Meet-up: The INCrowd Trades and Barters

Alicia, aka tinybox, was kind enough to meet with me at the Central Branch of the Marion County Public Library the other day. She had important family plans, but she brought her husband (who took the picture) and daughter (who was wearing a fantastic pink and white outfit!) to the library so that we could make a trade.

I checked out her shop when she first joined the INCrowd recently (Alicia actually has 3, but I just checked out the photos for starters) and I fell madly for two altered photos and a color photo at tinybox. I love photography, and I love trading, so I contacted her and asked if she'd like to make a trade for some of my stuff. She did, and we met up for the exchange. While we only had a few minutes, I was so glad we met! I was prepared to size the ring she got but it just needed a little adjustment, and the pendant worked out fine. I was already planning the how, where and when of framing and hanging my new photos. They rock.

Anyway, the point of the story is that I've learned my lesson: one wonderful way to have a quick meet-up is to have a trade with a fellow INCrowder. You get to talk shop AND enjoy one another's work up close. Best of all, both of you get "free" goodies out of the exchange!

I enjoy bartering with many people on Etsy, but my favorites are definitely those I've done with fellow INCrowders. If you want to see what I mean, check out jennylanesoap and guess how happy I was to trade for about $25 of her work!

Note: If you do this, please make sure that you handle your exchange as you would any other sale on Etsy so that they get their cut of the deal. After all, it is Etsy policy - they provide the bandwidth and so forth, so they get a cut of the transaction, even if there's no money exchanged. Just make your purchase from your fellow but don't actually pay, and have your fellow mark your purchase PAID. Do the same for him/her, and then Etsy will be satisfied with their %. Make your barter, and you will be, too. Guaranteed.

And if you want to get to know other shop owners across Etsy, approach them too! Lots of people love to barter but don't advertise it on their sites. You may not get to meet in person, but you'll make a friend.

Carolynn
aka nilochlainn (I'm on the left in the photo)

Salon Orange Moon Silent Auction/Meet-up a Success!!

This was a great event! amysfunkyfibers, belladio and I were all there, and none of us had met the others in person before. Amy gave me a ride to the event, and Robin a ride home...my car's in the shop. We laughed a lot, met other artists (and roped them all into getting Etsy shops together and joining INCrowd). We all made sales, too. It was terrific.

passionandpatience made a wonderful smiley moon for the Silent Auction, and it was a popular item. My earrings & necklace set only got one bid, so I think it's staying in the store for further bidding! Amy had a wonderful blue scarf, and Robin a fantastic aqua and white pendant wrapped with silver in the auction. Those items were beloved, too.

The food from The Goose was delicious...there just wasn't enough of it for any of us! We all 3 wanted to gobble up more duck, more salmon, more cheese, and more pickles & giardinera. I'm told the wine was good too (I had water and coffee, also good).

The bottom line is this: the people at Salon Orange Moon are really, deep-down fantastic. They gave us free Aveda product hand and arm massages. They bought our wares. We all chatted on and on about all sorts of things related to creation and design. It was a blast.

They'll do this again, according to Cindy Zoellner, the owner. And when they do, I sincerely hope even more vendors and attendees will join in the fun! Ask the others...it was WELL worth it.

Pictures to come...

Amusing Your Muse with a Meetup

Recently, I had the great pleasure of having two fellow INCrowd members to my home for an evening of fun and creative frolic. I have to say that spending time with other creative people is SUCH a great way to stimulate your own creativity! I spent an evening with Linda of Textured Turtle and Suzanne of Suzanne's Special Kids and was amazed at the diversity of creative ability we represented just between the three of us.

Linda was the first to arrive, and she was immediately enveloped with love and kisses from my crazy assortment of canines. She was in heaven though, as she admits to being a total dog person. She and I spent a little while chatting and getting to know each other, and I felt really comfortable with her from the very beginning. We had decided to go get her "show and tell" items from her car...and as we stood out there...Suzanne pulled up. Perfect timing!

Before long, we were all in my living room, chatting away and looking through each other’s wonderful creations. Suzanne’s hand sewn items for children with special needs were just beautiful! The superb craftsmanship and love that goes into each item is obvious…and for someone as completely sewing challenged as I am…it was VERY impressive! If you’ve never had an opportunity to check out Suzanne’s store, I highly recommend it!Suzanne's Etsy Shop She has the sweetest embroidered baby towels…perfect for a shower gift or that special darling of your own!

Linda brought her amazing fiber art and I was constantly surprised and delighted as she described the eclectic variety of items and unusual techniques she uses to create them. She’s definitely an experimental thinker, and I really enjoyed learning more about how she does her fiber work. She also shared her beautiful mosaics with us, and she and I bonded over our love of glass! Be sure to take a closer look at her offerings on Etsy...Linda's Etsy Shop...every single piece is a gorgeous work of art...full of color, vibrancy and life.

As for me, I had the opportunity to show both of the girls what lampworking is all about. We retired to my studio after our show and tell, and I made each of them their own focal. We talked shop some, with me discussing what I was doing along the way...but we also just chatted about other things and I really enjoyed having company as I worked. When I finished their focals and tucked them away in the kiln, Suzanne regretfully had to leave. So we walked her out to her car and said our good nights. Then Linda and I returned to the studio so that she could have a turn at the torch.

I warned her that it’s very much like rubbing your belly and patting your head at first...the motions don’t necessarily come naturally. She took a seat, and quickly understood what I meant. But regardless of that, I think she did wonderfully for her first time ever playing with hot glass and I look forward to seeing her try again!

We left our lovely evening in good spirits, and all of us hope to get together again soon! I can’t express just how wonderful it is to belong to such a talented group of artists...and such wonderful people as well. And to think, they all live in the same state as I do! There is absolutely no better way to amuse your muse! :)

Here are a few of the awesome items we shared in our show-n-tell:

Dana