The ‘Daily Artisan Spotlight’ is a regular feature on Mindless Pursuits intended to provide insight and exposure to the tons of talented artisans working today. Please comment and give them some encouragement and check out their work! If you would like to be in the Spotlight, click on the ‘Free Press’ link above!

What is your shop?
From Sweden With Love (http://miinna.etsy.com)

What is your art/craft?
I edit digital photographs, mainly taken in magical Sweden where I was born and raised. I love playing with colours and making them look a little vintage. My biggest passion in photographing is capturing nature and the wonders of the world.

Describe your style in 2 words:
Alternative reality?

What is your favorite piece and why?
Hmm. My favourite piece is probably one that hasn’t been added to my shop yet, but will really soon. It’s from a walk in these wonderful cherry blossom days we have in early spring, because it’s still early spring here, and the colours came out so soothing and bright and could make anyone happy.

What is the most memorable piece of advice you’ve ever received?
In crafting? Probably to never use a flash, but that is probably a really shallow piece of memorable advice. But it’s very true.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give?
Hmm, well I couldn’t say I have much experience in a lot of different crafting, but in art, and especially photography I would probably pass on the very good advice I got myself. Also, I would like to say that even though nature looks better natural, and some might say that computer editing would give a false impression, there is nothing natural in a photograph anyway, and illusion is perceptive.

And to take really good prints, you need to your camera everywhere. You never know what to find

The ‘Daily Artisan Spotlight’ is a regular feature on Mindless Pursuits intended to provide insight and exposure to the tons of talented artisans working today. Please comment and give them some encouragement and check out their work! If you would like to be considered for the Spotlight, click on the ‘Free Press’ link above!

What is your shop? Buster and Boo (http://busterandboo.etsy.com) and Woolies (http://woolies.etsy.com)

What is your art/craft? Pendants made from reclaimed scrabble tiles and papers, sometimes vintage sheet music, sometimes foreign language, sometimes Chiyogami papers. I also do knitting, mainly stuffed animals.

Describe your style in 2 words: Fun! Thoughtful.

What is your favorite piece and why? My little animals take on a personality of their own as they are knitted. Their names and behaviors become their own. They come alive! Some of them I almost cannot sell; I fall in love with them. This has happened a few times. It’s crazy, I know. I kiss them goodbye as I tuck them into their packages. So I’ve had several favorites..

What is the most memorable piece of advice you’ve ever received? Be true to you.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give? You must WORK at promoting your shop; your work. If nobody knows about you, how can they discover your wonderfulness?

The ‘Daily Artisan Spotlight’ is a regular feature on Mindless Pursuits intended to provide insight and exposure to the tons of talented artisans working today. Please comment and give them some encouragement and check out their work! If you would like to be considered for the Spotlight, click on the ‘Free Press’ link above!

What is your shop? 
Handmade by…Rowena Allen (http://rowenaallen.etsy.com)

What is your art/craft? I design/make homewares and jewellery from vintage and recycled materials sourced from jumble sales, charity shops and flea markets.

I strongly believe in re-using what we already have, rather than constantly manufacturing something new. It is my aim to create beautiful new products out of items that have fallen out of favour with people and have been discarded. Turning unloved items into something new to treasure. 

Describe your style in 2 words: Vintage, Recycled

What is your favorite piece and why?
My favourite piece in my collection is one of my necklaces created from a vintage man’s neck tie! I love it because they’re very unique and very versatile as they can be worn in lots of different ways.

This is the link to it:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=11261251

What is the most memorable piece of advice you’ve ever received?
To keep going with what I do in times when I had doubts.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give?
Create what you love not what you think might sell, that way you’ll put much more effort into it and ultimatley create a lovel piece.

The ‘Daily Artisan Spotlight’ is a regular feature on Mindless Pursuits intended to provide insight and exposure to the tons of talented artisans working today. Please comment and give them some encouragement and check out their work! If you would like to be considered for the Spotlight, click on the ‘Free Press’ link above!

What is your shop?
Curu (http://curu.etsy.com)

What is your art/craft?
I make pendants using my own photography, old artwork, vintage images and contemporary art from artists from around the world. I set the images into hand soldered pewter then coat them in a thick layer of resin.

Describe your style in 2 words:
Variety, colorful

What is your favorite piece and why?
Right now I think the piece I like the most is “Christmas Tide”, featuring the artwork of a young artist named Amy from the UK. She’s really hoping for a career in the arts and was excited to collaborate with me, and we’ll be doing more together soon.

What is the most memorable piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Do whatever you love to do, money will follow.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give?
Do the crafts that you love, and use your own ideas and style. Don’t copy other artists just because they have sales and success.

As part of the kickoff of the monthly featured artisan feature, I am happy to bring you the second featured artisan: Sarah of Small Shiny Objects. Sarah creates beaded jewelry and other beaded gifts that she describes as ‘comfortable elegance.’ In Small Shiny Objects you will find necklaces, earrings, bracelets, crystal suncatchers and a couple of crafts from her little girl Laura! Most of her jewelry is made with a combination of semi-precious stones, Swarovski crystals, czech glass beads, and silver or gold-filled wire.  The occasional vintage piece makes it in there as well, when it suits her fancy. While she does not have a blog, she is frequently on the Etsy forums!

Now let’s see how Sarah responds to this month’s 20 Questions!

Sarah’s 20 Questions:

Let’s start at the beginning. What is your earliest crafting memory?  
My mother and grandmother would always find something to do with the materials we had at hand, whether it was crafting dolls out of wooden clothespins and cloth scraps, or cutting out ornaments from old wallpaper samples.  It was always something new! Read More

The ‘Daily Artisan Spotlight’ is a regular feature on Mindless Pursuits intended to provide insight and exposure to the tons of talented artisans working today. Please comment and give them some encouragement and check out their work! If you would like to be considered for the Spotlight, click on the ‘Free Press’ link above!

What is your shop?
Hare and Drum (http://hareanddrum.etsy.com)

What is your art/craft?
Collage and decoupage. Mostly picture frames.

Describe your style in 2 words:
What Tickles Me. Okay, that’s three words. I make whatever I find inspiration for at a given moment. That gives my shop a lot of product variety.

What is your favorite piece and why?
My favorite is the Medieval Manuscript frame shown here. The process of creating it was long and arduous: it involved finding and altering the right image, applying crackle to the frame, some 20 layers of final varnish to give it a smooth finish, and all the other minute steps. I love the result! It’s perfect! It’s my baby!

What is the most memorable piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Make what people want to buy, and it’s not always what you would want to buy. I’m still struggling with this one, but it’s always at the back of my mind. It is a bit of an impediment sometimes. That’s why I decided to make a bit of everything. I pour my heart into some, especially smaller and vintage inspired pieces, and my skill into the more marketable ones. I make it a point to have fun with the latter: burnout is not good.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give?
Never make anything because you must. All pieces I made under pressure landed either in the trash or on my husband’s workbench for sanding and reusing.

The ‘Daily Artisan Spotlight’ is a regular feature on Mindless Pursuits intended to provide insight and exposure to the tons of talented artisans working today. Please comment and give them some encouragement and check out their work! If you would like to be considered for the Spotlight, click on the ‘Free Press’ link in the site header!

What is your shop?
http://GalleriaLinda.etsy.com - handcrafted jewelry
http://GalleriaLindaLoft.etsy.com - vintage jewelry and supplies

What is your art/craft?
Contemporary beaded jewelry

Describe your style in 2 words:
Contemporary, modern

What is your favorite piece and why?
Oh, so hard to pick! I do love the Exotic Spice Necklace (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9691530 )

It unfolded as an organic design process from a visit to a bead shop. These beads just glimmered in the sunlight in the shop. I took them home and the design just “happened.” This is a great piece to take you from jeans to business suits to dressy dresses - it is very rich in color and texture and is one of my favorites due to the finishes and depth of color.

What is the most memorable piece of advice you ever received?
Do what you are passionate about and it will be a success. I love creating jewelry - it never tires me.

What is the one piece of advice you’d give?
If you desire to sell your designs, decide how you want them to be perceived in the marketplace - who you would envision would buy them. That alone will drive your marketing and your pricing.