Feature Me Friday: Miss Courageous

This week we feature Trashionista Millie Hilgert aka
Miss Courageous and Buckle Up!
Millie comes to us from lovely Boise, Idaho.

Who is Miss Courageous?
Miss Courageous is a mother, a sister, a friend, a mentor, an inspiration. She is strong, adventurous, brave, creative, independent, heroic. There’s a little Miss Courageous in everyone. Millie Hilgert designs and makes all Miss Courageous jewelry & accessories. Everything she makes used to be something else. Call it upcycling, recycling, repurposing, eco-friendly, crafting green, re-use, reinvent, or redesign. Whatever you call it, ultimately it means you get something fresh, fun and new from something that reminds you of your childhood. From vintage game pieces and record vinyl to bottle caps and altered LEGO bricks, Miss Courageous transforms pop culture into Pop Jewelry and Accessories for you and your home.

What’s the first thing you remember making?
I remember kindergarten crafts with glue and macaroni, and yarn on tin cans.

Where do you work?
I am lucky to have a really great studio space in my basement. And you’re lucky enough to catch it while it’s clean.

Why work with recycled materials?
I have always been fascinated with history, restoration, and transformation. I live in a 100 year old house and drive a 1963 ford falcon wagon. Similarly, the materials I use all have a history & a story that makes the finished product much more interesting & fun.

What are your favorite tools?
My dremel, my drillpress, and my band saw, yep, I’m a girl that loves power tools!

What music do you listen to while you’re working?
If my husband is home sometimes I get to listen to him working on a new song, but usually I play old school 80s alternative on my i-pod or Pandora.

How do you get from A to Z?
Fueled by coffee, driven by the desire to create something out of the unexpected, helped (with a small h) on occasion by an enthusiastic 5 year old, and propelled by a warped sense of humor and large dose of sarcasm.

What are the five best things you’ve purchased on etsy and where did you find them?
Okay, not necessarily in this order:
• MixedSpecies “today I am not a ho” t-shirt for my husband, these guys are simply hilarious
• My fleece slugs from supersugarrayray are a wardrobe staple for any super hero, especially at an outdoor winter market, I love them so much I’m on my 2nd pair.
• “there is a light” print from onetwofivego it’s a smith’s quote and hanging proudly in my kitchen
• A cool vintage condiment holder from vintagebyalexkeller
• & my logo… I had it designed by etsy seller kieutiepie

What do you do for fun?
Peruse thrift stores, drink coffee or wine with good friends, spend time with my family and creating, yeah, my work is fun!

Who inspires you?
Random strangers, Monet, Warhol, Seth Godin, and Doctor Seuss.

Read any good books lately?
Amy Sedaris’ SIMPLE TIMES, crafts for poor people & REWORK by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson

Been to any great exhibits?
Do you mean lately? Does a LEGO® convention count?
How do you promote your work?
Aside from the usual, facebook, twitter, a sadly neglected blog… I also have my logo on the back window of both my cars, my everyday Honda Element and my 1963 ford falcon wagon that I use for hauling my things to the weekly market. I give out pin-back buttons with my logo with Etsy purchases, at the market, and at random places. I’ve actually turned unsuspecting flair wearers into customers. I silkscreened my logo onto re-usable tote bags to give with purchases at events. I donate items to local charity auctions, making sure to give them plenty of business cards. I wear my products, everywhere. I belong to a local Etsy team, Idaho Indie Works and also another local artist group, Treasure Valley Artist Alliance. This might sound silly, but I have a business debit card that I use for almost everything, everybody always asks “what’s Miss Courageous?”

Besides Etsy, where can we find you work?
I’m at the Capital City Public Market downtown Boise every Saturday from mid April thru Christmas, I also sell at a local artists co-op (greenchutesboise.com) and at a illuminate salon in downtown Boise. I also participate in local art & craft shows and lately have been vending at LEGO conventions around the Northwest.

What’s in your future?
I will continue to create new products and add them to my Esty lineup. I have a few very fun new belt buckle ideas in the works as well as some new houseware items I’ve been toying with. My daughter starts school next fall so I’m looking forward to having more uninterrupted time to create.

Have any words of wisdom?
“Be heroic.” This was told to me by a drawing teacher during my brief stint at art school, I wasn’t filling the entire page and he was encouraging me to do something big. But it stuck with me over 20 years and has been a constant reminder in many situations.

Check out Millie's work on Etsy at Miss Courageous and Buckle Up
Or on her blog misscourageous.blogspot.com Images &

Text © Millie Hilgert

Feature Me Friday: Fashion Green T-bags

This week we feature Fashion Green T-bags.
Linda comes to us from Kent, Ohio.
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Who is Fashion Green T Bags?
I'm a 52 year-old retired teacher, a mother and a wife. I value my family and friends above all else and I try to make a positive difference in the world. I run my shop to raise money for our local food bank.
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What’s the first thing you remember making?
The first thing I remember making is a bag from an old t-shirt. It was a bit over done and I've since made them much simpler. I like them better now.
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Why work with recycled materials?
We consume too much new material in our country when we have perfectly good reusable material easily at our disposal. If we are to be good stewards of our Earth we MUST use less new and make fewer demands on our natural resources.
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What are your favorite tools?
My favorite tools are my sewing machine and a seam ripper.
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Where do you work?
I work in my kitchen at the table or in the "dining room" that I've converted to my craft room. I don't really have a permanent set-up. I just work where I feel like working.
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What music do you listen to while you’re working?
I usually listen to NPR.
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What do you do for fun?
I swim, work out, bike ride, hike and take camping vacations with my family. I spend some time on the computer "socializing" but I prefer to meet people face-to-face.
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Who inspires you?
So many people. My husband and my children make me want to be the best person I can be.
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How do you promote your work?
I don't spend a lot of time promoting. I belong to a few Groups on Etsy and I try to renew items regularly. I haven't worked a lot on my shop recently because I'm back in graduate school for my 2nd master's degree and my time is spent writing papers and reading...lots of reading.
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Besides Etsy, where can we find you work?
You can find my work at occasional craft shows.

What’s in your future?
I hope to work in the field of bully prevention/remediation when I am finished with my degree program. I also want to continue to maintain my Etsy Shop so that I may continue to raise money for the local food bank.
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Have any words of wisdom?
REUSE REUSE REUSE and be kind.
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Images & Text © fashiongreentbags
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Feature Me Friday: Pulpa Paper Products

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This week we feature Erin Groff of Pulpa Paper Products!
Erin comes to us from Newark, Ohio.
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Who is Pulpa?
Pulpa is a handcrafted paper products company that combines natural and recycled elements with an imaginative and eco-friendly approach. Pulpa strives to offer high-quality paper products that are not only beautiful, but beneficial.
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What’s the first thing you remember making?
The first thing I remember making that is relevant to my medium now is sheets of paper. I met an artist who was touching on papermaking while getting her fine arts degree. She invited me into the lab to play and experiment. I found a new friend as well as a new love of papermaking!
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Where do you work?
I am one of the lucky individuals who is afforded much time her basement studio. I guess if I work, it would be here. Although, I find it very difficult to state it as a job to anyone. I don't even have an alarm on my side of the bed. I find them very disturbing and wish my boyfriend would get rid of his. He says he needs one more than I do. I don't have to commute, be involved in corporate meetings, wear a suit and tie, or a pair of heels (unless I want to). I can wake, pour coffee that was already brewed so sweetly for me ( by the love of my life, that most unfortunately has to use that alarm clock), and work in pj's.
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What are your favorite tools?
One of my favorite tools is my drying rack. When working with wet paper you need plenty of room to "loft dry" as they call it. So screens come in very handy for this. My neighbors were throwing out many of the old window screens from their home and replacing them with new ones. It was a great find i thought, so I brought them home. I spraypainted them glossy black to cover any rust that may stain my paper, and my boyfriend was so kind as to build me a rack so that they would stack on top of each. It's not only beautfiul it's darn handy.
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My second favorite tool is my rigged mixer! I cannot yet afford a hollander blender, but look forward to in the future if I can obtain one at a decent price. I believe they are around $2,000. But fortunately, I have some pretty crafty friends! He took the end of the drill with the handle and the motor in it and welded it into a frame. From out of the drill comes the long steel mixer that you mix buckets of paint with. I use old kitty litter buckets for holding my wet pulp which sits under the frame with the mixer handle; and with the flip of a switch my wet cotton starts to become a slurry! In papermaking, this term is a good thing!
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Why work with recycled materials?
Consume, Consume, Consume! It seems to be what we are good at. In an effort to reduce waste and keep our earth beautiful, each and everyone of us must do our part. I am so inspired by these fellow artists who take this seriously enough to do something about it in their own unique way. These artists not only make good use of otherwise unneccessary and space hogging items, they can make it fun, funky, and at times moving. I raise a glass and cheer these artists. Thank you!
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Who inspires you?
Other artists such as yourselves. Lost in a sea of commericially, mechanically, soullessly stamped out products that remsemble those items that take time and effort. "Blood, sweat, and tears" as they call it are our "babies". Our art, crafts, creations take time to make and are wonderfully, unique. Sometimes people have so many options abound at the local mass-producer, where quality and creativity is NOT the goal but keeping prices at their lowest is, they forget or are uneducated to the fact of the time and costs you put into creating that item by hand. That's when the comments such as "They charge this, for that?" or "Is that award a fake?" are heard among the throng of onlookers. I have found believing in oneself and supporting other artists in a key to all of our future successes.
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How do you get from A to Z?
My day to day A to Z'ing usually goes down in my trusty silver
PT Cruiser. I used to take the PT to my shows and festivals, but recently have acquired "Big White" our large white chevy cargo van. Taking the PT to shows was much like putting together a puzzle and not the one with the big pieces. The van is wonderful because at the end of a long weekend or day I can throw my tent, tables, display, etc. into the van without my thought.
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What music do you listen to while you’re working?
I love listening to Sarah Barielles and Norah Jones quite a bit it seems when I am working down here. I find myself getting lost in my pulp and singing as loudly as I can. "There is great acoustics in this basement", I think to myself. Wondering if anyone outside can hear, and do they think I am crazy?
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What do you do for fun?
I am a closet kareoker. Sometimes we pull out an old disco light, I apply some red lipstick, and we pretend we are rock starts for a night!
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Travel, Travel, Travel! I've been fortunate enough to start traveling these last few years. I love doing new things, meeting new people, and taking in the foreign and exotic. My out of country travels have taken me to Mexico, the Netherlands, and Singapore so far. I believe somewhere in the Caribbean is our next stop. We can all use a little fun in the sun! Especially, after a long, Ohio winter.
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Outdoor movie nights with the neighborhood are a blast, and I cannot wait for warmer weather so that it permits us to begin doing this again. We haul out speakers and the projector and many cushions and chairs. We hang a white sheet from the trellis and either watch a movie or sometimes we even watch an Ohio State Football game or two. Go Bucks!
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Read any good books lately?
I am just finishing the 12 book series of Left Behind. I find myself a deeply spiritual person who believes in energy and connectiveness. Religion has been difficult for me. This series is still an amazing story, and scared the beejeezies out me!
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Been to any great exhibits?
I was able to visit the Van Gogh Musuem in Amsterdam a few years back. That was most wonderful. I also visited the Salvidor Dali Museum in Florida. Another amazing place to visit!
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What are the five best things you’ve purchased on etsy and where did you find them?
1. The stamps I use for applying my logo to my cards and other products. Thanks Blossomstamps!
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2. My fingerless gloves because they keep my hands warm but my fingers free to work. Obviously, I can only wear these when I am not working with wet pulp. But they are stylish and cozy! Thank you Imaginativecreations!
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3. My Etsy shop banner and avatar set for shop. I received a sale sign, a thank you sign, an away sign and much more! Falcor Digital really helped give my shop a more cohesive and professional look. Thanks FalcorDigital!
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4. My sugar scrub made by pegasussoaps. Every woman needs at least one jar of this magical concoction in their shower and tub area. I feel brand new every time I use it.
Thank You, Pegasussoaps!
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5. Last, but not least my lavender eye pillow from Maplestreetcreations. After, a long day at a show or in the basement making product I want nothing more than to use my sugar scrub in the bath and then grab my luxuriously smelling eye pillow to melt away stresses from the day.
Thanks Maplestreetcreations!
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Besides Etsy, where can we find you work?
My Etsy Shop, my website, Wilson's Garden Center in Newark, Ohio, Cobenick Studios in Columbus, Ohio, and at Central Ohio Festivals!!
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How do you promote your work?
I promote with my website, Etsy, and a mailing list that I gather at my shows, as well as at the local shops I consign through, and a gallery show here and there. Talking to people, getting to know them, and making a personal connection seems to be the best way to promote my art.
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What’s in your future?
I made some pretty serious goals for Pulpa this year. My plan is to be in 5 retail shops by the end of the year. I am officially in two now! I also want at least 100 items in my Etsy shop. I'm currently at 83! I also would like to do at least 10 outdoor shows this year if possible. I love the outdoor shows versus the indoor ones. I find it much more enjoyable basking in the sun. Unless inclement weather intrudes upon the day! Even high winds can be toughie for me. My paper products are so light and are easily swept down the sidewalk on those days.
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Have any words of wisdom?
"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be the fool." ~William Shakespeare
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Peace, Love, and Handmade Paper
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Text & Images © Pupla Paper Products
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Feature Me Friday: Tinkan Designs

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This week we feature Annabel Neilson of Tinkan Designs!
Annabel comes to us from the green and pleasant countryside of Herefordshire, which is a border county of Wales, in the UK.
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Who is Tinkan Designs?
Tinkan Designs is about quality, unique, handmade designs in recycled materials. The name Tinkan Designs comes from the jewellery I make that inspired me to start the business, made from ring-pulls from tin cans, and also from a nickname I have- Tinkerbelle or Tink, and also ‘tinker’ means to work with metal, and is slang for a gypsy, which I am a bit! (Or at least I used to be!)
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What’s the first thing you remember making?
I’ve made ‘things’ for as long as I can remember, in all sorts of materials. I learnt to knit at quite an early age I think, and most probably I made a scarf first. But the first things I can remember I made to sell were some stripy purses, and stripy socks that I took to Glastonbury festival, which sold out very quickly!
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Where do you work?
I have a workshop where I have a forge, welder, and other ‘heavy’ metal working tools on one side, and ‘light’ jewellery making tools and materials on the other. I like to be able to work on a few things at one time, so its good to be able to flit from one side to the other! However it is an old, cold, stone, farm building, and in the winter I end up making a lot of jewellery from home. In the summer however its great with the doors open, and sun streaming in! All the other many farm buildings on this beautiful old farmstead are now used either industrially, or artistically, so there’s usually other people, and noise, about. I also work for 2 days a week on an organic fruit and veg farm, near to where I live. This is what brings in a regular income!
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Why work with recycled materials?

Why use recycled materials? Its always been natural to me to re-use and recycle things from altering clothing to create a new outfit, to keeping plastic pots and packaging to be used for some other purpose. Some of its to do with saving money, and being thrifty, but its also ‘cos I just can’t throw things away, and I hate waste! Why buy new when you can still make use of the old? I enjoy the challenge of working out how to re-use things creatively, and so many so called mundane objects are actually really beautiful in their own right, and beautifully made- it’d be sacrilege to throw them away! Things like mechanical parts, cogs, bike chains, keys, plastic components, ring pulls even! Even polystyrene packaging comes in amazing different shapes (I used to collect this off the street and make them into frames for mirrors).

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What are your favourite tools?
My favourite tools have got to be my rivet gun (I just love rivets!), and stud machine, doming block and punches, and of course the hammer and anvil. I also have a very old, very heavy, flypress which gives 4tonnes of pressure with the swing of a handle, making bending metal so easy!
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How do you get from A-Z?
Often the material or objects I find, or collect, dictate what I make. In the case of my ring-pull jewellery I collected loads before the ideas started flowing. I knew I wanted to do something with them, ’cos they are great little shapes, but wasn’t sure what or how. It was through trial and error that the jewellery has evolved and become refined into what it is now, and as with most things, it is still evolving. It amazes me how much potential these little objects (ring-pulls) on mass, have, I am so NOT bored of them yet as a medium, and I have loads of other ideas brewing for them! (no pun intended -as they are mostly from all the beer cans that my boyfriend, and other alcoholic friends drink!)
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What music do you listen to while working?

I usually have the radio on while I’m working, or if I’m at home the telly is often on as background noise.

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Read any good books lately?

I only seem to have time to read novels when I’m on holiday, and its been a while since I’ve been on that sort of holiday (although I’m going to Thailand soon -WooHoo!- so maybe I’ll get time whilst lazing on the beach then!) The books I do read at home tend to be useful books either on keeping chickens, growing veg, or becoming self sufficient!
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What are the five best things you’ve bought on Etsy?

I’ve only bought 3 things so far on Etsy-all gifts for other people. 2 lovely eco bath and beauty things from Spiralmoonfantasy, an Etsymidlanders team member from my part of the world, and a lovely greyhound print from ElleJW that I think I found through a treasury.

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Been to any great exhibits?

Yes! I’ve just been to Barcelona to see the ‘Drap-Art’ exhibition, which is an International Creative Recycling Festival, which happens every year in Dec, and Jan. I’m hoping to be involved next year, so I went to check it out. There was some great and inspiring stuff. Also in 2009 I went to see the Banksy exhibition in Bristol museum. Quite a landmark event, literally 10’s of thousands of people went to see it, every day there was at least a 3 or 4 hour queue to get in! Having lived in Bristol, with Banksy’s grafitti a common site, it is amazing how famous he has become, and very ironic that he exhibited in the museum in this way! I love his work, fair play to him!

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Who inspires you?

People like Bob Cambell who makes amazing industrial art furniture out of scrap metal parts, and Ptolemy Elrington who makes fantastic sculptures out of hub caps. Anyone really who uses different, and especially recycled, materials to create original stunning art. I admire anyone actually who can make a career out of their art, without compromising on their style. I especially admire those who run successful businesses, and also find time to do everything else, and have full, rounded, and sociable, lives. I envy people like this actually because I feel like I am always juggling my time, and compromising somewhere! Its what I aspire to I guess- to make a living out of what I make, without it becoming a chore, and still have the time and energy for everything else life entails. My brother is an inspiration (he is a stone letter carver, and a musician) as he seems to have achieved all this, and carved himself a great little life, with a good balance between work and play!

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What do you do for fun?

Now my partying days are (mostly) over! I enjoy the quiet life- watching the chickens (I am new to keeping chickens-they are great!) walking the dogs in the countryside, gardening and growing our own veg, photographing wildlife, and sitting round a camp-fire with friends.I also like to listen to loud music, and have a good dance every now and then! And when I can I travel around the country to visit friends and family who are in various different locations in the UK.
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How do you promote your work?

I try to promote my work through my website, face book, and Flickr sites, networking via Etsy teams, and giving out business cards whenever I do a stall, or make a sale.

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Besides Etsy where can we find your work?

I do Christmas fairs, Arts markets and music Festivals here in the UK. I did have stuff in a few shops around the country, but most of them have now closed down! I have a website and a face book page and a Flickr too.

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What’s in your future?

I am relatively new to the online world, having got my first ever computer just this time last year! So I intend to keep learning, and getting the most I can from it (without it taking over my life!) I need to do more self promotion (again a new thing for me!), and get my stuff back into shops and galleries. I’m also designing a logo, and I hope to have labels, packaging etc looking more professional. I’m looking forward to this years festivals, where I hope to collaborate with some likeminded people, and I also hope to be part of Drap Art next winter. At the moment I am working on a couple of Blacksmithy commissions, so I hope more of that type of work will come from that, and I will get my forge working at last! A busy year ahead!

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Any words of wisdom?

I am in my 40’s and I’m still learning, it’s a long process that takes a lifetime!

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Images & Text © Tinkan Designs

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Feature me Friday: Unik Creations

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This week we feature: UnikCreations

The perfect excuse for addictive creating.

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Who is UnikCreations?

UNik Creations is myself, a sophomore in high school with an abnormal amount of ambition and a passion for sewing,

dancing, and creating.

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What’s the first thing you remember making?

The first thing I can remember making was a halloween costume when I was, say, in the third or forth grade. I remember taking

an old dress, ripping the bodice from the skirt, and then using

the skirt over an old tutu so that it was like an old fashioned puffy, hoop skirt. My mother nearly killed me, considering it was a beautiful dress that could have been worn by my sister, but I loved it, my first taste of taking something and giving it a new voice. I've been doing it ever since.

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Where do you work?
For my sewing and crafting I basically invade a decent chunk of my families basement.
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What are your favorite tools?
My sewing machine (which I often refer to as my baby), my
duct tape dress model, and most importantly my seam ripper.
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Why work with recycled materials?
Working with recycled materials began because they were easier and cheaper for me to get my hands on, but has become something that inspires me. When your materials have a history,

I feel like it becomes a more interesting relationship. I'm not just taking my ideas and making them new, but taking things that already have a past and giving them new life. That's really the beauty of working with recycled materials for me.
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What music do you listen to while you’re working?
It really depends, if I need to chill I'll listen to classical, if I need to get pumped up I'll put on the radio to some awful pop station, and sometimes I just like to listen to some soft indie rock.
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Who inspires you?
So many people. Both my grandmothers are insanely talented and artistic, they partly got me interested in arts and crafting. My dance and art teachers really inspire me both in their determination and their willingness to experiment and "play" with what art is. I'm also so so so SO inspired by all the amazing things I see on Etsy, as we all know it can be mind shattering how much talent and creativity is both close to home and thousands of miles away. Not to be too corny, but I have become inspired really by this team's noble ideas, which are so much a part of me.
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Been to any great exhibits?
I live in a vibrant 5 college area, so I have been able to see so much local and global art. Recently I was awed by an exhibit called Luscious, by Emily Eveleth at the Smith college museum which was these enormous still life's of jelly doughnuts. Very memorable.
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Read any good books lately?
A few. I loved the book Button Button by Terry Talyor, I discovered it right after I began to work with buttons and was thrilled to hear so many other creative minds were thinking the same thing.
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How do you get from A to Z?
Biking and public transportation all the way- parents gave up on the whole issue a while back ;)
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What do you do for fun?
I love biking, swimming, dancing, cooking, painting, drawing, sewing, designing, and just plain playing.
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Besides Etsy, where can we find you work?
As a high school student, my main work domain is still school, but I also work as a teacher trainee at both my dance school and my temple. Basically I teach/ control little kids, and try not to be that horrible assisant teacher who is detested forever.
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How do you promote your work?
facebook for sure, flickr, email lists, handy business cards, word of mouth, plus my website and blog. To be honest, it's an area I probably need to work on.
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What’s in your future?
I'm still in high school, but someday I'd love to be able to really do what I'm doing now, crafting and beingable to live of it.
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Have any words of wisdom?
You are your own unique person... just like everybody else.
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Images & Text © UnikCreations
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Feature me Friday: JohnnyNoThumbzzz

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This week we feature JohnnyNoThumbzzz

One of a kind creations from a man that's one of a kind.

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Who is JohnnyNoThumbzzz?

Johnny No Thumbzzz came from an old episode of Golden Girls in which Sophia had to talk to Mr. Thumbs about the old days and who he was connected to. An old girlfriend started calling me that and it went from there.

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What’s the first thing you remember making?

The very first thing I remember making is a Christmas ornament in kindergarten. It was a cut and curled construction paper monstrosity.

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Why work with recycled materials?

I started working with recycled materials because I couldn't afford "real art supplies". I had majored in ceramics in college and after graduation found that it was hard to continue working with those materials. So I started making things with whatever I could find.

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Where do you work?

I work mostly in the basement of my house, but sometimes in

the garage or outside on the patio. Here's a photo of my severely cluttered work bench...
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Who inspires you?

Inspiration: Andy Warhol, Jean Tinguely, Rauschenberg,

Jim Dine, Arman, Antoni Tapies, Yves Klein...

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What are the best thing you’ve purchased on etsy and where did you find it?

Best thing I purchased on Etsy was a porcelain skull ring by Mishko. I was just doing random searches on etsy and found it.

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What do you do for fun?

For fun I ride my 1999 Yahama V-star Motorcycle or garden.

I have a great perennial garden. I also have 4 cats that keep me entertained.

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Read any good books lately?

Just finished reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Currently reading

Just Kids by Patty Smith.
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Been to any great exhibits?

Haven't been to any good exhitions lately, but I am really liking the images posted at the Dudecraft Blog.

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How do you get from A to Z?

A-Z transport is Big Blue Skulltruck, my everchanging art truck.

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Currently Blue has been updated with a lifesize plastic skull hood ornament with red led's for eyes. There are two smaller skulls on the left and right sides that are also wired with red led's and are wired into the turn signals. Blue was featured on the Skull-a-Day Blog.

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What are your favorite tools?

Favorite tool has to be a Craftsmen rotary tool.

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What music do you listen to while you’re working?

I don't really listen to music when working. I just let the voices in my head jabber away. (just kidding). I'm on a sound of silence kick these days.
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Besides Etsy, where can we find you work?

Besides Etsy my work can be found at Collector's Corner at the Toledo Museum of Art and The Hive Creations, Anna Maria Island, Florida.

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How do you promote your work?

Still trying to find a good way to promote my work. Have tried Google Adwords, and I'm currently considering other options

like Art Fairs. I'm on Facebook too.

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Have any words of wisdom?

Words of wisdom: ? Live Long and Prosper!

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What’s in your future?

I intend to keep pushing forward with my artwork and intend

to make it my day job. I want to be able to support my wife and myself in a manner in which we'd like to be accustomed.
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Images & Text © JohnnyNoThumbzzz

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Marketing Monday: Present Yourself to the Press

Last year, I had bookmarked an Etsy blog post Seller Tip: Present Yourself to the Press.
Since I'm also posting the Feature Me Friday posts, I thought it would be a great topic.

As a crafter and seller, you want to get your story out there - summer fairs, gallery exposure, wholesale orders, and don't forget the holidays (yes, time to start thinking about it now!).
Your story should include a few basic photographs, according to Vanessa and Danielle.

a nice head shot


slyraccoon

a photo of your studio or workspace


alexkeller

a photo of you in the creative process


rikrak

your items in context


eyepopart

your items against a plain background


ecokaren

You'll want to keep high resolution photos on file and you can always resize those later.
What else can you use these for?

• About Me or Contact Me page of your business website
• Your blog
• Facebook Fan page
• Your Flickr stream
• One of the images in your Etsy listings
• A blog, magazine, or newspaper interview
• Applications for a grant, artist in residency, gallery show or craft show
• If you're picked for Featured Seller on Etsy
• Etsy Open Studios Tour series on The Storque and its Flickr group
• For another example, check out ShareSomeCandy's Workspaces series
• Other Storque posts

goodgirlsstudio