Amber Design Challenge

Seeing how different people interpret a given theme is always interesting, and can often times kick creativity in gear. It also brings a team together and, well, it's just fun. The theme for TeamBPAL's first design challenge was amber. It could have been the color, the stone, the smell...anything! The theme was put out there, and I'm happy to say that the team really came through on this one! We've got 10 entries for our first challenge, and they're all absolutely amazing! (It doesn't hurt that I absolutely love amber, either.)

This is sort of an informal contest. The winner gets to pick the next theme. Feel free to vote for your favourite in the comments! Voting will end at midnight (central time) on June 4th so that I can spend the weekend tallying things up.


Clicking on the photo will take you to the artists shop. Enjoy!

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Friday Spotlight: Kogi's Custom Clay

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

Let's learn a little more about Megan of Kogi's Custom Clay.





Tell us a little about the items in your shop. What do you make?
I make functional ceramics that are highly decorated and colorful. I say that I hate glazing with wild abandon but I seem to do quite a bit of it. Most of my work is now low fired ceramics but I still use High fire for my custom pieces. The custom pieces are usually mugs though they can be anything like an urn, bowl, plate, etc. I love the mug form and usually go back to it for starting any line.

What is your creative process?
I think the greatest struggle is finding out what I am trying to say with my pieces. I love painting (oils) and printmaking (linoleum block) and both of these loves are blended to form my work. The color layering have gone through a seemingly endless series of tests to arrive at the palate I have chosen for a line. Then there is the design of the paintings themselves and the carving I will end with before bisquing the piece. Then the stages that I layer the glazes must be tried. Hopefully my experiments net successful results though in the beginning of a new direction they end up bad, bad, bad...LOL

For my custom pieces I have the client send me as many images as they can then I select from these to form an interesting visual design. I think the scariest part of any custom design is right before I sit down to carve. It’s a sort of blank page where I freeze just a bit.

Which Etsy Teams do you belong to?
Team BPAL and that’s about it. My more that antiquated tech knowledge makes me a bit slow to keep up with trends...LOL After all, I’m working in a 13 century medium.





When you are not creating things, what do you do?
Um.....I am always at the studio and when I am not I am snoozing and online. Seriously, there are some days that I would stay all night except they won’t let me in the building from 1am-5am.

Tell us two random, interesting things about you.
1) I always wear overalls. I am kinda known for them. No waistband, they hold lots of stuff, and I can wipe my clay covered hands on them with no worries.

2) I was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS a year ago.

What has been your proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?
Having repeat buyers. I love it when someone a year or so later comes back for another custom item. It is so very gratifying!





What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Re-list a few of your items every week to keep people searching that main category aware of your shop. That has been the greatest help for me.

What handmade possession do you cherish?
Oh they are all pots of course...LOL! I think my most cherished item is a hand built cup from the Israeli desert that is 6,000 years old yet still has the fingerprint of the maker.

If you could have any item on Etsy regardless of price, what would it be?
Oh I am not sure. I don’t let myself look because I do not let myself buy.

What other skill or talent do you wish you could possess, if you had not taken this creative path?
That’s a hard one. Probably painting or print making? I am very satisfied being a potter though so have no regrets.





Where can we find you on the web?
Website: meganratchford.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kogijiki
Facebook


Thanks for the interview, Megan! Have a great weekend, everyone! Our amber-themed team challenge is up next, and we'll return in two weeks with another spotlight.

Friday Spotlight: Sihaya Designs Jewelry

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

Let's learn a little more about Chris of Sihaya Designs Jewelry.




Tell us a little about the items in your shop. What do you make?
I make gemstone, wire, and mixed-media jewelry. I am inspired by all kinds of tales and fancies-- my inspirations run the gamut from mythology to faerie lore to naturalism to steampunk. When I began my store, I almost exclusively did bead and wire jewelry, but have been expanding my jewelry repertoire with work in resin, metal stamping, forged elements, and soon, metal etching. I adore the handcrafted, one-of-a-kind look of mixed-media and collage jewelry, so I'll be expanding my work in that arena.

What is your creative process?
For the most part, I let my materials guide me in what they would like to become. My daily process is to lay out all of my bead containers, choose a focal bead or beads from a specific colorway, and then go from there. Usually the gemstone or focal will speak to me and things will come together rather organically. It's only been fairly recently that I've begun to sketch down ideas for things I'd like to do. It's helpful, but sometimes the finished product looks nothing like my original sketch notes! I also have a folder of saved clippings and photos that I use for color inspirations-- flowers, autumn leaves, vintage ephemera. But the most important part of my creative process? Tea. Tea is the magic spark that makes the creativity happen.

Which Etsy Teams do you belong to?
I am currently a member of TeamBPAL & the Pagans of Etsy Street Team. There's also an up-and coming Resin team being formed of which I anticipate being a member. It has not yet been approved by Etsy yet, but should be ready to go live soon!





When you are not creating things, what do you do?
When I'm not creating things, I'm helping other people create things. I work a few days each week at Terra Firma, my local bead and metals shop. I count silver, I help customers design their projects, I create sample projects for our customers, and I field questions about metals and stones. It's been such a great resource for me and I've learned so much in the short time I've worked there. But when I'm not in jewelry mode, I'm usually snuggling one of my three kitties or relaxing with my husband, Jason.

Tell us two random, interesting things about you.
-- I have been a tribal bellydancer for four years now, and I dance as one half of Verve Tribal, a professional ATS-inspired improv tribal troupe in the Baltimore/ Washington DC area.

-- Right now, I have fuchsia hair. My friend Maggie jokes that she always knows when it's spring because that's when my hair is pink!

What has been your proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?
I think my proudest moment is one that re-occurs every time when a customer emails me to tell me how pleased they are with their jewels. It makes me feel so fulfilled that what I love to do makes other people feel happy and beautiful.





What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Work on your photography! My views and sales increased exponentially when I started paying more attention to my presentation-- shooting in natural light, reflecting accurate colors of the gems, and displaying my pieces in a pleasing way. Also, never under-estimate the power of a simple and sincere "thank you for choosing my shop" in every package you send out. Your customers are the ones who put the food in your fridge-- don't forget show gratitude for that! Happy customers are repeat customers, and repeat customers are the foundation of a successful Etsy shop.

What handmade possession do you cherish?
My wooden athame, which was hand-carved by my dear friend, Bridget, and inscribed with my three personal runes.

If you could have any item on Etsy regardless of price, what would it be?
I am positively drooling over this leather choker. I have a leather corset it would match PERFECTLY. Droooool!

What other skill or talent do you wish you could possess, if you had not taken this creative path?
I have always, always wished I could play the piano. I could only get through Piano III in school; my hands are simply too small to reach beyond a seventh!





Where can we find you on the web?
Sihaya Designs Blog: http://sihayadesigns.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sihayadesigns
Web portal: http://www.sihayadesigns.com


Thanks for the interview, Chris! Have a great weekend, everyone! We'll return in two weeks with another spotlight.