Featured Seller: Katrinshine!!!

I am sooo excited to share today's featured seller with you!!!! Gals (and Guys) this shop is AMAZING!!! You'd better heart this one because this shop is going far! Say Hello to Katrinshine!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/katrinshine
If you're anything like me you just love the mustache craze...and you've got to love this leather mustache pendant! Okay I'm done blabbing... I will let the work speak for itself and let's learn a little about this great seller:

~My name is Ekaterina Fedotova. I was born in northern Russia but I’m living in Brindisi, Italy now. I make fabric, recycled leather jewelry, accessories and sew quilted bags and pillows in special Patchwork Spiral style. Also I make custom made corsets and medieval dresses.

~I have been designing clothing for as long as I can remember. I started with sewing for my dolls and then for the whole family. As you can see I have been a crafter for all my life!
~"I am getting my inspiration from colors & textures surrounding me. I like fabrics and leather. I am also getting inspired from the place I live in. Brindisi is a small old town on the south of Italy. This is a region of wine and olives and a long history of traditions and has inspired me so much!

~"I like to create unique pieces such as my quilted bags. This particular technique gives room for imagination! Small pieces of fabric getting assemble in a beautiful design. Each bag is unique and it’s nearly impossible to repeat it.

~"I start my work at the center of the design. The size of pieces change from very small in the center to large on the edges. I sew together the light colored pieces first and assemble them in a circle. Then I continue to work with dark colored ones. To finish a bag I use a cable cord and some seed beads to decorate it. Voilà !"
~If you could give one piece of advice to a new Etsy seller, what would it be? ~"Don’t afraid to be different! Don’t stop searching for something new!" What are your favorite colors? ~"I like blue tones. For me blue is the color of sky and freedom. I also like red and white. Red is the color of passion and white is the color of purity. I painted red poppies, white chamomiles and blue campanulas on my wall in the kitchen. I like bright colors, the colors of life. You can see it in my shop."

~ Describe your studio? ~"I work at home. My vintage style studio is in the veranda where I have a lot of light, air and space. My main working area is on a big table although I still have a wardrobe to keep all of my fabrics in. If a person would walk into my studio they might think there is a mess on my table with all that little scraps of fabric or leather. I am often fighting with my husband regarding how things should be organized but to me it is all in perfect order. This is my creative space and I have everything I need right in front of me! I would loose my inspiration if my creative area would be sparkly clean. I think all creative people are like me." ~Where do you see yourself in ten years? ~"I'm a very easy going person. It is easy for me to move and adjust to a new place. 3 years ago I was not thinking I would live in Italy. Who knows what awaits me in the future?" ~If you could have one super power, what would it be and why? ~"Make the world bloom. Flowers are what I love the most. They make the world a little better and people more gentle."
~ Thanks so much for sharing with us Ekatrina!

You can also find her here:

www.katrinshine.etsy.com

www.katrinshine.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com/KatrinFedotova

http://www.flickr.com/photos/katrinshine/

Off you all go to enjoy the rest of this beautiful shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/katrinshine

If you would like to see your shop featured on my blog just become a follower and leave a comment with a link to your shop!

Have a Great Weekend!

Featured Seller: Recycled Red!!!

Okay I know that is has been a while since I've done a featured seller...but I've been so busy that my poor blog has been the one thing that has suffered...enough blah-blah. Today's shop is a very new and very cute....so let's give her some love....say hello to Recycled Red by vivavividred. http://www.etsy.com/shop/vivavividred
You've got to admit that this brooch is beautiful...it sure is! if you love this you'll just love her cute shop!
I could go on all day about this shop...and I about featured the whole thing...but we need to leave something for you to enjoy in this shop.

Okay I'm done....let's learn a little about this new seller:

~"My name is Ashley and I live in Portland with my husband. We are studying Arabic because we want to be missionaries someday. I’m really into interior decorating, and one day I decided to stop talking about it and DO IT, so I started this shop to pay for interior design school.
~"My grandmother, mother, sisters and I are all creative and artsy in different ways. I am inspired by old movies, mountains, the sea, and the color green. I consider my part time job to be what I do when I’m not creating, not the other way around."
Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Recycled-Red/131238003594581

Blog: http://serendipitydaily.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for sharing a little about yourself Ashley! And welcome to Etsy!!! I'm sure many will agree that you will go far!

Here's her shop again...please be sure to drop on in: http://www.etsy.com/shop/vivavividred

If you would like to be featured on my blog just follow and leave a comment with a direct link to your shop so I can contact you!

Have a Great Day!

Have you Discovered Etsy Treasuries?

So you want to be on the Front Page??? (Don't we all??) Well here is a well kept secret...you have to get in treasuries in order to be on the Front Page of Etsy. Here's a link to Etsy's Treasuries so you can get a rough idea (if you don't know what I'm talking about): Etsy Treasury

I've been on the FP twice! Both through treasuries!

It took me about 8-9 months to get there, but there is so much more to it than just good pictures. And Treasuries is definitely one of them.

Here are some other helpful tips:

1. Make friends on Etsy! Hang out on the forums, create treasuries. You'll automatically make friends and bring in lots of hearts. People love to be included and recognized and it makes them like you and your shop even more...so reach out to others and you'll find yourself in several more treasuries.

2. Tags are everything! Remember to include descriptive tags such as exact shades of colors so that people can find you.

3. Spend time on your photos! If your views/ hearts and sales are low...first problem is most likely your pictures. Spend some serious time experimenting with your items, different lighting, no flash (seriously helps). And try every angle, background (Always use backgrounds that are natural to, and compliment your product rather than take away from it).

Cameras do help (I finally bought a professional camera, and I will be the first to admit that it makes the job much easier). But just about any camera will do a great job if you just play around with it a bit. And photo shop...don't change or distort your items, but do play up the color so it pops in a photo.

4. Renew Regularly! In order for not only customers to find you, but treasury curators...make sure that your items don't fall all the way back to page 22. Keep some of your items on the first 5 pages of their categories... this helps make them so much easier to find. Plus I admit that after 5-10 pages I stop looking.

5. Be Positive! Be proud of your product...and let it speak for itself in the photos, seriously I can't stress positivity enough...it just works! Don't give up or get discouraged...you can do anything that you set your mind to!

Hopefully all these tips help you all out!

Have a Great Day!