Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
Hello. My name is Penelope, nice to meet you. I have the hardest time talking about myself, I mean, what would you like to know?
Well, this Sunday morning I slept in till 11:30 am and still haven't taken a shower... oh, wait-you probably want to know other stuff. Ok, here it goes... I live in Redondo Beach, California with my husband and two step kids, friends, two out of three older sisters, a niece and nephew, and most all of my husband's side of the family. Not in the same house, of course.
I have been through a crazy long creative block and have been finally able to let myself go. It's like sunlight breaking through the clouds. I think a lot. I daydream a lot. I like working off 'to do' lists but have many periods of procrastination. Laughing is my favorite, as well as being evil to my husband, hahahahahaha! I have high aspirations, tend to ramble on, confusing myself and others. I'm in one of those moods that just wants to be random. I'm going to the Pee Wee Herman Show, I tell everyone I can about Etsy, and am a proud member of team Eco Etsy (but I need to be more active!). I have been selling on Etsy for two years now and love every minute of it.
So this is me... at the moment.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I love to read, go on my walks, listen to music, cook pasta for my family, go to the movies, girls' night, date night, have tea, have dessert (I confess I love to eat!), housework-hold up, I don't love housework but it's what I have to do apart from creating, sleep, laugh, daydream, and love.
What first made you want to become an artist?
Oh man, I can't really remember. I was always interested in art but even though as a child I was proficient in my art classes (give me an assignment and I'd go off on it), I'd get home and look at my sketchbook and go blank.
I think the first time I knew I wanted to do something creative with my life was my first day of photo class in high school. We made a pinhole camera, took pictures and developed them. It was such a high.
So why am I not a photographer?! Hmmm, that's a whole other story.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
I'm still afraid of my sketchbook so I do a lot of visualization and once I know what I want something to look like then I'll put it down on paper. I try to start my day early but find myself loving working late at night when it's quiet and time seems to slow down.
I've taught myself a few different ways to screen print and my favorite is making my own silkscreen with an embroidery hoop and voile. It can get pretty time consuming and difficult if I want more details but it's like meditation to me. Most importantly I like to work with eco friendly fabrics/materials as much as possible. I have a giant stash of used and vintage clothing to go through and when I finally master time management my projects for them will be finished and listed!
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
Well, it's not one that I still physically possess but it's a dear memory I cherish. I think it was for my 8th or 9th birthday and my sister Tracey made my bday invitations. She made them to look like a treasure map so she used brown paper bags as paper and drew and colored each one, making our house as the "X marks the spot". She's a gifted artist as well. What blew me away is she even thought of burning the edges for an authentic feel. I was so blown away, I bragged about it to everyone in class the next day, even to the kids who weren't invited, oops! I've learned my manners since then but I still like to remember how cool that was.
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
books
White Oleander
Pride and Prejudice
The Medici Conspiracy
Ender's Game
The Golden Compass
movies
Pulp Fiction
True Romance
Pride and Prejudice
Fantastic Mr. Fox
any and every Horror/Thriller movie
songs/musical groups
Fiona Apple
Nina Simone
Beethoven
Arcade Fire
Phoenix
websites
Facebook
The Couture Exchange
Design Sponge
Eco Etsy blog
Beklina
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
I recently went to the Philippines to visit my mom and dad, I and all my sisters went. It was the first time in a very long while that we had been all together. The last night we were there my dad gave a speech with advice that he likes to give short and sweet. His advice that night was,
"Be true to yourself."
It resonated with what I have been experiencing this past year. Everything about Etsy, for me as a seller has been about doing things my way. Don't get me wrong, all the advice you read about taking good pics, how to write listings, branding, etc is essential and helpful but make sure you do it in your own voice, with your own vision.
And last but not least be good to your customers. Being professional yet personable goes a long way.
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
I really love the Gift Guides and receiving emails from Etsy. As to what new features, I don't know if it would technically work but I would just love to do everything in bulk, like could I list in bulk? Is there something like that already and I just haven't figured it out? I just recently realized I could link my Etsy to Facebook, so I don't if I'm the best person to give suggestions on this.
How do you promote your work?
I try to list something new or relist 5 days a week at different times of the day. Facebook has been working out well for me. Although I haven't done it in a while I like to submit items onto Craft Gawker. I joined Eco Etsy and I think it's been great joining a sub-community on Etsy.
I would really love to say that I don't really promote and my success has all been through word of mouth but honestly I work at promoting myself every day whether it's a status update on Facebook or selling at special events and craft fairs. What works? I have no clue, I'm still figuring that one out myself. I just try to have fun with it.
In ten years I'd like to be...
a successful Renaissance Woman. |
