INCrowdteam Interview 6/13/09 - Theresa Dhondup a.k.a. tibetanelements

As a relatively new member of the INCrowdteam, sometimes I just type our "incrowdteam" tag in the Etsy search box and try to familiarize myself with people on the team. That's how I stumbled upon tibetanelements, and it got me thinking, "What an exotic-sounding name for an Indiana shop - must find out more!"

Where were you born and raised? I was born and raised in Mason, Michigan. I’m a Hoosier by osmosis.

Where are you now, and what led you there? I live in Lawrence, Indiana and we moved up here from Bloomington so that my husband, Tsering, could find a higher paying job.

What's the origin of your shop's name? The origin comes from my husband’s family; they are from Tibet.

What types of creations do you sell in your Etsy shop? In my shop I sell hairpins, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and an occasional surprise.

What's your educational background, as it relates to your work? I have my B.A. in Interdisciplinary Humanities. I started off in art school, but took a detour. Now I’m studying Spanish and working on an M.A. My studies have greatly influenced my work. Without an interest in other cultures I never would have learned Chinese style knotting or known about Asian porcelain.

Does creating stuff run in the family? Were you taught things on purpose or by osmosis from prior generations? Creating things runs in my family. On my father’s side, my gran made quilts and did pieces on plastic canvas. On my mum’s side my great-gran was a tatter, my gran did crochet, and my mum did crewel, crochet, sewed our 70's Stretch and Sew garb, and now she just does scrap booking.

How'd you get started creating? I credit my Uncle Don with this. Around 1978 he gave me a craft kit that had a knitting mushroom, knitting needles, pot holder loom and mini hand looms. I haven’t looked back since. Another groovy thing he gave me was a Spirograph which I still have and still use.

What's your muse, or what turns that little creative light inside you on? I don’t have a specific muse. Many things scream at me, "We are a cool set of colours; make us into something!"

Do you belong to any Street Teams (other than the INCrowdteam)? If so, which ones and why? I only belong to the INCrowdteam, but I aspire to be in the Vegan team, too, as soon as I use up all of my bone, shell, etc.

What's your favorite thing about selling on Etsy? That people all over the world can sneak a peek at what I do and possibly be inspired to make something cool.

Recommend your five favorite shops on Etsy.
1) puterinoor
2) Windowbutterflies
3) TrilliumStudios
4) sullenmonarch
5) SabrinaCreations

Show us some of your own favorite pieces, from your shop and work.
Dragonfly Hairpin – Powder Blue and Sea Blue This hair pain is made with wire and various sizes of Japanese beads.











Beaded Memory Wire Bracelet This one took a bit to make. It's five beaded beads threaded on a piece of silver plated memory wire. The beads were made out of 26 gauge silver tone wire, size 11 purple Japanese seed beads, size 11 violet blue Japanese seed beads, and size 11 light blue Japanese seed beads. Between each of the beaded beads is a purple Czech star bead. Even though it took a while to make it was a piece I enjoyed making.

Do you sell on consignment? If so, where? I sell on consignment at The Indianapolis Art Center.

Anything else to brag on? I was featured in an Intake Magazine article in the summer of 2008 (thank you, Jenny Elig).

Cool; thank you, Theresa!