IKEA...

Its been almost a year since I've taken the annual trip to IKEA in Chicago. I'm getting spring fever and that means its almost time for a day trip!! I found this awesome orange dot duvet cover...now if I can only convince my husband to let me use orange as an accent wall in bedroom??! Hmmm....

ChicCosas...Before and After...

Before...
After...I received my custom purse from ChicCosas in the mail today! Yay! I drew up this design in Illustrator, sent Deborah the fabric, and she worked her magic! I absolutely love it!!! A big thank you to Deborah Maciel from ChicCosas.

Please check out her website and order a hand bag or ask for a custom quote. Deborah is super sweet and her finished hand bags will knock your socks off!

New My Guys!

I seriously don't know why I love these so much--maybe its because they're limited edition, or because a new set is only released every 3 months...

I read the e-mail (probably within a couple hours of it being sent) announcing the special etsy release and they were almost sold out already!! Meredith is a marketing genius!

I was lucky to grab my favorite (pic above). How cute is this couple?

photo courtesy of corporate pig

All Posters dot com SALE

Huge sale at allposters.com with free shipping on orders over $9.99! Most posters are $3-$6 each. A great time to do some spring cleaning and hang up some new art!

Wired Originals...

I'm just full of interviews this week! This Q&A is with Cari from Wired Originals. She was so nice to help critique my blog when it first started and offered to do a post for me--thanks Cari!

I really like Cari's designs and I'm smitten with her "dizzy" ring (picture at left above). Cari would also like to mention that she's proud of her new earrings creation -- "Pendulum" (picture at right above), now available on her website...

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Please describe your inspiration behind the "dizzy" ring...
I've always been fond of spirals and swirls--probably due to my love for water. When I first started making jewelry in early 2007, I saw a free tutorial for a ring that was similar...I tweaked it a bit and came up with my own style, and "Dizzy" was born.

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What was your inspiration to start your site?
Friends and family were encouraging me to start my own business after seeing what I was coming up with. I don't live in an area with a lot of good craft fairs or shows, so selling online was the best choice for me. I've also starting listing on Etsy.

Describe the style of your site...
My site is always evolving. Every once in awhile I'll change the colors or the background, but I always try to keep the overall mood one of sophistication with a side of fun.

How has your business changed/grown since its beginning?
In the beginning, I wasn't really sure what I was doing, or even if I should keep doing it. All I knew for sure was I loved making jewelry and I just kept hoping other people would love it, too. It's been a slow start, but business is definitely picking up. Jewelry is hard because there's so much competition, but once your quality becomes known, word spreads much faster.

Internet businesses can be a love/hate relationship...what issues have you run into as far as site maintenance, customer service, shipping?
In the beginning getting good, clear images was my biggest hurdle--I really struggled with that. I now feel I have that part pretty well down, but the actual picture taking, editing and uploading take a long time. I spend WAY more time on images and printing off hang tags, etc., than I do on making jewelry unfortunately. I've streamlined my process as much as possible, but I'm always looking for ways to make it more efficient. My boyfriend built the basic template for my site (bless his heart) but everything else I do myself. It can be time consuming, but I like having control of the design and content.

As far as customer service goes, I make it a point to always send out a 'thank you' email as soon as I see a purchase has been made...I think a personal note is very important and appreciated.

Where do you see your biz in 5 years?
In 5 years, I hope to be able to support myself full-time with my jewelry. I work full-time at the local library right now, and it's not easy juggling the two, but I can't give either one up! I hope to slowly phase out my 'day' job over the next few years.

How do you package your products...do you include a handwritten note? cute paper?...
I designed my own logo, and found some natural looking cardstock that I use for both my jewelry tags, and gemstone meanings cards. I include both of those inside a plastic bag, for tarnish resistance, and usually put inside a silver drawstring pouch. I'll also do a brown craft jewelry box if it's requested. I also try to write a 'thank you' somewhere, usually on the tag.

If your shop could be featured on any website, magazine, art show, etc. for free--what would you choose?
There are so many! One that definitely comes to mind is the ReadyMade mag, though, because their readership values quality handcrafted goods. Their ads are very well done, but way too pricey for me at this point!

Being on the front of Etsy would be nice, too :)

Little Paper Planes...

After making an order for an art print from Little Paper Planes, I decided to e-mail kelly and ask her to do a q&a interview about her business Little Paper Planes for me. She graciously agreed. Here are the questions that I asked kelly...

What was your inspiration to start your site Little Paper Planes?

I started the site as a place for me to sell stuff my friends and I make to help support us while pursuing painting and art making.

Describe the style of your site...

Its a site that features young and emerging artists that tends to be on the illustrative style. I specialize mainly in art prints and artist type books and zines but also carry bags, jewelry and t shirts.

How has your business changed/grown since December 2004?

ha, its grown a lot. It went from a few orders and a few artists to lots of orders and lots of artists. It went from everything being hand written to all computerized, no standing in lines at the post office, I expanded by having a blog telling about art shows, new products and artists and now I will be doing a line of exclusive letterpress prints with the artists as well having the first little paper planes art show which will be in September here in LA.

Internet businesses can be a love/hate relationship...what issues have you ran into as far as site maintenance, customer service, shipping?

All of the above. I can say I hate shipping with a passion. I have been doing it once a week for three years so needless to say it is not fun. I will be getting an intern at some point to start helping me with the shipping since its time to let go of that and trust other people to package my orders. (I am super anal in packaging so I want to make sure the person makes sure the packages are perfectly packaged.) There are always technical problems, server issues etc. which is never fun but my boyfriend is good with that stuff so he helps me out. I am actually in the process of getting the site completely redone so it will function and navigate way better. I am a big fan of customer service, thats probably the thing I do the most on the site, I always try to keep it personal with all my customers, at least as much as I can.

Where do you see Little Paper Planes in 5 years?

I really don't know, its really hard to say. I never had a plan to begin with so everything has been a pleasant surprise and I feel completely grateful to sell some great work and send art to so many different people all over the world. I hope it will be running like a proper business with a warehouse and I will have people working for me, more exclusives, artist books, and more shows.

What category(ies) do your top 5 products fall into?

art prints

How do you package your products...do you include a handwritten note? cute paper?...

They are packaged in all sorts of stuff, mainly flat mailers, tubes, and bubble mailers. I used to try to do the cute stuff but I just don't have the time when you are packaging 75-100 orders at a time and 1-10 items per order it is just too hard to be all cute. I used to write on the packing slips but that again just takes to much time. I always include a LPP postcard, sometimes stickers and sometimes tea. I ship once a week on Thursdays and it usually is an almost 11 hour day.

What advice would you give artists who want to consign with Little Paper Planes?

Make sure you really look at the other art on the site and see if your work compliments it. You want to make sure you have a similar aesthetic to the other artists. If you feel like it could work you can email me and show me your art.

If your shop could be featured on any website, magazine, art show, etc. for free--what would you choose?

Well, my favorite magazine is Nylon and it IS going to be featured in May! So exciting! Though I welcome all press, its always a good thing.

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Prints that are featured in the main picture above are (from left to right)...Healing Crystals Print by Ryan Jacob Smith, Migration Print by Traci Edwards, Bear Jumper Print by Brooke Bobridge, Butterflies Print Cole Gerst/Option-g, and Big City Girl Print by Rachell

vote for me! My name is Tucker...

Vote for my dog Tucker at the Bissell MVP contest! Voting is open March 18th - 25th!

all about the green...

Etsy Buy Handmade makeshiftmodern

Its all about the green today :) My St. Patrick's Day contribution with etsy favorites in green polka dots! Click on the pics for more info.

Alternative Motivation...

Found this site blog hopping today and I'm impressed by the creative stance and mission statement of Right Brain Terrain. After going to college for graphic design, I love finding sites that encourage the use of "real design" and have a passion for their cause...

copied from site (copyright right brain terrain dot com)...
"Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, USA, Right Brain Terrain ("RBT") was established in 2005 to produce Alternative Motivational Posters (affectionately known as "AMPs"). AMPs avoid the all-too-established formula of the mainstream motivational poster: color photograph, giant type, faux frame thingy, and inspirational quote on blindingly shiny paper. RBT believes that such posters serve a purpose and a specific audience, but since they don't appeal to me, I decided to create ones that do."

Don't have the extra space or cash at the moment? Download one of the 3 FREE desktop backgrounds here.

online discounts that work...

Without the ability to use search engines, online forums and coupon sites, I would never be able to purchase as much as I do from the internet. Having a department store credit card is nice, but its not always fun keeping track of third party payment programs and potentially high late fees. Sometimes you need a last minute gift, or wish to order an item only available online...

Do your wallet a favor and check out these sites before you make your next purchase online!

A ton of discount opportunities just for having a VISA credit card:
http://usa.visa.com/personal/discounts/index.jsp?ep=v_sym_discounts

Retail Me Not dot com* -- type in your store and use any of the submitted discount codes:
http://www.retailmenot.com/
*sometimes on the above site, you have to try a few codes before one will work, the codes are user submitted so some may be bogus...but there are codes that do save you $$!

My Points -- Just click on e-mails and double your points when you shop! Easy service, I've been a member for a few years now and have fun getting gift cards for myself and friends!
https://www.mypoints.com/emp/u/index.vm

The Switchboards -- "Wheels and Deals" forum -- now you can get the lastest deals from all of your favorite indie businesses.
Click Here

wrap it up...

Now you can be "green", wrap on the go, be the envy of the party or wrap up something for your man...

(1) Erin Ruth LIV WRAP $10 / 2 large sheets, (2) Annie Catherine Go-Go Wrap "Dots" $3.95 / kit, (3) Elum Designs Butterfly Drift - Chocolate $5.00 / bag, (4) Whimsy Press Dude Wrap $4.50 / sheet

etsy mini...

Etsy Buy Handmade makeshiftmodern

Calling all etsy users! If you haven't made an "etsy mini" yet, you should! Its fun and so.. simple!

Just log in to your etsy account, click on "your etsy", and then click on "etsy mini" (last option on the left). It lets you build your own little quilt full of your products or even your favorites that you have marked! Just copy the code to your blog or website...I love simple things!

A+R store...

New finds from A+R store! (1) Suck UK's Carve Your Own Post Card $12, (2) Paul Koh's Silicone Carry-On Travel Bottles $22 / set of 2, (3) Con and Con's "Calle" Gardening Tools $38 / set, (4) Authentics All Wax Julia Candles $48 / set of 2, (5) Sagaform's Circle Tealight Holder $22.

Please take the time to browse the site and read the product descriptions. Most of the products have more than one purpose. For example, the gardening tools (#3), are designed to take up less space in the garage as well as stick upright in the ground so they will always be close when you are planting a large bed of flowers!

stop motion...

Check out this YouTube video by donjuseyo. Its titled "time of your life-stop motion" and it features some great streaming video work courtesy of donjuseyo, Photoshop CS2 and Premiere PRO 1.5.

cupcake wrappers...

I'm in the mood of making cupcakes today. While I was on flickr looking at yummy cupcake decorating ideas, I noticed there was more than one way to wrap a cupcake :) Surprisingly affordable, I've selected a few of my favorites from Fancy Flours, click on the site to visit the entire collection! These would be perfect for a party or wedding!

urban backsplash...

At first glance, I just noticed the little car and maybe the shiny stainless steel...upon further inspection, I noticed the city skyline back splash. What a unique idea for an urban kitchen! Kohimo (a British company) prints the images on glass for a sophisticated feel. A special thanks to apartment therapy where I swiped the image today :)

Togo Sofa...

Okay -- I just noticed these "Togo" sofas in the new issue of Metropolitan Home Magazine and I've fallen in love with them! More info and pics here...

office fun...

Check out this cute desk accessory from umbra.com. Add some organization and a little piece of the outdoors to your desk today!

Hannah Stouffer...

Ran across this artwork on little paper planes today and love the dimension of Hannah's work. Her illustrations have been featured in national magazines as well as on product lines. Her website is worth a look!

moss online...

Couldn't resist posting these super funky chairs from moss online today! Made from stuffed animals and various textiles, these chairs not only look comfy, they would be great for a kids room too!

Angela Adams...

Fresh modern designs from the Angela Adams collection. Check out the matching bathroom linens as well as the cute soaps, hand bags and even modern decorated cookies!

good design book...

I just finished reading and experimenting with the above book. I would highly recommend this title for any design professional or anyone who still prefers Quark over InDesign. It really highlights the benefits of the Adobe Suite while giving you tips that you can actually use --from school projects to professional jobs. The soft cover version is only $31.11 from buy.com (with free shipping too!)