Friday Spotlight: Elements & Artifacts

Welcome to our next Friday Spotlight! Every other week, we feature a new interview from one of our TeamBPAL members.

This week, your trusty blogger is finally up for her own Friday Spotlight! I'm Alicia of Elements & Artifacts. Let's go!



Tell us a little about the items in your shop. What do you make?
I create inspired artisan jewelry and artwork based on various myths, legends, histories, cultures, and customs. I tend to release my work as collections with overarching themes, while also including items that reflect the seasons and elements for that particular time of year. For instance, every year I reinterpret the months of the year (in Latin), the pagan Sabbats, and various symbols that reflect the ebb and flow of the four seasons. I adore the aesthetics of the fin de siécle and Art Nouveau movement and my favorite time of year is Autumn and Halloween.

My jewelry work has a very strong focus on ornate/filigree wire work, hand-forged wire elements and earwires, textured metalwork, precious metal clay (in fine silver, bronze, and copper), and of course sparkling gemstones.

I love the added challenge inherent in difficult materials and advanced techniques and I find it very rewarding on a personal level. As an artist I always strive to evolve my work and, in turn, myself. Elements & Artifacts will always be a work in progress. My ultimate goal in this is to tap into each concept in a way that best evokes its feeling and mood. I draw upon my inspiration, research, and personal style—as well as reaching into new materials and techniques—to offer what I hope are unique, wearable artifacts.


What is your creative process?
My work is very conceptual and my creative process with jewelry mirrors the creative process that my art professors taught. At any given moment, I am brainstorming for upcoming collections. My creative process involves an ever-rotating medley of research, reading, and sketching ideas in my idea book. There are times that ideas for collections will percolate years before I ever start the actual work on the jewelry. Even so, most of my planning and sketching involves one or two key design points per item. When it's time to create, I sit down and open myself up to see what sort of spontaneous inspiration comes to me in creating the rest of each piece. I love having a balance between planned elements and spur-of-the-moment creativity.


Which Etsy Teams do you belong to?
TeamBPAL, the California Crafter's Club of Etsy, and the San Francisco Etsy Street Team.



Late Autumn Rustlings: Bonfire

When you are not creating things, what do you do?
Most days, I am wrangling the chaos that is parenting an energetic toddler. I also take ballet and pointe classes with Western Ballet Company and do freelance graphic design, illustration, and tattoo design. I love to travel, visit the ocean, fire dance, play WoW, and find new/cool places in the city.


Tell us two random, interesting things about you.
1. I have spent the better part of my life in art classes. However, I absolutely cannot stand the feeling and texture of charcoal and dry pastels. It literally raises the hair on the back of my neck until it's off of me and I can no longer hear or sense the way it rubs on the paper. I have had to struggle through numerous semesters of 3-hour studio classes with my hair standing on end, goose bumps on my arm, and the occasional body-wide shudder.

2. Forget dinner and a movie! I can eat inhuman amounts of movie theater popcorn, and would choose it over many other things. I also carry a miniature salt shaker in my purse for my popcorn.


What has been your proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?
It's so difficult to pick. I will never, ever take for granted all of the lovely notes that I get from happy customers. I still recall the first sale I made to a stranger. I am still over the moon that Gail Kops of Beadles offered me a designer page on her website. I am also very excited about having my work shown at Modern Eden, a fine art gallery and studio in San Francisco.



Enchanted Oak Forest

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Be consistent in your efforts and creative output, remember that you are your own best marketing tool, don't be shy about getting the word out about your work, always strive to improve your photography since that is the most important selling point for online sales, be honest about your inspirations, be supportive of other creative friends and teammates, and most of all have fun!


What handmade possession do you cherish?
There are countless that I'd like to name, but I'll go with my sacred talisman which holds a magical symbol on the face of it. It was hand-carved by a dear friend of mine and finished into a pendant.


If you could have any item on Etsy regardless of price, what would it be?
It is so difficult to choose only one, but lately I've been fascinated with the art of lost wax casting, so I'll link to these Smoke Wing Cicadas. I'd probably go with garnet, and possibly a pendant rather than a ring.

What other skill or talent do you wish you could possess, if you had not taken this creative path?
While I would not trade anything I have in my life right now, I have always wondered where I'd be if I had pursued a performing career in dance. I've also had many daydreams about getting a culinary degree.




Where else can we find you on the web?
facebook.com/elementsandartifacts
aliciadabney.blogspot.com
twitter.com/alicia_stardust

That's all for this time! Have a wonderful autumn weekend and we will return in two weeks!

Friday Spotlight: Nevermore Bits & Baubles

Welcome to our next Friday Spotlight! Every other week, we feature a new interview from one of our TeamBPAL members.

This week, we interviewed Naomi of Nevermore Bits & Baubles. Let's go!



Tell us a little about the items in your shop. What do you make?
I make necklaces and earrings using silver, pewter, brass, and other metals. Primarily, I work with polished and faceted stones to create my pieces. Sometimes the stones determine the design, meaning I see a stone which catches my fancy and I build the jewelry item around the ‘feel’ of the stone. Other times, the metal piece determines the design. Soon, I hope to work with Precious Metal Clay and to incorporate my interest in Sumi-e painting and miniatures.

What is your creative process?
Like my personality, my sign, and the items in my shop, my creative process tends to be a bit unpredictable and multi-faceted. Sometimes a piece of literature will form a picture in my mind which I seek to bring to life. Sometimes the slant of light on an autumn afternoon inspires me to attempt to render that feeling in jewelry. Other cultures and peoples inspire my designs, as do artists. Finally, I would say I am inspired by all that I find beautiful, as I would happily own and wear any of the pieces I make.

Which Etsy Teams do you belong to?
Just TeamBPAL at this time.


Nyx Goddess of Night

When you are not creating things, what do you do?
I sing, paint, dabble in photography, hike, dance for fun and exercise, expand my children’s horizons (attempt to, at any rate), try to stay healthy, volunteer, learn how better to love and care for all children, dj, read, rail about the inequalities in the world, spend what little free time I have with good friends, copy edit, write, cook, and a few others I’ve surely forgotten.

Tell us two random, interesting things about you.
1. In a broad sense, I have linguistic talent. If I study an accent for a little while, I can mimick it well. My range is from the mid-range of soprano to the mid-range of bass. I make cartoon voices and noises (this comes in terribly handy in my work with children). I can understand a good deal of written (and a wee bit of spoken) French, Italian, and Latin, though I have never studied those languages. My slight grasp of Spanish has opened that door for me.
2. I sense I am becoming the exact opposite of who I was when I was younger. This is a good thing, but it makes me wonder IF I ever ‘was’. This line of thinking twists my head in knots. I don’t suppose that is terribly interesting, but I couldn’t top #1.

What has been your proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?
I am tickled pink when friends ask me to design items for them for special occasions!


Le Danse

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Promote, promote, promote! Also, be willing to hear constructive criticism. Ask trusted friends or acquaintances, not just in an open forum. Set aside any stings and listen to the crux of things. Finally, try to market your goods to local shops and at fairs and bazaars. This will open up more doors than Etsy alone can!

What handmade possession do you cherish?
I cherish items others have hand-made, and simply enjoy things I have made. With that said, probably my most prized hand-made item is a gorgeous bit of intricate, Victorian-style woolen embroidery crafted by my dearly-departed great aunt Winnie. Additionally, a friend gifted me (for no reason) a stunning painting of an ethereal angel. I am delighted to own an original work of art! That it is also amazingly-rendered is the cherry on top.

If you could have any item on Etsy regardless of price, what would it be?
How about this bed? I haven’t owned a nice bed ever in my life. This would totally fit the bill! And I can’t resist also listing this ring and this ring. I do love shiny things!

What other skill or talent do you wish you could possess, if you had not taken this creative path?
Oh my goodness, what a cruel question. One thing I will always regret, sometimes bitterly, is that I was unable to stick with professional vocal lessons. I would also love to be able to cook Ethiopian and Indian foods well from scratch. Finally, I would love to be a talented and trained actor and dancer.



Thanks for the interview, Naomi! We'll return once again in two weeks with another interview.

Friday Spotlight: Seawall Glen

Welcome to our next Friday Spotlight! Every other week, we feature a new interview from one of our TeamBPAL members.

This week, we interviewed Angela of Seawall Glen. Let's go!



Tell us a little about the items in your shop. What do you make?
I make what I broadly refer to as "folk art", starting with Ukrainian Easter eggs (pysanky), a tradition which goes back thousands of years, and ending with black velvet painting, which is usually dismissed as '70s kitsch but I find charming and really lovely if executed properly. :) I also paint on regular canvas, do the odd bit of jewelry, and play around with Sculpey when the mood strikes.

What is your creative process?
It can go either way. Sometimes an image catches my imagination (a bird, a face, or a feeling given shape) and I work on reducing to an abstract representation. Sometimes I'm in the art store and I see a new medium (like Kleerkast, most recently) and think to myself, "Oooh, y'know what would be really cool to embed in clear resin?..." I have a LOT of ideas that can float around for ages until one of these processes pins them down.

Which Etsy Teams do you belong to?
TeamBPAL!


Koru

When you are not creating things, what do you do?
Drinking tea, inventing new recipes, reading books or blogs, going to movies and endeavoring either to enjoy them or pick them apart (most of my uni coursework was in film theory).

Tell us two random, interesting things about you.
I have held a live hummingbird (it had stunned itself against a window, but a classmate and I rescued it).
I can twitch my ears independently of one another.

What has been your proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?
My first sale! :D People always compliment my work, but going so far as to pay money for it, maybe I'm shallow, but it's validating.


Drakling

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Promote yourself outside of Etsy. Keep adding new items. And join a team!

What handmade possession do you cherish?
I would have to say this mug I bought from a fellow TeamBPAL member. It's beautiful, one of a kind, and it holds 16 oz of tea---that's the sort of thing Finnish folk heroes sail across oceans to fight monsters for. :)

If you could have any item on Etsy regardless of price, what would it be?
Probably one of these taxidermy unicorns.

What other skill or talent do you wish you could possess, if you had not taken this creative path?
I would opt for more talent as a singer or an instrumentalist (piano, guitar or drums).



Where can we find you on the web?
www.twitter.com/seawall

Thanks for the interview, Angela! We'll return once again in two weeks with another interview.

Friday Spotlight: Laura Salisbury Design

Welcome to our next Friday Spotlight! Every other week, we feature a new interview from one of our TeamBPAL members.

This week, we interviewed Laura of Laura Salisbury Design. Let's go!



Tell us a little about the items in your shop. What do you make?
I make handcrafted jewelry (mainly necklaces, bracelets and earrings) using silver, brass, gemstones, pearls, lampworked glass and other bits and bobs. I really enjoy working with unique natural stones so a fair amount of my necklaces are on the chunky side with a sort of Dr. Temperance Brennan feel to them but I also like doing smaller, more delicate designs as well. I love playing the colors of the stones off of each other and coming up with unusual but complimentary combinations.

What is your creative process?
The creative bit is trying to evoke things or feelings with design and color - the color of morning sunlight as it's filtered through leaves on a tree, the way candlelight reflects off of a wineglass, the brightness and variety of colors of the neighborhood flowers in the Spring, the gray subtleties of an overcast day at the beach, the dry heat of a desert, you name it. Color is a huge part of my inspiration and I generally end up spreading all of my stones out and look at them as a palate. The process bit is more mundane. Sit down and look at the stones, get up to make tea, sit down, answer a question from my son, turn back to my worktable and stare blankly, get up to go to the bathroom, come back to remove a cat from the middle of my stuff, push a few stones around, go off in search of a snack. Eventually, I'll settle into a good place and see what speaks to me. I'll chose a main focal stone or some really cool components and play around with pairings until I find something that just feels right. Sometimes I choose stones solely based on color but other times, especially for custom pieces, I'll go more on the intent or meaning behind the stone. When I get on a good roll, everything else just drops away.

Which Etsy Teams do you belong to?
PDXEtsy and TeamBPAL



Bold Necklace in Serpentine, Carnelian, Red Jasper, and Fire Agate


When you are not creating things, what do you do?
My mom showed me how to knit a little while ago and I'm finding it to be very fun. I love to read and frequently have my nose buried in a book (recently I've been devouring all of Christopher Moore's books). I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time on the computer doing things of questionable worth. When I have a working sewing machine, I like to sew. I have two of the most awesome cats in the world that I love cuddling up with. Since it's summer now, I've been spending a lot of extra time hanging out with my son and husband, which has been really lovely.

Tell us two random, interesting things about you.
Random? Certainly. Interesting? Debatable. 1 - I was on the track team in high school even though, bizarrely, I have no real memory of it. I only rediscovered the fact after an old friend from high school made a reference to it on Facebook which prompted me to pull out a yearbook and look up the team pictures only to see myself there. Brief snippits of memories have since come back but it's all very strange and makes me wonder just what else I've forgotten. 2 - I am capable of eating obscenely inhuman quantities of the following in one sitting: guacamole, ice cream and breakfast cereal. Its disturbing, really.

What has been your proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?
I think my proudest moment was the first time I was asked to make someone's wedding jewelry. She wanted me to make her jewelry and the necklaces for all the bridesmaids as well, all of them unique. I was so excited and nervous and when they were finished, and she loved them as much as I hoped she would, I felt so very happy, privileged and proud to have contributed something special to her wedding day.



Flourite Cluster Earrings


What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Professional-looking item photos are crucial. Learn a bit about lighting and learn about the manual settings on your camera. I, myself, am finding this to be a thing easier said than done and continue to struggle with getting good photos. I've had days where I wanted nothing more than to smash my camera with a sledgehammer but I really do believe it's worth the extra effort.

What handmade possession do you cherish?
The jewelry I made for my wedding will always be close to my heart even though it's not exactly an example of my best work. It was made while thinking very happy thoughts and it made me feel beautiful. It still makes me feel beautiful every time I wear it. One other handmade thing that I cherish is not technically mine and I didn't make it. When my son was born my father made him a special quilt that he designed himself. It turned out beautifully. He'd never made a quilt before and did it with the help of a friend and every time I see it I see all the love that went into it. There are so many other things...the dolls my mother made for me when I was little (I still have them), the teapot cozy a good friend knitted for me, my husband's paintings. Personally, I think that when someone makes something for you, and they focus all of that care, attention and intent on what they're doing, they instill a bit of themselves - a bit of their own uniqueness - into whatever they make. Handmade items have a spark in them that makes them very special.

If you could have any item on Etsy regardless of price, what would it be?
This gorgeous French Style Curved Front Antique Bed. I'd probably paint it black if I got it but I love this bed!

What other skill or talent do you wish you could possess, if you had not taken this creative path?
My dad's a professional musician and I love music but the talent skipped me. He tried to teach me any number of instruments as I was growing up but none of them took, mostly because he was my dad and I was stubborn. Now that I'm grown I could kick myself for not sticking with it. I've always wanted to be musical in some way, either by singing or playing an instrument. I'd love to be able to dance. I also have an inexplicable desire to learn how to weld.



Where can we find you on the web?
www.facebook.com/laurasdesigns
www.laurasalisburydesigns.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/laurasalisbury

Thanks for the interview, Laura! We'll return once again in two weeks with another interview.

Friday Spotlight: Milling in Line

Welcome to our next Friday Spotlight! Every other week, we feature a new interview from one of our TeamBPAL members.

This week, we interviewed Chris and Claudia of Milling in Line. Most of the answers below are from Chris, with little tidbits from Claudia. Let's go!




Tell us a little about the items in your shop. What do you make?
I produce unique table top cabinets of my own design, for Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab clients to hold their perfume oil collections.

What is your creative process?
The original box, designed as a birthday present for my wife, was meant to solve the storage problem of a large collection BPAL bottles. I wanted an original design that was reminiscent of an apothecary’s portable store. The paint and hardware scheme I chose for my wife was that of an old and well worn box; at present I ask clients to describe thematic elements and color preferences so that the product they receive is unique for them. I converse and sometimes send sketches to the client till we are both clear on what they want then I commence to build and paint.

Which Etsy Teams do you belong to?
TeamBPAL.





When you are not creating things, what do you do?
I spend time with my wife and daughter, and I work for the local college performing arts theatre as the scenic arts/ prop master.

Tell us two random, interesting things about you.
I have a home grown, large curly “Snidely Whiplash” Mustache, and an embarrassingly large amount of LEGO building toys. Seriously, like my weight in LEGO. (He does! We've got a little city in our garage- Claudia)

What has been your proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?
One of our clients took some very nice photos of the box I made for her and posted them to her blog, and then my wife and partner asked if we could post one on our sale page. When shown the pic I didn’t realize at first that I was looking at the box I had built just weeks before, but something more professional than I believed myself capable of.






What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Ask others for advice, compare and contrast products in your field, play nice and be happy someone else likes what you do enough to buy it.

What handmade possession do you cherish?
Starting at age five my daughter developed a fancy for pottery and we have a number of objects thrown on a wheel by her and other ceramics hand built and glazed by her, including Father’s day gifts.

If you could have any item on Etsy regardless of price, what would it be?
Very small bookbinding is a popular but nonetheless unique talent, I like things that are useful but don’t take up a lot of space. Like this.

From Claudia: I see so much on Etsy that I love- something that jumped out at me recently was this. It's whimsical and creative- although there is little need for a warm coat in California, I'm quite enamored of it.

What other skill or talent do you wish you could possess, if you had not taken this creative path?
I would like to have developed more musical talent including the ability to write and arrange music. (I wish I was as creative as Chris and our daughter, but I'm very happy to be surrounded by their art and the art that our friends make and share with us.- Claudia)



Where can we find you on the web?
I'm best reached at the Etsy page- Claudia is all over the web- on the BPAL forum of course (Lunakitten) and her Twitter is twitter.com/Lunakitten or Facebook at facebook.com/Lunakitten.

Thanks for the interview, Chris and Claudia! We'll return once again in two weeks.

TeamBPAL Charity Sale

TeamBPAL is happy to announce our first-ever team sale, and this one is for a good cause: every item currently at teambpal.etsy.com will benefit the Sea Turtle Restoration Project which is providing aid to the sea turtles affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf.







The Sea Turtle Restoration Project fights to protect endangered sea turtles in ways that make cultural and economic sense to the communities that share the beaches and waters with these gentle creatures. With offices in California, Texas, Costa Rica, and Papua New Guinea, STRP is leading international efforts to protect sea turtle populations worldwide. STRP is a project of Turtle Island Restoration Network, a 501c3 organization.

Sea turtles are a window into how we treat our oceans and our environment. The same factors that are causing declines of sea turtles - unsustainable fishing, coastal habitat destruction, pollution, and overconsumption of natural resources - are the same ones contributing to the decline of our oceans.

Protecting sea turtles is more than just about protecting these gentle creatures, it is also about returning to balance with the natural world.

Please help TeamBPAL support this cause while treating yourself to some lovely handmade items!

Friday Spotlight: Otter's Daughter Designs

Welcome to our next Friday Spotlight! Every other week, we feature a new interview from one of our TeamBPAL members.

This week, we interviewed Coral of Otter's Daughter Designs.




Tell us a little about the items in your shop. What do you make?
I make jewelry from stone, wire, metals and sometimes stray things (like watch part vials) that catch my eye. I’m just beginning to branch out into more complex wire work.

What is your creative process?
My creative process is a bit all over the map. Off the top of my head I can name three main methods I use. The simplest is that I sit down with my tools and see what speaks to me. Some days it’s a certain shape, some days it’s a certain combination of colors, some days nothing is feeling talkative but those are pretty rare.

The second way is new; I only started using it when I started working more with wireframes. It starts with me just doodling in my idea book – I don’t call it a sketchbook, I doubt anyone but me would be able to recognize anything in it! I doodle freeform shapes until one of them catches my fancy and then I work with and refine it until I have an actual design. It usually goes through another refining process once I actually get my hands on the wire so the final piece rarely looks like much like the original sketch.

The third way is when I see something (or read something, or have a conversation about something) that sparks off an idea. Occasionally, when I am very lucky, it sparks off a cascade of ideas and that’s when I end up with a series of conceptually related pieces. I’m working on one now that I’m very excited about – it’s centered around the Firefly/Serenity universe.


Which Etsy Teams do you belong to?
TeamBPAL is my first and thus far only.



Mechanical Temporal Displacement Device Crash Kit: Series E


When you are not creating things, what do you do?
Mostly I’m a soon-to-be more than full time student. I’m entering a compressed program this July that gets me through my Master’s of Education, student teaching, and licensing all in a single year. I’ve the distinct feeling it’s going to eat my life but when it’s over I’ll be done - more importantly I’ll be employable!

I’m also an avid amateur gardener (testing the waters of permaculture this summer), a weekend pirate (somewhat similar to the SCA), a fire spinner, a computer gamer and in what little time I have left after all that I write Sci-Fi.


Tell us two random, interesting things about you.
When I was five I was on the Bozo the Clown show. Proof that before I read Stephen King’s “It” I actually liked clowns.

I have two cats – Siddhartha, who hates nearly everyone but me and Vishnu, who is submissive to everyone and just wants to be loved. Both are female. Obviously I fail at names.


What has been your proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?
My proudest moment was being asked by a friend to make the jewelry for her wedding. It’s a huge honor to be asked to take part in creating someone’s wedding day. It was also more than a little intimidating but luckily she loved what I made her.



Sylph of the Summer Evening


What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Make things because you love doing it, not to get rich. While you might eventually make some money, maybe even a good living, it’s going to take time. If you love what you’re doing then the process itself is satisfying and anything else becomes a welcome bonus.

What handmade possession do you cherish?
There are a lot of handmade things that are dear to me but I would have to say the one I most cherish is a wooden talisman carved by a close friend.

If you could have any item on Etsy regardless of price, what would it be?
I’m absolutely in love with this jacket, though I want it in dark brown. *makes grabby hands*

What other skill or talent do you wish you could possess, if you had not taken this creative path?
I wish like mad that I had some talent for drawing – I have none at all. I try to share the pictures in my head in other ways and I think I do pretty well; but I still think it would be easier if I could just draw!



Where can we find you on the web?
On Facebook I’m Coral Ann Gilbert
On Live Journal I’m Dragon_Mintz
On Twitter I'm Ottersdaugther

Thanks for the interview, Coral! Have a great holiday weekend, for those of you in the U.S.! We'll return once again in two weeks.