Saturday, February 28, 2009

The INCrowdteam is NOW ON TWITTER!

Visit us, little birdies. Follow us. Tweet with us. Let us know what you're up to.

If your Street Team is on Twitter, please have your team link to ours. We would like to know what your team is doing!! Click on the title of this post to go to the INCrowdteam's Twitter page.

INCrowdteam Interview, 2/28/09 - Lori Hadley, aka lochristine

There are a lot of jewelry-makers and jewelry-sellers on Etsy, that's for sure. Ever tried a search?!? But I must say, there is real distinction at lochristine's shop. I hope you read on, visit, and enjoy.


Where were you born & raised?
Fort Wayne, IN

Where are you now & what led you there?
I’m back in Fort Wayne, IN. I came back here after college to work for Lutheran Social Services and have stayed because I met my husband and inherited two beautiful step-daughters.

What types of creations do you sell in for your Etsy shop(s)?
I create both sterling silver and copper jewelry. Many of my current creations also include an assortment of beads. However, I plan to shift away from the beads in the new year and focus solely on metals. I also have a welder that I’m dying to use. Stay tuned:)

What's your educational background, as it relates to your work?
I am primarily a self-taught artist. I’ve never taken a jewelry or metal-smithing course, but have read a lot of books!

How'd you get started creating?
I come from a crafty sort of family. My mom was very creative when I was young and encouraged my sister and I to be the same. I’ve always been fascinated with jewelry and started creating different pieces long ago. I just wasn’t motivated to turn my jewelry into a business until I met my husband (ryanhadley.com). He is an all around inspiration – painter, tattoo artist, business owner, etc.

YUM! For those of us who are local or who like to road-trip, where do you have items on consignment?
My jewelry will soon be for sale at the Firefly Coffee House (3523 North Anthony Blvd., Fort Wayne, Indiana). I'm taking some items there next week so hopefully they'll be available in a week or two. I'm looking into other places to consign my jewelry, it's a goal for this year to get my work out there!

What's your muse, or what turns that little creative light inside you on?
Two main things:
Nature – I am constantly inspired by nature – the colors, objects, and sounds of it all
Music - I am completely uninspired to create things without some of my favorite folk tunes blasting in the background!

Do you belong to any Street Teams (other than the INCrowdteam)? If so, which ones and why?
FAM (Fabulous Artistic Moms) – I love to network with other creative moms
EtsyVeg – I’m a vegetarian and strong supporter of animal rights

What's your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?
Etsy is full of such a plethora of great items and talented artists. I am often inspired by other sellers items and love the feeling of satisfaction when I make a sale!

Recommend your five favorite shops on Etsy.
There are so many to choose from!!
1) TheCommonMilkweed - amazing rock hemp necklaces and woodworking
2) IreneSuchocki - stunning photography
3) Ellembee - great clothes
4) LeanDogPottery - fabulous pottery
5) CricketsCreations - amazing scarves

Show us pictures of your three favorite items from your own shop.

Tan and Copper Dangles


Nature's Colors


Sterling Silver Spiral


Are you planning to sell at any art fairs or craft shows yet this year? If so, where and when?

No craft show plans yet. I know I'll be attending some, but I haven't decided which ones yet.

Anything else to brag about (shows, newspaper or magazine interviews)? Brag on!
Check out my blog for more information! http://lochristine.blogspot.com

Thanks so much! Let me know if you need anything else! - Lori
Uh, some of your stuff for FREE?!?!?! - Carolynn

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Timing is Everything!

Timing is Everything is a new Treasury West created by Bags and More by Pam. Featuring all INCrowdTeam artists, this treasury can be viewed through Saturday, Feb. 28 at 5:31 p.m. Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

INCrowdteam Super Sales February 2009 Wk 4

Shop INCrowdteam!

Percent Off Sale!
corkyandspencer (Handbags and Home)
Now through February 28: 5% to 50% off selected items.


Sale!
cathytrott (Handbags)
Now through February 28: Free needlecraft kit with every purse purchased.


Clearance Sale!
teresasart (Art, magnets and more)
Now through February 28: Special clearance items.

Free Shipping Offer!

Royalprincess (Real Flower Jewelry & Feather Fascinator)
Now through February 28: Free shipping on all butterfly and tree collections.


Two Great Offers!

CreativeBorders (Custom Handmade Photo Borders)
Now through ?: Free shipping on all items. Purchase 2 or more items and get 20% off!


Prices Have Never Been This Low Sale!
BerryCreekCandles (Hand-poured Natural Soy & Palm Candles, Lead Free Wicks)
Until all items are gone!: Inventory reduction sale.


"Oh No, You Didn't!"

nilochlainn (Vintage Re-Purposed)
Currently: $5 sale on 30% of her shop, items originally priced $8-$40. The challenge is on for others to buy more at once. Incredible deals on all jewelry!!

Saturday, February 21, 2009

INdubitably Sophisticated

Inalather has created this stunning black and white treasury for the INCrowdteam. You may view INdubitably Sophisticated through Monday, Feb. 23 at 6:45 p.m. Enjoy!

Elvis Didn't Like These On Her...Stripes That Is!

GloriousGlassGarden has created this fun, striped, colorful treasury that includes many INCrowdteam members! You can view this treasury through Monday, February 23 at 5:59 a.m. Be sure to check out Elvis Didn't Like These on Her....Stripes that is!

REPOST: INCrowdteam Interview, 2/21/09 - Roseanna Elleman aka woolandmore

This was originally posted with errors and omissions on 1/24/09. My fault! Here is a corrected version, with yummy pix and all. Enjoy, and thanks for your patience, woolie!

Where were you born & raised?
I was born and raised in Evansville Indiana.

Where are you now & what led you there?
I live in Indianapolis, Indiana. My mom and I moved up here when I was a teenager.

What types of creations do you sell in for your Etsy shop(s)?
I sell crocheted and knitted items (mostly dish cloths/bags/handwarmers), gift tags, and handspun yarn. I do paintings and some quilting that I do not sell.

What's your educational background, as it relates to your work?
I am a stay at home mom, with a high school diploma. My mom taught me how to crochet when I was a young kid, and I taught myself how to knit. I was taught how to spin yarn from a fiber artist here in Indiana.

How'd you get started creating?
I've been creating from my very early days of crocheting for my barbie dolls, then progressed from there.

What's your muse, or what turns that little creative light inside you on?
Oh my, everything. When I see the swirls of color in a sunset or the natural beauty of a winter snow on a forest. I love nature and try to incorporate that in all my work.

Do you belong to any Street Teams (other than the INCrowdteam)? If so, which ones and why?
Etsyfast, I like being surrounded by other fiber artist.

What's your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?
The excitement I get from selling an item and having the customer really love it. I like all the wonderful friends and support I have got from fellow artists.

Recommend your five favorite shops on Etsy.
These are a few of my favorites
spoolofplenty
treatsoap
dennisanderson
fishstique
craftysteph
(there are sooo many that I'd love to name as well but must limit it to 5. Etsy has some really nice shops.)

Show us pictures of your three favorite items from your own shop.






Anything else to brag about (shows, newspaper or magazine interviews)? Brag on!
I am still a bit new, not too much to brag on about. But this really nice lady named Carolynn convo'd me to be a interviewee for the Indiana Street Team blog. :)

Awwww. Thanks so much for joining the Team. Your spun wool is yummylicious!

International Interview, Hannelore aka Eleanors

What's your real name?
My real name is Hannelore Tiefenthaler. I use "Eleanor's" for my shop name in remembrance of two women I really admire: my beloved grandma, and Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest, extraordinary and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages.

Where were you born & raised?
I was born in the city of Salzburg, Austria, and was raised in a small village nearby, surrounded by high mountains, the perfect place for adventuresome children. At the age of 14 I moved to Salzburg where I studied and lived for 15 years.

Where are you now & what led you there?
After moving around a lot I currently live between Austria's capital Vienna and a small village in Hungary. I have always been attracted to bigger cities but still won't miss nature, old trees and a bunch of rare animals.

What types of creations do you sell in your Etsy shop(s)?
At Etsy I sell my photographs, shot on film as well as digital. One of my favourite subjects are landscapes, especially trees. I also love to capture and experiment with seemingly unimportant sides of everyday life.

What's your educational background, as it relates to your work?
I mainly have been learning by doing and was lucky enough to work with experienced people I could learn a lot from. That´s one of the best educations you can get.

What age and how'd you get started creating?
Sometimes things come out very funny. In childhood I was addicted to photography. I compiled photo albums and wrote comments on every single picture I shot. School knocked my passion on the head. But towards the end of study (German Literature and History) it suddenly raised again. Finally I decided to become a photographer. To make a long story short, I started to cover a lot of concerts and theatre productions, worked for magazines and newspapers, did book covers and posters as well as exhibitions. After a couple of years I started filmmaking which turned out my main profession until right now. In my experimental and short documentary films I often had been my own director of photography.

What's your muse, or what turns that little creative light inside you on?
It´s everyday life, nature, and last but not least validation from people who love what I am doing. Whatever I hear or look at, pictures arise and inspire my imagination. Visual art is the way to express myself best.

Do you belong to any Street Teams? If so, which ones and why?
I am a proud member of European Street Team and Poe Team. Both of them are very active, doing challenges, treasuries and support each other. I do wish to have more time to take part of it, since I am still moving around a lot and I am always struggling to keep my shop running, photographing and filmmaking. Whenever possible I try to catch a treasury to promote my teammembers. I really appreciate being part of such an amazing community.

If you are on a Street Team, have you noticed any benefit to you and your shop?
I am very thankful my work gets featured in a lot of treasuries made by teammembers, and that helps to get seen more.

Do you feel there are limitations or barriers when selling Internationally?
I didn't meet with any obstacle yet when selling internationally apart from high shipping fees which might eventually distract some folks from purchasing abroad.

Where else(if any)do you sell your work? Please list any other places you sell, whether online or at a store by you.
Apart from selling offline Etsy is the only place until now I sell my photographs.

What's your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?
The site is extremely well done, it is user-friendly, has a well-defined outline, and attractive ways of searching. Not to be overlooked the large international community.

Recommend your five favorite shops on Etsy.
There are a lot, here are some of them:

Artsy
beadedweeds
annarubyking
ExoticFlavour
krize

Three favorite items from my shop:
Daydream:
A picture that seems to ask: real or not? I captured a detail of the extraordinary landscape in Hungary´s Hansag National Park at one of the last days in 2008. I love the pastel colors and the delicate flowing structure which makes the image look like a painting full of mystery.

Carved In Stone: One of my newly created collages working on several portraits of woman.

Open End: I took the picture with a Lomo at the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Galicia, a province in the north west of Spain. The light and color which come out from a special developing process and the open landscape give me the feeling like being in the middle of nowhere. In fact this place features the end of a continent, Europe.
Anything else to add?
Many thanks, Amber, for inviting me to the interview!

Your quite welcome Hannelore! I thoroughly enjoyed viewing your unique and wonderful art, thanks for sharing a piece of your world with us!

~Amber aka Blue Scarab

Thursday, February 19, 2009

International Interview, Åse, aka Aasesart

What's your real name?
My name is Åse (pronounced as ‘awesome’ without the ‘me’) Stödberg. In Swedish we have these circles and dots over some a’s and e’s which I don’t know if your computers will manage…

Where were you born & raised?
I was born in Stockholm, Sweden.

Where are you now & what led you there?
I live in Bromma, a suburb to Stockholm, in a small house with husband and two children still home. One moved out. We moved here when our first child was borne.

What types of creations do you sell in your Etsy shop(s)?
I sell prints of my original watercolor paintings. I will also sell paperwork (small notebooks,
scrapbooks, accordionbooks, etc.) by and by.

What's your educational background, as it relates to your work?
I went to an art school I Stockholm and have worked as a freelance illustrator ever since.

What age and how'd you get started creating?
I have been sketching and painting as long as I can remember. My father is an illustrator and he always worked from home, so it was quite natural to follow in his footsteps.

What's your muse, or what turns that little creative light inside you on?
Rather banal: nature is my major inspiration. I also work with gardening and I get a lot of inspiration from everything growing. I love looking closely into a plant’s details. I discover something new every day, even in my own well-known garden.

Where do you create? Do you have a whole studio, a room, a closet space?
I work at home in a room of my own.

Do you belong to any Street Teams? If so, which ones and why? If not, why not?
Since I’m a newbie, I haven’t yet investigated all the things you can do on ETSY. Street teams sound like a good idea. I will try to find one that would suit me. Perhaps it’s time for a Swedish Team?

Where else (if any) do you sell your work? Please list any other places you sell, whether online or at a store by you.
Until now I have only made illustrations to order, for magazines, newspapers and books. This is the first time I’ve tried selling my own work on a larger scale. I’m a member of an association of Swedish illustrators and on their homepage I show examples of my work: http://illustratorcentrum.se/asestodberg

What's your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?
I think it’s fantastic to be part of a community of all sorts of creative people from all over the world. So far I haven’t sold anything, but now there’s a tiny chance that someone outside Sweden will see my things. Just look: you found me and gave me this opportunity to feature on your blog. Thank you so much!

Recommend your five favorite shops on Etsy.
It’s almost impossible to choose, but here goes:

1) Corpseknit – beautiful knitted items
2) Clevergirl – pretty jewelry
3) BourneDesigns – imaginative stone items
4) aCatsNest – a newbie like me, from Sweden
5) Yoola - fantastic frail-looking jewelry and other items

Show us pictures of your three favorite items from your own shop.




Thank you for sharing with us Åse, and good luck with your shop!

~Amber aka Blue Scarab

INCrowdteam Donations For A Cause 2009

Shop INCrowdteam


positivelynostalgic (Vintage items)
Now through March 31: 10% of every sale will be donated to Indianapolis Animal Care & Control.


royalprincess (Real flowers, jewelry, and accessories)
No end date: $1.00 for every item sold from the "Romantic" section will be donated to... This includes real flower preserved for life.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

INCrowdteam Super Sales February 2009 Wk 3

Shop INCrowdteam!

Free Gift!

KB Design Co (Wide variety of products to suit you and your baby's needs.)
Now through February 20: Buy two Burpies Burp cloth get a free set of Breast-Es nursing pads in matching fabric!

Inventory Clearance Sale!


ambersjewelry (Blue Scarab Jewelry)
Now through February 20: 40-70% off!

Percent Off Sale!


corkyandspencer (Handbags and Home)
Now through February 28: 5% to 50% off selected items.
Sale!

cathytrott (Handbags)
Now through February 28: Free needlecraft kit with every purse purchased.

Clearance Sale!

teresasart (Art,magnets and more)
Now through February 28: Special clearance items.

Free Shipping Offer!

Royalprincess (Real Flower Jewelry & Feather Fascinator)
Now through February 28: Free shipping on all butterfly and tree collections.


Two Great Offers!

CreativeBoarders (Custom Handmade Photo Borders)
Now through ?: Free shipping on all items. Purchase 2 or more items and get 20% off!


Prices Have Never Been This Low Sale!

BerryCreekCandles (Hand poured Natural Soy & Palm Candles Lead Free Wicks)
Until all items are gone!: Inventory reduction sale.

"Oh No, You Didn't!"

nilochlainn (Vintage Re-Purposed )
Currently: $5 sale on 30% of her shop, items originally priced $8-$40. The challenge is on for others to buy more at once. Incredible deals on all jewelry!!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Happy Mushroom Love - Another Fabulous Treasury!

This girl has a knack for creating some amazing treasuries!

Be sure to check out KBShimmer's most recent treasury - Happy Mushroom Love!

This treasury expires Friday, February 13 at 8:06PM.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Through Blue tinted glasses

It is another lovely treasury featuring some of our INCrowdteam members! KBShimmer has named this treasury, Through Blue tinted glasses, and it will be available until Tuesday, February 10 at 4:40 a.m. Enjoy viewing these gorgeous selections! And, also check out her shop!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Shades of Lovely

KBShimmer has created another wonderful treasury featuring INCrowdteam members. Shades of Lovely will be available through Monday, February 9 at 8:10 a.m.

Bagsandmorebypam has also created a treasury entitled Fab Finds for the INCrowdteam. Fab Finds will be available through Monday, February 9 at 6:38 p.m.

International Interview, 2/07/09- Xin Wei aka xinxinemin

Being a Jewelry Artist and big lover & supporter of handcrafted jewelry myself, I can't help but drool over all the fabulous baubles on Etsy. Among them, Xinxinemin is definitely on my list of "Gorgeous jewelry I would love to have in my jewelry box". Colorful, bold, and a dash of whimsical, Xins' jewelry stands out in design with her choice of stones to the unique shape each piece takes on. Check her out:)

What's your real name?
My name is Xin Wei, from the Mongolian words of “New era”. I use “Emin” for my shop because this is my husband’s family name. We still haven’t decided to change my family name or not.

Where were you born & raised?
I was born in Inner Mongolia, China.

Where are you now & what led you there?
I currently live in Japan. I came here 4 years ago and just completed my PhD course in Saitama University.

What types of creations do you sell in for your Etsy shop(s)?
I sell handcrafted intricate jewelry. Most of my pieces are made of sterling silver, gold filled, and semi-precious gemstone.

What's your educational background, as it relates to your work?
I majored in computer graphics in PhD course. The research I did doesn’t involve creating beautiful pictures. It is tedious mathematic algorithm. But I learnt some basics of many graphical softwares; this might be the benefit I’ve got from my educational background. I didn’t have any troubles when I made banners, avatars, and I was able to construct my own website with the knowledge I learnt in the University.

How'd you get started creating?
My mother taught me how to crochet when I was 7. After that I practiced a lot in different kind of handcraft things. For me, Japan is heaven for handcraft. I can find materials and books for almost every kind of handcraft. Beading is the most popular one these years in Japan. I started beading with crystals and seed beads at 2006. And at the beginning of 2007, I started to create jewelry with semi-precious gemstone and wires. The passion of creating jewelry finally became a disaster. It overwhelms all of my life. It didn’t only eat up my spare time, but also my time for doing research. I postponed half year for graduation because I couldn’t prepare myself enough for graduation presentation and thesis. But luckily I managed to graduate last year.

I think my mother taught me crochet is the most important thing led me finally into making jewelry. I still crochet now. Crocheted silver lace flower is one of my signature designs in my shop.

What's your muse, or what turns that little creative light inside you on?
I think many different culture backgrounds gave me great inspiration. I get inspiration from Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese, and Western Art works. The nature inspires me a lot too. I created many pieces representing the plants, flowers and insects.

Do you belong to any Street Teams? If so, which ones and why? If not, why not?
Yes I am proud to be a member of Wire Artisan Guild of Etsy. In the guild we learn skills from each other, discuss the problems we met and encourage each other all the time. We also have theme challenge every month. Everyone creates a piece for the theme that month. I created a lot amazing pieces in theme challenge. My jewelry would not have such big variety if I haven’t challenged myself with those theme challenges.

What's your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?
The best thing is that I always see many talented works here and that keeps me improving myself.

Recommend your five favorite shops on Etsy.
Naftali In this shop there are so many amazing clay beads. Haven’t bought anything there but I am sure one day I will.
gorjuss There are very cute cartoon cards and paintings. I love cartoons and this is my favorite shop. I wish I could have one shop like that in the future.
triz Before I make wire wrapped jewelry, I did a lot of beading. And this shop is full with fantastic beaded staff.
SuzyQJewelry One Swedish jewelry artist in our guild. Her work inspired me a lot.
julidadesigns Another guild member who’s work had great influence on me. I enjoyed a lot reading her tutorials. There are so many talented artist in our guild. Here I just listed two of them whom I admired before I had my own shop on Etsy.

Three pieces I chose from my shop are:
1. Earth Garden Pendant Necklace
This is created for the earth day (one theme from the wire artisan guild)


2. 3 Dimensional Pink Cage Earrings
My original three dimensional design with a beautiful deep pink color.



3. Crocheted Silver Lace Flower Ring
This ring looks amazing when you wear it. Very attractive, from my signature crocheted design.



Thanks so much Xin, and keep rockin' out the gorgeous jewelry!

~Amber

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Spice Is Right

By the By has created a treasury entitled The Spice Is Right featuring several artists from the INCrowdteam. This treasury will be available for viewing through Friday, February 6 at 3:16 a.m. Be sure and stop by By the By's shop and her other
Etsy shops: http://www.bytheway.etsy.com and http://www.bythewayside.etsy.com as well to view her creations!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Perfection IN Pistachio

InaLather has created this lusciously beautiful treasury featuring INCrowdteam artists! Perfection IN Pistachio will be viewable through Thursday, February 5 at 4:24 a.m. You are certain to want to take a look at all these gorgeous creations! While you are browsing, be sure to stop and see Inalather's wonderful soaps and shampoos!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Bee Happy with Black

KBShimmer has created this gorgeous yellow and black themed treasury entitled Bee Happy with Black. It features several artists from our Indiana Etsy Street Team....INCrowdteam! You can view the treasury through and you might also enjoy visiting KBShimmer's Etsy store. The treasury is available for viewing through Wednesday, February 4 at 10:54 a.m. Just click on the title of this post, and you will be there!

XXXX AND OOOOS BNR

This treasury, curated by DaisyDesignsFloral, will go straight to your heart! Filled with a variety of heart-themed items, it features many INCrowdteam members! You can view this treasury through Wednesday, February 4 at 12:08 a.m. Just click on the title above, and you are there. Be certain to visit DaisyDesignsFloral, too, for marvelous silk flower arrangements!