Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
Hi! I am Allison Faunce, maker of Little Hero Capes. After growing up on an open lake in New Jersey and then in the bustling city of Philadelphia, my husband Paul, my 5-year-old son Finnegan and I packed up our belongings last November and headed north to New England. We are now nestled on the south coast of Massachusetts. The move took us 6 hours away from the closest familiar face. So at first, feeling a bit lost, I only became well acquainted with the seagulls. However, we are finally getting nestled in and also venturing out.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Currently, I fill my personal time with runs by the river of full of sailboats, trips to the corner café with my husband for their famous and “oh so yummy” Grilled Cheeses, and rides on the waterfront carousel with my son Finnegan.
What first made you want to become an artist?
I always grew up around creation. My father spent long nights soldering away in his stained glass studio when he came home from his full-time job. My mother was an artist and professional seamstress as well as a fabric store owner. I actually learned my numbers by collating fabric patterns. So needless to say, the artist itch started scratching early on. The rest of my childhood the threads of art weaved their way in and out of my life in various forms but mainly in the area of painting and drawing. I went to Moore College of Art and Design for Art Education and 2D Fine Arts. It wasn't until I couple of months later, when I was standing at the crossroads of two full-time teaching job opportunities that I decided I wanted to carve out my own unique path. And voila! Etsy was the opportunity for that dream to come true.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
Now that my son has started his first year of kindergarten, I find creating a studio work schedule has become a lot easier. After I return from walking him to school, the first thing I do is I sit down and check my convos and reply back to all of them right away. Next I create my “tackle list” of orders. The next several hours are a blur as I get in the zone of cutting, ironing, appliquéing, and sewing up. By noon, if it has been a good morning of creation, my studio looks like a rainbow exploded in it. I then straighten things up, go for a run, and then eat lunch. By this point, I have about an hour till I pick up my son, so I spend this time packaging up orders, printing shipping labels and notifying customers that their capes are soaring out! I pick up my son from school and then we walk and talk all the way to the Post Office to send out the orders.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
My most cherished handmade possession would be my wedding ring. It has a lot of significance for several reasons beyond being a symbol of marriage. My husband and I actually purchased our wedding rings from Etsy! Furthermore, it was my very first transaction ever made over Etsy. The ring itself is made is made out of Ancient Kauri which is a 30,000 year old wood. Unlike traditional gold or silver rings, the nature of the wood has aged and reformed with time. This shift in the look was a little unexpected. However, it has become an even greater reminder of all that my husband and I have weathered together. Even though the appearance of the ring may continue to change, the essence never will.
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Books:
The Breakthrough Experience – by Dr. John Demartini
Who Moved My Cheese? – by Spencer Johnson
The Total Money Makeover – by Dave Ramsey
Permission Marketing – by Seth Godin
Good to Great – by Jim Collins
Movies:
Great Expectations
The Joy Luck Club
An American Tail
Run Lola Run
The Painted Veil
Music:
Burlap to Cashmere
Venus Hum
Coldplay
Gorillaz
Underworld
Websites:
facebook
mytmmo
hulu
moore.edu
score.org
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
The best advice I can give to new Etsians to find your niche. I feel finding a niche or something unique in your product is so important!
I feel it is better to perfect your item either in quality or originality than have a variety of ordinary things in your shop. It is really effective to have a theme for your products. Trying to offer too many different kinds of products doesn't allow for an identity. The attempt to attract something for everybody attracts nothing for nobody. Not only do I believe customers want to see focus in a shop, but once you do have a shop identity people more easily remember you.
Furthermore, creating and perfecting a product that comes straight from the uniqueness of your own heart works better to attract people on the fringes. As every artist knows, it is on the fringes where excitement is built and then it spreads to everyone else in the middle. Etsy itself is a fine example of that!
Every artisan has a way to express their own aesthetics and creativity through their product. Add a twist and find your niche!
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
One of my favorite features on Etsy is search by color. How cool is that! I love the forums. What a great resource it is to have the artist community at your fingertips in order to ask questions, provide answers, and bounce ideas off of. It is like being in art school all over again, only virtually. I also love how streamlined Etsy is when it comes to listing items. The only downfall is I wish there was a feature to save your tags, much like your shipping information.
How do you promote your work?
Word of mouth has been my main source of marketing. Therefore, I promote my work by creating a high quality product and caring for my customers.
In ten years I'd like to be...
still expanding in accordance to the way time grows, shifts, and remolds you. I do have big plans in the works for Little Hero Capes as my ideas never stop whirling around. It is my hope to keep building on the idea of "Soaring Ahead and Giving Back.” As the business grows, and more Little Hero Capes are sent out into the world, it is my true hope that more real world heroes will also emerge. I want Little Hero Capes to not only expand the imaginations of our little ones, but also be a tool to teach them the importance of becoming a real hero to the world, the environment, their community, their neighbors, their family, and themselves. Every day is an adventure and Little Hero Capes' future is not completely carved out but the core idea of "soaring ahead to give back" is certainly the springboard for all the missions that lay ahead. |
