Shop of the Week: That’s Headley!

Ginny Headley Maserang, of That’s Headley!, creates artisan jewelry, mostly one-of-a-kind pieces in semi-precious gemstones, art glass, and sterling silver. Her shop features bracelets, necklaces, earrings, jewelry for special occasions and holidays, and has a unisex section for jewelry for everyone.

The “Hope for Whirled Peas” section of her shop has cute green pearl “pea pod” items whose proceeds go to benefit Fisher Houses. For more information about this fundraising effort by Ginny, please see her blog.

“I am dedicated to crafting pieces that are fun, well-crafted, and timeless in design for a lifetime of enjoyment. I make the jewelry I wear, but I like to share with folks who appreciate color, texture, balance, and uniqueness.

My creative inspirations most often come from the beautiful materials I work with - I've loved pretty rocks since I was a little girl, and nothing pleases me more than to pull all my treasures out like a glittering box of crayons and have them tell me what they want to be. I love, too, the color combinations in nature, and can't keep myself from looking at a sunset or garden and imagining the colors coming together as a work of wearable art.”


About Twitter: “I admit I'm pretty much a novice at Twitter, but appreciate so much its community and sense of shared experience. I love its search function to find folks talking about the same things that interest me, and then follow to find out more about what interests them.”

Custom work: “I love to do custom work, too, so if you have something inspirational you would like to have a custom piece to wear with, send me a picture or description of what you would like and we can be creative together!”

She is happy to ship internationally and offers free shipping to the US on all her items.

Follow her on Twitter @thatsheadley
Read more on her blog

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade ThatsHeadley.etsy.com

Team Treasuries

Created by CuriousMess.etsy.com
Expires June 2nd

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expires June 1st

Created by FirebirdHouse.etsy.com
expires June 1st

Team Treasuries

This Treasury was created by Jenco13.etsy.com and features shops from our team who have had less than 15 sales.
Go give it some clickety click love and check out these great shops!
(Treasury expires May 30th.)

Created by InMyHeadStudios.etsy.com!
Expires May 30th.

Shop of the Week: A Cagey Bee

I like the creative name for this Etsy shop. The artist is Kris G. Brownlee – or KGB = A Cagey Bee! Very clever!

“I'm a painter, so my first love is creating the actual paintings - from sketching to swirling the paint around my canvas. But because I know a lot of us can't afford to buy original work, I try to offer a variety of lower cost reproductions: prints, notecards, and even little pendants with my characters!

I want my customers to know how much heart and soul and pure joy is poured into my work. I think most of my customers *do* know this, but it's not always easy to get a sense of who someone is via the internet. I was a very quiet, shy child and spent years creating elaborate stories for my imaginary friends. It's really no wonder that I've started to bring some of them to life in my paintings. The idea that I get to share that with my customers? That new friends from all over the world look at my girls and smile? I couldn't have dreamed up a better possibility for my life. :)”


What inspires you to create? “Everything! Favorite storybooks, movies, lyrics to songs, interesting characters I meet in real life... my biggest fear is that I'll never have enough time to paint all of the things I want to paint. If I ever run out of ideas, I can just walk out my front door and almost always see *something* interesting. There's this one woman in my neighborhood that I see every so often who I've been itching to paint since the first time I laid eyes on her. She walks this pack of 6 or 7 dogs - those giant long haired Afghan hounds! It looks like a scene straight out of a cartoon with their hair swishing and bouncing and swirling along!”

What are your Twitter tricks of the trade? “My newest favorite Twitter trick is installing Friendbar. It adds a toolbar to your browser so you don't have to load the Twitter page to tweet plus it makes it really easy to just click 1 button & tweet about the page you're currently viewing, including an already shortened URL. You can set it to update your Facebook status too. Very handy!”

Read her blog at www.acageybee.com
Follow her at Twitter: twitter.com/acageybee

As a special thank you to her Twitter pals, all prints in her shop are 2 for the price of 1 this week. Buy one print and simply enter the name of the second print you'd like in the notes to seller box. Double the cuteness!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade acageybee.etsy.com

All photos copyright to Kris Brownlee/A Cagey Bee

Team Treasury

Created by BellaTuJewelry.etsy.com
expires May 25th

Shop Talk Friday: Breaking the Wallflower Mold

What to Do When Nothing Works


So you’ve done it all. All the “must do” things that are recommended for developing a booming Etsy (or online) store. Twitter account. Facebook page. Project Wonderful ads. Your photos shine, your descriptions are really fabulous, and your customer service would make President Obama feel right at home.

But… you still have no sales.

If you feel like the girl who went all out for the prom, only to have her date come down with the flu, you aren’t alone. In a recession, there are often more wallflowers than dancers at the retail ball. The good news is that there are some things you can do to set yourself apart and attract good customers.

1. Aim for the Limelight: Offer a discount to your first customer. Or a free gift. Retail stores do this when they open new stores because they know that people can be leery of shopping in a brand new store, and they want the store opening to be a big splash. You can join forces with another new store or one that hasn’t had any sales, and throw a “WallFlowers” party, offering giveaways, discounts, or anything else you think would be a creative draw to customers- the sky is the limit.
   
   
2. Go Offline as well as Online: Sometimes the greatest defense is an offense. Make contacts with consignment stores, flea markets, art fairs, etc to show your work offline as well. Some types of work do best when they can be seen/felt/tried on by the customer, at least at first. So don’t be afraid to make your online presence only one part of your overall business plan. There is a jewelry designer I know who got her start marketing her work in office complexes at lunchtime. Don’t be afraid to look outside the box.
   
   
3. Take a Long Hard Look at the Seasonality of Your Work: Some types of handmade items tend to be seasonal by their very nature, such as Christmas ornaments. Others may be seasonal more by customer association, such as knitted shawls or scarves. It isn’t that they can’t buy now for later use, it is more that they don’t. There is more than one way to tackle this concern. One way is to create products that are more likely to sell right now, such as knitted cozies, tote bags, lacy summer-weight shawls or all-natural face scrubbies. Another way is to expand your product line to include items which correspond with your main work, but are more likely to be bought at any time of year. A basic example of this is pairing knitted creations with yarn/supplies for knitters and crocheters, or offering organic soaps and bath supplies along with your face scrubbies.
   
   
4. What’s Your Zing Factor? Are your products interesting? Do they say “unique and different” or do they look like many other products out there? Zing factor is a hard one to assess on your own, and it can hurt to get an answer to this question. But it bears asking. In the art world, work is called “derivative” if it resembles the work of other, more well-known artists, rather than reflecting the unique mark of the artist who painted the canvas. Does your work reflect you? Are you trying to follow a certain style or type of work without putting YOUR stamp on it? Customers are quick to sense “standard issue” and move on, so this is an important question. Zero in on what makes your work special.
   
   
5. Don’t Go It Alone: Team up with a friend or colleague’s store and collaborate on a project that both of you can sell. (Got a friend who makes bath products? You supply her with face scrubbies, she makes you organic soaps, both of you win by having products in two stores.) This can work very well on both a large scale, and a very small scale. A person who sells beaded jewelry can team up with someone who works mainly in metal, for a way to expand the product lines of both stores into other areas, offering customers a wider range of choices and prices, and increasing the exposure of both stores. If you decide to go this route, have all the details written out, as well as a firm beginning and end date for the cross promotions. Making sure things meet everyone’s expectations on a business level is crucial to having a good joint collaboration.
   
   
6. Give It Time: There are no quick fixes or substitutes for the exposure that time and familiarity brings you. Promotional efforts, sales, and all the other ways that you generate traffic for your store build upon each other over time. Some categories are crowded with competitors, such as jewelry or vintage items, and it can take longer to pull away from the pack. Don’t get discouraged during the downtime, use it instead to refine your products, get creative with your promotions, and spread your name.
   
   
7. Look for Publicity: The direct approach is best here. If you have a friend or read a blog that you love, see if they would be interested in profiling you. Offer to swap interviews, put their blog badge on your blog, or tweet about them. Don’t be pushy, but there is nothing wrong with asking. All they can say is NO, but very often they say YES, and you won’t know unless you ask.

These are just a few ideas that you can try, and the world is full of even more ideas, some of which may well be just the right combination. Beware of buying into quick fixes and instant results, as selling is much like dieting- different combinations work for different groups of potential customers, and the miracle with one group is merely a waste of time with the others. In the end, experimentation, knowing what worked (or didn’t) with your particular customers, and creativity are your best assets in crafting a successful online business.

Kristen
Etsy Twitter Team Co-Leader
Firebirdhouse.etsy.com

Breaking News: Another Upgrade to the Etsy Search

Guest Blogger AmbientLights.etsy.com:

As per this previous blog article, we let you know about Etsy’s awesome new search functions. Etsy told us that there would be even more coming soon and some of it is here already!

Now, when you do a search from the regular search bar or in the Advanced Search, once you get your search results, underneath the price filter on the top left there is a drop down box that allows you to filter the results by “Ship to Country”.

Once you select the “Ship to Country” it will only show you the results for items that will ship to the selected country, and it will also include items with “Everywhere Else” shipping. You can change the country at any time or click the red “remove” under the selected country to show all item results again. The selected country will clear itself when you leave the Etsy site.

And there's more!! The much awaited, desired, asked for, sought after feature… Sort your search results by “Most Relevant”! (Are you doing the Happy Dance, too?!)

You can use the drop down box (“Sort By”) on the top right of your search results page to select “Most Relevant”, “Price High to Low”, “Low to High”, etc or use “Most Relevant” as a option in the Advanced Search. It's seems to save your chosen method of “Sort By” similarly to the “Ship to Country”. Unless you change it, your results for each search will be listed in your chosen method of sorting until you change it or leave the Etsy site.

In my opinion, “Most Relevant” returns more accurate results than the previous method of searching. I’ve played around a bit with it and now if you search for “Scrabble Tile Pendant” you don’t get the collage sheets for Scrabble tile pendants so much. So it works!!

Etsy says this is just the beginning! They will continue to fine tune both of these search functions as time goes on. One other thing you may be interested in knowing is that the “Most Relevant” search will be improved in the future by altering the listing process some, although there is currently no change to the listing process.

Both of their search functions have been long awaited by many Etsians and will most definitely be an invaluable tool to many buyers and artisans alike.

We'll be sure to keep you posted on new Etsy search functions and features as they roll them out. These are some exciting times in Etsy Land!

Official Etsy Article: Filter by Ship to Country

Official Etsy Article: Filter by Most Relevant (There's a few more juicy details there, be sure to check it out!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks, Becki, for a great post!
~Vickie

Team Treasuries

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Created by Caelum.etsy.com
expires May 21st

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Shop of the Week: Tamdoll (SILVER Mountain Originals)

Tammy Gross, of Tamdoll.etsy.com, also known as SILVER Mountain Originals, creates “an eclectic mix of unique fabric jewelry, the occasional art doll (and a couple of original sewing patterns for those), purses, totes and wallets – many of those 'upcycled' from repurposed fabrics.” She also has a few woven ribbons for sale that are quite unique.

“Everything I make comes from a creative burst of energy and is one-of-a-kind. If I’m inspired enough to make a handful of items that are similar, no two will ever really be the same. Sometimes I wish I could be more consistent, but that hasn’t happened yet and I’ve been creating art for 20 years. I love to try new things and experiment – not everything comes out as planned and it’s back to the drawing board until I get it right, which can sometimes mean weeks until I get things just the way I want them to be.

Why ‘Tamdoll’? In the 90’s, when I learned to sew, I started making fantasy art dolls - tamdoll.home.comcast.net – and did that for quite a while selling them in local boutiques. Beading dragon wings led me to experiment with beading and jewelry making, but my passion was with the fabric and soon enough, I figured out how to blend the two into fabric jewelry!”

What inspires you to create? “So many things inspire me to create - a color, a scrap of fabric, a funny story even - there isn’t anything that doesn’t inspire me, my brain never rests, and I can’t predict what I’ll come up with next. Seriously, sometimes it’s almost a disadvantage. I have scribbled ideas EVERYWHERE. My purse is filled with ideas written on scraps of paper along with the notepad that I always carry. My desk has piles of half-filled notebooks. Even when my mind is winding down, right before I fall asleep... I’ll see a color combination or shape in my mind and remember it for the next day. The problem begins when I start all these projects. I start so many, get inspired again and begin another before the first is finished. The excitement of something new keeps me going and going. And keeps my workroom a mess. This explains also, why my shop is updated with new, completed, items so sporadically!”

What are your Twitter tricks of the trade? "I joined Twitter to connect with other crafters – and for a while I tried to stick with just keeping things all ‘business’. But I just couldn’t. Connecting with the people that are behind the avatars is so much more rewarding than just announcing when I have a new item listed, or a new blog post – I certainly don’t want to follow someone impersonal like that! I love to chime in on interesting Twitter topics and tweet when I find something unique or useful that other creative people may enjoy. (Ok, when I’m up at 3am you may find a silly tweet or two.) It’s pretty satisfying to hear ‘Where do you find this stuff?’ – then you get known as a resource for creativity. Oh, and Twitter would be useless for me without TweetDeck. With following so many, I’m able to categorize my interests and see updates clearly.”

She shares many of her works-in-progress on her blog tamdoll.blogspot.com and at flickr.com/photos/tamdoll and invites everyone to stop by and say hello. Follow her at Twitter @tamdoll!

Special for the Week: Free domestic shipping on non-ribbon items. You will receive a PayPal refund for items not already specially marked as part of the sale. There are some items sprinkled about the shop that have SALE in the title and are specially priced through the springtime.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade tamdoll.etsy.com

All photos copyright to Tamdoll/Tammy Gross and are used with permission

Sidewalk Sale!!

The Etsy Twitter Team is having a Sidewalk Sale to celebrate the spring weather and to get outside a bit! Virtually! So please take a stroll down our sidewalk of shop listings. Each shop is having a different sale so check them all out. There are some extremely great deals going on this week!!

The sales run from Sunday, May 17th to Saturday, May 23rd.

BeadworkByAmanda.etsy.com
20% off – discount applied in pricing

PrettyCheap.etsy.com
FREE card with purchase of any 3 items! Exquisite floral, original photos and detailed embroidered cards will be given free (choice of free card by prettycheap). Just ask for your free card at check out (please purchase 3 items in one transaction).

SumikoShop.etsy.com
Free shipping worldwide shipping all week. Please contact her before buying, She will cancel shipments or mention "Etsy Twitter Team" in the message to seller at checkout.

MeagansDesigns.etsy.com
KaedanKrafts.etsy.com
Offering free worldwide shipping for both of her shops that will be already marked with $0 shipping

InMyHeadStudios.etsy.com
15% off items (not including shipping or NY state sales tax if applicable). Add the comment "Etsy Twitter Sidewalk Sale" during checkout. Discount given via PayPal refund.

ACageyBee.etsy.com
Every order will get a free sampler pack of 4 postcards included in their shipment! In the note to seller box, please mention "Sidewalk Sale" to get your free postcards.

SoapRehab.etsy.com
Free Shipping

Threepeats.etsy.com
All necklaces $5.00 off! After payment, $5.00 will be refunded to the buyer’s PayPal account for each necklace purchased.

SandisTs.etsy.com
Free Shipping - After payment, shipping will be refunded via PayPal

FirebirdHouse.etsy.com
30% off all purchases that total $20 or more. PayPal refund given for discount.

WaysideViolet.etsy.com
20% off all items in my shop: To participate type "May" in the message to buyer. Discount will be refunded via PayPal after purchase

ScrapArcs.etsy.com
All earrings $5 or less per pair. Prices already marked down.

SouthpawStudios.etsy.com
15% off, + Plus free worldwide shipping. Also $5 gift certificate included for future purchases (limit one per customer). Redeemed with code "Sidewalk TW Sale" in message to seller box, then you will receive a prompt PayPal refund

HuayruroPeru.etsy.com
20% discount using PayPal refund to everyone mentioning "Sidewalk Sale" in message to seller box

CuriousMess.etsy.com
Free shipping worldwide.

RhodesAnnalsDesigns.etsy.com
10% off list price - Leave message to seller saying “sidewalk”. She will do a revised invoice or if you have already paid via PayPal she will do a refund.

JaybirdDesigns.etsy.com
all baby and kid items are marked 50% off in special shop section

AquarianBath.etsy.com
Free Lavender Spearmint Lip Balm with purchase of $10 or more. Add the comment "Etsy Twitter Sidewalk Sale" during checkout.

MindyG.etsy.com
Free shipping within the US only (via USPS First Class) with any purchase. Add to message to seller box "sidewalk sale" and you will get a refund through PayPal for the shipping amount.

Jenco13.etsy.com
free shipping to anyone in the USA and a flat rate of $5 to all other countries on her list for items over $20 and $3 for items under $20. Discount given via PayPal refund

TamaraGarvey.etsy.com
With any purchase, get a FREE single card of your choosing from any of the card sets in the Stationary section of her shop. Just include which card you'd like in the Message to Seller box, or contact her soon after purchase.

MissesKwittys.etsy.com
Free USA shipping or Half Price international shipping when you spend $20.00 or more in her Etsy shop. Plus she will be tossing a free little "thank you" present into each package! Just put "EtsyTwitter Rocks" in the note to seller and she will refund the shipping discount back to your PayPal account.

PurpleLemonDesigns.etsy.com
Free Shipping! Use code “SIDEWALK” in the notes to the seller, and she will refund the shipping after the order is paid for through PayPal

BRefour.etsy.com
Most items are already on sale but you can get and additional 10% off on orders of $15.00 or more by entering the words "Sidewalk Sale" in notes to seller. The 10% will be refunded through PayPal.

LindaB142.etsy.com
20% off purchases over $5. Buyers need to use the Promo Code "Sidewalk" and she will refund the discount via PayPal. Free shipping for orders over $30.

Tamdoll.etsy.com
Free domestic shipping on non-ribbon items. Will automatically give a PayPal refund for items not already specially marked as part of the sale.

ArtWhims.etsy.com
Free Shipping on every item in the shop! To redeem this great deal, enter “MAYSIDEWALK” into the message to the seller upon check out. You will be reimbursed through PayPal for the cost of shipping.

DeeJayPhotography.etsy.com
Free shipping! Type "Sidewalk Sale" in Notes to seller to receive a refund via PayPal.

NikkyLeeDesigns.etsy.com
15% off items $20 or more. "Sidewalk" in message to seller to get discount. Wait to pay for revised invoice

AmbientLights.etsy.com
20% off all items*! Please write "May Sidewalk Sale" in notes to seller when checking out and wait for a revised invoice or pay and you will be refunded via PayPal. *discount valid for items only, does not include shipping or taxes if applicable.

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Many thanks to SassyCat.etsy.com for creating our sale graphic!! I could not have hoped for something better!! Thank you!!

Press Release for Our Sidewalk Sale

For Immediate Release

Contact Information:

Vickie Porter
etsytwitterteam@gmail.com
http://etsytwitter.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter/etsytwitrteam

Where The Sidewalk Ends:
The Etsy Twitter Team Uses Twitter
To Introduce Consumers to the Virtual Sidewalk Sale

Core Information:

WHO: The Etsy Twitter Team
WHAT: Huge Virtual Sidewalk Sale
WHEN: May 17 - 23, 2009
WHERE: http://etsytwitter.blogspot.com
WHY: To introduce shoppers to the wonderful and talented artisans and artists of the Etsy Twitter Team and the world of Handmade on Etsy.com

Since its founding in November 2008, the Etsy Twitter Team has had one goal: bring Etsy sellers together who use Twitter to become the authority on Twitter for all things handmade.

With a current membership of over 200 Etsy shops, the team literally has something for everyone. That diversity, as well as the reach that Twitter provides, was a key factor in the decision to host a virtual Sidewalk Sale.

“With so many department and specialty stores closing, we saw a real opportunity through Twitter to introduce people to what is really unique and special about handmade items,” says Kristen Evans, Etsy Twitter Team’s Co-Leader and owner of Firebirdhouse Designs. ”Using the old model of the retail ‘Sidewalk Sale’ was a great way to mix the familiar mall concept with the new online shopping experience that Etsy offers to consumers, no matter where they are located.”

More than 20 Etsy shops are participating in the virtual sale, offering a wide range of discounts and special promotions throughout the weeklong event. These shops carry a multitude of handmade items from knitted cowls and fine art to housewares and clothing. All of the items in these shops are handmade by artists who also run their own shops on Etsy.com.


For more information, visit the Etsy Twitter Team blog at http://etsytwitter.blogspot.com

Visit our page at http://delicious.com/EtsyTwitterTeam

# # #

Sidewalk Sale Treasury

Jenco13 created this wonderful Treasury to promote our upcoming Sidewalk Sale. Go take a look at the shops in the Treasury to get a sneak peek of what you will find during the Sidewalk Sale! Keep checking back to the Treasury as she intends to switch out spots so all the participating shops can be featured.

Sale Event Coming on Sunday!!

The Etsy Twitter Team is having a Sidewalk Sale coming soon!! The sale will run from Sunday, May 17th to Saturday, May 23rd.

A list of participating shops will be posted to this blog on Sunday!! Please stop by to see what great deals you can get from our team shops!

If you want our blog posts to show up in your email inbox, fill out the form in the sidebar of this blog!! Never miss another Etsy Twitter Team blog post again!!

Team Treasuries

Great gifts for Dad!!
Created by ACageyBee.etsy.com.
Expires May 15th.

Created by BellflowerTextiles.etsy.com.
Expires May 15th.

New Search Features on Etsy

Guest Blogger AmbientLights.etsy.com:

Some updates to the Etsy search functions have been implemented!!

Etsy has simplified the basic search drop down menu. The menu now nicely and simply reads “Handmade, Vintage, Supplies, All Items” and “Sellers”. By default, when searching in any one of these (Handmade, Vintage, etc) it will use the criteria words you have typed and search the titles and tags of item listings.

To customize your search, you can click "Advanced Search" that is to the right of the basic search form. Again by default it will automatically select “Item Tags and Titles” but the Advanced Search gives you lots of options.

From top to bottom in Advanced Search:

➢ Type in your criteria words.

➢ Select “Handmade”, “Vintage”, “Supplies” or “All Items”.

➢ Select subcategories such as “Bags and Purses”, “Art", “Jewelry”, “Bath and Body”, etc.

➢ Select what you want to search within; “Tags”, “Titles”, “Descriptions” or “Materials”. You can select one, two, three or all four of these.

➢ Filter by price

➢ Select to sort your results by “Most Recently Listed”, “Least Recently Listed”, “Price High to Low” or “Price Low to High”

➢ Select to view results as “Gallery” or “List” mode

➢ Click Search!


Selecting different options and using different key words will yield different results. By doing a little tweaking to your search options you're sure to get the results that you're looking for!

Etsy plans to add a few more options in the future to the Advanced Search such as searching by Seller, Location, Most Relevant (default results will still be Most Recently Listed), as well as “more intuitive ways to refine your search.”

The search results page has also been redesigned. The Search Tools, Search Tips and Matching Sellers boxes have migrated from the right side of the page to the left (they say this is following a standard in use on many ecommerce websites and search engines). The Matching Sellers are the sellers that have items listed on the particular search results page that you are on. Etsy has added a price filter on all item search results pages and they (Etsy) say that additional filters will eventually be incorporated into this area on the left.

One more tidbit to add to the new features is that if your search yields no results (which I don't think happens too often as there are so many diverse wonderful items on Etsy), you will now be shown suggestions for searching and also see recently listed items on the site.

It is good that Etsy is listening to site users about the search functions. Many suggestions are finally coming to fruition. I’m excited to see the additional changes they will be making with the search function in the coming months.

Team Treasury

Created by CapeCodJewel.etsy.com! Click and comment before it expires on May 14th!!!

Shop of the Week: South Paw Studios

South Paw Studios offers an ever-changing selection of handcrafted jewelry designed by self-taught, Toledo, Ohio, jewelry artist, Katy Mims. She designs necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. She also offers a bridal line and a wholesale line.

“I use a few different techniques in my jewelry line, some of which are some basic metal fabrication, which was studied through the Toledo Museum of Art. I also use basic to more advanced wire wrapping techniques in my designs. I am continuously evolving and staying up to date on the trends and new ideas in the industry. I try to make a conscious effort to think outside the box with every piece; to keep my customers curious and myself challenged.

I am very particular about the supplies I use in my work. I do not use any silver plated materials, and everything is hand selected in person - from the semi-precious and precious gems from India, to fresh water pearls from Hong Kong, to Balinesian beads from Bali, to authentic Venetian glass from the Island of Murano in Italy. I really strive to offer a top quality product at a reasonable price. There are no production lines or kits used. I am the sole artist behind South Paw Studios.

I get inspired from many things, from a shower curtain design, to a sunset. I know that sounds cliché, but really there are great color combinations in sunsets, nature can teach us a lot about what colors naturally look great together.”

Twitter Tricks: “Every item I list or renew on Etsy.com, I then immediately list it on Twitter, and try to introduce it with a ‘call to action’ phrase, by asking a question instead of just posting the description and link. It gets a few more clicks that way. Also try to get followed by your local Twitterers, like your local paper, news stations, radio stations, museums, art galleries, and artist groups. You never know when you might get a call from them wanting to feature you in an article or event since they see you all the time on Twitter. You might be the first person they think of before asking someone else. Branding really DOES WORK! One other thing, I found a treasure trove of local followers by looking to see who my local newspaper was following, now they are all following me!”

Keep your outfits accessorized with the affordable elegance and chic designs of South Paw Studios’ Jewelry line.

Read more at Katy's blog: southpawstudios.blogspot.com
Follow Katy on Twitter: twitter.com/southpawstudios

Special for the Week: 15% off your TOTAL order plus free worldwide shipping. Enter code "EtsyTwitter" in Message to Seller and all discounts will be refunded promptly via Paypal!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade southpawstudios.etsy.com

All photos copyright Katy Mims/South Paw Studios

Team Treasuries

Created by SumikoShop.etsy.com! Click and comment before it expires on May 13th!!

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Created by PrettyCheap.etsy.com. Click and comment before it expires on May 12th!!

Team Treasury

Created by ImWithSully.etsy.com!! Click and comment before it expires on May 11th!!

Team Treasury

Created by MySassyGlass.etsy.com!! Click and comment before it expires on May 10th!!

Shop of the Week: Bellflower Textiles

I love bright cheerful colors. Always have and always will. So when I opened up Megan Zalkan’s shop, Bellflower Textiles, my eyes popped open and I felt happy! So much color and cuteness everywhere!!

Megan makes bright and cheerful fabric products for you, your home, and your children. She combines quilting techniques and a love of vibrant color to create modern and quirky children’s tees, crayon and pencil rolls, reusable coffee sleeves, tooth fairy pillows, and hair accessories. She works out of her home in Seattle, Washington, where she also tends to her two year-old daughter. Selling on Etsy since August 2008 has garnered her close to 300 sales.

“Each of my products is lovingly hand created by me, in a smoke free environment, and packaged with great care. Unless otherwise listed, everything in my shop is pre-made and will ship immediately. Oh, and I LOVE custom orders. See something you like but want in a different color or size? Please convo me – I’d love to talk with you! [Editor’s note: Convos or conversations are the way you send private messages on Etsy.com]

I’m inspired by everything around me, but most especially by my two year-old daughter and her friends, and by the natural world. I try to include a botanical element in each item I create, whether that’s a flower, a butterfly, or even just a lovely piece of fabric the exact shade of a leaf I just saw. And of course, I love love LOVE fabric! I have a huge collection of fabric built up over years of quilting, and there’s nothing I love more than to dig through a pile of gorgeous cottons and mix and match patterns to see what pops. Lately I’m loving linen and ribbon too… my collection just grows and grows!”

About her Twitter habits: “I’m a Twitter addict! I try to spend time every morning and evening on Twitter, and often find myself back at other points in the day, too. I’ve recently discovered TweetDeck, which is making a huge difference for me in keeping up with more of my followers’ tweets, and I love the ability to create and follow specific groups of people whose comments I don’t want to miss! I try to just talk and connect about 90% of the time with an occasional link to my shop or a new product.”

Bellflower Textiles ships internationally.

Read her blog at Growing Notes and follow her on Twitter @megzseattle.

Special for the Week: Free Shipping!! Mention “Twitter” in your Notes to Seller and she will send an updated invoice with free shipping or refund your shipping price if you’ve already paid. 


Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade BellflowerTextiles.etsy.com

All photos copyright to Megan Zalkan/Bellflower Textiles

Team Treasury

Click and comment before it expires on May 7th!!
By HuayruroPeru.etsy.com

Handy Twitter Tools: TweetBurner

I came across this Handy Twitter Tool in my usual daily tweeting, and I have been using it for a few months. I love it! TweetBurner allows me to track the number of times a link in a tweet has been clicked.

To use it go to the main webpage: http://tweetburner.com/ and use it to shorten the URL that you want to track. Copy the URL it gives you and then use that shortened URL in your tweet. It will track the number of times the URL has been clicked. I track almost all of my tweet links in this way.

It’s a good idea to create an account with them, too.

You also get a time stamp for when the tweet was tweeted. This information is useful to track when you post tweets and how many clicks you get during certain time periods. Aggregate this info and you can get a clear picture of when the best times to tweet your links are.

But here is the good part. It will track that URL anywhere on the web – if it gets sent in an email, put on a blog, or retweeted. Anywhere on the web your TweetBurner URL goes it will have clicks tracked! So use the URLs they give you to track blog link clicks and ad link clicks.

The page you look at to see your tracking is the “Archive” page. Here is a screen shot of mine.


If you click the little bar graph next to your tweets on the Archive page you can see when the clicks took place in a little graph!

Some of the pages on TweetBurner are disabled right now as they are upgrading. I’ve been waiting to tell you about this site until they did the upgrade but it doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon. I didn’t want to wait anymore to tell you about this great tool!