Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
My name is Dana Osborne-Biggs. I live in Jersey City, NJ with my husband James and our dog Tigger. I graduated from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Arts with a BFA in Fashion Design, and after a brief stint as a milliner’s apprentice, I made my way to NYC to work in the garment industry. My day job is Senior Graphic Designer for an intimate apparel manufacturer, but at night I dive head first into the wonderful world of antique skeleton keys and beautiful, genuine leather, and I never want it to end. So, if I look ecstatic in my photo, it's because I am!
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I’ve always been a house cat. I overdose on HGTV and the Food Network, spend way too much time e-mailing friends and web surfing; I devour decorating magazines and snuggle up on the couch with my husband and dog, rubbing both their heads while watching mostly funny movies. I love listening to public and talk radio. I also like to poke around flea markets scouting for antique African-American photographs and vintage fabrics when the weather permits, or meet a friend in the city for some good food and catching up. Summertime lures me to outdoor concerts and festivals; it’s one of the things I love best.
What first made you want to become an artist?
I suspect it was my first day of school at Camp Allen Elementary when I walked timidly into Miss Newcomb’s class and saw the most amazing fruit-filled cornucopia that she had drawn in colorful pastels on the chalkboard. I couldn’t keep my eyes off it; I decided right then that she was really cool and I wanted to be and artist like her so I could draw like that too.
I remember being surrounded by a lot of creativity. I grew up looking over my big brother’s shoulder as he drew amazing caricatures or made his own crazy kite that won first place in the kite-flying contest at school. Right away I believe I got the impression that handmade was a good thing, and if you couldn’t buy it you could always just make it yourself.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
I don’t think there’s ever a time when I’m not designing or thinking about designing something. My space has always been scattered with a slew of unfinished sketchbooks, note pads, journals and sticky notes with ideas for products to make next. I can get inspiration from almost anything—a vintage textile on a decorator pillow I saw in a magazine, the latch of an old screen door, the curve of a corbel on the façade of a house, or a box full of crusty old keys.
I make my own patterns because I hate following other people’s directions and most commercial patterns are flimsy. I’m very picky about my materials. The leather has to look good, feel good and smell good. The joy is in the details, so I spend an awful lot of time collecting old keys that look old and have the most beautiful patina and high quality-fabrics and trims; then I take great pride in assembling those elements with careful attention to craftsmanship and aesthetic appeal.
This magic usually happens once I’m in my pajamas, after dinner, while listening to Dr. Joy Browne’s call-in radio show, and then The World Café on WFUV.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
It has to be a large 1947 portrait painting of a Black woman in a splashy red dress and tall, colorful turban. Though her costume is very Josephine Baker-like, this woman appears much more demure, almost uneasy. I bought it from an African-American antiques and collectibles dealer at an expo in Harlem several winters ago. He was a very tall, very handsome older man who lectured with a voice that could rival Barry White’s. I bought three paintings that day!
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Books:
Kindred by Octavia Butler
The Wake of the Wind by J. California Cooper
The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss (please don’t tell anyone!)
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers
The Business of Bliss by the editors of Victoria Magazine
Movies:
The Last King of Scotland
Talk to Me
Strangers With Candy
Passion Fish
Rock Star
Music:
Lee “Scratch” Perry (Arkology)
Thievery Corporation
Massive Attack
Junior Kimbrough
Beth Orton
Websites:
Pandora
Ebay
Craigslist
DesignSpongeOnline
SadieOlive
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
That would be to do what you honestly love, not just what you think will sell, is trendy, or what everyone else is doing. You have to love it to stick with it, because it takes time and patience to find your niche and build up your clientele.
Learn how the site works and always look for ways to improve your shop. The forum is filled with some very helpful sellers who are generous with their knowledge. It may be painful at first, but go ahead and ask the “silly” questions.
Mind your own business. Literally. Sometimes we can get so caught up in what other people are doing and how they’re doing it that we lose track of our own vision and purpose and just start competing, then it stops being fun. I believe there’s a piece of the pie for everyone, and Etsy has grown to be a very big pie.
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
My favorite is the Quit Your Day Job feature in The Storque. Every story I read is so inspiring and makes me feel that much closer to taking the plunge to doing this full-time. I also love Favorites/Hearts and the Treasury. I find wonderful shops that way, and sometimes the front page Treasury is so beautifully curated, it makes me giddy and proud.
I would love to have the ability to make notes next to my favorites so I’ll remember specifically why I hearted an item, and I’d love a quicker way to delete expired favorites from my list. Some icon that makes note of repeat buyers would be awesome.
It would be nice for my customers to be able to choose shipping options at checkout.
How do you promote your work?
I rely heavily on word-of-mouth advertising. I do what I can to make sure the customer has a wonderful shopping experience and I include business cards with each order. I have been fortunate enough to be featured on quite a few wonderful blogs, I have a Flickr account, and a couple of Ning pages (IndiePublic and IloveEtsy) that sometimes go a little bit neglected. I’m also a proud member of a couple of street teams comprised of artists with supreme talent: EAOC (Etsy Artists of Color) and AWL (Association of Workers in Leather). It’s a great way to connect with other artists, motivate each other, and cross-promote your work.
In ten years I'd like to be...
living in a quaint southern artsy town, running a thriving cottage business, taking pleasurable business trips to the Paris flea markets and still selling my goods around the world. I want to be featured in my favorite magazines and for Urban Heirlooms to be a widely recognizable brand that still bears evidence of my passion for handmade. |
