byebye 2010 :)

2010 was a year for growing here at etsy houston. we are still a new-ish group,

and hopefully 2011 will be full of exciting events!

our meet up site is going down for now. it is a tad too expensive to keep up with at this time.

anyone that is currently part of the group, please apply to join our group, officially, by clicking on the tab labeled "application."

upcoming events for 2011 include a member meeting towards the end of the month

[more information will be presented in the form of a facebook message :)]

and a special event open to the public:

Handmade Nation Film Screening / Jenine Bressner Gallery Talk

The event occurs January 22nd, 2010 [Saturday].

Reception, 6:00 – 7:00 PM
Film Screening, 7:00 – 8:00 PMat Lawndale Art Center, 4912 Main Street 

"Come early for the film to enjoy a beer from St. Arnold Brewing Company and make a fun paper craft with volunteers from Etsy Houston. Handmade Nation books will be for sale from Domy Books.  The screening starts at 7:00 PM and lasts an hour."

"Jenine Bressner, a glass and mixed-media artist who is featured in Handmade Nation, will be present for the film. Immediately following the screening, Bressner will give a gallery talk about her new exhibition,  Inverted Harmony: A Handmade Environment by Jenine Bressner, at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (across the street from Lawndale Art Center). "

All information has been pulled from the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

Please visit their website for more information and events. :)

Come out and support handmade!

we'd love to meet you all ;)

The Sew Craftiest Time of the Year [in photos!]

First of all - SUCH a big thank you to Sarah and her little elves at Sew Crafty for hosting such a fun night :)

and an ENORMOUS thank you to the lovely and talented Ellen, for photographing the event!

our photographer extraordinaire:

don't see your picture? no worries!

sift through the rest of the amazing photos taken by ellen.

if you use any - please make sure you credit her accordingly!! 

thank you to everyone who helped and came out to

The Sew Craftiest Night of the Year! :)

etsy houston meets etsy austin

a few of us traveled to austin this weekend for the etsy austin craft riot.

it was SUCH a blast!!

 allison, roxy, alejandra :)

read more and see more photos of our booths, etc HERE.

and don't forget about our amazing holiday show!!!

more etsy houston ladies doin' their thang

this past weekend sandy ervin and ana maria were spotted at the artisan market!

way to represent! :)

to read more, see sandy's blog post [ where i stole these photos from :) ]

It's the Sew Craftiest tiiiiime of the year :)

Get excited!!!

more info to come! :)

once again, big thanks to the lovely emily of emilee rose designs!

etsy houston representing at st. andrew's!

this past saturday was the st. andrew's bazaar - we represented pretty well! :)

 

kristen of frilled&feathered

 

erin of gamiworks

patty and ashley of littlebirdboutique

and me! roxy of feisty fabrik

[smelling one of my booth-mate's delish candles :) ]

and we can't forget allison and andria, who stopped by to say hey! [and buy some goodies!]

down the street at 1st saturday you could find lora of bbags and

emily of emilee rose designs!

i was too pooped to stop by - sorry ladies!

coming up on december 3rd.....

etsy houston presents: the sew craftiest time of the year!

stay tuned for more info!

a very fun meeting :)

our last etsy houston meeting was at allison's house. we were supposed to carve pumpkins but got so carried away with ideas and plans that we never got to cutting those pumpkins up...

but it was definitely a blast and we got so much accomplished! i look forward to many more meetings! :)

ana maria and emily enjoyed hanging out with our new mascot, stella :)

andria, our new-member-leader, also enjoyed the company of stella - they discussed some show ideas...it was pretty cute.

 

 notice the winning logo??

thank you to our lovely hostess, allison :)

 

those of you that didn't make it missed out on a lot of laughs, wine, goodies, and some awesome productivity :)

p.s. stay tuned! the membership requirements are about to get TWEEKED.

Halloween Craftiness

what's up, houston?

there are lots of shows coming up - and we will be posting some of those dates soon!

until then, here's a little halloween related activity allison and i put together :)

Emily of Emilee Rose Designs

Name: Emily
Shop: emilee rose designs

Where are you from? Houston, Texas

Where do you live? Houston Heights

What types of things do you make/sell? All things paper...paper dolls, illustrations, and stationery.

How long have you been crafting? I've been mad crafty all my life. Growing up, my mom would always plan craft projects for my brother and me to do. And I've never stopped.

When did you decide to open up a shop? I opened shop in July of 2008 after a friend of mine needed vendors at a craft show she was organizing. After the show, I decided to make an entire line of products to sell. 

Do you prefer to sell your crafts online or in person? Or both? I like both, but I get excited for on-line sales. It's fun to see people all over the world interested in your products. 

Do you have a second job?  If so, what is it? I work full time as a graphic designer for PH Design Shop. It is so much fun and a perfect way to spend my day creating.

What inspired you to start crafting? In college, I worked at a stationery boutique. I always admired the artist and designers of the products that we carried. Many of them started small, just them working away in their living room. While drooling over the greeting cards, I thought "I should do this." 

Have you learned anything along the way, as far as your business is concerned? I have learned that it is not as simple to sell your product than it is to make it. Making my dolls and stationery are fun...selling them is work!

What other hobbies or interests do you have? Besides painting and drawing and crafting, I love decorating and redesigning spaces in my house. I also love practicing yoga and going to the movies. 

Who inspires you? [blogs, etsy shops, etc] Besides a slew of design/craft blogs, I am mostly inspired by other illustrators. Belle and Boo, Sarah Jane Studios, and The Black Apple are my favorite!

Do you have any tips to share with newbies? Since I'm a designer, I am pretty into the visuals. I think it's important to have a single brand or look to your products and your shop, so that when customer's go to your shop page, they feel like they are in YOUR store, and not etsy's. Even after doing this for 2 years, I still feel like I'm learning and absorbing other tips!

decisions, decisions!

alright etsy houstonians!

our lovely member, emily rose, created the most beautiful logos!

please do not vote in the comment section.
members will receive an email soon indicating how they can vote :)

Choice #1

Choice #2

Choice #3

Choice #4

wanna see more of emily's work?

she will be featured next monday on the blog - but if you simply can't wait... :)

and make sure you scroll down a little ways to check out this week's Etsy Houston Profile :)

Etsy Houston Profiles - Sharon of ArtL8dy

Name: Sharon Hendry

my shop: ArtL8dY

Where are you from? Niagara Falls, New York

Where do you live? Houston (Timbergrove Manor)

What types of things do you make/sell?

I'm selling unique mini fiber art which I call "les petites images cousues" (translation: small sewn pictures). I also sell fabric cuff bracelets.

How long have you been crafting? about 10 years

When did you decide to open up a shop?

This summer (summer of 2010)

Do you prefer to sell your crafts online or in person? Or both?

Online

Do you have a second job?  If so, what is it?

I teach at HCC. I'm a digital communication professor at the West Loop campus

What inspired you to start crafting?

Houston Quilt Show (held every year at the George R. Brown in late Oct/early Nov)

Have you learned anything along the way, as far as your business is

concerned?

Time, patience, tenacity

What other hobbies or interests do you have?

Anything related to art

Who inspires you? 

Teesha Moore

DJ Petiit

Terrie Mangat

Do you have any tips to share with newbies?

There's a lot of helpful hints on the Etsy site. I like the Community link where you can connect on the forums and virtual labs.

Etsy Houston Profiles - Jo Claire of Groovy Gal

Name:  Jo Claire

Shop: Groovy Gal Designs Online

Where are you from?  Native Texan--born in Austin, raised in Baytown

Where do you live? Clear Lake

What types of things do you make/sell?  I create original artwork on canvas, drawings, boxes, totes, cards, pendants, etc...

How long have you been crafting?  About 4 years

When did you decide to open up a shop?  I was browsing Etsy one day, looking at ACEO's, and I thought, "I can do that!"  So I did. 

Do you prefer to sell your crafts online or in person? Or both?  I like both.  In person, it's interesting to hear the comments and get to see the person who's going to enjoy your craft.  On line, I find that instead of purchasing what's available and ready to ship, I get a lot of custom requests.  Sometimes that can be overwhelming, but it's still fun to create something to a person's specifications.

Do you have a second job? If so, what is it?  I'm a classroom teacher and an online teacher--high school English.  2010-2011 will be my 18th year in the classroom, so art/crafting is actually my 3rd job.  LOL

What inspired you to start crafting?  I wanted to participate in a local Christmas street festival, so I had to come up with something to sell.  I started out by painting rocks--kind of like Pet Rocks--and they sold like crazy!  Go figure.

Have you learned anything along the way, as far as your business is

concerned?  If you don't "work it," no one will know that you exist.  Blog, tweet, pass out business cards to all that you meet, talk about your art.

What other hobbies or interests do you have?  I'm an avid reader and movie buff.

Who inspires you? [blogs, etsy shops, etc]  I want to be Amy Giacomelli when I grow up! LOL

Do you have any tips to share with newbies?  Don't be afraid to try new things.