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Get to know......32NorthSupplies

What is your Etsy shop name? How did you come up with that name?

The name of my etsy shop is 32NorthSupplies and is a simple variation of the name of my business: 32 Degrees North. Since 1881 my family has lived in Encinitas, CA, a sleepy beach town in San Diego County, and "32 Degrees North" is the latitude of our county. It was only natural to choose a name that reflected where we come from.

What sort of crafting supplies do you sell?

I sell a wide variety of supplies: lots of scraps and die-cuts, a large selection of Dresden foils from Germany, fancy papers (metallic, doilies, paper lace), pretty millinery flowers, a handful of fancy metallic and fabric trims, blank tins in various sizes and a random mix of miscellaneous things (like molds, wooden blocks, cosmetic testers and more) that I've parted with from my own supply collection.

Favorite website(s) aside from Etsy?

Aside from etsy I like http://www.ebay.com for searching out unique vintage finds, http://www.surfline.com for checking local beach and weather reports (some great ideas come during time spent at the beach), and http://ninacamic.blogspot.com for gorgeous photography, inspiring travel tales and great writing.



Do you craft yourself? If so, what do you like to make?

Crafting and creating has always been a big part of my life. My grandmother taught me to embroider, sew and knit when I was really young and I took to it right away. In high school I found a vintage chair by the side of the road, re-upholstered it in a funky blue and white floral fabric, then made myself a matching summer dress. Nowadays, though, I'm consumed with creating vintage-inspired holiday ornaments with many of the supplies I sell, dabbling in photography and occasionally doing an oil painting.

Please tell us one thing that nobody would know about you.

I've been an avid surfer since I was a teenager. I hit the water several times a week to unwind, stay fit, collect my thoughts and just plain have fun.

What is your favorite thing to make for dinner?

My favorite dinner to prepare is fresh guacamole with spicy black beans and corn tortillas -- those California avocados are hard to refuse!

What goals do you have for your shop over the next year?

I'd like to reach a wider audience, draw in new customers who don't already know about etsy, and, of course, increase sales.

If you sell on other venues, where else can we find your items?

I also have a website dedicated to supplies: http://www.32DegreesN.com
And at my blog visitors can learn more about the supplies I offer: http://32DegreesN.blogspot.com

Get to know... NKPbeads

What is your Etsy shop name? How did you come up with that name?

NKPbeads is my Etsy Shop Name ... I initially started at Etsy with my
pottery and beads combined in one storefront (nkpdesigns), but I
quickly found that my beads were overtaking the pottery. They clearly
needed their own venue.

I kept the "nkp" which are my three initials for "Natalie Kay Pappas".
I have worked in so many mediums over the years that I wanted a
generic business name that would work with any type of product I ended
creating, so I used "Designs", then "beads". If I had to do it over, I
think I would use something with the word Pottery Bead" or "Ceramic
Bead" in it. However, this name (NKPbeads) does make it possible to
destash some of my gemstone beads and I do hope to find the time to do
some of that eventually.

What sort of crafting supplies do you sell?

I sell homemade pottery (ceramic) beads, in earthenware, stoneware,
and porcelain. These have unique textures, others are stamped, some
are made from vintage buttons that I have molded, some I sculpt into
animals like elephants or dogs. I also make small clay 'bead'
whistles and pendants.

I enjoy taking commercial (and homemade) glazes and combining them to
get an entirely new look. I also love to layer glazes on a bead to see
what will shimmer from underneath. I like to apply a certain glaze
combination on a bead and then take idea and use it on a bigger piece
of pottery, like a mug, bowl, or a vase. It's a way to experiment
small and yet have something unique, fun, and hopefully beautiful in
the end.

Favorite website(s) aside from Etsy?

My favorite website is Ceramic Arts Daily
(http://ceramicartsdaily.org/) ... so many great (and free) pottery
video tutorials on there!


Do you craft yourself? If so, what do you like to make?

I enjoy making jewelry from my beads. I paint (watercolors), as well
as sew. Oh, and I love to crochet, too.

Please tell us one thing that nobody would know about you.

I got interested in learning Koine (common) Greek when my kids were
little. I homeschooled them and needed something quiet to do. If I
crafted, then I would get so involved in that I would forget about
schooling them. I didn't want to do that, so I took non-accredited "at
home" classses from a local seminary and ended up taking 36 hours in
that particular language alone. It was so interesting and I enjoyed
learning to read the Bible in the original Greek. Does reading the
orginal Greek Bible make it theologically different than reading an
English Bible? No. However, it has been interesting to see how the
sentence structure differs and how certain things are emphasized ...
but theologically everything is the same (that's the question I'm most
asked about that, anyway).

What is your favorite thing to make for dinner?

Grilled chicken and stir fried vegetables.

What goals do you have for your shop over the next year?

My goal is to be consistently active in my shop and to offer new bead
designs weekly.

If you sell on other venues, where else can we find your items?

I currently am only selling on Etsy.

Visit NKPbeads wonderful shop here

ESST Vintage - Oldies but Goodies :)

Thanks RunsWithScissors4

August Shopping Extravaganza

The Etsy Supply Street Team - ESST - is proud to announce the "August - Weekend Shopping Extravaganza".

The August event will be Saturday, August 1st and Sunday 2nd, 2009.

Come and Join us. Post a comment and link your shop.

ALL ETSY SHOPS - HANDMADE, SUPPLIES AND VINTAGE - are invited to participate by placing an announcement in your shop and joining in with promoting on the "Official" Promotional thread in the Etsy Forums. This will be a “Shopping Event” similar to a Public Marketplace. There will not be a "Overall theme" since Etsy is a Global Marketplace hence, the seasons, cultures, holidays, etc. can vary quite a bit. Although not required, we do strongly encourage shops to have a feature, theme or sale as this can pique interest and help you to draw people to your shop. You do not have to participate for the whole weekend simply join in when you can on the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums.

Here is the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6236075 The only requirement is that you have a shop on Etsy and help promote by joining in and bumping the thread throughout the weekend. Talk about your shop and what you have to offer our shoppers. Those of you who blog or twitter can post and/or tweet about it and promote to people that are off Etsy to visit us. It will provide the Etsy community with publicity, making our shops more visible, and hopefully creating a monthly event shoppers will look forward to. If you have any questions please convo http://www.etsysupplystreetteam.etsy.com/.

Activities For a Rainy Day with Small Children

by Deirdre Ryan - BlackbirdsCloset

i love rainy days. add thunder and lightening and some wind and i'm ecstatic! of course this does add some challenges when you have a 2 year active little girl/boy. having my mom being a retired para professional with kindergartners helps. here are some activities that we do:

go to michael's or ac moore and find the super marked down pre-cut wooden flat shapes. we found some that were .29 cents and .15 cents each. then small bottles of tempura paints in different colours. we found a 6 pack that was perfect and cost $4.99. the paint we then squirt out in little cups or this little crayola fingerpaint thing that we have been re-using. the great thing about tempura paint is that its washable!

we also use my paper shape punchers that i have for my business and use construction paper to cut out shapes with. then using non-toxic glue sticks with you can get super cheap at the dollar store, she can glue the shapes onto each other and larger pieces of paper. we also use the colourful circulars from the sunday papers for her to glue with too. then talk about the colour, sizes of shapes and what the cut out items are as you glue them.

make sure though that you use a newspaper on the table surface to protect things with ;) and although tempura paint is non-toxic and washable, make sure to have the little ones wear a painting smock or apron :)

reading books from the library, playing "put things away" by shape and colour and dress up. that works with boys too. i have items from my "before years" that we can play with.

then as a treat for good behavior, i let her watch some noggin :D

for the seasoned moms out there, i'm sure this is all nothing new. but perhaps someone else can use some new ideas ;)

please share and post a comment on what you do with the little ones during rainy days!

Flowers...

Let's Meet Plurfection!

Get to know Plurfection!

*What do you sell? Beads, Pendants and Findings

*What's your favorite item/line that you sell? The faceted amethyst briolettes. I wish I could keep them all.

*Give us an idea on how to use your products. They should be used to make wonderful handcrafted items.

*How did you choose your user name? from the phrase PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity and Respect)

*Street clothes or Pajamas? Street Clothes

*Biggest indulgence or guilty pleasure? Chocolate!

*Favorite food? Definitely Sushi

*Favorite craft website (not Etsy)? Pandora.com, Mycraft.com

*What is one thing that nobody would know about you.that I like having breakfast for dinner

*What are your plans/goals for 2009? To sell all of my supplies

*Where else do you sell? Other IDs, sites, local shops, etc. I have two other Etsy shops: My gemstone jewelry shop http://www.jewelicide.etsy.com/ and my bright, funky and sometimes kawaii jewelry http://allysin.etsy.com/