{Featured Artist: Shoshona Snow}

This giveaway is now closed!

Here at Gussy has a lot to say we love to look at all things beautiful. Beautiful decorations, beautifully soft home-elements, beautiful stories about family life.

Today marks week #17 of my series on featured Etsy artists. I hope you've enjoyed the featured drool-worthy eye-candy shops. Don't worry, I have many more, so please stay with me :) You can read all back Featured Artist posts by clicking here.

Please join me in welcoming Shoshona at Shoshona Snow

***

What inspires you? My parents are antique dealers, so grew up going to antique shows and yard sales. I’ve just always had a fascination with old things. I’m inspired by ancient Egypt, 18th century French porcelain, kitschy pots from the 1940’s, sleek atomic age design…I could go on and on. Oh, and animals.


Where do you call home? Are you from there originally? Kingston, New York. It’s 90 miles north of NYC. But I grew up in the Catskill Mountains… not too far from where I am now.



Name something unique to where you live. We have the Wallkill River, which flows north between two major south-flowing rivers (the Hudson and Delaware Rivers). That’s pretty unique. It’s all rivers, creeks and mountains around here. And I have a lot of fossils in my back yard.


Share an interesting fact about yourself. Um. I work too much...and thus visit the chiropractor twice a week. And I like to stay up until 4am.


How did you come up with your shop name? I think that’s pretty self explanatory ;)
{it's her name}



Share a little bit about yourself. I have a husband named Jonathan. I have a Boston terrier named Dudley. I went to school for ceramics and I’m still working with clay 10 years later. I like books (reading and listening) and music and movies and can’t work in the studio without some kind of audio/visual stimulation to keep me company. I hate wearing pants, even in the studio I prefer to wear skirts. I own too many pairs of shoes. I’m sure my neighbors think I’m nuts when I take Dudley for walks, clay up my arms, wearing an apron, at all hours of the day and night. I love opening up a kiln and seeing happy pots.




If you had to describe yourself in a word, what would that word be? Introvert.

What made you decide to open up shop? I found Etsy in 2006 when I had just decided to quit my day job and make a go for it. Thank goodness it all worked out. Name your favorite thing about selling handmade. There is something that I can’t even describe that goes on when I make and sell something. I take a lump of clay and form it with my hands. I make glazes from powders and with some time and a lot of heat, end up with a unique vessel that someone will buy and hold and use. It’s pretty great.


Do you have a day job or sell on Etsy full-time? It’s been a full time gig for 4 years. I sell on Etsy as well as many shops and galleries across the US.



Give us a little glimpse into what a typical day in your life looks like. I usually spend a few hours every morning answering emails and packing and shipping orders. Then I check my list of what needs to be made that day and start prepping my clay. I usually have several groups of work at different stages, so I’ll go from carving to trimming to throwing… If I’m firing a kiln I usually take the day off from making and clean, mix glazes, recycle clay or take photos. My studio is at my house, so it’s hard for me to set work hours for myself and I end up working 14 hour days without even realizing it. I seem to get my best work done at night.


Share with us a favorite Etsy purchase or shop. This is a hard one. I love all my pots from other ceramic artists. And I love my level earrings from sherrytruitt and my bubble earrings from ashleyjewelry.


List a few of your most favorite pastimes. Reading Watching movies Music Walking outside at 3am in the dark Sewing Hiking Making up nicknames for my dog.



Read any good books lately? I just got a Kindle and I think I’ve read 7 books in the last 2 months. Anything good? Not really. I’m always looking for good autobiographies if anyone has any suggestions. I read To Kill a Mocking Bird once a year.


What is your most prized possession? My wedding rings. My dog.


What are three of your favorite foods? Indian Ice cream Sushi What would you like to learn to do? I’d like to be a better photographer.




What are you listening to right now? The Who (Happy Jack) and Dudley growling in his sleep next to me.

Name one place you must visit in your lifetime and why. Athens, Greece. It’s been a city for 7000 years. That’s just cool.

***

Now for something fabulous!

One reader will win this pair of love bird ornaments:

***

To enter:
Leave a comment sharing how you show love to others.



For additional entries
{leave a separate comment for each}:

-Comment that you follow my blog

-Comment that you follow Shoshona's blog

-Comment that you follow me on Twitter

-Comment that you follow Shoshona on Twitter

-Tweet about this {leave a comment with your Tweet}

-Blog about this {leave a comment with your post URL}

RULES:

• The giveaway will close Sunday, March 21 at 10 pm CST, and the winner will be announced the following day

• An email address must be listed on your blog profile or in the comment you leave
  

Please check back Friday, March 26 for another featured artist post!

{Featured Artist: The Gilded Bee}

This giveaway is now closed!

Here at Gussy has a lot to say we love to look at all things beautiful. Beautiful decorations, beautifully soft home-elements, beautiful stories about family life.

Today marks week #16 of my series on featured Etsy artists. I hope you've enjoyed the featured drool-worthy eye-candy shops. Don't worry, I have many more, so please stay with me :) You can read all back Featured Artist posts by clicking here.

Please join me in welcoming Sasha at The Gilded Bee

***

What inspires you? Paint chips, the candy isle, the paper isle, vintage buttons, vintage millinery, antique china and wallpaper, beautiful photographs (often seen through other blogs), flowers and plants and bugs, my Grandma North’s photo’s, her mum’s photo’s, my dad’s photo’s, French and British textiles, stuff with stripes, dots and a spectrum of colors. Glitter, tinsel, other people who hand-make things. Lots of stuff.


Where do you call home? Are you from there originally? I am from Harlan, IA. I have lived here all 21 years.


Name something unique to where you live. Me. Hahahaha.


Share an interesting fact about yourself. I’m left-handed.


How did you come up with your shop name? I was messing around in the craft room, and it just came to me. It was long before I ever thought about opening a shop, I just thought “The Gilded Bee” sounded like a great paperie name.


Share a little bit about yourself. My name is Sasha. I’m a paper-addict. I was home-schooled. I’m 21. My mum’s name is Sherri. We run “The Gilded Bee” together. I do the web work and make and photograph stuff. She’s in the shipping+supplies dept. I’m the second of three sisters. We all have “S” names: Shaina, Sasha and Sarah. Yes, this confuses people. Hahahahaha. I have developed a real crush on vintage clothes. I am from a herd of artistic-crafting-camera crazy-entrepreneurs. I’m a second-generation immigrant. I love Victorian and Edwardian architecture. I consider animals as a requirement in life. Really furry Cats especially.


If you had to describe yourself in a word, what would that word be? Creative.


What made you decide to open up shop? A need to feed the ravenous craft fund. Then it started picking up more traffic, and I started adding more items/getting more serious. I will continue to expand on that foundation.


Name your favorite thing about selling handmade. It’s controllable (you can make those cherry dotted light blue medium euro flap envelopes, you know the ideas that come to you at 3 am), you can find and fit those hard-to-find specialty items.


Do you have a day job or sell on Etsy full-time? I’m a rebel. I do Etsy + handmade outlets all the time. Rather obsessively.


Give us a little glimpse into what a typical day in your life looks like. I get up. Slowly. I stagger toward down from upstairs. Open the curtains. Turn Computer and lights. Dig out something to drink…homemade hot chocolate+honey, or tea, or organic coffee…all favorites. Answer e-mails. Pack orders. Make paper goods. Spend a lot of time running with scissors. Make lists.Take as many photographs as I can get time for, cook, clean, frequent cat and dog contact (hugs and compliments). Eat food. Read. Blog. List and upload stuff on the computer. Think about more things to make and cook. Sleep.


Share with us a favorite Etsy purchase or shop. Shops: Caramelos (yum-o), Mary not Martha, Pink Grapefruit Style, Nice Package, Sohomode, I’ve recently discovered this one: fabricfarrago, I haven’t gotten anything yet, but I think that will change as soon as I decide on the details of the studio make-over.

Recent “toys”, A gorgeous black and gold vintage handbag from Robyn Ruth, A shirt-dress with little stars all over from Metrode, A perfect Trench from Nod to Mod, A butter colored shirt-dress from RaraeAves.



List a few of your most favorite pastimes. Buy paper. Make stuff with paper. Cook + bake. Take as many photo’s as my camera card will hold. Walk Edward and Patches (the collie brother and sister). Plot gifts. Wrap gifts.

Read any good books lately? I read a lot. And lose track of how much/the titles. Magazines: M.Stewarts Weddings, Donna Hay (get a bib, the photographs are fabulous), British Country Living, Gourmet and Bon Apetit. I love Childrens books: F.H. Burnett, Dodie Smith’s 101 Dalmatians, C.S. Lewis. I have a long, long list of books to read.

What is your most prized possession? If we’re discussing highly trivial things: A tie between the camera and the computer.



What are three of your favorite foods? Chocolate, stew, fresh home-made breads, esp. whole grain.


What would you like to learn to do? Letterpress. Learn another language.


What are you listening to right now? Liszt, Juan Diego Florez, Placido Domingo, Debussy by Mel Puller, The mash up CD’s.


Name one place you must visit in your lifetime and why. The British Isles. Besides the fact that I’m fascinated by those accents and the culture, that is where most of my family’s (bloodline) is from, from the Mayflower on my Mum’s side, to a Grandmother from Trent, to My Dad and his family from Canada.

***

Now for something fabulous!

Sasha is giving away a set of 100 assorted butterflies
{darling, right?}

***

To enter:

Leave a comment sharing what room{s} you would decorate with the butterflies.


For additional entries
{leave a separate comment for each}:

-Comment that you follow my blog

-Comment that you follow Sasha's blog

-Comment that you follow me on Twitter

-Tweet about this {leave a comment with your Tweet}

-Blog about this {leave a comment with your post URL}

RULES:

• The giveaway will close Sunday, March 14 at 10 pm CST, and the winner will be announced the following day

• An email address must be listed on your blog profile or in the comment you leave
  

Please check back Friday, March 19 for another featured artist post!

{Featured Artist: Middleburg}

This giveaway is now closed.

Here at Gussy has a lot to say we love to look at all things beautiful. Beautiful home decorations, beautifully colors, beautiful stories about family life.

Today marks week #15 of my series on featured Etsy artists. I hope you've enjoyed the featured drool-worthy eye-candy shops. Don't worry, there's many more :) You can read all back Featured Artist posts by clicking here.

Please join me in welcoming Susan at Middleburg

***

What inspires you? So many things: at a conversation at dinner with family and friends, I have been known to whip out a mini sketch book to capture a thought. Also walking through a really great antique show has sparked some great ideas. I love to look at the way things were constructed. I have a thing for old pin cushions, the ones with all the needles and pins still in them, like someone stopped sewing yesterday. Little vintage make-do things. Nature is a huge one, being in the garden or looking at flowers. I'm consistently absorbing information, color, texture, then churning it up in my head for days, weeks, months or even years. I never understand when someone says they are having a creative block, I have enough ideas to keep me and a small army busy for the next 20 years.




Where do you call home? Are you from there originally? Home will always be Chicago! So much of my life was there. Just having a fling with a historic house here in North Carolina right now. It's something I've always wanted to do.


Name something unique to where you live. I'm so new to North Carolina, anything I think is unique is probably old hand around here. But I will agree with a stereo type of the south, they eat way too much fried food in my area, a good salad is hard to find or for that matter, a good cooked breakfast.


Share an interesting fact about yourself. OK how's this, I once fitted Oprah for a bra... really! When I was in college, I worked at a lingerie shop on Rush Street in Chicago. One day Oprah Winfrey came in with her assistant in tow and they were shopping for a bra for her to wear under her gown that she would be wearing at the Academy Awards ceremony for her role in The Color Purple. And would you believe I forgot to have her sign the credit card slip, my boss made me call her and the assistant had to come back, how 80's. {tee he he}


How did you come up with your shop name? Middleburg is just a portion of my studio's name. But the name came about because I lived in Middleburg, Virginia for about 13 months. My husband was working in D.C. and we choose to live out in the country, a crazy idea if anybody knows that part of Northern Virginia. But I loved it, it was the most beautiful place I have ever lived, everything looked like a picture post card. So when I named my little studio I wanted everything to feel like I did when I was in Virginia. To me Middleburg meant, a little history, a quaint place, charming to be around, not perfect, kinda quirky all rolled up in beauty.



Share a little bit about yourself. I can be a real work-a-holic, and think everyone around me should be, too. But I'm trying to keep more balance in life.


If you had to describe yourself in a word, what would that word be? Tenacious - as a Jack Russell terrier, I'll never give up on something I believe in.


What made you decide to open up shop? It really was a news report that I watched with Katie Couric. She talked about this phenomenal website called Etsy and how handmade was really coming into it's own again. I'm so happy I listened, feel like I got in a little ahead of the wave. It gave me a chance to grow at a good pace.



Name your favorite thing about selling handmade. Making everything for real people, one at a time, from what can be bought at a really good hardware store.


Do you have a day job or sell on Etsy full-time? I took the plunge early on before I joined Etsy, about 6 months before. I had quit my position as a creative director and pretty much decided I was going to make this work or go scrub floors. Like I said, thank God for Etsy.


Give us a little glimpse into what a typical day in your life looks like. It sounds like so many other sellers. Usually by 7:30 am I'm sipping hot tea, in my pj's, I'm on the computer printing out orders, answering convo's, e-mails and keeping everything on the computer end rolling. Then a quick shower and back to the studio, looking at what has to go out that day. Then papier mache is usually pressed in the morning so it can bake all day. Lots of painting and details then.

A mid-day computer check and back to orders after a bite to eat. The afternoon seems to fly, we have only one post office that is convenient now and it closes a 5 pm right on the dot. So it is a race to see what will be finished, packed and dropped before the post lady slams the door.

See, I'm spoiled, my last post offices (in Illinois) would stay open until 6 pm and I had a post lady who would even order supplies for me and she would always have extra plain boxes for the international orders. She was the kind of the post office lady you wanted to clone.

But back to the day, I usually will stop about 6:30 and check the internet one more time before bed. Some nights I will come back after dinner and work a couple more hours during the busy times.



Share with us a favorite Etsy purchase or shop? There are so many on my 56 pages of favorites to-date, but here is a goodie -- Poodlebreath. I love her rabbits, horses, foxes and well, the animals, check her out.


List a few of your most favorite pastimes? I decided when I moved I was going to have a normal life again, I was going to garden, ride my bike, go on walks, plus redo this old house I bought. Happy to say most of it is coming true. Just planted one part of the garden, my lettuces and spinach patch. Have joined the local tennis and health club and painted a good portion of the inside of the house. So life is little more balanced.




Read any good books lately? I'm reading everything I can get my hand on about SEO (search engine optimization). My bedside table lamp is being used elsewhere right now so that's putting a cramp on reading, but I usually have a couple going at a time.

What is your most prized possession? I once said to someone, "There is nothing in my house that is so precious that it can't be repurposed, rearranged, repainted or recycled. She gasped. I have a lot of things i love, but with age have realized I would be fine with out any of them, too.


What are three of your favorite foods? Chocolate, mayonnaise, and Champagne. But if you mean cuisine, I absolutely love Thai, really good Italian and French. Oh, and mashed potatoes any day or everyday!


What would you like to learn to do? I have always want to try Skeet Shooting. Strange I know, I hate guns.



What are you listening to right now? I'm not a great music person, but a habit I could not break is listening to Chicago radio in the studio, I stream WXRT (www.93xrt.com) all day. It makes me feel at home, and thinking I'm an hour earlier than I really am. So by day I live on Chicago time. A few of our favorite studio artists include Beck, Cold Play, Dave Matthews, Spoon, and Fleet Foxes.

***

Now for something fabulous!

Susan is gifting one winner with a garland of their choice
{click photo to enlarge}

{L: Hydrangea, R: Poppy}


{L: Rose, R: Dogwood}

{L: daisy, R: Coneflower}

To enter:

Leave a comment sharing which garland you'd pick and why.



For additional entries
{leave a separate comment for each}:

-Comment that you follow my blog

-Comment that you follow Middleburg's blog

-Comment that you follow me on Twitter

-Comment that you follow Middleburg on Twitter

-Tweet about this {leave a comment with your Tweet}

-Blog about this {leave a comment with your post URL}

RULES:

• The giveaway will close Sunday, March 7 at 10 pm CST, and the winner will be announced the following day

• An email address must be listed on your blog profile or in the comment you leave
  

Please check back Friday, March 12 for another featured artist post!

{Featured Artist: Stormy Sky}

This giveaway is now closed!

Here at Gussy has a lot to say we love to look at all things beautiful. Beautiful winter accessories, beautiful jewelry, beautiful stories about family life.

Today marks week #14 of my series on featured Etsy artists. I hope by now you've been introduced to a few drool-worthy eye-candy shops. I have many more, so please stay with me :) Over the next few months I'll be showcasing hand-selected Etsy artists that offer products that I think will appeal to you, my readers.

Please join me in welcoming Bindi at Stormy Sky.

***

What inspires you? Almost anything! Art, nature, architecture, fashion, color combinations and textures. I keep notes of ideas - in journals, on the backs of envelopes, scraps of paper and the back of my hand! I will never have time to attempt every design that springs to mind, but I still love to come up with new ideas, even if most of them will never be realized.


Where do you call home? Are you from there originally? I live in a small town in the south west of England, just a few miles from where I grew up. It is very picturesque with thatched cottages and narrow streets. The town is built around the site of a 12th century castle, which is no longer there, but many of the town buildings and the church are hundreds of years old and very beautiful. I am very thankful to live in such a wonderful part of the world.



Share an interesting fact about yourself. My great, great grandmother was a famous Gypsy Queen.

How did you come up with your shop name? I’ve always been fascinated with storms – I just find them so intense and awe-inspiring; I can stare at a moody, cloud filled sky for ages. Plus, I never really wanted a name that advertised the product - hence Stormy Sky.


Share a little bit about yourself. I live with my husband and cat in a very small house. No children as yet so we are making the most of being able to socialize and travel as a couple – we are often either planning a trip or dreaming about places we’ll visit one day. Life is pretty hectic but I think we both prefer it that way. I always seem to have several projects in progress; I crave knowledge and love to learn new skills and develop existing ones.



If you had to describe yourself in a word, what would that word be? Determined.


What made you decide to open up shop? I had been making jewelry and selling locally by word of mouth for a year or so and was considering setting up my own website. I came across Etsy and realized that I didn’t actually need my own website (which was frankly a relief). Etsy has provided an ideal environment for my work. I would love to set up another Etsy shop solely for vintage creations, hopefully later this year; and then I will really have my hands full!


Name your favorite thing about selling handmade. The interaction with my customers is very rewarding - It really makes my day to get emails of thanks from my customers. And knowing that something made by me is being gifted as a token of friendship or love is very special too.


Do you have a day job or sell on Etsy full-time? I work two days a week at a veterinary surgery (which I love!) and also sell jewelry outside of Etsy to local boutiques. Although I always need more time to work on my jewelry, I would never give up my day job - I work with a wonderful team and truly love going to work.




Give us a little glimpse into what a typical day in your life looks like. On a non-day job day, I get up pretty early, answer any emails, relist sold items and then make a big list of “Things To Do”. My list always ends up being far too ambitious, but it does make me focus.

I work until about 3 - 4pm on various fabrications tasks. I try to streamline the processes to a certain extent, making findings and fixtures one day, and setting stones and doing assembly work in batches. After that I stop work to get orders packaged up and taken to the Post Office. For the rest of the day I dodge between jewelry, cooking, housework, admin and photography. After supper I relax and spend time with my husband, and we talk about our day. In the evening I do small, easy-to-manage tasks like cropping photographs, leaving feedback, accounts and ordering materials.


List a few of your most favorite pastimes. Reading, making jewelry (of course!), traveling, decorating and collecting vintage paraphernalia.



Read any good books lately? The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson – a very compelling read with an awesome heroine.


What is your most prized possession? My cat. Although my husband would probably say that it’s really the cat who owns me.

What are three of your favorite foods? Ok, now I know this is not very mature, but my absolute favorite foods are jelly beans, Pralines and Cream Haagen Dazs ice cream, and chocolate mints.

What would you like to learn to do? Play the guitar! I have the guitar, the amp, and the “how to” books and CD’s. But not the time!



What are you listening to right now? Kings of Leon.


Name one place you must visit in your lifetime and why. I would really love to see the Northern Lights, so I am planning a trip to Norway next January. The further north you get, the better the chance of seeing the lights, so it means going within the Arctic Circle. It is a trip my husband and I have wanted to take for a long time and will be a real dream come true for us.

***

Now for something fabulous!

One lucky reader will win this Air necklace:




***

To enter:

Leave a comment sharing your favorite item from Stormy Sky's shop.



For additional entries {leave a separate comment}:

-Comment that you follow my blog

-Comment that you follow me on Twitter

-Tweet about this {leave a comment with your Tweet}

-Blog about this {leave a comment with your post URL}

RULES:

• The giveaway will close Sunday, February 28 at 10 pm CST, and the winner will be announced the following day

• An email address must be listed on your blog profile or in the comment you leave
  

Please check back Friday, March 5 for another featured artist post!

{Featured Artist: Paint Me a Picture}

This giveaway is now closed!

Here at Gussy has a lot to say we love to look at all things beautiful. Beautiful wall art, beautiful winter accessories, beautiful stories about family life.

Today marks week #13 of my series on featured Etsy artists. I hope by now you've been introduced to a few drool-worthy eye-candy shops. I have many more, so please stay with me :) Over the next few months I'll be showcasing hand-selected Etsy artists that offer products that I think will appeal to you, my readers. To read more Featured Artist posts, click here.


Please join me in welcoming Lindsay at Paint Me a Picture.

***

Where do you call home? Are you from there originally? Very south Georgia. I have lived here all my life (said in a strong southern accent)... Except for one year in Savannah... I love Savannah.




Share an interesting fact about yourself. I use (or highly prefer to use) the same coffee cup every morning - clean of course. And my coffee has to be fresh from the pot, like no older than 5 minutes.




How did you come up with your shop name? Paint Me A Picture... Well, I was preparing for my first holiday market and I needed to come up with something to give to potential customers. It popped in my head and has been there since. It was wonderful to have the name available when I set up my Etsy shop.


And just who is Lindsay? I am a simple, big-hearted, honest, crazy girl. I never in a million years imagined that I would be painting and selling my work online. I love my day job (chasing Mr.C around, cooking, cleaning, and painting).


If you had to describe yourself in a word, what would that word be? This is just not possible. Like Gussy, I have a lot to say.




Name your favorite thing about selling handmade. I get to create things for people to place in their homes! AND they are one of a kind. Don't get me wrong, I love Target, but anyone can buy the exact same thing I buy. When I paint a picture I put my creativity, time, and heart into it... That is something a machine can never do. {Amen, Lindsay!} :)




List a few of your most favorite pastimes. Sleeping in late. Going on a spontaneous day trip out of town. Sleeping in late.


What are three of your favorite foods? Oreos with milk, Mexican and MamaD's spaghetti (but not all together).




What would you like to learn to do? Sew ;)

***

Now for something fabulous!

One lucky reader will win $20 shop credit with Lindsay.
This is super exciting, because Linds makes some amazingly adorable paintings.


Also-- all readers will receive 10%-off any in-stock item
by entering "GUSSY" in the Message to Seller section at check-out!
This offer ends Sunday, February 21.


***

To enter:

Leave a comment with your favorite print or idea from her shop.




For additional entries {leave a separate comment}:

-Comment that you follow my blog

-Comment that you follow me on Twitter

-Comment that you follow Lindsay's blog

-Tweet about this {leave a comment with your Tweet}

-Blog about this {leave a comment with your post URL}

RULES:

• The giveaway will close Sunday, February 21 at 10 pm CST, and the winner will be announced the following day

• An email address must be listed on your blog profile or in the comment you leave
  

Please check back Friday, February 26 for another featured artist post!