SOTW - PunkyJane

Our Wedding Day Mark Your Calendar Necklace

Happy October, folks! Our Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week comes to us from Sandy out in California - PunkyJane Jewelry. 

If you're in need of something personalized - PunkyJane's collection of hand stamped and personalized jewelry and accessories is the first place you should look. Names, dates, quotes, silly sayings - The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. There is a little something for everybody! Moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, brothers, sisters, friends, dogs, cats... Hamster? (Coming soon, perhaps.) Sandy's attention to detail, superior customer service and quirky/clever sense of style set her work apart. She is often inspired by her two favorite artists - her daughters, Hannah and Ella. "They have a way of looking at things that inspires me every day," says Sandy. "We could all use more of that child-like vision!"

Through online and print research and some good ol' fashioned trail and error, Sandy has honed her metal stamping over time. Her background as a graphic designer has helped her tremendously, "I love playing with letters! Now I just play with a hammer and steel stamps instead of the latest software from Adobe." 

Sandy is certainly a Twitter pro - Here's what she has to say for those just dipping their toes in the Twitter pool - "Have fun with it, but don’t expect too much. It takes a good mix of social media to help drive business, so don’t put your eggs in one gorgeous handmade basket (purchased on Etsy, of course!). I love the simplicity of the connections you make. Also, don't automatically follow everybody that follows you. Only follow the folks that interest you."

Here's another fun bit from Sandy - Not only does she collect erasers, but if stuck on a deserted island, she'd be eager to continue her Words with Friends games, "Do I have WiFi? Or 3G? Please? If so, my iPad so I could play Words with Friends! Okay, seriously...a raft, matches for a fire, and sunscreen. I burn easily."

Personalized Periodic Table Element

Now that you know a bit more about the mind behind PunkyJane Jewelry, be sure to take advantage of the Shop of the Week sale going on - 

Use the code PJSOTW for 15% off anything 

in my Etsy Shop, October 3-9, 2011.



Etsy Shop: PunkyJane.etsy.com
Twitter: twitter.com/PunkyJane
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PunkyJaneJewelry
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/punkyjane
Pinterest: pinterest.com/punkyjane

Shop of the Week - Geek Details

Meet Amanda Roberts, the talent behind the Etsy shop, geekdetails, and the Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week.

Amanda makes and sells a variety of what she describes as "geeky things". Her product line ranges from artistically embellished luggage, pinback buttons and art prints, sculpted singing flowers; even some jewelry items! Her product line is varied and reflects the sources of her inspiration. When asked what she loves most about creating, Amanda states: "That I get to make stuff every day...I love the process of making new items, seeing something lovely and knowing that I made that pretty thing."

As she puts it, her inspiration comes from "everything! It can be a music lyric, something a friend says, a glass of wine, the way the colors of my flowers blend. I try to find inspiration everywhere and then I mix it up to create something new." This is further reflected in her business resolution: to step "out of my box" and attend gamer conventions! "I went to my first in January (it was called VisionCon) and had a blast! I’m hooked and glad I did it! I met some amazing people that have been excited about what I do. They’ve become some of my biggest fans and really encouraged me in my retail endeavor." The result is an eclectic blend of fun products which Amanda ships worldwide (on most items*)!

Amanda has several exciting activities planned in the next few months. She's attending many shows this summer, including Origins in June. She's helping to develop a new website called Con-Vixens. AND she's "appearing" on an online radio program called Dragon Talk Radio this Thursday, May 20!

Amanda is @geekdetails on Twitter. Her Twitter philosophy? "Follow who you like and converse with them. Don’t just mindlessly follow everyone...and don’t follow people simply because they’re following you. This may lose you some followers, but the quality of your twitter connections will be higher! For me, twitter is about making connections with people. One connection with a rabid follower of your work is (imo) far superior than 50 followers that don’t really care about what you’re doing and are just upping their numbers. It’s quality over quantity for me!"

This week geekdetails is offering
Free domestic shipping on orders over $80 when the buyer mentions “etsytwitter” in the notes to seller section

~~~~~~~

ETSY SHOP: www.etsy.com/shop/geekdetails
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/geekdetails
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/geekdetails
BLOG: www.geekdetails.com

Written by Judy of WellspringCreations.

* Some large items can vary greatly in shipping price from one country to the next. Convo geekdetails for the international shipping rate specific to your location.

Shop of the Week: Lost Mitten

When stepping into this week's Shop of the Week, LostMitten.etsy.com, you can feel Lauren Y.'s love for all things that come from video games. Lauren's shop includes handmade crafts, Perler Bead goods for your office and home, needlepoint creations, Nintendo DS cases, and more. In addition to video games, she loves to knit and crochet! You have to check out these amazing fingerless gloves and awesome hats! A perfect gift for this chilly season (and I do mean chilly)! Lost Mitten is also known for a variety of pinback buttons.

Lauren's shop ships internationally and is located in Brantford, Ontario, Canada (near Hamilton, Toronto, London). Lauren would like all of her customers to know that "Each item in the Lost Mitten Etsy Shop is lovingly handmade by me. The designs and concepts for the creations are a collaboration between myself and my fiancé, Paul. My shop has been open since September 2006."

Here at the Etsy Twitter Team we love to share our tricks and favorite ways to use Twitter. Lauren has told me that she just "loves to tweet about my handmade creations and anything else that happens in day-to-day life. I have met some awesome people through my tweets, so I feel that it is important to make these connections and friendships for an improved Twitter experience. I think it is important to establish a balance between tweeting for your business and tweeting about yourself because people don't want to feel like they are being advertised to all of the time. They want to hear about your interests and other interesting things, too!"

So true Lauren and we love to read your tweets about what’s going on in your Etsy store and your day-to-day life!

Lauren's favorite part of her craft is when she finds out that one of her items have made a wonderful gift for anyone or themselves. Her favorite items to make are the Perler Bead items that she started to make in 2006 when her shop opened on Etsy. Lauren also enjoys taking on new challenges in her craft. (Please convo her for custom made items.)

Since it is the beginning of 2010, we have challenged all of our members to take on a New Year’s Resolution. Lauren admits (like most of us here at ETT) that Etsy becomes addicting. She hopes to spend more time creating this year as a part-time job. We wish you tons of luck, Lauren, in this new resolution and want to say congratulations to you and Paul on planning your wedding.

Follow her on Twitter: @lostmitten
Fan her Facebook Pages: http://www.facebook.com/lostmittenetsy
http://www.facebook.com/lostmitten
Read her blog: http://lostmittenblog.blogspot.com

This week ONLY (ends January 17, 2010):
10% off all items for anyone who mentions this article! Mention "Etsy Twitter Team" in comments at checkout and after payment is received via PayPal she will refund you for the amount of the discount.

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

Article by Jen K.
www.jenco13.etsy.com