INCrowdteam INterview with Brenna @ Raven Haired

Looks like it will be another glorious sunny day in NW Indiana! I hope the weather is pleasant for you, dear readers. I am pleased to introduce you to one of our newer members, Brenna of Raven Haired! Settle in and enjoy another INCrowdteam INterview!

Name: Brenna

City of residence: Fort Wayne, IN

Shop name: Raven Haired

INCrowdteam: Is there any meaning to your shop name? What made you choose it?
Raven Haired: When I first signed up on Etsy I was only thinking about buying and the idea of a shop hadn't occurred to me yet. So the name of my shop is actually a translation of my name, Brenna, from Gaelic. It's always been an ironic family joke that my parents gave me a name that means "raven haired" and I have bright red hair!

INCrowdteam: Tell me about items for sale in your Etsy shop.
Raven Haired: I mainly have knitted laptop sleeves in my shop as well as sleeves for Ipods and Ipads. Many of the sleeves have fabric designs on them; flowers and animals, ect. I make each sleeve to order. How did I decide on making laptop sleeves for my shop? When I was working I had to buy myself a new laptop. Within 24 hours of taking it out of it's box I had gotten two scratches on it from just shoving it in my purse. I wanted to keep this investment in good shape so I knitted up a simple sleeve for it that wouldn't be bulky and would fit in any bag I had. As soon as I started using it I had friends, family, and co-workers asking where it came from. Flashforward and here is the the answer, "Raven Haired on Etsy"!

INCrowdteam: What’s your real-world job?
Raven Haired: I've spent my time out of college working on political campaigns. It's long hours and hard work, but it's worth it. I started Etsy now that I'm taking a break from that and am hoping that if I keep working hard my shop will be a success and it can be my sole focus.

INCrowdteam: How did you learn your Etsy craft?
Raven Haired: Completely on my own and with a lot of trial and error! I'd known how to crochet since I was 11 or so but in high school I wanted to make my own cool knitted designs. I got a few books and just experimented with a lot of things. All through high school I knitted scarves and gloves for my family and friends. I never really learned to read patterns, so I just make it up as I go.

INCrowdteam: What's your muse, or what turns that little creative light inside you on?
Raven Haired: I have an almost constant desire to create. If it's not knitting or crocheting, it's usually cooking! I would never really consider myself an artist (that's my sister) but I do have this urge to create these wonderful functional creations.

INCrowdteam: What are your five favorite shops on Etsy?
Raven Haired:
Involution - She makes this amazing jewelry with felted wool. It's beautiful, check it out!

Pottery by Barbara - The best are her baking dishes

Felted Friends - Felted stuffed animals

Knitting Mette - My favorite are her monkeys!

Clear Mountain Craft - Just some really beautiful and colorful pottery.

INCrowdteam: Which three of your own items for sale are your favorite? Why do you like them so much?
Raven Haired: That's a tough call but I like these three just because they are my favorite shapes and color combinations.

13" Laptop Sleeve - Whale on Blue

13" Laptop Sleeve - Bird on Goldenrod Yellow

15" Laptop Sleeve - Diving Eagle on Emeral Green

INCrowdteam: What's the best compliment you've received from a buyer?
Raven Haired: I've only had one buyer so far but her feedback was enough to keep me going for a while:"This laptop sleeve is so cute and it fits perfect! Beautiful work! And shipped fast too!"

INCrowdteam: Where else can we find you on the Internet?
Raven Haired: I also have a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ravenhaired

That's all for today, folks! Stop by Brenna's shop and have a look around - some really cute stuff in there - I'm thinking those laptop sleeves would make GREAT graduation gifts!!

Are you an INCrowdteam member who'd like to be featured in this Q&A? Or maybe you know a member who'd be perfect for it? If so, contact me at ThePeachMartini

INCrowd Interview, 11/15/08 - Nicole, aka portablegreen

Look! Another newbie!!! It's very exciting to me that we are growing at such an amazing rate. Here's the story of a lovely lady called portablegreen:

Where were you born & raised?
Louisville born, Kentuckiana raised!

Where are you now & what led you there?
same place, living life close to family!

What types of creations do you sell in for your Etsy shop(s)?
Custom items, vintage items, jewelry, just a lot of different things.

What's your educational background, as it relates to your work?
I have a degree in business management and marketing, pretty much relates to having my own little hobby spot on Etsy.

How'd you get started creating?
I've been making things since I could hold a pair of scissors or a crayon. It's in my blood, I must create, it just feels right and it's definitely part of my calling in life. Sewing, jewelry, scrapbooking, anything and everything in between, I've made items from full size Halloween props to little earrings to match my outfits for any occasion.

What's your muse, or what turns that little creative light inside you on?
Reading, fashion, nature, just the everyday types of things in my life, my boyfriend inspires me, my family does as well.

Do you belong to any Street Teams? If so, which ones and why?
I belong to the INCrowdteam 'cause I'm a Hoosier and I'm a part of the Christian Artists Street Team (CAST) because I came to know Christ early in life and wanted to be a part of the Christian crafters.

What's your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?
It's easy, it's fun, it helps you earn a little hobby cash and it's fulfilling to see your items online.

Recommend your five favorite shops on Etsy.
mootsie
missbrache
kneehighsnpigtails
clearcutcrafts2007
damselinthisdress

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

Custom Apron Personalized for you by Portable Green

Custom Tote Personalized for you by Portable Green

8 Custom Note Cards Personalized for You by Portable Green

Thanks, Nicole!!

New Treasury: INCrowd Team Flood Relief Funds, until 7/24 @9:09am

Michelle, aka atammcreation, hit it big with a treasury on her lunch hour! All items are in stores participating in the fundraising promo outlined below, to benefit flood victims in Columbus IN for the month of July. Click on the title of this post to get to the treasury.

REPOST: INCrowd is Partnering with Grace Lutheran Church in Columbus IN to Assist in Flood Relief Efforts

The INCrowd is partnering with Grace Lutheran Church in Columbus, IN to assist those affected by flooding in Indiana. Each participating shop will generously donate a minimum of 10% of their sales for the month of July.

Grace Lutheran Church is assisting flood victims by setting up temporary shelters and donating food and clothing items to those in need. "At the moment everyone has been helped and are in temporary housing - they closed the shelter over the weekend. We will continue to take donations for quite awhile; the next phase is to help people rebuild and many did not have insurance and FEMA is not covering everything" states Carrie, Etsy shop owner of TimeandSand, who is also the director of the Care and Outreach Program at the church.

"Our membership is spread across the state of Indiana. Any part of our state that is affected by disasters - natural or otherwise - needs our support. These are our neighbors, our friends, and our families." says Kim, Etsy shop owner of ThePeachMartini.

Here are the participating shops:

newmoondesign
ambersjewelry
bluescarabbeads
myword
thepeachmartini
timeandsand
zacszoaps
hannahbags
dragoncat
atammcreation
madrinphotography
laktjohnson
afairtrade
designsbyabbi
abbi11883
belladio
shopbub
spiceoflifedesigns
corkyandspencer
nilochlainn
schwa
recoverandlive
bagsandmorebypam
mamabethbling
crescentwench
bytheway
samandsha
texturedturtle
salvagedbeauty
alteredartist
dragonflydreams10

Please check out these awesome shops and help support Hoosier communities affected by the flooding!

Kim

New Treasury By and For the INCrowd, expires Monday 7/21 @ 7:54pm

Look what Kim of thepeachmartini did!! She put together a romantic treasury entitled All You Need is Love...love is all you need (even if you aren't the walrus). You've got to check it out before it expires...it's really imaginative and fantastic. And remember, all purchases from participating INCrowd shops will yield 10% of sale price to a fund established by Grace Lutheran Church for assisting flood victims in the Columbus, Indiana area. So, be sure to stop by, and support this effort to help others!

We're in The Storque!

Thanks to work by our members, the INCrowd's Flood Relief efforts in conjunction with Grace Lutheran Church were featured in The Storque's 7/11/08 issue. The Storque is Etsy's e-zine, and everyone Etsy reads it. We're thrilled to have exposure for our work toward funding Grace Lutheran's efforts with our waterlogged Hoosier neighbors.

New Treasury for Indiana Flood Relief

Megan at SpiceofLifeDesigns has designed a new treasury. Take a look! It's only there until Saturday, July 5 at 10:15pm. Simply click on the title of this post to go there directly.

INCrowd Team Listings for June 30-July 6, 2009

The Indiana Etsy Street team has many talented artists who promote their new items and relisted items each week. To view their fabulous work, you need only to click on the title above, and you are there! Enjoy!

Indiana Etsy Street Team Promo Thread June 9-15

Good morning! Another start to what we hope won't be such a rainy week! When you are inside be certain to check out the Indiana Etsy Street Team Promo thread featuring beautiful work from a variety of Indiana artists. Team members will be listing their new items here all week long, so be sure to check the Promo thread regularly, and enjoy! Treasuries featuring the work of our artists will also be listed as they are created!

Here is the link for the Promo Thread:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5656626

And, check out these fantastic creations by the INCrowd in the Treasury West:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=12527

INCrowd Featured in Storque Digest

Check it out!!

INCrowd members show at Bloomington

Several of the INCrowd members displayed and sold their work at the Luna Festival in Bloomington this last weekend. BagsandmorebyPam, MyWord, FroggyGirlDesigns, Dragoncat, Crescentwench, Art2theExtreme, and McVilleCreations were all there. I missed KreationsbyKelly but I know she had planned to be there. Traffic was very steady and the show itself was a good one. People are being careful with their money and I think sales would have been better with a better economy but I felt it was successful for an early spring show. Food was available from a local Mexican restaurant and was a delightful change from the usual hot dog! Show was held on two levels in the building and spaces were virtually all filled. The crowd was very enthusiastic. I think this is a show that will really take off in the future.

The 1st Annual INCrowd Gift Exchange

Well, it's that time of year again...the Holidays are right around the corner and no matter what you celebrate the theme of the season is giving to others.

A small group of the INCrowd members came together and participated in the 1st Annual INCrowd Gift Exchange. Using a nifty website called www.elfster.com, any one who wanted to participate could, no matter their location in Indiana. The website allows you to sign up, set the drawing date, exchange anonymous messages to ask questions, and set up a wish list. You can arrange an exchange party, or - like we did - mail your package to your exchange partner. We did cut the dates a little close, so some members might be getting New Years gifts instead :)

I hope to have each member who participated add their thoughts on the exchange...I loved it! It was fun to set up, and the anticipation of finding out who your Secret Santa was the best! I hope the other members enjoyed it as much as I did!

In closing, I'd like to take this time to wish all of you a very safe and happy Holiday season - enjoy your family and friends, and celebrate with joy!

Pendleton Heritage Fair - Sept 7 and 8

The Pendleton Heritage Fair was held in the usual spot, a lovely park setting with the sounds of Fall Creek near by. The fair had light attendance on Friday and business picked up quite a bit on Saturday. How about we skip the discussions on the rain and storms. (I'm all for indoor events now) Luckily, no one was injured this time.

Four members of the INCrowd attended, TheresasArt, Dragoncat, MyWord and DBrown.










Thanks for attending the show with me, it was a delight to see you all again and to meet Teresa, the 7th Incrowd member I've met. And congratulations to Earlynn, her parrot brooch sold, and it will be sadly missed.

Summer Heat Festival Review

Sumer Heat Festival 2007

This year the Summer heat festival in Muncie returned to its original location at the AMA. The festival was privileged to have Stufffromthebunker, Deb, as the Vendor coordinator, which was a volunteer position given to her just weeks ago! Deb did an absolutely incredible job organizing the vendor locations, mapping it out, getting everyone checked in and maintaining their happiness throughout the 3-day event.

It was so wonderful to have so many Etsy artists have booths. Studioamf (Allison), Myword (Joanna), Stufffromthebunker (Deb), DBrown (Debbie), and beckbydesign (that’s me!) all had, or shared a booth. We had lots of Etsy promos to hand out (thanks to everyone who sent some) and talked up the raffle baskets. I think I can sum up the festival pretty easily – HOT!!!! Granted, it’s called the Summer Heat festival for a reason; however it was extremely steamy all days. Unfortunately after setting up on Sunday the downpour forced us to pack up and head out. I think I can speak for those of us who attended, that although sales were quite low, we had a great time getting to know one another and learning from each other. The festival team is certainly blessed to have Deb volunteer so much of her time and energy into making the vendor section better each year and I look forward to seeing the big changes she has in mind for 2008.

I’ve attached a few photos of our booths from the festival.

Deb manning her booth & the vendors

Allison (studioamf) & John

Joanna (myword)