Monday, July 12, 2010

Handmade Artists from around the globe....

 www.leeya.etsy.com
I have featured artists from the US, and Canada.  But, but as you know, artists come from every corner of the world, like Leeya.  Leeya comes from  historically rich Israel.  She is the owner of a lovely boutique in Etsy called Leeya Engel.
  Leeya's handmade jewelry is not only beautiful but there is a feeling of cultures abroad as you browse her shop.  Her beautiful pieces are carefully crafted and some are even re purposed bobbles and pendents to make even more breathtaking pieces
From necklaces, to earrings, to rings.  You are sure to find that unique, culture inspiring gift for you special someone, any time of the year.  Your shop is gorgeous Leeya and pieces are to die for :) Great work!

Speaking of Unique Handmade Toys.......

www.zeropumpkin.etsy.com
You can find gorgeous, lacy and beautiful things on Etsy for sure, but you will also find truly different, special, unique and one of a kind items too.

When I first met ZeroPumpkin, I was floored.  I was awe inspired at the cuteness of their handmade dolls plus intrigued by their unique presentation and crafting.  They will also custom make your doll for you!

ZeroPumpkin's Dolls are truly collectibles.  Each is handmade and carefully crafted.  And each may be similar to each other,  but ZeroPumpkin has managed to instill a unique personality to each and every one they create.  I bump into ZeroPumpkin from time to time on Etsy chats and such, and every time I do, I have to check out their shop to see whats new.  And every time, I am pleasantly surprised.   So if you are looking for above the norm, collectible dolls, head over to Zeropumpkin, and try to decide which ones you will get first:)  ZeroPumpkin is also having a 100th sale Giveaway on their blog www.3nity79pumpkin.blogspot.com They have two dolls to name in a contest!!  Good luck to everyone and Great work Zeropumpkin!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

For those Joining Me......

I have posted a lot today and I will be featuring more artists tomorrow. 

Now my main base is Etsy located at www.etsy.com.  Etsy is an online venue for not only online buying but for online sellers too.  These sellers are truly artist.  The catagories for Etsy is anything handmade, vintage or supplies.  The sellers featured below are just a small example of what can be found on Etsy.

Here at my Craft Market is your catalog of all Etsy sellers and more.  I will be featuring anyone from other venues.

If you have joined me from other blogs, Twitter, Face book or group, and you have a venue that you would like featured just send me an email.  There are just a few rules.

1. Anything you sell must be handmade.  No resellers or dropshippers please.
2. Please follow me if you can
3. Please spread the word on your social networks, blogs or groups.
4.  If you have purchased anything from the featured shops, please leave positive comments about your experience.  Please keep it nice though.  We don't really need any complaints here.

Other then that.  There are no restrictions as to how many sellers will be featured.

Oh and if you would like me to put a small slideshow or Etsy widget up let me know too.
Thanks everyone and i will see you all tomorrow.
FibreHeart
Mandy

How about Handmade and Personalized.......

www.newhopebeading.etsy.com
To have one's name put on anything is special.  Put it on something beautifully hand crafted, now that is truly special. 
New Hope Beading is a gorgeous shop on Etsy that has some truly breath taking jewelry.  Each piece is lovingly crafted with pearls, semi precious stones, swarovski crystals and fine silver pieces.  And for that extra special touch, they do hand stamping! Each piece can be personalized just for you or that special someone. 

The one thing that caught my eye in this shop, other then the beautiful bling ;) was it's style.  This shop gave me a feel of being in a boutique.  The photos really fit the product and the product is a must have this Christmas or anytime really :)  Excellent work New Hope Beading!!

Beautiful Jewelry for a Unique Handmade gift this Christmas....

www.indulgentdesigns.etsy.com
Everywhere you look, there are Christmas in July sales.  And as it happens from July until December, we are so worried about others, that we often forget about ourselves.  Well my next feature has that covered. 
Indulgent Designs is a fabulous handmade jewelry shop with beautiful necklaces and earrings and waiting to give you pure indulgence.  Indulgent Designs uses wonderful stones, fine chains, and beautiful crystals in their lovely jewelry.  There were so many things I liked about this shop.  The one thing that stood out was in most of their listing were short descriptions of what the stones and metals they used were and what they stood for.  Even some had benefits to your health!  So now when the hubby asks, you tell him you did it for the benefit of your body:)  So remember while your spoiling others, Indulge yourself at Indulgent Designs!  Great work to this artist!!!

Not Just Home Decor....

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/zparkleys
For some, the word handmade means, frilly lace pillows, silk, scented flowers and pretty door wreaths or swags.  While all are things that make me weak.  There is also another aspect of handmade that went out with our fore fathers.  Handmade Toys.  You must remember the sock monkey.  He was traditionally made from a gray and white sock with button eyes.  Made for those kids whose parents couldn't get the designer toys.  But they are very cute and as the years went by they grew more popular and now our Etsians are adding more artistic edges to our Sock Monkey of the past.  Meet Rita, the 80's Sock Monkey.  She is handmade by Etsy Shop owner  Zparkley's.  Their Sock Monkeys are so darn cute you just want to pile them in the middle of the floor and dive in :)  Each is handmade and carefully crafted to last for years of love. Zparkley also makes custom Monkeys just for you!  Once you take a look at Zparkley's shop, you'll be there for hours trying very hard to decide which one or ones you want first.  Too cute Zparkley!  Keep em coming!

Posting Comments on Features

I felt I should mention that as I feature shops in the market, if you have purchased in the shops before, please, by all means, share your experience.

We are all being introduced to some new friends and some old ones and a few words about our skills will be greatly appreciated.

That being said, this is also not a complaint board so please keep the comments positive.  Everyone makes mistakes and we learn from them.  We don't need to be spreading bad karma everywhere.

Thanks everyone, and I hope you enjoy my Market.  If you have any ideas on how to make it better, please email me :)

Handmade Soap Can be art in itself!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/soapdeli
You know, growing up, I'm obviously used to the commercial soaps where they expressed their creativity in the name stamp and the different colors.  Rather boring.  Then I came to Etsy and a whole new world of Bath and Beauty opened up for me.
On Etsy, you will find Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen.  She is a Handmade Soap Artist.  I say artist because the work that goes into the layering and colour coordinating the soap is amazing.  Rebecca makes her soap so beautiful you have to not only try it, but you have to heart her to see what she comes out with next.  The soap featured here today is a Cold Press Shea Butter Coconut Cream Pie.  I can smell it now :)  Her soaps can also be used for shaving bars and shampoo bars because shea butter is so good for your skin.  Beautiful shop Rebecca and keep up the gorgeous work!

Card Stock Goes Beyond Cardmaking!


http://www.etsy.com/shop/fairycardmaker  
You can find various forms of handmade cards, origami beads and flowers, but an old but relatively unheard of artform is now surfacing called Paper Quilling.  This is an example from one such artist named Fairy Cardmaker.  Here not only do they make gorgeous cards but they also use the paper quilling technique.  They explain this technique in their shop as "The quilled creations of today find their roots in Paper Filigree. Paper Filigree is the art of making things out of rolled paper. When paper filigree started, the paper was rolled around a feather quill which created the name paper quilling!"
Their items are so unique and different you just can't help not to look for that finishing touch for a special gift! Awesome job, Fairy Cardmaker!

Looking For Gorgeous Jewelry?


www.yourtime.etsy.com
On Etsy, you will find a few jewelry artists.  I have the great opportunity to feature Your Time For..  Not only do they use gorgeous stones but also beautiful swarovski crystals as well.  Each pendent and necklace is handmade and as stated in their shop, when each pendent is made "I make each one without conscious thought of what the final product should look like, and instead let my fingers do what comes naturally to them."  This is truly a handmade artist who knows the beauty of art.  Great work YourTime!

Crocheted Cuteness!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChocololicKnits I have the real pleasure to start my Country Market feature with a Fellow Etsian from Chocololic Knits and Crochet located here: www.chocololicknits.etsy.com
She has fabulous amigurumis which is all the rage in the collectible doll world right now. Here cute Sushi critter and Giant Panda are absolutely to die for and she sells the PDF Patterns for the DIY crowd.
As well, if you don't see anything you like, she does custom requests! These are a must see. I know I was impressed! Great work ChocololicKnits!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Country Market/Christmas Wish List

I went to my local flea market today. People in my area know it as the 400 flea market. This used to be a huge maket filled with handmade items, antiques, knick knacks and things. There were some areas where wholesalers could move a lot but you didn't see many of them.

Today, though, the handmade artist had either shrunk to smaller booths or closed up. Now, there were nothing but, in Etsy terms, Resellers everywhere. There were some great handmade artists there, but they all but said to me that their days were numbered. I was saddened.

I believe that we need now to start pushing the handmade artist even more now or the path of death for us will get larger.

So I wanted to start here. I want to feature as many people as I can on my blog. Only handmade artists. I will tweet, facebook and do whatever I can to get this out.

We have Christmas in July on right now and although I don't have a lot of followers right now, I'm sure that number will change as our list grows.

There is no limits as to how many features I will put up but I will make sure each and everyone is a handmade artist. But if I happen to feature a reseller by accident. I hope someone will tell me..

Anyway, If you want to featured here, the only thing I ask of you is to follow me and promote the handmade artist to who ever will listen.

Congrats all and Happy Sales!!!!!!!
Firbreheart

Hiatus done....Back to work...........




Well, I've been away for a bit. Honestly, I never really gave my blog the attention it deserved, but I'm changing that now.

I have been a little bit down lately because this is my first summer in online sales and it is sllloooowww. I expected slow periods but no one mentioned the boredom that would come with it. In fact, I was soo bored with everything, I felt myself not wanting to do my crafting anymore.

Well, I managed to get some sales in the last couple of weeks and am starting to feel a little better.

I even managed to get some new stuff posted in the store, with the help of some custom orders :)

Anyway, after I left you, fellow follwers, I managed to start 2 new lines that are starting to gain popularity. FibrePlushies and FibreHeart Car accessories.

FibrePlushies are felted critters that are not as firmly felted as my realistic sculptures and they are more cartoony. They are still not toys, but they are cute nonetheless.

FibreHeart Car accessories were born from looking at my stacks of beads from my bookmark days. They are needlefelted cats, dogs, etc... with a beaded string that wraps around your rearview mirror or I put velcro on them for dash mounting.

I have also started FibrePuppies today. These will be either my own creation or custom ordered. They range in age from 1 day old to a few months old.

So that`s what I have going on now. What`s going on with you all.

I would love to hear what you are trying to do to beat the summer blues?