Stellar Seller---MyCabinCreations---11/16/07

Etsy Buy Handmade MyCabinCreations

The Stellar Seller for this week is Pam of MyCabinCreations. As you can see from the pictures above, Pam makes some wonderful beads and jewelry. Her handmade beads are a favorite among our Owls, and because of some great customer recommendations we've decide to feature her as a Stellar Seller this week.
Also, check out her website at WildSageLampwork
Furthermore, Pam's getting married in the next few days!!! Congrats, Pam!!!!

Tell us about you, and as much as you'd like to share with the Etsy world:
I am 42 years old and getting married for the very first time in only 23 days. I'm rather overwhelmed with that right now, but excited as well. My fiancé, Dale has 4 kids ages 17, 19, 21 and 23 and 1 grandson - 3 months old, and we have an adorable Springer Spaniel 'Tuck'. He is my 'baby'.

Let's hear about your shop and how you got started:
I took a lampworking class in May of 2006 and finally got my torch in October of that year. So I have only been at this wonderful craft for a little over a year. I spend as much time as I can on the weekends in my studio in the basement. My sweetie is very supportive of me and he actually built my studio for me last spring. I love having a shop on Etsy and meeting new people all over the world.

What inspires you to create?
I have always been 'crafty' but not always real 'creative'. That is something I have to work at. I usually get my inspiration in the middle of the night at work, when I can't do anything about it. I also get inspiration from my garden, (I have 32 rose bushes), from shopping in craft stores, and surfing online. I am still trying to develop my own style.

Describe yourself in one word:
Conscientious - I work as an RN in a Clinical Research Center, so it is somewhat regimented and precise. We follow protocols and do timed blood draws, drug studies, and sleep studies, etc. It is a great place to work. I think this carries over to my lampworking as well. I want to make the very best beads I can, and have satisfied customers.

What's your favorite...

Book:

I'm not sure I have a favorite book. I enjoy a variety of different topics, such as crime thrillers, romance, Stephen King novels, etc.

Movie:
My favorite movie is 'Stand By Me' by Stephen King. That is also a great book.

Song:

'I Believe' by Diamond Rio and 'Keeper of the Stars' by Tracy Bird. I listen to more alternative rock these days, although I still love Bob Seger and Chicago too.

Name That Owl Contest---

So you want to name the owl? First, we'd like to thank you for visiting our blog!

Second, we'd like to tell you a little about this contest!

We want to come up with a name for our little mascot friend. We thought, who better to do that than our fellow etsyians! This contest will run for two weeks, ending on 11/26/07. We will announce the winner sometime during the week of 11/26.


Here is how this contest works:

Leave your entry in the form of a “comment” on this blog.
Please provide your etsy shop address when you submit an entry so we can contact you! Not an Etsian? That's okay, you can name our owl too---just submit an entry and an email address!!!
On November 26th we will stop taking entries and vote on our favorites!
Before the week is out a winner will be announced! They will also be joined by two runners up!


Now, for the good stuff! The winner of the Name That Owl contest will receive a goody bag courtesy of the Off the Wall Ladies valued at about $40. It is a surprise bag of goodies but we will tell you that there are some awesome items that include, jewelry, bath and body, fiber arts and paper goods as well as some OWL themed trinkets!


The two runners up will receive a $5.00 gift certificate to one of our fine participating shops and some Owl pins and magnets!


Thanks for supporting the Owls! We are a fun group of gals who work hard to bring quality and goodness to the etsy community. Feel free to visit our shop at offthewall.etsy.com to learn more about us and how to become a member!

Rules:
**Current Owls are ineligible to participate in this contest.
**Entries should contain only one name only, multiple entries will not be accepted.

Stellar Seller---week of 11/11/07

Etsy Buy Handmade cozymoments

This week's Stellar Seller is one of our newer Owls, Michelle of CozyMoments. She makes yummy soaps & bath & body stuff. :) Check out her shop

Tell us about your shop and how you got startedMy shop, Cozy Moments, started out of a desire to create luxurious Bath & Body Products,
creamy, moisture-rich bars of Soap and Natural Soy Wax Candles. I suffered from dry skin most of my life and no matter what expensive soap or body cream I purchased, I was still left with dry skin! :( I then became passionate about creating pampering and soothing products that would rid me of my dry skin and I can honestly say Cozy Moments products cured me of my dry skin and are handmade with love! I also loved burning candles but I would be left with a headache after burning store bought candles. I researched this and learned the main ingredient was paraffin. I decided to experiment with natural waxes and now I can enjoy burning candles with no headaches! My Natural Soy Wax Candles are made with my proprietary special blend of soy wax, beeswax, and other natural waxes - NO paraffin. I taught myself back in 1999 - 2001 and haven't been able to stop ever since! I spent a few years researching and experimenting before I began to sell my goodies. I LOVE what I do! All of my products are made with my own hands in small batches with the finest ingredients available!

What inspires you to create?
The love for pampering and creativity. Being creative is the part I enjoy the most. I love creating new recipes, new scent blends, and new products.

Describe yourself in one word: Determined
What's your favorite...
book "50 Simple Ways to Pamper Yourself" by Stephanie Tourles
movie "Titanic", what can I say, I am a romantic at heart. ;)
song "100 Years" by Five for Fighting. I lost my dear father in June 2007 and I made him a video memorial and used this song for the memorial. It is not just a beautiful song, it now reminds me of my Dad and his life.

Stellar Seller---11/2---ExecuteMe

Etsy Buy Handmade Executeme

Our Stellar Seller this week is none other than Maria of executeme, who was one of the founding four Owls. She has since left us, and we miss her terribly!!! Maria's shop is full of awesome photography and some of the most unique earrings on Etsy. Her interview follows.

Tell us all about you, & as much as you'd like to share with the Etsy world:

I have a very long name. Whenever I have to sign something with my full name, people always start tapping their fingers on the desk and let out a sigh. It doesn't get any easier when I have to sign multiple documents and my hand starts cramping up.

My name is Maria Eugenia Euphrosyne af Rolén and I have lived in Sweden all my life. I only moved to the States about a year ago after meeting some guy in New York City. Together we adopted a puppy from a kill shelter. She was locked up in a small cage with a bunch of other dogs when we found her. And they had all been pooping on her. Her fur was full of it, and she was rather smelly, but awfully cute. So we took her home, gave her a bath, and named her Poopy. Since then I've been stuck here. In a small town on the border of WestVirginia that I had never heard of prior to moving here.

Let's hear about your shop & how you got started:

It started out as a place for me to sell some of my photography. Photography is what I do for a living, and it's what I studied for 5 years in Sweden. The last two of those years was at a private school run by cynical evil artists that on average made us work 7 days a week from 7 in the morning until 3 at night. It was quite intense, to say the least. And there were periods of time where we didn't get to sleep for 5 days straight. The few hours of sleep we did get was usually on the floor of a photo studio, wrapped up in muslin backgrounds to keep us warm. It was two very emotionally draining years. They broke us down, and then built us up only to break us down again. But it was the best time of my life.

But ironically, I have yet to sell one single print on Etsy. Instead I started stumbling across all these beads. I'm not sure how it started, but it became a passion that soon turned into what can only be described as an addiction. I felt the need to rescue all the vintage beads I could possibly find out there, no matter how old or dusty, to give them a new chance in life. The result can be seen in the earrings that I'm now selling in my shop.

What inspires you to create?

The voices in my head.

And puppies. I now donate 10% of all my proceeds to a local animal rescue for abandoned and abused animals. It's a no kill shelter that provides dogs and cats with food and shelter until they are adopted into new loving homes.

Describe yourself in one word:

I guess it would be eclectic. I'm kind of all over the place. I get bored very easily and find myself trying out new things all the time. Be it wreck diving or spelunking, I'm always striving to find new things to fill my life with. Or rather, things that will fill me with life.

What's your favorite...

Book:

This question gets me every time. I read so much that it would be impossible to pick just one book. But I can say that I enjoy psychological thrillers. Things that make me use my noodle.

Movie:

Patch Adams

Song:

It all depends what mood I'm in. So I'm going to cheat again, and just name a few of my favorite bands and musicians; Elliott Smith, Moby, Dire Straits, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Cowboy Junkies, Tegan andSara, Lisa Ekdahl, Cornelis Vreeswijk, Sonic Youth, and finally The Clash.