Interstate Interview 8/12/09 - Angie and Deb of timesandchimes

Welcome to a very special Wednesday! This is my first Interstate Interview, so, readers, be gentle with me! Today it is my pleasure to introduce to you a shop that I originally became aware of through a blog post: meet Times And Chimes!

First things first: what's the origin of your shop's name? 'Times' comes from our love of everything vintage and antique. 'Chimes' comes from originally wanting to make wind chimes, also, and we still might, someday.

How many of you are there, and what are your names? There are two of us: Angie Keenan and Deb Durler.

How did you meet, or are you related? We are a mother/daughter team - we've known each other for a long time now (smile)!

Where are you located? Is this where you were born and raised? If not, tell us where you’re from. We are located in Branson, Missouri. Deb was born and grew up in central Kansas, before moving to Branson in 1996. Angie was born and raised in central Kansas, moved to south Texas for 12 years, then moved to Branson, right next door to Mom, a few years ago.

What types of creations do you sell in your Etsy shop? Birdhouses, decorative and functional. We also feature ornaments at Christmas time with the bird and birdhouse theme. We recently added some darling little birdhouse plant stakes.

Are you crazy about birds? Silly question! Of course we are! We have birdfeeders and birdhouses everywhere and enjoy sitting outside watching them every chance we get!

How many birdhouses do you have in your own yards? We have ten birdhouses, between our two yards... and numerous bird feeders!

Whatd’ya got for cardinals? (The cardinal is Indiana’s State Bird!) Since cardinals nest in shrubbery and trees, they don't really use our houses, but for the cardinal lover, we have many cute houses that would draw other birds to your yard.

What are your educational backgrounds, as they relate to your work? Angie's background is in pre-school and special education. Deb has her Master's in business management and human resources.

What are your real-world jobs? Angie is an awesome stay-at-home mom and volunteers often with the public school system, helping with special needs children. Deb is temporarily retired after 31 years in municipal government management.

How'd you get started creating? We have always been "creative" and "crafty." We had some antiques that we wanted to put to good use, and a lot of birds in our yards. We love birds and thought that putting antique and vintage items on birdhouses was a wonderful way to show them off. Making the birdhouses out of reclaimed wood supported our love of everything "green."

How are your shop’s responsibilities divided? Does one person create while the other person handles online business, or do you both do everything? We both do it all!

Tell us a little about your creative process; does it start with finding an old doorknob, or with a vision for a certain paint scheme, or...? Normally, we start with the wooden structure and then play with all of our "attachments" to see what looks good. Sometimes, we find something special and build the house around that item. Angie is usually the most creative with what looks good, and Deb usually builds the houses because she LOVES power tools!

Recommend your five favorite shops from all of Etsy.
BeeDazzlesGifts - We include her cards with our orders.
MudHutt - We love her ceramics and recently had her custom make some to add to our birdhouses.
Merchantofkismet - We have purchased many antique and vintage items from her to use on our houses.
Remarkablebird - Love her drawings and have purchased some of her art for our walls.
Sosorosey - We love her crocheted items.

Please share three favorite items from your own shop.

Tip Your Hat Birdhouse





















Golden Key Birdhouse with Antique Details






















Shabby Green Birdhouse with Vintage Miniatures


















Do you sell anywhere offline (consignment, craft fairs, etc.)? We sell to friends and acquaintances locally. We have talked about trying craft fairs, but haven't taken that plunge yet. We have also thought about consignment and been approached by several dealers, but we really don't like the idea that someone else would get the profit for our creations.

Do you belong to any Street Teams? If so, which ones and why? If not, why not? We joined a Missouri team, but haven't gotten involved with it because they mainly meet in person and we are too far away. We would love to belong to a team like you all have, where you are all connected and work together for and with each other! You are very lucky and we know that you all work hard at it!

What's your favorite thing about selling on Etsy? We love all the wonderful people we have met through Etsy! Sometimes it is a buyer or seller we connect with - sometimes it is through commenting on a treasury, and sometimes it is a result of hearting or Angie's blog. We creative folks share a common bond and support each other so well through Etsy!

Where else can we find you on the internet? On our blog and on Twitter.

What have I left out that you’d like to mention or talk about? We love browsing through flea markets and antique shops and finding unique and eclectic items to put on our houses! We even have relatives doing that for us, too! We think that is what makes us special! We also love knowing that our houses have traveled around the world to find their homes - in fact, our second sale was to a lady in the United Kingdom.

Deb (left) and Angie (right), the dynamic duo behind Times And Chimes! The photo was taken at Angie's wedding.

Thank you both for being such cooperative interview victims - I mean subjects! It's been fun getting to know you, and getting a sneak peek into the process that results in such wonderful handmade products; I hope there will be many more of your birdhouses in Indiana very soon! I also appreciate your tip about cardinals not living in birdhouses; that'll save me hours of worrying why they don't wanna hang out at my place!
-- Stockannette