This week I am really excited to be featuring BaileyBowls, a seller that has been on my “favorites” list for a while now. Her berry bowls and little strawberry dishes are on the top of my wish list.  I hope you enjoy getting to know a little bit about her and her ceramics.

1.Your name and/or Store Name: My name is Lisa and my store is named BaileyBowls. It is named after my dog Bailey.

2. A little about yourself (besides crafting): I live in SF bay area which is great for the weather and the restaurants.  In my spare time, I do long walks with Bailey and garden.  Most of my inspiration comes from those strolls and just being around nature.  My store is pottery-centric but I love to sew, crochet, knit and do anything and everything to create things with my hands.

Berry Bowl Set - The Wizard

3. Describe the items you would find in your store? I love all well designed things and I love nature so I strive to combine the two in my ceramic pieces.   The whimsical and/or cute element is part of my design as well because I think laughter is most important in life.  If I can make just one person smile after peeking at my store, I think I’ve achieve quite a lot.  Bailey is incorporated in a lot of my piece because what can I say…I love my doggie.

4. How long have you been doing your craft/how did you get started? I’ve been doing ceramics for about 15 years.  I took a ceramics class with a co-worker of mine 15 years+ ago in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.  We would trek there Monday nights after a long day at work.  It didn’t matter because the instructor was fantastic and I love, love, love working with clay – you can say I got bitten by the clay-bug.  I had set up my own ceramic studio about 5 years back and can now isolate myself there to focus on creating.

5. Is this your full time job? What were you doing before this? No, I have a day job that pays the bills and for health insurance.  Once things take off, I will quit that job and focus on what is fun.

6. What is the toughest obstacle you have run into? I think during dry spells, I question whether what I do is good enough.

7. What inspires you? Well…my sleeping dog inspires me.  He is so serene and calm when he sleeps that I love to capture that into my drawings of him.  These drawings eventually make it into my sushi platters.  Nature – trees, flowers, leaves and such inspire me too.  And…sometimes, ideas just pop into my head out of nowhere.  I jot those down in my sketch book and months later, I would act upon them.  My husband is my anchor.  He validates some of my designs and encourages me everyday.  He is also my idea man when I am completely blank.

8. What is your favorite item in your shop and why? My favorite fluctuates from day to day.  I would say the Berry Bowl Set – The Wizard because I have been experimenting a bit and letting the clay tell me what to do.  This series is all free form, abstract and as unique as can be.  Unlike manufactured goods, when you hold this piece in your hand, you sense that it was created by human hands and tells a story.

9. What is the best piece of advice you have for other artists? Be patient, don’t give up and keep doing what you love.

10. Where would you like to be in 5 years? I would love to be making a living doing my art. 

If you would like to learn more about Lisa and her designs you can follow her on twitter, fan her on facebook, read her blog or check out her Flickr site.

Posted by: Becca | Twitter | Etsy

This week’s featured shop/seller is Elm Studios by Erin Meissner.  I hope you enjoy learning about Erin as much as I did ~ Becca

1. Your name and/or Store Name:  Elm Studios by Erin L Meissner

2. A little about yourself (besides crafting):  I am a hardworking single mother of two who lives in Buffalo NY, not because I like to be cold (at all) but because my support system is here. I love anything that’s warm.:) Family is always my number one priority. I would do anything to help a friend, and give anything to just sit with them and enjoy a cup of hot apple cider (a warm example of happiness). I love it when everything is in its place, and usually can’t sleep if my life feels like it’s up in the air. I guess this would make me somewhat of a control freak.:) In a different life I would love to be an interior designer or a stager. I love to paint the interior of houses and buying blankets and throw pillows use to be somewhat of an addiction for me. Getting hugs and kisses from my girls are always the highlights of my day; they make me feel centered and whole. 

"Fly" Bowl

3. Describe the items you would find in your store.  The items you would find in my shop are lots and lots of personalized bowls, for every occasion (weddings, baby showers, baptisms, anniversaries, birthdays…I can keep going.:) The beauty of personalizing a bowl is you can look though my shop to get ideas, and then work with me to make it extra special…change a saying or a design…mix and match, there really are endless possibilities. There are also some generic bowls in my shop with just simple encouraging words to brighten anyone day. The designs I’ve created and use are simple and unique. The colors can be classy, or bright and rustic. My daughter Ella (6) is anxiously waiting her tooth to be lose, so we’re in the process of making a special tooth fairy bowl for her.:)

4. How long have you been doing your craft/how did you get started?  I started Elm Studios back in 2005 when Ella was napping about two times a day and I was bored beyond belief! I took money that I had saved from graduation gifts that I received years earlier and decided to start Elm Studios, which was always a dream of mine. Besides just knowing I wanted my own shop, I had no idea what I wanted to sell. I started making jewelry and would hold jewelry party after jewelry party. My sister was the one who told me about Etsy. I joined about the same time that I was decorating Ella’s bedroom with a bird theme. I got the idea to make a piece of pottery with a bird design in it for her room and my creative ways just exploded. I took the idea and listed a bowl on Etsy… I think it took 2 days for it to sell, which was an amazing feat for me. I ran with the idea and over time have created over 100 designs. Elm Studios product has grown with me over time into a product I am very proud of! 

5. Is this your full time job? What were you doing before this?  Elm Studios is my full time job. I wouldn’t have it any other way at the moment. It’s given me the opportunity to stay home with my girls, run them all over the place for kindergarten and preschool and work around their schedule. I’m constantly struggling with balancing everything, but somehow everything is always taken care of. Before Elm Studios, I was a stay at home mom for about a year. Before that I worked at Body Electric, which was a fitness corporation. I was Margaret Richard’s assistant / office manager…she sold work out videos and use to be on PBS. My mom use to workout to her on PBS when I was a kid, so the job was kind of surreal. It taught me a lot of business, which was something that benefited me.

6. What is the toughest obstacle you have run into?  Moving back into my parent’s house with my girls after going through a divorce. Elm Studios was just a side hobby at this point. It was rough going from a world where I had my own house and own rules to a world where I felt like I was 18 again…except this time with my children. Now looking back on it my parents gave me the opportunity to grow my business and raise my little girls just like I always wanted to. It has made me into a stronger person! 

7. What inspires you?  My biggest inspiration would be Ella and Myah. Everyday I work on my art is another day that I’m showing them to do something that makes you happy. You may have to make sacrifices, but as long as your priorities are in line it’s well worth it. 

8. What is your favorite item in your shop and why?  This is tougher then I thought! If I had to pick a favorite it would probably be my “Fly Bowl“. My little birds, to me, are my signature pieces… and my fly bowl was one of the first pieces to start selling. It’s a simple word with a small little bird, which encourages a big message.

9. What is the best piece of advice you have for other artists?  “To accomplish great things we must dream as well as act”.

10. Where would you like to be in 5 years?  Living in my own place, still playing with my girls, maybe buying some extra throw pillow and blankets for extra warmth.:) I would love to join different networks of crafters in the community since working by myself can get a little lonely. Buffalo does have a great artist network and I can’t wait to have the time to dive into it when Myah’s in kindergarten. Also, I would like to say I’ve been to Ireland or Italy in five years.:)

Posted by: Becca | Twitter | Etsy

Christmas is less than two weeks away and my plan to shop this weekend was derailed by  me catching some horrendous travel bug. The idea of me going out in public doesn’t seem to be a possibility so online shopping will have to do this year. For my dad I was looking for something cooking related – he is an awesome chef!! I found the shop TheSpiceConnection where they sell all kinds of spices and rubs.

The owners of the shop, Ben and Ashley, are a husband and wife team who love to cook and  just added this shop to their list of other etsy shops last month.  Their spices are sent to you in 1.5 oz glass jars, each labeled and sealed for safe delivery.

Master Griller Spice Set

The set I am looking at for my dad is the Master Griller Magnetic Spice Kit. This set comes with ten spice blends that add great flavor to any meat.  The glass jars are magnetized with a neodymium magnet – so you can stick them to just about any magnetic surface – the magnets are REALLY strong!  They also sell magnetic boards just in case you don’t have a magentic surface already.

With any of their sets you can substitute out spices by just adding a message in the “notes to seller” section at checkout.

Posted by: Becca | Twitter | Etsy