Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
What would you do with These? Wednesday! The Bird Edition....
What is more fun than supplies that fly...um I mean that have to do with birdies?
What could you do with these 5 supplies to make them soar?
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
An Interview with swirlsofcreativity
1) How did swirlsofcreativity come to be?
"I sold some leftover tulle I had from a project and found it sold well. Then I decided that I would bring awesome products made in the U.S.A., that I found hard to find, to customers. I found the quality to be superior for making my daughter tutus and it feels good to sell products that help our economy.
Also, after much stress at a job, my husband took a pay cut to be less stressed and spend more time with our children and me. And I have found selling supplies is a way that I can help contribute financially to our family’s income."
2) What do you like Most about selling Supplies?
"Giving the customers access to well-made products that aren’t always the easiest to find is always rewarding. Also, I don’t have as much time to create art to make a living, what with being busy with our children a lot of the time; supplies are easier since I’m not making them. ;)"
3) What are your Goals for your Supply Business for 2011?
"I’m always hoping to bring new supplies to my shop. Right now I have many items that are just waiting to be photographed and descriptions written in order to enter my shop. I’ve been nurturing a few ideas of new products I would like to bring to my customers as well this year."
4) Are you an artist and do you work with the supplies that you sell? What is it that you make with them and do you have any tips for using your supplies?
"I am an artist and I do enjoy making items with the supplies when I have the time. I’ve made a few tutus for my daughter and nieces. I like to use tulle on gift tags and cards that I hand stamp. It is fun to use while wrapping gifts and for decorations too. The possibilities are endless! There are so many things that I would like to try with tulle. I’m hoping to begin doing tutorials on my blog showing how to make tutus, decorations, and gifts."
5) What do you do when you aren't selling supplies?
"I enjoy spending time with my family. We have a son who is 7, a daughter who is 3, and I’m super pregnant and due any day with our 3rd child. We enjoy reading, learning, crafting, cooking/baking, photography, playing games, watching movies, traveling and exploring new places. During the warmer months (we live in Iowa) we enjoy spending more time outdoors: hiking, camping, gardening, and going to garage sales."
You can find SwirlsofCreativity at the following links as well:
twitter.com/SwirlCreativity
www.facebook.com/pages/Swirls-of-Creativity/162660381755
www.facebook.com/people/Heidi-Jo-the-Artist/100000305370962
www.myspace.com/swirlsofcreativity
swirlsofcreativity.blogspot.com
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
What would you do with These? Wednesday! The Blue Edition
I love the color blue and I am sure many of you do too. Blue inspires!
Tell us What would you do with Each of these supplies together or separately-
What would you create with them?
ANY and ALL ideas welcome!
After what I read in last week's comments
I am sure you will come up with some neat ideas for these blue supplies!
Have fun with this-and comment away!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
An Interview with trimgoddess
1) How did trimgoddess come to be?
"Over 12 years ago my husband and I joined the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) dedicated to recreating the middle ages. So distinctive trimmings for our costumes were a must. It all started that way, I searched for ideal Jacquard woven trimmings and found a textile mill still manufacturing traditional ribbons on antique Jacquard machines. After creating costumes for both of us, I made some for others using these trimmings. After a very short time I realized that the trimmings were in high demand by other costume makers and I started selling them from the back of my van on a card table at SCA events. In a matter of 6 months I went from selling off one card table, to 4 6ft tables under a pop up tent, then to a 20ft tent with 10 tables and shelves. As this was back-breaking work, I started to sell my trims on line through ebay. Then a little later I created my own show-case website http://www.continentalstitcherytrims.com and in 2007 I added to it a shopping cart and full e=commerce capabilities.
When ebay raised their fees and changed their outlook, it was time to move. I first sold on ebid for 3 months then I moved to etsy in mid 2008 at http://www.trimgoddess.com and the rest is history.
My business logo was a naked woman rising from the sea holding a shield with a crowned rose. And nearly everyone called her the trim goddess ! So that was the name I chose for my etsy shop."
2) What do you like Most about selling Supplies?
"I love finding the right trim for the right outfit or use. I love seeing what others do with them. I love the feel and colors of the rich textiles I specialize in. I like fashion and design and working with designers. I visit museums and exhibitions for my continuing education in my field. During the New Years break I visited the Textile Museum in Washington, DC to view the "Colors of the Oasis, Central Asian Ikats" exhibition. It was amazing and inspirational. http://www.textilemuseum.org . I love doing historical research.
Then most of all, I like commerce in general. Buying and selling is something I enjoy. It is never boring, and you get to know so many interesting people."
3) What are your Goals for your Supply Business for 2011?
"I will be adding some wonderful new trim patterns by Kaffee Fasset in the coming month. I am so looking forward to presenting these, as Kaffee Fassett is such a great contemporary textile artist.
Optimizing social networking is also one of my goals. I have a FaceBook business page at http://1url.com/wh2 that keeps me in touch with my customers and where I let them know what is going on in our little TextileTrim world. My FaceBook posts get automatically posted to my twitter account."
4) Are you an artist and do you work with the supplies that you sell? What is it that you make with them and do you have any tips for using your supplies?
"I use my Jacquard trims to adorn my medieval outfits, then I also use my bolt remnants to make a small line of bookmarks, and from time to time I create quilts and wall hangings with them."
5) What do you do when you aren't selling supplies?
"Selling my trims is a full time job, all my other activities are second to it. I create bead-woven jewelry and collaborate in my husband's lapidary business. Our etsy shop is http://www.crownrosegems.com "
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tutorial Thursdays!
Each week there will be a NEW Tutorial posted on a variety of crafts and other topics-if you have a tutorial you would like posted here-Let me know! I will start posting them Next Thursday January 20th.
Thank you all on the SOS team for helping us keep this blog alive!
Thank you all on the SOS team for helping us keep this blog alive!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
What would you do with These? Wednesday!
Every Wednesday I will feature 5 different supplies from 5 different SOS team member's shops!
This week is a Valentine's Day Edition...
Tell us What would you do with Each of these supplies together or separately?
What would you create with them? ANY and ALL ideas welcome!
I can't wait to see what you come up with!
Click on each title to go to each seller's shop!
What wonderful finds and Oh so many creations can be made with these!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
An interview with Overspill
overspill on Etsy
1) How did Overspill come to be?
" 10 years ago I set up a small business selling hand made quilts and hand knits, which was hard work, but a lot of fun. When, 4 years ago, I found myself expecting my daughter, I realized that I was going to have to find something else to do that was closer to home and more manageable with a small one around. I gave up my studio space and started selling off my excess supplies while I thought about it. Then I discovered just how much fun supplies and haberdashery were and invested my savings from not paying studio rent into more stock. From there, things just sort of grew..."
2) What do you like Most about selling Supplies?
"All of it! Well, except for doing the books - I don't enjoy that part much. But I love haberdashery for it's usefulness and for it's beauty - rolls of ribbons draping themselves over the table, shades of binding stacked up into a rainbow and quite honestly, playing with buttons is so much
fun it shouldn't be called work! "
fun it shouldn't be called work! "
3) What are your Goals for your Supply Business for 2011?
"Goals? You mean I'm meant to have some sort of plan?
ok - the main goal is to start producing more handmade supplies, particularly buttons and bias binding. Certainly in the UK, the supplies market has contracted to the point where most items are coming from a handful of large companies - I want to be able to offer my customers something different, something that you won't find elsewhere and that will, hopefully, inspire them to go on to make their own unique pieces. To this end, I've also set up my website www.boutonnerie.com/ where I sell handmade buttons by other artisans."
ok - the main goal is to start producing more handmade supplies, particularly buttons and bias binding. Certainly in the UK, the supplies market has contracted to the point where most items are coming from a handful of large companies - I want to be able to offer my customers something different, something that you won't find elsewhere and that will, hopefully, inspire them to go on to make their own unique pieces. To this end, I've also set up my website www.boutonnerie.com/ where I sell handmade buttons by other artisans."
4) Are you an artist and do you work with the supplies that you sell?
What is it that you make with them and do you have any tips for using your supplies?
"My handmades textiles are still chugging along at www.etsy.com/shop/CarolineHardy though I have to say that my focus has switched recently. A year ago I was lucky enough to buy a kiln and since then I've become gradually more and more obsessed with clay. I suspect that over the next few years, I will be working more and more with this, in both my handmades and supplies shops.
Tips? Nothing really on techniques, but I would say, whatever medium you work in - experiment! Play around, have fun, explore all the possibilities. When I was sewing full time, a lot of people informed me "You can't make quilts out of [fleece, velvet, upholstry chenille]" while I was, quite successfully doing just that very thing. Don't ever listen to the voices that say "You can't....". You can - you just have to find a way. "
Tips? Nothing really on techniques, but I would say, whatever medium you work in - experiment! Play around, have fun, explore all the possibilities. When I was sewing full time, a lot of people informed me "You can't make quilts out of [fleece, velvet, upholstry chenille]" while I was, quite successfully doing just that very thing. Don't ever listen to the voices that say "You can't....". You can - you just have to find a way. "
5) What do you do when you aren't selling supplies?
"My partner is also self employed, so with 2 businesses, a small child and a half-acre holding on which we grow much of our food plus medicinal herbs and dyeplants, we don't have an awful lot of time for much else. If there is any spare time I can usually be found with my nose in a book or up to my elbows in clay!"
You can follow Overspill all over the web at the following links:
On Her Blog:
What a Busy Busy Gal!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)