the process. I feel like many of my best ideas and best paintings have been a result of working through that very frustration. By incorporating or fixing these unplanned elements, I become more creative and versatile as an artist.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I've been lucky enough to take trips to Italy, Switzerland, and Jamaica, as well as a climbing trip to the Palisades all in the last year! (Amazingly, I had never even been on a plane until 2004.) This is a tough question, but I think I have to choose the Palisades. The Palisades are a group of peaks in the central part of the Sierra Nevada range in California. Here you can find the southernmost glaciers in North America. The landscape there is astounding. My husband and I climbed our first 14,000ft peaks!

A book you love:
For children or adults: Everybody Needs A Rock by Byrd Baylor. I love the pictures by Peter Parnall.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I have far more hobbies than time. The more interesting of these would probably be rock climbing. I've been climbing regularly with my husband for about two years now. Climbing can be quite freeing. As you focus intently on your movements, any small nagging thoughts from everyday life tend to slip away. Then, by the end of a trip, it feels good to get back to those everyday thoughts with a fresh perspective.

What achievement are you most proud of?
I bought and renovated our home with no experience, on a shoestring budget. I was inspired by my father, who built the log cabin my sister and I grew up in when he was only 26 years old. He cut and notched all of the logs by hand. My father passed away in 2004. I bought our house in 2005, figuring that if my dad could build an entire house at age 26, surely I could manage to renovate one at age 23. It was a process of constant challenge, and I often wished for my dad's advice. Now, two years later, this is a pretty nice little house. There are still some unfinished projects here and there, but they can wait. I have paintings to make.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
When I was at VCU I talked to a woman named Libby Meggs who had just had her first children's book published. She told me that she had a Winston Churchill quote taped up beside her desk that read “Never, never, never, never give up.” I've often thought of that. I have a large magnetic dry erase board over my desk where I hang various pieces of inspiration. I used to have this quote written there: "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing- that's why we recommend it daily." Sometimes knowing that you aren't motivated or inspired can be very depressing. That quote helped me remember that I need to motivate my self each day, even if the day before wasn't as productive as I had hoped.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
I enjoy working in more than one style as well as a variety of media. This is not usually a good thing for an artist. Clients and customers like to know what to expect. Thus, I have to keep my children's illustrations separate from my Etsy/gallery work and those separate from any graphic design work I've done. Even in those separate categories I have to monitor whether my work is looking consistent enough. Ugh.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Gardening, rock climbing, kayaking, cycling, cooking, dancing, tea drinking, chocolate eating.

What are you working on right now?
A series of abstract landscapes inspired by dream fragments.7

What do you hope to achieve next?
I've written a children's book that I need to finish illustrating. Then, I'll send it off in hopes of getting published. Also my husband and I are eying new 14,000ft peaks to climb.

strawberryluna ... Pennsylvania, USA

2007-10-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Artist: Allison / "strawberryluna"
Business: strawberryluna
Web site: strawberryluna.com
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

What do you create?
Mostly screenprinted rock posters and art prints currently, some tshirts too, though I do other design work as well. And undies! I love printing on underwear, it's so fun and playful.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
That's a two-parter for me. I do my design, drawing, and creative work from home usually. I do a lot of sketches in any one of the two or three sketch books that I have floating around, but all of the final work is completed on my computer and lots of it is done on a computer entirely (I'm a Mac girl!) Then, for the printmaking aspect of my work I go to my studio which is a great shared/community space print studio called Artists Image Resource or AIR for short. It's my home away from home.

Do you have another "day job" or did you leave one to pursue your art?
At the moment, I do not have another day job. I've been doing this design and printing thing as my full-time job now for a year and half. I'm really really lucky I get to do what I love for a living.

Where and what did you study?
I studied just about everything but art. Other than art history that is, I think I took every single one of those classes that I possibly could. My education was primarily in literature, linguistics, and developmental psychology. Until I started printing, I never really thought of myself as capable of producing visual art like the people whose work I admired.

Where do you find inspiration?
Anywhere! As cliched as it sounds, it's entirely true. I am as likely to be fascinated by random patterns in a sidewalk as I am by a piece of fine art. When I am looking to recharge my batteries I'll take my dog for a walk in the small woods near our house or maybe page through an art or design book. A lot of times, when I have a project to get started I think about color first, sort of reflexively and often build from there. I really love it when I just stumble upon an old textile pattern or something completely unrelated to what I am working on, and it sparks an idea.

What motivates you?
I love my job, that's the ultimate motivation. There are certainly days where I am tired and stressed out by deadlines or feeling uninspired, but when I think about working my old day job, well, it sort of snaps everything back into place mentally for me. Before I started really working in art and design, I would have these explosions in my head where a fully formed pieces of art but have no way of getting them from inside my head out into the world. So, I always felt like a bit of a logjam was clouding my mind. I still get those explosions, but now I have a release for some of them, and that's a huge motivation as well.

When did you start doing this?
I began screenprinting in November of 2004. I had always wanted to learn how and found out that a community print studio was in my city. They offer an "Open Studio" night where anyone can come in and screenprint once a week for a low fee (currently about $5) and get a real hands on sink-or-swim go at print making. I fell in love almost immediately with screenprinting and started going weekly to work on simple art prints just for fun, just for myself with no expectations of anyone ever seeing them, letting alone buying them. One of my prints caught the eye of a guy who connects poster artists with gigs in Philadelphia and he asked me if I wanted to try making rock posters a go. While being secretly terrified about, I agreed to try. That was in April of 2005 when I did a poster for the band Garbage, and I've been making posters ever since.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I do, major big time. When I was really young I drew constantly as well as built things out of clay and legos almost compulsively. I also grew up writing short stories, from childhood through college. At some point I felt much more comfortable writing than visual arts and just tended to keep working on that rather than drawing. By the time that high school came around I'd begun to think of my creative expression in terms only of the written word. However, I continued to be in love with other people's work.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
It sounds odd, but doing design and printmaking full-time was actually almost an accident. About a year and a half ago I quit a very stressful day job with every single intention of finding another day gig. My husband, who has a good day job, was incredibly supportive and we agreed that since I had a little bit of freelance work at first, I'd work on that and put off finding a real job for a week or two and then suddenly it was six months later. I'd managed to keep finding just enough work to get me through the next couple of weeks or a month when I realized that is nearly the textbook definition of the freelance life. It felt crazy, like walking off of a cliff. Had I not quit my day job without a contingency plan, I doubt that I would have had the courage to try being a working artist for a living – and yet, here I am. It's one of those golden times where a hasty decision was in fact absolutely for the best, but there was no way that I could have known that when I left my job.

I wish that I could tell some fantastic story of having a great idea to reinvent the wheel... but the truth is far more obscure than that. I really started out by just working on what I loved and was lucky enough to make some good networking connections that provided an excellent outlet for my screenprinting. From there, I suppose more than anything it was having the support and help of my lovely husband and my studio, AIR.

How did you choose the name for your business?
Honestly? It's another less-than-glamorous-tale. Before I started screenprinting, I had been lurking on a poster/screenprinting website forum called gigposters.com and wanted to make a post, which entailed having to come up with a screen name. I believe that I stared at the wall for a moment, just string words together that sounded nice, fresh, perhaps searching for a compound word made of things that I like. Believe it or not, Chocolatepuppykisses didn't quite roll off the tongue so well and strawberryluna just kind of ended up being the happenstance choice at that moment, well before I had aspirations to start my business. Once I did sort of have to start taking my design more seriously and come up with a name for my studio and art work, I didn't feel comfortable using my real name. I figured that "strawberryluna" was feminine and open to interpretation and as good as anything else that I might come up with so I went with that. I feel like this whole interview reveals me to be a bit of a random goofball. Well, that is a fair assessment of my character, what can I do? Hee.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love getting the chance to try new imagery and techniques. I feel as though I learn something new nearly every time that I work on a new project or print.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Paris, no contest. We got to go there in late 2001 for about a week. I love the ocean and am always fascinated by any seaside places that I go, but Paris was absolutely amazing every single moment that we were there, I'm sure not speaking excellent, but getting to practice my high school French was a part of that. Being surrounded by an culture much older and so richly in love with history and art was incredible.

A book you love:
One! Yipes! Can I mention two? We Have Always Lived In The Castle, by Shirley Jackson and The Master And Margarita, by Mikail Bulgakov. Both have these constantly wavering levels of beauty and creepiness that leave you unsure about the relative innocence of the main character that is like following a quiet wooded path as twilight falls.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Perhaps that I have never had nor been able to fully comprehend something like a 5-year-plan, but seem to find my way into good situations regardless. In fact, the 5-year-plan types of questions confuse and minorly stress me out because not only is it difficult for me to form one that feels right, I also know that my life had never gone forward in ways that I could have predicted. I'm a big proponent of meandering whenever possible.

What achievement are you most proud of?
Being self-taught.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Definitely stay with your guts. If you are interested in and passionate about what you do, then stick with it. Networking is something that is so important for any business to succeed and I think that women have a natural aptitude for it, in that we are raised to be so social and interact with the people around us. But we often don't fully realize that not only is it a social grace but also an important business tool.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Meeting deadlines! In some ways it's the hardest part of my job, scheduling time for design and printing 1-2 times a week at my shared space studio, as well as answering emails and sending out any orders that I have. However, one of the great things about making posters is that the work is very time-sensitive and a piece has to be done and gone by a certain, hard date. So in a way, that's very freeing to me as I don't have the luxury/albatross of working endlessly on a piece as I might if I were a painter. If that were the case, I'd probably finish one piece a year!

What do you love to do in your free time?
Spend time with my husband and friends, giggle as much as possible and just get out of my head. I work alone and from home and sometimes that can make me a little stir-crazy so it's so refreshing to just spend time with friends and laugh.

What are you working on right now?
Other than this interview, I am very close to finishing a project that I started close to two years ago when one of my best friends wanted to have a few prints for her newborn daughter's bedroom. That was the beginning of my alphabet series, which at the time, I have to admit, 26 separate designs and prints didn't really seem like a lot. Oh, but it is! I have three left to complete in the next two weeks and I can't wait to the series all done and ready.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I'm really excited to get working on some art prints and I'd like to try and do some textile designs in the coming year. We'll see!

Mtjoyschool Studios ... Pennsylvania, USA

2007-10-22T02:47:00.000-07:00

Artist: Debra Greenleaf CampbellBusiness: Mtjoyschool Studios
Web site: mtjoyschool.etsy.com
Location: Oxford, Pennsylvania

What do you create?
I create artwork in various media. I tend toward the mixture of paper and paint and I create a mess... every day.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I have a small studio in my home and I work whenever I can. Early mornings and late nights are the best times for studio work.

The Mt. Joy School and by association, Mtjoyschool Studios are located on the outskirts of Pennsylvania Dutch Country in picturesque Oxford, Pennsylvania. A veritable hub of intellectualism and culture!

Do you have another "day job", or did you leave one to pursue your art?
I did leave a "day job" but not to pursue my art. I held a faculty position at an art college and I left it to be home with my children, specifically my son. In late 2004 my son Jackson was diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum. I left my academic career to manage his therapy schedule and to advocate for him. Initially, his Autism presented as being rather severe, it was absolutely necessary that a parent be with him at all times. I began creating again and listing my artwork for sale on Etsy during the summer of 2006.

Where and what did you study?
I have a Bachelors and Masters degrees from Penn State's College of Art and Architecture.

Where do you find inspiration?
I work on several different series simultaneously. My Paper Landscapes are obviously inspired by the land around me, which is quite lovely. My "Home" series was inspired by the great big new house that was built overnight in front of my little antique cottage, virtually destroying my view of the country that inspired the series previously discussed. That series has since evolved from a negative commentary on sprawl and consumerism to a nice little folk series glorifying the family home. I decided to be cheerful about it, basically. My past, my roots and origins are closely linked with Pennsylvania. Dutch Folk art. My grandmother was raised as a Mennonite and she was an oil painter in a naive, folk style. My series of florals, which I'm calling Mod/Pop/Folk was inspired by Pennsylvania. Dutch Folk art, my Grammy and my childhood in a conservative, agriculturally-based community in Southern Lancaster County. I am also inspired by my son. He loves geometric shapes, patterns and bright colors. Most of my pop pieces are for Jack. He will stare at length at a pattern of brightly colored circles. He loves shapes and he loves to count – all elements that find their way into my art. My sources for inspiration are all over the map!

What motivates you?
I am fortunate to have a great education in the fine arts and I don't want it go to waste. I have a lot of creative energy and ideas and I want to use them for good. I also want to make money!

When did you start doing this?
I joined Etsy to buy handmade goods at Christmas of 2005. I did not start listing my own work until July 31, 2006. I do exhibit on occasion, but I have never sold through another online venue, only Etsy.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
As I mentioned my grandmother was a painter, she taught me her oil techniques and style beginning at age 12. I do remember excelling at art always and loving it. I also took classes in sewing and crafts through 4H. I remember being absolutely in love with crafts. I was a macramé whiz in the '80s!!

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
My son Jackson eventually entered a pre-school, in an Autism-support classroom and I had some time to kill. I began painting a bit – a few abstract and making a few landscape collages. While browsing Etsy I decided that my work was good enough, comparable and I decided to list a few pieces just to try it out. It mushroomed and now I have a business!

How did you choose the name for your business?
My house is a restored and "augmented" red brick, one-room schoolhouse dating to 1885. In our region of Pennsylvania, one room schools were often given really happy, Utopian names, usually somewhat biblically derived. My home is the Mt. Joy School, it's carved on the key-stone, over the front door of my house. When my parents were newly married and I was born, our first home was a schoolhouse too – the Mt. Eden School. My mother actually went to school in my home in the mid-1950s. This house is unique, it's funky, it's historic and it's where my studio and family are!

What do you love most about creating your work?
It's varied; unusual and always changing...like me. I don't subscribe to the antiquated notion that to be successful you have to have one signature style or stick to one media. Our personalities are not predictably consistent or one-dimensional, so our artwork shouldn't be either! I love to have ideas, to write them down in my journal – several a day, to work them to completion and to hang them upon a wall.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I've traveled a fair amount, especially while in school. I'd have to say, though, that the most fascinating place that I've been was to dinner in an Amish household. I was one mile from my home, but I felt as though I was on a different planet.

A book you love:
Oh man! I'm not sure that I can name just one. I read at least two books at a time. I just finished Nobody Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July and I really appreciated it. It was well written, thoughtful, sexy and sufficiently random.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I'm not sure that it's interesting, but it is important: I'm a really excellent friend.

What achievement are you most proud of?
This may sound odd, but I'm most proud of leaving my teaching gig to be at home with Jackson. It was the most selfless thing I've ever done.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Be persistent and do not be afraid, or too proud, to ask for help. Women entrepreneurs are refreshingly supportive of their own.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
BURN OUT!!! I can always generate ideas, make working sketches and compose something cool. The actual labor though, the grunt work and the effort that is required is often difficult for me. My life is tiring: little kids with special needs, a home, therapy schedule, meetings, Etsy and my private students...from time to time I need a break. I care about myself enough to take a break when I need to.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Free time? When I carve for myself, a tiny niche of relative inactivity... I like to talk to my friends. I also read, watch movies and drink tea. I like to write too. I love having a blog, although I have trouble keeping up with it. My other "guilty pleasure" is painting in watercolor.

What are you working on right now?
A couple of larger abstracts, a pop art piece similar to things that I've done in the past, but in an palette of browns and Paper Landscapes in anticipation of Christmas.

What do you hope to achieve next?
This is a tough question for me. Right now, most of my goals are for my children and I am very content with what I've achieved this year professionally. I love painting illustrations in watercolor and pen and ink, sort of a more modern version of Tasha Tudor or Beatrix Potter. It's just so different from what I currently do, but I love it! Watercolor is relaxing and challenging. What I make is really good, and also totally unexpected by those that know my artwork. I would love to illustrate a children's book in that manner.

Amy Leong ... Alberta, Canada

2007-10-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

Artist: Amy Leong
Web site: amyleong.etsy.com
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

What do you create?
Paintings, photographs, drawings and I also write in my spare time.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
Every chance I get, but there is never enough time in a day. I find myself planning out paintings and other creative concepts every time I lay down at night. Some of my best ideas come to me right before I fall asleep. I am constantly coming up with new project ideas, I just wish I had the time to execute all of them.

Do you have another "day job"?
I am currently in university doing my last year of my after degree. It is tough to juggle both school and art sometimes. The more exposure my art gets, and the more sales I generate, the more difficult it is to abandon art and get into school mode every September. I make a living in the summer by selling my work, but I continue to get numerous commissions throughout the year. It is hard because I do have to turn down many great art-related opportunities during the school year.

Where and what did you study?
I finished my BFA at the University of Alberta in 2006 and am currently in my fourth year of my Education after degree.

Where do you find inspiration?
I would have to say that I find other artists to be my inspiration. Not just a select few, but all artists in one way or another. There are so many talented people in the world. Right now I am experimenting with a wide range of mediums and subject matter. Other artists continually challenge me to push the envelope, to try new things. It is important to never let yourself get too comfortable with what it is that you are doing, then your work loses its spontaneity and a great deal of its intrigue.

What motivates you?
It always helps when other people appreciate what I do. It motivates me to keep trekking along. It's a great feeling to know that so many people have brought a part of me into their homes by hanging my art on their walls.

When did you start doing this?
I have been selling my work for the last seven years in various venues ranging from art galleries to hair salons and I just began selling my work online a little over a month ago.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
From my earliest memories I have always loved art. I would sit and draw for hours when I was a kid. I also remember meticulously filling in coloring books with pencil crayon, taking great care not to venture outside the lines. My grandmother's house had a large den with a counter that ran along one entire side of the room. It was always overflowing with my sketches, various craft projects and poems. Art has always been a very important part of my life.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I sort of fell into selling my art in a way. In the beginning of course, I wasn't overly business-savvy. I would say it hasn't really become a business until the last two years or so. I am starting to understand more about the complexities of selling. I realize now that it takes far more than just talent to be a successful artist. It is largely about promotion and confidence, and it takes a long time to figure out even basic things like how much to charge for your work. I realized however, that if I was to devote adequate amounts of time to doing art, I had to find a way to make a living at it too. Working a 9-5 office job wouldn't have allowed me to pursue my art career to the extent that I wanted.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love the experimentation. Working with new materials or new subject matter is always exciting. Sometimes it doesn't turn out at all and I fall flat on my face, but then there are the times when I discover something new and create something that is really successful. That's the best feeling in the world. To look at something and know that your hard work has paid off and that you are growing and improving as an artist. It's that feeling of limitless potential that I love. I am always striving to do something great, and once in a while when I do, it makes it all worthwhile.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I travelled to China this spring. The history there is amazing! It was definitely a place where I encountered a sensory overload.

A book you love:
The Time Travellers Wife. I had a lump in my throat for an entire day after I finished it. I haven't met a woman yet who hasn't loved it.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
That is a hard question to answer but I would have to say that one of the unique things about me is my background. My father is Chinese and my mother is Irish, Scottish, Welsh. After immigrating to Canada in the early 1900s my Chinese grandfather opened a store as a practicing herbalist, my grandmother was an accomplished musician. On my mother's side, my grandfather owned one of the first photographic studios in Edmonton. The name was McDermid Studios, and the majority of Edmonton's early history was recorded by photographers in my family. My parents came from two very different places but growing up was a unique experience because of this. My beliefs, values and perceptions come from such a wide range of influences, and I feel fortunate to be a part of two very distinct cultural backgrounds.

What achievement are you most proud of?
I am proud that I have come as far as I have over the last while with respect to selling my work and gaining exposure. Mixing art with the business world is a bit daunting at first, but I think I have begun to find a place for myself amongst all the confusion. I just turned 25 and think I am a lot farther ahead than I was even a year ago.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
I think confidence is key. When you are first starting out it is all that you have. I really think that if you believe in what you are doing, other people will too.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
The biggest challenge I face in my work is how to balance creativity and business. Sometimes I will paint something that ends up being extremely commercially successful. I know that if I keep producing the same thing that they will likely sell very quickly. After a while though, an artist can become like an assembly line worker. If you stick to the same thing over and over, you lose a passion for what it is you're doing. It is not good for art to become too formulaic. When paintings are predictable, I believe they are no longer successful. I think it is really important to balance business (what the customer wants) and the need to explore and experiment and continually challenge yourself as an artist. It is never easy, but in order to be successful, it is necessary to find that happy medium.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I love shopping in decor stores. It's an addiction! I also really enjoy trying out new restaurants – mostly I go straight to the dessert menu!

What are you working on right now?
I recently tried my hand at illustrations. I became inspired by '50s images of children from old storybooks. I am currently selling these prints online. I am also in a bird phase right now, but my most recent project is a series of collages using blown up old stamps and other vintage ephemera.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I am so overwhelmed with ideas right now that I hope to be able to devote as much time as I can to my art over the next while. My next project in the way of selling my work online will probably be to begin posting some larger works. I sell mostly oil and acrylic paintings in and around the city, but I would really love to reach a larger audience.

My goal is also to be able to combine my two degrees and find a full time position as a high school art teacher. That way I can concentrate a lot more on what I love most. I think it is so important for youth to be able to express themselves creatively. It is a freeing experience and something I hope to share with as many young people as I can.

She Rides The Lion ... California, USA

2007-10-09T05:39:00.000-07:00

Artist: Sonia Romero
Business: sheridesthelion (she rides the lion)
Web sites: soniaromero.com, sheridesthelion.etsy.com, myspace.com/soniaromero
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA

What do you create?
I create many things, including mixed media linocut prints and paintings. My subject matter currently includes animals, trees, children, food, life in Los Angeles, my strange humor and hopefully a little magic.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
My studio is located at the foot of the San Gabriel mountains in northeast Los Angeles. It’s the best of both worlds, city and country. My house is a live/work converted garage. I work all days at any times.

Do you have another "day job"?
I am a fine artist full time and always have been. Occasionally I teach or do guest workshops. I teach children, teens and adults, in general art and printmaking.

Where and what did you study?
I studied at the Los Angeles County Highschool for the Arts, in visual arts, and the Rhode Island School of Design, in printmaking. My education continued in the Los Angeles art scene, where another set of skills is needed, such as press savvy and relationships with artists and galleries.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration from Google images, antique paper goods, museums, news, people I meet, social situations, fairy tales, illustrations, special moments in my day to day life.

What motivates you?
I have always been motivated. I think its because the alternative is utter boredom and sloth, and that doesn’t make me happy. You have to be self-motivated to make it as an artist.

When did you start doing this?
When I was conceived.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I grew up in a family of artists, including both of my parents. I have been creating artwork from the beginning, and showing and selling artwork since I was around seven.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
Well, if we are talking about selling art, I have been doing that for many years. However, I just opened up my online Etsy store in May of 2007. My Etsy store showcases my smallest and most shippable work. I thought it would be a great way to increase exposure. Web presence is becoming increasingly important to artists in today’s society. New customers can link to my regular site (www.soniaromero.com), and my regular customers can conveniently make purchases with credit cards and shipping.

How did you choose the name for your business?
She Rides the Lion is a continuing motif in my work. I am very attracted to the sweet and innocent/strong and ferocious duality. Yes, I am a Leo.

What do you love most about creating your work?
It gives me a sense of satisfaction and allows me to interact with the world in positive ways.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I spent a year in Rome, Italy, which was very inspiring and exciting.

A book you love:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Read it!

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I’m an artist, I’m talented, and I do something with that talent.

What achievement are you most proud of?
My artwork has brought me many great achievements throughout the years. I met President Clinton and had a show at the National Gallery when I was 17, I had my debut solo show last year, and I am working on my first permanent public art piece as we speak. I guess what I am most proud of is that feeling inside of me that this is what I should be doing.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Create a wonderful product that you love, make an excellent presentation of it, and learn how to promote it full time.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Myself.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I love to squeeze babies and frequent farmer’s markets.

What are you working on right now?
I am creating 13 linocut designs that will be blown up into 13, 4 x4 foot tile mosaic murals for the Macarthur Park metro station in Los Angeles. Public art, baby!

What do you hope to achieve next?
I am applying to grad schools this year. Onwards and upwards!

Swallowfield ... Maine, USA

2007-10-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

Artist: Jennifer Judd-McGee
Business: Swallowfield
Web sites: swallowfield.etsy.com, swallowfield.typepad.com
Location: Portland, Maine

What do you create?
I make a little bit of many things. Right now I'm mostly doing mixed media collage, drawing and gocco prints.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
Anytime and anywhere that I can squeeze it in! Technically, my studio is (for the moment) in my basement, but I draw at meetings, waiting for my kids on the playground, and in the middle of the night if I can't sleep. There are sketchbooks, pens and little scraps of paper all over the house.

Do you have another "day job"?
I worked for Planned Parenthood as a women's healthcare advocate for many years, but I left my job in June to pursue my art and be more involved in my children's school. It has been a big scary change! And it's making me really happy, and I know the kids like having me around more.

Where and what did you study?
I went to College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. I did a fair number of wonderful art classes there – 2-D Design, Printmaking, Ceramics, and that was my only formal training. I also studied political science and women's studies.

Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere! Maine is an especially beautiful place. I find myself noticing the subtle patterns in nature a lot right now, and loving things like lichen, moss, pinecones, sea urchins, bark and wild flowers. I love looking at natural light and shadows. I adore mid-century modern design, lovely old fonts, and dreaming of new ways to look at older objects. I get a ton of daily inspiration from Flickr, where I am lucky to be pals with some incredible artists and craftspeople.

What motivates you?
Knowing that my art makes people smile is a huge rush for me. Up until recently it has only been something I've done for family members or friends, and I was actually very shy about it. It was a pretty big leap for me to put myself out in the public domain on Flickr and Etsy. I feel like it's helping me grow a lot to keep on putting stuff out there. I'm getting braver and more confident and that feels good on so many levels.

When did you start doing this?
I opened my Etsy store in late March of this year, after getting some encouragement from Flickr pals to try it out. I had a booth at Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn last summer and made some great connections there. And here we are!

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Aside from being handy with the play-doh fun factory, not really! I always thought of my sister as the artist in our family – she is very talented at everything she touches. I got into it more in college.

How did you choose the name for your business?
Swallowfield was the name of the old farmhouse where my mom grew up, and I've always loved it.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I get a kick out of the fact that I never know exactly what the end product will be. I'll have an idea, but I often come back to things and keep adding layers here and there until I think they're really done. I love the feeling of surprise at the end, where I scratch my head and think I can't believe I made that.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I am a big fan of Portland, Oregon. All of the lovely bridges and green spaces, the art+craft+diy movement, great local food and crazy wonderful architecture – it always blows me away. I love bungalows. If I were to live anywhere else, it would be the 'other' Portland.

A book you love:
Oh, it is so hard to pick just one! I am a book nut. To make it super simple, right now I am loving Craft Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco. It's very relevant to what I'm up to right now, and I love the interviews with the different designers and craftspeople.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Oh dear. I'm not terribly interesting. I can touch my tongue to the tip of my nose. I'm proudly left handed. I can do crazy math in my head.

What achievement are you most proud of?
Well, I am pretty tickled by the fruits of my loins. (Do all moms answer this way?)They are incredible, interesting, funny, artistic little people who keep my on my toes for sure! I'm trying to do my best job with them and hopefully minimize whatever they'll pay for therapy down the road. I'm also proud of quitting my day job to pursue my hope of making art a career.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
I recommend spending as much time as you can ahead of time studying the business side of what you want to do. Don't quit your day job until you're burning the candle at both ends doing your new business idea and it's going well enough that sleep is starting to seem like an evasive proposition. Ask for feedback and be open to hearing it. Put yourself out there in ways that might make you feel shy.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Finding the balance between work and home is very tricky, since my studio is at home. It's easy to wander off on another tangent. I am also a messy, spread-it-all-out worker, and spend a lot of time dreaming about the ways I might organize myself.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I have really great friends, and I'm always happy to get the occasional night out with them to catch up without the kids. I love to read, explore on the beach, go to thrift stores and yard sales, and to try new recipes. I read a lot of cookbooks. Getting regular exercise clears my head and helps me sleep better. I'm going to take an encaustic painting class this fall, and I'm pretty jazzed about that.

What are you working on right now?
I am working on a couple of commissioned illustration projects and working on collage, drawings and gocco for my first solo show for Edith and Edna in Portland, which will be up in November/December. I'm pretty excited about it. I am also working on a limited run 2008 calendar.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I'm super excited about learning encaustic painting. I think it is a medium that lends itself well to collage, and will combine a lot of my skills and push me in a good way. I also want to learn some web design this year, and to get more familiar with Photoshop.

Abstractheart ... New York, USA

2007-09-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

Artist: Susan Foss
Business: Susan Foss and Abstractheart
Web sites: susanfoss.com and abstractheart.etsy.com and c-scapeduneshack.blogspot.com
Location: Hudson Valley, New York, USA

What do you create?
I have a few bodies of work that I create simultaneously. I make mixed media collages of houses that are all about place and space. I paint sexy, little fruit paintings and larger, colorful, textural abstract paintings.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
Recently I rented a small studio outside my home for the first time, and I go there as often as I can. In summer I work in the studio many days, during the “school year” I work on weekends and days off, but the creative process is ongoing, in my thoughts every day.

Do you have another "day job"?
At present I teach high school art.

Where and what did you study?
I got my BFA from the School of Visual Arts in NYC and I recently received my Masters in Painting at SUNY New Paltz.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find an enormous amount of inspiration looking at other art, but also in the world I see around me every day – colors and how they interact, textures, peeling paint or paper, rust, rocks. I also pay a lot of attention to shapes and how they react to one another.

What motivates you?
The feeling I get when I am creating, the satisfaction of seeing the piece come together. Frankly, I couldn’t not do this. I have to paint, I have to create, it keeps me centered, happy and sane.

When did you start doing this?
I have always made art, except for a period of a few years when my kids were very young and I was running a restaurant. I started showing and selling my work a few years ago, and started selling on Etsy earlier this year.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Yes, I went through a lot of Crayolas! Later when I was 10, my parents signed me up for oil painting lessons on the Jersey shore with a man named Travis Neidlinger. I learned an incredible amount from him during that time and my paintings won ribbons at local art shows.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I’ve always been somewhat of an entrepreneur. I worked freelance in NYC for years, and then moved upstate and opened a restaurant for about eight years. Now it’s time for me to merge my business ability with my passion for art making.

How did you choose the name for your business?
It’s a play on words…it started out as my user name for eBay – I was selling work on there last year before I found Etsy.

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love the zone I can get into when I am absorbed in my painting. Time, stress and distractions all fall away and I find myself in a kind of dance with the piece... I begin by leading and then the painting tells me where to go next.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I have been to many fascinating places...but here’s one- sitting in the dining room of a taxi driver and his wife in Greece, and eating goat’s head with brains for dinner.

A book you love:
We just read Ahab’s Wife by Sara Jeter Naslund for my book club, it’s a fascinating story of a very strong woman.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I have a lot of really good stories.

What achievement are you most proud of?
I am proud that I have achieved most of what has been on my goal setting plans for the past few years: gallery shows, an artist residency, selling my work, and having a studio outside of my home.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Finding the time I want to spend in the studio!

What do you love to do in your free time?
Read, travel, eat good food, cook – and I am slightly obsessed with real estate.

What are you working on right now?
I have a solo show of my abstract oil paintings coming up in Beacon, New York next July, so I am focusing on that body of work.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I would love to be able to make a living solely from my art.

Tummyache ... Warragul, Australia

2007-09-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

Artist: Julie Knoblock
Business: Julie Knoblock / Tummyache
Web sites: julieknoblock.com, tummyache.etsy.com, julieknoblock.blogspot.com
Location: Warragul, Victoria, Australia

What do you create?
Illustration for clients, personal artwork for myself and my shop. I do stray from the path occasionally and create other crafty items, but always return to the humble 2-D format.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
Most of the time I work during the day in my studio which consists of a small room and what is supposed to be a dining room. My computer desk is in the small room, and I do all my painting and drawing in the dining room. I like to be in the middle of the house working and not tucked away into a corner. It's nice to work whilst my partner Jim is watching telly and we are still in ear shot of one another.

Do you have another "day job"?
I kind of have two jobs though the boundaries are quite blurred. I work as an illustrator, but also run my shop tummyache and create my own artwork, plus sell some handmade products including things such as bags and purses. It did take me a while to do art as a full time career. I've had boring and odd jobs in the past; working in a bingo centre and picking mushrooms can both be seen in my resume.

Where and what did you study?
I left school early and did a folio enhancement course which helped me to get into an illustration course where I acquired a diploma in art and illustration.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration everywhere. The silly things in life can really inspire me. Something someone says, a road sign, a comedian, a song. I could see a texture on a wall, cracked bits of paint on a door frame. Things just stand out sometimes. Menial things. Then of course I am hugely inspired by other artists, and they also inspire me to stay motivated. I see stuff other people are creating and it just drives me to do my own work. It creates an urge.

What motivates you?
Like in the previous question other artists. This can also include musical artists. Just seeing people create something fantastic and thinking about how hard they must have worked makes me want to do the same.

When did you start doing this?
When I was old enough to hold a pencil! I started illustration around the years 1999-2000. I opened my online shop in August 2006.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Oh yeah. Everyone said I'd be an artist when I was young. I remember being in my room for three days (or maybe that's just how I remember it) drawing a tree and every leaf on it meticulously with my 72 Derwents that were my pride and joy. Sometimes I'd get annoyed that people would only see this quality in me. I remember an exercise we did in high school were everyone in the class had to write something nice about you anonymously. I got 28 pieces of paper that said "You are a good drawer." Ho-hum!

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
Even though I love people, I hate serving them. I dislike the work environment and prefer to work on my own. It had always been the plan. Now that I'm getting into my own artwork and shop a lot more I'm moving even further away again from people's orders, which is exciting me.

How did you choose the name for your business?
I work under my own name for illustration, and Tummyache for my shop. My stuff I see as as kind of cute but weird, strange... so I needed a name that was cute, but also a bit "wrong," hence "Tummyache."

What do you love most about creating your work?
I love the feedback I get from people. I love when I do an artwork and I'm happy with how it turns out. I get excited that people like my work. The artists I love I hold in such high regard; so when people write stuff to me and say the same things about me as I would my arty idols, for a moment it puts me in a fantasy that I'm on the same level as them. Until my self-critical nature kicks in again!

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I went to China last year. I'd have to say that was pretty fascinating. So grungy and complicated. Very inspiring.

A book you love:
I always remember Stones From The River by Ursula Hegi. I'm not a huge book reader (short attention span) but I do love to read non-fictional books about anything from world issues to gardening and art. And magazines.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I was painfully shy as a kid and teenager. I had a terrible time trying to fit in at high school. I'm not so bad now, though certain people can make me revert to my old ways.

What achievement are you most proud of?
The achievement I am most proud of is finally settling into what I feel is a personal style with my art. I struggled for years and constantly felt unhappy with my work. I've been through many style changes (which my website will probably show – I really need to update it). I am really comfortable with where I am at now, and this allows me to enjoy what I do. For me it's not about how much stuff I sell, or how much money I make, but how content I am.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Don't be afraid to ask others that are where you want to be questions that you may have. A friend of mine did come across a nasty artist once when asking for advice, but I think that was the exception. I've asked advice from many people and everyone I've asked has been really friendly and helpful.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Periods of non-inspiration. These are getting fewer and further between though. Most of the time images or ideas pop into my head during the day or through dreams I have, but I do go through stages where nothing new is coming to me, nothing is exciting me. I find this can usually be remedied by getting out the sketch book and to start doodling. I'm also a lazy person by nature and find it hard to discipline myself. I try very hard not to get sucked in by cheesy daytime television!

What do you love to do in your free time?
I love to see friends and family, to hang out with my partner Jim and my two dogs. Because I work in isolation most of the time I like to just be around people whenever I get the chance. Lately I have got back into playing my guitar again. Sometimes nothing beats sitting in the backyard rugged up in front of a fire with a cup of jasmine tea, my dogs and Jim.

What are you working on right now?
Right now I am working on some illustrations for some women's rights leaflets. Also some educational publishing stuff, and always new artwork that could possibly make it into my shop in the form of art or originals. I always have a huge list of stuff to do.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I am working on veering away from illustration and to continue being my own art director and to just be an "artist" and not an "illustrator." I'd love to do a painting that I'm 100% happy with!

Fabrications ... Illinois, USA

2007-09-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

Artist: Mary Laskey
Business: Fabrications
Web sites: marstinia.etsy.com and www.fabrications.net
Location: Chicago, Illinois

What do you create?
I work primarily with copper and silver to create art jewelry and small dishes with kiln-fired glass enamel designs.

What is involved in enameling?
Enameling is the process of firing finely ground pigmented glass onto metal in a kiln. It is an ancient process that can be traced to ancient Byzantine times. It was quite popular in the the US as a hobby craft in the 1950s and 1960s, but has since become something of a lost art that not many people are familiar with.

My glass enamel designs are created on copper or fine silver with multiple layers of different colors of glass enamel powder and require a series of firings (three to six on average, sometimes more). My kiln is quite small so each piece is fired individually, not in batches like ceramics.

The glass enamels I work with are ground to the consistency of powdered sugar. I apply the glass powders to the metal surface by using small sifters and sifting on an even layer of enamel, then I fire it in an electric kiln at 1500 degrees Farenheit. A firing usually takes about 2 to 6 minutes depending on the size of the metal piece. The powdered glass granules melt and fuse together to create a glossy solid layer of glass which is fused permanently to the metal base.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I share a studio space on the north side of Chicago with my husband, Grant, who is an artist and photographer. When possible, I generally spend my evenings and weekends in the studio. I also have a work room at home where I can assemble and finish pieces. There are so many hats to wear when you have a business that it seems like I'm almost always thinking about some aspect of my work.

Do you have another "day job"?
Presently I work during the day as a digital production artist for a large Euro Design home furnishings company.

Where and what did you study?
I have a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Art) in Photography from University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. I also spent a year studying abroad, doing Visual Studies at Oxford Polytechnic in Oxford, England.

What inspires you and what motivates you?
I'm super attracted to mid-century modern designs 1950s-70s, so I'm really in my element with all kinds of mod stuff being back in style! I especially love the space-age and futuristic designs of those eras. I also love looking at nature and often find organic themes to incorporate into my work, especially textures and patterns one finds in plants, flowers, pods and the like. In the realm of art, I'm most inspired by the work of Alexander Calder, Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miro, Barbara Hepworth and June Schwarcz.

When did you start doing this?
I started making jewelry in 1990. I became a full-time metalsmith and enamelist in 1998.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I have always loved art projects, drawing and making things at a very young age. I still have a little quilt that my mother helped me sew when I was five years old. It's made from fabrics that my grandmother used to make clothes for my sister, brother and me.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I've always loved jewelry and have a large collection of costume jewelry. When I meet people, I have a bad habit of noticing what jewelry they are wearing before I register anything else about them. I started making my own jewelry for fun just after I graduated from college. I didn't have any training at all, so I recycled vintage jewelry and reused the beads to make my own pieces. I would wear my creations to work and some of my co-workers liked them so much that I began to sell my jewelry to them from time to time.

I quit my full-time job in 1996 to become a freelancer and have more time for my own creative projects. I took a one-day enameling workshop at a local art center and totally fell in love with the process. I also started taking metalsmithing classes. I met several people there who were artists successfully selling their jewelry at art fairs. I was inspired by them to try it myself. In 1998, I launched a website and my business, Fabrications. I've been extremely fortunate to have tremendous support from my family and friends and as well as some very loyal customers.

How did you choose the name for your business?
One of the definitions of the word fabrication is to construct or manufacture something made of metal. I also frequently imprint fabric textures onto my metal pieces to add texture, so there a sort of play on words involved.

What do you love most about creating your work?
Some of my best designs have just popped into my head, out of the blue. I love it when that
kind of spontaneity happens. Also, enameling is often quite unpredictable – I never know exactly what's going to come out of the kiln. I guess you could say that I love surprises! I've always enjoyed working with my hands, and there is just so much basic satisfaction in creating things.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I know I should say someplace exotic... and I've been to some fantastic places: Peru, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico. I love to travel, but there are so many distractions that I feel like I can't really get to know a place unless I spend a lot of time there. So truthfully, some of my favorite places to go are rather mundane. My favorite haunt at the moment is a prairie meadow near where I work. There are walking trails through it and I go there almost every day because it's different every day – new plants growing or blooming, different birds, animals and insects. There are constant changes and shifts in light, cloud patterns, sounds and smells. I
love it there because I feel like I can recapture the curiosity that you have as a child, when everything around you is fascinating and you can spend hours playing in a puddle.

A book you love: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I don't think of myself as a mystic, but I once had an out of the body experience. I was about five years old and I was running down the stairs at a neighbor's house and I tripped over a vacuum cleaner that had been left on the stairs and tumbled headlong down to the bottom. As I was falling, for a split second I was also standing at the bottom of the stairs watching myself
fall, as though the momentum of the fall actually carried me out of my body briefly. Luckily, I wasn't hurt, but that is probably the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to me. I think that experience has made a lasting impression on me.

What achievement are you most proud of?
I'm very proud of running my own business and doing what I love for nine years.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Always be confident and optimistic – especially when you're unsure of yourself. Positive qualities attract positive reactions from other people and will reinforce your goals.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Keeping up with the flow of ideas. I can't always drop what I'm doing to work on a new idea at the moment it occurs to me, so I always make sketches and notes about new designs or ideas, so I can revisit them when time allows. My sketchbooks are a great source of inspiration when I feel like I'm in a rut.

What do you love to do in your free time?
Take nature walks or hikes, ride my bike, play tennis, ski (if there's snow), read, take pictures, watch old movies with ridiculously naïve plots, spend time with Grant and our spoiled cockatiel, Sprout, and our families and friends.

What are you working on right now?
I'm working on a completely new line of jewelry pieces that combine my two of my favorite things: color and texture. The new pieces will have brightly colored geometric enamel shapes and mixed metal pieces that have a lot of hammered texture. I'm really enjoying the interplay of the geometric and organic qualities.

What do you hope to achieve next?
Besides having a clean house and a great summer, I'd really like to start a website or a blog about enameling. It's a wonderful process that deserves more recognition and I think it's overdue for a revival. There are many marvelous artists out there working with glass enamel and creating the next wave.

Curbside Treasure ... California, USA

2007-09-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

Artist: Annie Yu
Business: Curbside Treasure
Web site: curbsidetreasure.etsy.com
Location: San Francisco, California

What do you create?
I make collages out of papers that I collect from everyday life. I have a weakness for maps and bus transfers, the blue insides of envelopes and old text pages from books.

Where and when do you do your creative work?
I usually do my artwork at night, in my attic studio/bedroom. I have a huge amount of paper dumped in a drawer and I sift through for papers that appeal to me. I rip and cut and arrange and then paste when the composition appeals to me.

Do you have another "day job"?
My day job is being a student at a community college – I am an English major. I consider myself a college student by day, an artist/crafter by night.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration on Flickr, there are so many talented artists sharing their work there. I think so many things inspire me, such as my favorite poems and books, people out on the street, when I ride the bus, finding new paper. I also love trading with other artists on mail art groups because I love having a small art gallery in my room.

What motivates you?
I think having my own time and space to create stuff motivates me. Being inspired by other people's art and craft and pushing myself to keep creating new art motivates me. The support of my family and friends and other artists is wonderful as well.

When did you start doing this?
I am a self-taught artist and I have only been making collages for four years. I started doing visual journaling by filling up pages with collages when I was 14 and I kept going at it. I also started trading my art with other people around the world through mail art forums.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
As a kid, I had a hard time with drawing. in fact I hated to draw because nothing came out the way I wanted it to and nobody had taught me how to draw in the first place. I think as a child I only thought of painting, drawing and sculpture as art. Now that that I am a bit older, I realize that there is so much more to art than that.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I decided to start my own business at the end of January 2007. It was one of the goals I had for 2007 – to open a shop online and sell my work. I definitely didn't know what I was getting into when starting my Etsy shop, but I have had a lot of fun so far and I love the community on Etsy.

How did you choose the name for your business?
Curbside Treasure comes from a favorite novel of mine called White Oleander by Janet Fitch. The main character starts to look at flea markets for old suitcases to make assemblages.

What do you love most about creating your work?
What I love about making my collages is that it's very soothing, it helps me relax and feel less stressed. I also like how fun it is to use junk and turn it into art.

A book you love:
A book called Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier. The story is about a seventeen-year-old girl who is confused about her identity and is an aspiring photographer. I love how descriptive and magical the writing is.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I am a city girl, being born and raised in San Francisco. I love public transportation and riding buses is always an interesting adventure with all sorts of characters.

What achievement are you most proud of?
Starting my shop on Etsy was a big leap for me. it is always wonderful to realize people enjoy my work and want to give it a good home.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Don't give up even if you think you want to. So far it takes a lot of persistence, promotion and patience. Wow, three Ps...but seriously, it's a lot of work getting my shop out there.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
The biggest challenge is feeling stuck when I start a piece. Another challenge is trying to balance school and making art.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I like to read and I go online too much. I also love (window) shopping.

What are you working on right now?
More artwork, of course... and whatever strikes my fancy. I also work in my art journal, which is a nonjudgmental messy place to collage.

What do you hope to achieve next?
I hope to keep moving forward with my shop by promoting more and having fun with it all.