Search results (tags) for: "farm"

All Wrapped Up! Holiday Gift Trends from Scoutie Girl Gifts

2009-11-18T16:01:00-05:00

Earlier this fall, I launched a brand new site to make handmade gift giving a little bit easier. Scoutie Girl Gifts not only allows you to find beautiful handmade gifts for everyone on your list, it allows you to create your own "gift galleries" to make gift suggestions for visitors!

What has been most interesting for me is watching the new gift trends emerge before my very eyes. Even though content comes in from all over the world, I'm seeing some very distinctive trends for this holiday season.

Animals have been hot in the indie craft world for quite some time. Instead of the usual woodland suspects, this year's holiday zoological trend has all sorts of animals roaming around! ViviDot featured a gallery of beautiful beasts in her gift gallery, Let's Go to the Zoo.

I love this romper featuring a hippo by planetpudge. $22.

More animals were featured by shellieartist in her gift gallery, Not Your Average Pet.

There's also a great baby koala necklace by shizendesigns. $23.

How about this badger cameo illustration by blackoutwell? On a side note — illustration seems to be a hot gift idea too! $18.

Soft, feminine shades of aqua, pink, violet and grey have also been very popular. Lesley from smidgebox put together a beautiful gallery inspired by aqua skies + snowflakes.

I adore these textile bead earrings from frillsandfray. They're made from a recycled t-shirt in soft green and yellow. I actually have a similar pair — love! $19.

If you miss green grass, blue skies, and beds of blooming flowers, you're in luck: bringing the outdoors in is hot this holiday season! Kimberly from createlovelaugh created a popular gift gallery called Into the Forest. It's focused on moss greens: terrariums, pots of moss, faux moss, and accessories inspired by moss.

This green rose ring by mlwdesigns reminds me of a little succulent plant. It's a great way to wear spring on your finger all year long! At only $9, it makes a great gift for a friend or coworker.

Another curator thinking about all things natural is Diana from dsbrennan. Her gift gallery, For the Naturalist, features more mossy greens and browns.

These wrist warmers would be a perfect gift for someone who doesn't let cold weather stop them from enjoying a hike! By fishermansdaughter, $24.

Another hot trend for this year's gift giving is art and illustration. Art may not be the first thought when choosing a gift, but it's perfect for newlyweds, teenagers looking to spruce up their space, or anyone who doesn't need another "thing" lying around! Art always makes a statement and can be a very personal and emotion-filled gift.

Brittni from papernstich put together this gift gallery of affordable art for everyone, including traditional art pieces, illustration, photography, and even a little sculpture fit for hanging on your wall.

I especially love this photograph by simplyhue. $18.

If you've got kids on your shopping list, handmade is the way to go! Etsy sellers take special care to exclude harmful ingredients and include only the finest of what Mother Nature has to offer.

Sara from busterandboo put together a gift gallery of natural kids' options. From wool to wood to play clay, this list is quite inspiring.

I love the aromatic play clay by MamaKs. Kids get to play, moms get to relax with the pleasant aromas of chamomile, lemongrass, and sweet orange. This clay is even gluten-free! $4.50.

I don't know how some people do it. I never have any luck at yard sales, thrift shops or estate sales. I am a downright terrible vintage shopper. However, that doesn't mean that I don't love the look of vintage! I am always pleased as punch to find great handmade, vintage-inspired goodies — and they make perfect gifts for the thrift-store challenged like me (hint, hint)!

Amy from amybsjewelry put together a tea time gallery including several vintage-inspired goodies.

I adore this custom tea party dress from sohomode. This beauty is available in several fabrics, including wool. It would be perfect for a special fête, modernized with leggings and ballet flats as shown.

Lindsey from ripegoods put together a list of gifts inspired by farm fresh living.

I especially love these hand-printed tea towels by NestaHome — a perfect gift for the holiday hostess! $19.

Buying handmade for holiday gifts has never been easier. Use a tool like the Etsy Gift Guides, your favorite blog, or Scoutie Girl Gifts to find a great jumping-off point! And don't just stick to the sellers and items you see featured. Be inspired by the trends, materials, and techniques that catch your fancy!

If you have an idea for a Scoutie Girl Gifts gallery, go to the submissions page to find out how to get yours published!

Scoutie Girl Gifts | Etsy's Gift Guides | Holiday Gift Ideas Posts

News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere: September 10, 2009

2009-09-10T16:07:00-05:00

"Everything in this room is eatable. In fact, even I am eatable, but that is called cannibalism, my dear children, and is frowned upon in most civilizations." — Willy Wonka

This week's edition of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere is chock full of cones, rods and pyramids, industrial knick knacks in every nook and cranny, poignant rural photography, Scandinavian design for your walls, and sinister interpretations of myth and mystery.

Ramble on!

Painter Paul Wackers' work is geometric (rods and cones!) and slightly psychedelic, with a heavy emphasis on mountains and pyramids (some of my favorite things). I'm a fan. [Via Design Milk]

Salvaging antiques and reinventing their value is a pet project of mine. (My personal motto is, "The dirtier the trash, the better the treasure.") The Selby recently profiled three entrepreneurial New Yorkers who are indulging their DIY ethos to turn old into new. The photos above show jeweler and collector Derrick R. Cruz of Black Sheep and Prodigal Sons' home and studio. I love the industrial ambiance. (If you are into this look, check out our No Place Like Here video with artist Dustin Yellin.) [Via Rackk and Ruin]

Be still my Marimekko loving heart: the iconic Finnish design phenom is now producing wallpaper. [Via Design*Sponge]

There's something so striking about the simplicity and earnestness of documentary photography in the early twentieth century. Maybe it's just because I'm from farm country, but I find Disfarmer's work to be a stark and poignant reflection of rural life. According to Liebe Marlene, Disfarmer's name is symbolic of his rejection of farm life (as he legally changed it to show that he was above the family business). Instead, he began documenting friends and neighbors as they were in his Heber Springs, Arkansas photo studio in solemn, no frills portraits.

Marnie Weber's seemingly whimsical fairy tale photography is less Prince Charming, more poison apple. The outsize proportions, sallow face paint, fantastical masks and headpieces, and maypole vibe makes for an absurdist recreation of Grimm's Fairy Tales meets mythical centaurs, with a dash of dollhouse thrown in. [Via Cyana Trend Land]

Wanna give me some more artsy, style or design blogs to peruse? Leave them in the comments! And check out past installments of News From the Craft + Style Blogosphere!

Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard

2009-08-31T15:00:00-05:00

There's one thing that makes me happier than walking by urban gardens, and that's walking by urban gardens tended by youths. The Edible Schoolyard has become a legendary success story. Founded over a decade ago by chef Alice Waters, this one-acre garden and kitchen classroom at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California has helped ignite a national dialogue on school lunch programs, health education, and sustainability for the next generation. In this Craftivism post, we're sharing Principles of Edible Education along with a group-friendly recipe from Alice's book, Edible Schoolyard. For this back to school season, Alice reminds us how much learning can happen outside of the classroom.

Purchase Edible Schoolyard

Principles of Edible Education

Food is an Academic Subject
A school garden, kitchen, and cafeteria are integral to the core academic mission of the school, so that ecology and gastronomy help bring alive every subject, from reading and writing to science and art.

School Provides Lunch for Every Child
From preschool through high school, every child is served a wholesome, delicious meal, every day. Good food is a right not a privilege. Providing it every day brings children into a positive relationship with their health, their community, and the environment.

Schools Support Farms
School cafeterias buy seasonally fresh food from local, sustainable farms and ranches, not only for reasons of health and education, but as a way of strengthening local food economies.

Children Learn by Doing
Hands-on education, in which the children themselves do the work in the vegetable beds and on the cutting boards, awakens their senses and opens their minds, both to their core academic subjects and to the world around them.

Beauty is a Language
A beautifully prepared environment, where deliberate thought has gone into everything from the garden paths to the plates on the tables, communicates to children that we care about them.

Recipe From the Edible Schoolyard Kitchen: Potato Smash With Kale

Mashing keeps many hands busy and the students like the taste and color of potato skins that are added to the "smash." It is delicious made with sweet potatoes. Serves 6-8.

Boil 4 pounds of potatoes (unpeeled), until tender. Drain. Wash 3 bunches of kale, drain, remove the stems, and chop the leaves roughly. Measure 3/4 cup of milk. Peel 7 cloves garlic and chop fine. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy skillet, add the chopped garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add a little water if the pan gets dry and the greens start to stick. While they are still warm, smash the cooked potatoes in a ricer or with a potato masher. Put into a large bowl and add the milk and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Add the cooked kale and stir well to combine.

One of my fondest childhood memories is munching on flower petals at a Brooklyn Botanic Garden family class. Do your kids help you out in the garden? Share in the comments below!

More Craftivism Posts | Slow Food Gift Guide | Gardening and Horticulture Guide

Etsy Finds Decor: A Green Pioneer Buys the Farm

2009-05-31T10:22:00-05:00

This weekend's Get the Look: Decor is inspired by one woman's experience restoring a nineteenth century barn in Upstate New York and transforming it into a beautiful place to call home. Etsy seller Maya of designsmayamade documented her mother's barn-to-home restoration process on her blog maya*made.

Despite the fact that the 1888 barn had no electricity, heat, running water, or a foundation, Maya's mother was excited about the barn's potential. "My mother, being the brave, daring pioneer that she is, knew this was home. Her vision was to convert the barn into a live/work art studio and make it as green as her budget would allow... recycle, repurpose, reinvent was our guiding motto." The 1000 square foot space includes a perfect blend of rustic farmhouse treasures along side a few unexpected modern touches.

For more photos of the barnyard restoration, visit maya*made and check out the four part series documenting the home's transformation. If you are interested in incorporating a touch of rustic farmhouse style to your own home decor, check out the Etsy Finds below for inspiration.

Home Sweet Home - Original Embroidered Art ON SALE

"Home sweet home." I think this embroidery says it all. By amandajean, $22.

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Vintage Wood Box in Cottage Style

Did you notice the amazing coffee table in the living room? Learn how to make your own wooden crate table from a DIY tutorial on Maya's blog. From jennifergoode, $15.95.

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SALE Art Deco Machine Age Metal Desk Lamp

This old fashioned metal desk lamp is a clever way to illuminate a tabletop vignette displaying antiques and vintage treasures. From RevampVintage, $20.

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Picture frame made from reclaimed wood

I love the incredible pieced together sign hanging in the entryway. (Maya and her mother actually found the wood under the house.) These snappy reclaimed wood frames have a similar feel, and would be perfect for framing a family portrait or photo from the past. By Chalecco, $25.

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Shades of Fire Distress NY Metal Tote

This well-worn metal box is both decorative and functional. It's perfect for storing supplies, gardening tools or your latest craft project. From oldcrowfarm, $24.

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FairyTale Bird Cage

Hang this charming handmade birdcage above your bed or next to a window to add a hint of country sweetness. By tamar, $90.

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Vintage Parisian Clocks

Dress up a mantle, bookcase or night table with a decorative antique alarm clock. From maisonreve, $60.

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vintage office chair

Add a splash of color to any room with a brightly colored chair. Place it near a window for birdwatching or use it as a surface to display plants and antiques. From EmilyLynch, $325.

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Vintage Orange Polka-Dot Umbrella

Maya's mom has a beautiful collection of vintage parasols. This bright red umbrella would look perfect attached to a backyard lounge chair for relaxing in the shade on a warm summer day. From itsastitch, $38.

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Straw Woven Picnic Basket

I spotted this exact picnic basket in a bedroom in the barn. These vintage baskets are perfect for storage and look great stacked in a corner or at the foot of the bed. From postroadvintage, $17.

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Vintage Set Of Two Italian Painted Tea Cup And Saucers

These vintage tea cups have a rustic charm. These are ideal for sipping tea on the farm. From CaptainCat, $28.

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Vintage Dusty Pink Bedspread

Add a bit of texture to your bed with a vintage chenille bedspread. From vintagejane, $68.

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Rope Handled Vintage Suitcase

A stack of vintage luggage is a great way to add worldly charm and character to any room. From happydayvintage, $43.

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Vintage Dominion Floor Fan

This working vintage fan will keep you cool after a long day working in the garden. From monkeysalwayslook, $43.

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Farmhouse Dining Kitchen Table

This rustic handcrafted farmhouse table looks like it was made for big family style dinners. Enjoy adding your own family memories to the reclaimed lumber (that's over 180 years old!). By blackberryfurniture, $3850.

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Three A and W aqua stools

I love the mix of rustic antiques with modern vintage throughout the home. These bar stools would look adorable lined up along a butcher block counter in the kitchen. From johnnyvintage, $300.

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comfort garden

This gorgeous arrangement of paper flowers and dried moss is an ideal centerpiece for an entryway or coffee table. By floresdelsol, $100.

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Check out other Get the Look - Home Decor Editions.

A Cozy Home Gift Guide | Housewares Category | Vintage Housewares

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The Art of Slow: A Celebration of the Handmade

2009-04-07T14:18:00-05:00

Today Lou Sagar, Etsy's resident merchandising consultant and Slow Movement devotee, will tell us a bit of the history behind this growing shift. Slow Food creates a thoughtful intersection between planting, harvesting and preparing an artisanal meal and the craftsmanship behind a thrown ceramic bowl, a roughly hewn oak table and the woven tablecloth that covers it. The end result is a mindful meal that is eco-friendly, sustainable, delicious and distinctly memorable. Here's Lou.

The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity was initially formed in partnership with the Italian region of Tuscany to recognize that the appreciation of cooking and fine foods must include the safeguarding of local farms and the preservation of cultural traditions. What began as a movement focused upon a concern for “terra-verde” (Mother Earth) is now emerging as a global mindset promoting a healthier approach to contemporary living and sustainable values. At its core there is deep admiration for the handmade. In fact, it’s notable that the birthing of this movement took place in Italy, a country which, during the Renaissance, made the artisan noble. The crafting of handmade objects was celebrated. Ceramicists, glassblowers, metalworkers, woodworkers, and goldsmiths were honored, just like we do here at Etsy.

As opposed to the culture of fast food, the sub-movement known as Slow Food celebrates the process of growing and making things as much as it does the end product. This process is an essential part of the story, which enhances the experience. There is respect for materials, techniques, and presentation. Often misunderstood, the first impression of “Slow” is the idea that we one should “slow down,” which is certainly not the intent at all. It’s the added pleasure and wisdom we enjoy when we practice the “art of slow,” which is how I have come to appreciate and share it.

As we all know, the responsibilities associated with our busy lives and work are often hectic and overwhelming. As we move towards spring (in the Northern Hemisphere, at least!), keep “the art of slow” in mind as you celebrate the Easter and Passover holidays later this month. Think global but shop local. Ask local growers to tell you their stories. Use small dishes for tastings. Get the kids out into the garden to feel the soil. Spend a night outside looking at the stars. Most of all, encourage handmade gifts for friends, family, and associates.

Happy spring.

Further Resources:
Green By Design
SlowPlanet
Slow Retail

Slow Food Gifts | Gardening and Horticulture Gifts | Plants and Edibles Category

More Food Posts | More Cooking Posts | More Gardening Posts

Meet some eco-minded Italian artists in our Shop Local Italy post!

Guest Curator: Sabrina Gschwandtner of KnitKnit

2009-02-18T15:10:00-05:00

This week's Guest Curator is artist, writer and curator Sabrina Gschwandtner. Sabrina's work bridges the fields of conceptual art, handcraft, activism and social history. Her book KnitKnit: Profiles and Project’s from Knitting’s New Wave was published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang in 2007; the audio version was just published by Knitting Out Loud. Sabrina served as Artist Consultant for the Museum of Arts and Design’s “Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting” exhibition, and is currently an artist-in-residence on the 6th floor of the museum’s new building on Columbus Circle in New York. Visit her there from 11am to 6pm any Thursday between now and April 23rd, 2009.

I’ve been interested in the intersection of fine art and traditional handcraft since I started my ‘zine KnitKnit in 2002. Here are my picks for supporting, living with, wearing, using and making great stuff!

Handmade Nation Sublime Stitching Embroidery Pattern

Faythe Levine turned her life upside down to make a documentary about the indie craft movement. I supported her film, Handmade Nation, by buying this embroidery pattern. By indiecraftmovie, $4.50.

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Color Study 308

I’m a huge admirer of Sherri Wood’s quilt work. I hope to take one of her improvisational quilting workshops one day, or maybe commission her to make something from the boxes of old clothes and family fabric remnants I’ve been holding onto. By Daintytime, $1400.

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Antique Black Glass Buttons Floral Design Marcasite Style Edging and Back Molded Glass Shank

I’m always looking for unusual buttons to use in craft projects. By SalvageNation, $18.25.

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Artist Canvas Zipper Pouch

This canvas pouch is perfect for storing crochet hooks. By callieco, $15.

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sailor boy 90 yds 5.8 oz

I recently took up spinning and it’s HARD. I have new respect for artisans like Island Sweet, a painter who I imagine spins while looking at the Atlantic Ocean from her cabin in Newfoundland. By islandsweet, $40.

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Reclaimed Cloth Linen Napkin with Hand Embroidery

This embroidered handwork by Karen Ruane reminds me of Louise Bourgeois’ fabric on fabric book Ode a l'Oubli. By contemporarystitches, $28.

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Horizontal Letterpress Frame Mat in Water

I fell in love with Sycamore Street Press’s letterpress mats when I saw them at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn last summer. My husband and I bought two to use for our favorite wedding photos. By sycamorestreetpress, $15.

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Practice Kindness 6 Dollar Gocco

Some of Lisa Congdon’s work makes me sing Linda Perhacs songs in my head. I like the idea of buying this card and giving it to people who need a reminder. Is that passive aggressive? I live in New York City and people are constantly pushing me on their way to get somewhere really fast. By lisacongdon, $6.

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annie hall hat

I love how this ‘70s style crocheted hat by Cal Patch of Hodge Podge Farm keeps the winter sun – or paparazzi flash bulbs - out of your eyes. By hodgepodgefarm, $68.

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New Crochet NAME Doily with 2 Rows of Letters up to 12 Letters

I wrote a book on knitters, but I’m also really into crochet. This mom will crochet your name, or your name + someone else’s name into a cream-colored doily! By crochetingbyrose, $28.

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Visit Sabrina Gschwandtner at these upcoming events:

KnitKnit Audio Book event
10am, February 20, 2009
Brooklyn General Store
128 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Knitting Out Loud audiobook authors Sabrina Gschwandtner and Lela Nargi will discuss their books with publisher Kathy Goldner.
www.brooklyngeneral.com

KnitKnit Audio Book event
Noon - 2pm, February 21, 2009
Knitty City
208 W. 79th Street, New York, NY 10024
Knitting Out Loud audiobook authors Sabrina Gschwandtner and Lela Nargi will discuss their books with publisher Kathy Goldner.
www.knittycity.com

“New Directions: Fiber Arts” Panel Discussion
2:30 – 4pm, February 21, 2009
The Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Join artists Norma Minkowitz, Suzanne Tick, and Grethe Wittrock for presentations of their current work and a conversation about new directions in the fiber arts lead by fiber, film, and performance artist Sabrina Gshwandtner.

Looking for past Guest Curators? Check out our archive.

Artistic Endeavors Posts | Fiber Art Items | Fiber Art Posts

Quit Your Day Job: FarmsteadOrganics

2008-09-02T18:46:00-05:00

Jennifer of FarmsteadOrganics recently contacted me with her story of selling on Etsy full time. Jennifer and her husband decided to make the most of some bad news when they found out her husband's company would be making some cut backs and he would be losing his job. After some consideration and noticing an increase in sales, they decided to work together and turn their brand new Etsy shop into a full time family run business. Keep reading to find out how they make it all work, what her husband can't stand about an unorganized house, how the children pitch in the family business, and the new baby on the way!

When you first started selling on Etsy did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
When I first started selling on Etsy, it was my dream to make some extra cash and contribute a healthy second income that would allow my husband to possibly eventually take a lesser paying job closer to home. When the gas prices sky-rocketed, our income basically dwindled to a ridiculous new low because of my husband's daily commute to work. The thought of having a full-time family business was a "dream," but not something that we ever really thought would happen...at least not for several years.

How long were you selling on Etsy before taking the plunge into selling full time?
The plunge into full-time came only 5 months into the Etsy gig when my husband's company began laying off workers left and right...and he was one of them. We were a little freaked out, to say the least. I mean, Etsy has been going pretty well, especially considering how new our shop is, but, to actually support our family on it is another story! Thankfully we have a few months of unemployment to keep us afloat and he can look for other work in the mean time. We also figured that by the time unemployment runs out, we will be smack in the middle of the busy online shopping season (November). The funny thing is that around the time he lost his job our business really started to pick up and the thought that maybe we could actually survive off of this deal started to become a possibility in our minds.

What was the deciding factor resulting in your pursuing Etsy as your full time job?
With the gas prices as high as they are, we find that we save a significant amount of money just by having Dave home. My husband is also a "grab a snack and a newspaper" kinda guy and he would waste a lot of money on little stuff everyday. What we are finding out is that we save such a huge amount of money by him not working, and if we can increase our sales over the next few months and secure some loyal customers, we might end up in better financial shape than what we were in before. So, the money saved, rather than the money earned, by both of us working at home has been the deciding factor in actually pursuing this as a full-time job.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time before taking the plunge?
We did have our DBA and had stocked up on some supplies before this all happened, but that was basically just how luck would have it. We had no idea that he would lose his job and that we would be depending on this business to take off...so, we really did not prepare. I wish we would have been more prepared! But, everything has worked out ok. Dave has gotten us a lot more organized since he has been home. He has organized labels and taken an inventory, built some better shelves and storage space. I am not an organized person at all! I am very creative, but not neat about it. He hates that. I had been trying to build up our inventory like mad because we have another baby due in November but that didn't have anything to do with taking the plunge into full time business, either. Everything has been really like riding the wind the past couple of months!

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?
I am a natural health and nutrition researcher, writer, and herbalist by trade. Because of this, we already had an established web site up and running for a couple of years before Etsy. Obviously, this allowed me to bring some customers with me. I have promoted our shop through my simple living newsletter and through some of my articles. Other than that, we promote the shop by listing items...often! I have found that you have to list and relist everyday on Etsy. Especially when you have so many other bath and body sellers. If you don't keep yourself visible, you'll get lost in the crowd. I do post on the forums sometimes, but I am so insanely busy with our children and school and home-life that it is pretty nearly impossible for me to be a forum regular. I did join an Etsy team (The Old Farmhouse Gathering), which I highly recommend doing. We have also branched out into other handmade crafts. I don't want to keep all of my eggs in one basket, so to speak. That would be boring. I think that it has helped us in that someone who is looking at one of our aprons or dolls might end up buying soap even though that is not what they were in the market for originally when they clicked on our shop. Once a person tries our soap or lotion, we usually have them hooked. We have a lot of return customers. It is good to be diverse, I think. Same thing goes for someone who might be looking for soap and they end buying an apron. This cross promotion with unrelated products really helps when you are in such a saturated market like soap. Any promotion is probably good promotion when you are first starting out. Even 1 or 2 customers brought in is a bonus!

Would you walk us through what a typical workday might entail being your own boss?
A typical day at our house is a hoot! We have 5 children, 4 dogs, 4 cats, chickens, ducks, goats, we homeschool, and we run a business...need I say more? It can be crazy...but never a dull moment! Not to mention that we tend to be very creative and are always doing a number of different projects at one time!

When we wake up, usually it is me or my oldest daughter, Savannah, who makes breakfast. We eat meals in this house. I am not into just grab and go food.
While breakfast is cooking, my husband is printing orders that came in overnight or early morning.
We eat.
Dave then heads out with a few children to do chores and milk the goats.
Savannah stays inside and begins taking an inventory on what we need to make that day and what is ready to be shipped.
I answer conversations and emails.
Usually in the midst of this we are already making some soap or mixing up some concoction. When the chores are done, school begins.
The computer usually gets shut down until after lunch.
I am making stuff on and off all day. Dave packages our orders. Savannah does our labels and helps me.

She is thankfully extremely smart and quick to finish her school work which means that by lunch time she is helping fill orders or sewing laundry bags. I can only imagine what that girl will do as an adult. She is so unbelievably talented at her age and has so many good ideas! All of our children help out and even the younger ones are an asset to our business because they give me ideas...and ideas are the key to keeping this business fresh and competitive. Dave tries to get to the post office each afternoon. Thankfully, even though we live out in the middle of an Old Order Amish community, we are only 3 miles from a small town that has a post office! How cool is that? I love that we can ship often and quickly to our customers. That is very important. My husband can't stand to have a messy house, so we stay on top of that throughout the day so that things don't get too out of control, which you can imagine is not easy. He has had to learn to ease up...some serious battles have taken place. In fact, that is something to take into consideration if you are planning a home-based family business. If you will be working with your husband, will you kill each other or can you work well together? Believe me, we have our moments!

Once the children are in bed for the night, we make our big batches of soap. I don't like to bring out the lye until they are all in bed and far away.
During the day we do our rebatching and other things they can help with. I also try to do my writing in the evenings and in general, it is nice to relax a bit.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
Some days it is exhausting and it feels like from the time my feet hit the ground I am going non stop, but other days are slower and more leisurely. We like the flexibility that we have as a family. If we want to go pick blueberries, we go. If we want to head to my grandparent's for the day, we do it. If the sun is shining and I feel like taking a break out to the garden, I can. Being your own boss is great. I would never want to work for anybody else again. My husband likes being home all day and I love the extra help around the house. I really enjoy having a business that involves our whole family and our kids are learning amazing things! It is so great being able to give them this kind of experience and the freedom to be creative themselves. I would like to see each one of them grow up to have their own businesses based on a trade or skill that they choose to perfect themselves. I believe in artistic entrepreneurship. I believe that we are all created to be creative at something.

How's it going so far? Are you supporting yourself?
Obviously, if we had known that Dave would lose his job, we would have invested more of our time and money in the business before hand. It would have been great if we would have started on Etsy a year ago and had more time to build up a clientele. Things I put off, I wish I hadn't. I would suggest to anyone considering taking the plunge to sell full time of Etsy to build up an inventory and make sure you have enough supplies and materials to carry you through the first several months. The hardest part for us has been having to put our money back into the business right now and not having much surplus left over. Have a business plan, even if it is just handwritten into a notebook. Make a list, set goals, be realistic, but don't be afraid to dream big and take some chances.

Thankfully, like I said, Dave is still collecting some unemployment. He is also most likely going to take a part-time job this fall until we see for sure how we do after the shopping rush slows down at the end of the year. I can honestly say though that we have been shocked at how much business we get on Etsy. It is amazing! I can only wonder how we'll be doing next year at this time. We have only been selling here since March! Considering that, things are looking bright for the future. But, I also know that life can take unexpected turns...I don't count my chickens before they hatch. Nobody should!

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
We are planning on expanding our handmade goods extensively in the next few months. I have a zillion ideas flowing through my mind at any given moment, but on the front burner is to start selling more of our tote bags, aprons, and launch our baby rag blankets with matching crib sheets, cloth diapers, burp cloths...and we'll never stop creating our goat milk skin care products! I am especially eager to add more skin care for babies and children. Those goats are near and dear to our hearts and I have a burning passion for making soap and lotion with that creamy, wonderful milk! We are very dedicated to keeping everything as natural as possible and we are always looking for more ways to eliminate waste, as well. One thing that we are hoping to do in the next year is to switch all of our packaging back to glass and paper. We began packaging some of our items in plastic due to cost restraints and easier and cheaper shipping but we have not been happy or at ease with that decision. Plastics are getting better. Phthalate free is available now and recycled, but glass is more easily reused, recycled, and does not absorb or release chemicals. I am constantly coming up with new ideas based on my own needs as a mom of a growing family. That is what started all of this in the first place. My kids are all coming up with ideas for their own Etsy shops that they will open in the future too. Who knows where it will all end up! It is one big craft fair around here!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I can't thank Etsy enough for providing us with this amazing outlet to showcase our goods and for supporting handmade crafts! The world needs to get back to supporting small businesses and purchasing based on quality rather than cheap cost. I know of so many talented people who will spend their lives slaving away in a factory or in a job they hate because they don't know how to market their product or their skilled trade. It is sad. People don't think that soap-making is a real "job." We have forgotten that soap-making was once a legitimate and lucrative business in this country...Benjamin Franklin's father was a very successful soapmaker. Painters, seamstresses, woodcarvers, welders (like my husband), goat herders, beekeepers, sheep shearers...those are all real jobs! I would love to see things like they were before the industrial revolution when families could actually support themselves by being creative, smart, skilled, and hardworking! Etsy is a move in that direction!

Thanks to FarmsteadOrganics for sharing her story and business with us! Check out the related items below to see some of her items. You can find some of our previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

Handmade Portraits: MV Knits featured on YouTube!

2008-08-03T20:25:00-05:00

Today, August 3rd, 2008 YouTube has featured one of our Handmade Video Portraits on their front page! Please watch our portrait of shepherd Susan Gibbs and then subscribe to the Etsy channel on YouTube and Itunes to keep up-to-date on the latest Etsy videos.

Check out the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm's blog and flickr site. You can also check out the Etsy Labs flickr site for Calder Martin's photos from the shoot.

Watch the rest of the Handmade Video Portraits series and leave a comment! Let us know if you find the stories inspiring and enlightening.

Northstaralapacas: Alpaca Granny

2008-07-11T14:51:00-05:00

When Maple of northstaralpacas sends out her Etsy packages, there's a little treat included in addition to the luscious handspun yarn and cozy handknit hats. The unexpected surprise that awaits each customer? A photograph of the specific alpaca from which the item originated. The handmade movement has always been about the person behind the product, but northstaraplacas and other fiber artists on Etsy are taking this one step further: crediting the animal behind the product, too.

Maple appreciates the gift these animals provide her, and in exchange, nurtures them, above and beyond commercial responsibilities. On her blog, Alpaca Granny, Maple tells the story of one baby alpaca (cria), named Spot for the light patch on the top of his head, who was having trouble nursing from his mother, Ariana. Maple saved this little guy by bottle-feeding for his first few weeks.

Just this week, Maple posted a triumphant update about Spot's progress: "He will have absolutely nothing to do with his bottle and is a little aloof to me now. I'm so amazed that after 3 weeks he is figuring out the instincts that he should have had at birth. And thank you, Ariana, for being so patient with him."

It's inspiring to see this symbiotic relationship succeed. I hope Spot will reciprocate the love!

Handmade Portraits: MV Knits

2008-07-11T11:00:00-05:00

MP4 | Youtube | Blip.tv | Subscribe in iTunes

(music by Barry London, Charlie Parr)

After quitting her day job in Los Angeles and moving to Martha's Vineyard, a quiet island off the Massachusetts coast, Susan Gibbs aka MVKnits had a great idea. She started Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm and figured out how to make a living making yarn. Why not use the local food movement's model of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and apply it to a yarn harvest? Shareholders pay for a share in the yarn harvest as a way to support a local farm (or in this case, a local farm supported through the internet) and in return they get weekly updates, photos from the farm, an invitation to the shearing and ultimately a share of the yarn.

Check out the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm's blog and flickr site. And check out the Etsy Labs flickr site for Calder Martin's photos from the shoot.You can watch more of our Handmade Video Portraits and we'd be so thrilled if you'd subscribe to our free Etsy iTunes podcast.

The Sustainable Sounds of Cheese

2008-06-26T12:00:00-05:00

Every summer, for over fifty years, Himalayan goji berries and truffled ham have come to the Javits Center in New York for a sympoisum of self-proclaimed "Fancy Food." In response to this elitist celebration of onion confit and Caribbean Reef sea salt, Sasha Davies of Cheese by Hand and Tom Mylan of Marlow & Sons are staging a revolt across the river, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Their revolution, the Unfancy Food Show, held at the East River Bar, will focus on the local, the simple, and the delicious. Attendees include Wheelhouse Pickles and Bronx Bee Honey. Instead of industry executives or frilly jars of marmalade, the Unfancy Food Show will continue to close the gap between producer and consumer. Farmer and urban hipster will sit at the bar side by side, in an effort to rekindle that unharnassed passion for eating.

Reconnecting with food is an experience appreciated all year long, and Sasha Davies inspires the average city dweller to walk out of the concrete, skirt suit, cubicle into the life of pastures. With her husband, Michael Claypool, Sasha has embarked on a journey across the nation, weaving a narrative of the handmade gourmet. Her website, Cheese by Hand, shares the stories of devoted cheesemakers throughout the United States. You can even hear the dairy tales for yourself, on the Cheese by Hand podcast, which you can subscribe to through iTunes.

Sasha graciously answered some creamy questions for us.

How many pounds did you gain on your tour of cheese?
I probably gained 7 pounds on our trip. Basically I grew some new additions to my bottom, you know?

How can people find out about the cheesemakers in their area?
People can find out about cheeses in their area in a couple ways. They can visit their local farmers' market to see if any dairy farms are there selling cheese. There are also a number of Cheesemaker Guilds throughout the US (California, Southern, New York, Vermont to name a few). Google is a great option as are books and blogs covering American cheesemakers. Here are some of the most comprehensive: Pacific Northwest Cheese Project's Tami Parr is currently working on a book about cheeses from this region too. She is the bomb! Then there is a book out called the Atlas of American Artisan Cheese by Jeff Roberts that gives quite a comprehensive listing of producers around the country.

Were there any "sounds of cheese" that you really loved from doing the audio podcast?
It's a toss up between listening to sheep communicate with one another (mama to baby), and the sound of a metal whisk rhythmically grazing the side of the cheese vat as Caitlin Hunter (Appleton Creamery) made cheese while we interviewed her.

What's your favorite type of cheese ever?
That's like asking a mother to name her favorite child. The cheese I'm craving the most right now is a stinky one called Grayson made by Helen Feete of Meadow Creek Dairy in Virginia. Her husband, Rick, takes care of their herd of Jerseys and the cows spend as much time as possible on grass. Jersey milk has a higher fat content than that of most other breeds and it has a lovely yellow color to boot. Grayson is modeled after an Italian cheese, Taleggio, shaped in squares and washed throughout its 2-3 months of aging with a brine solution that gives the outside a pinkish orange hue. So basically this cheese has the colors of a peach. Great creamy texture and just enough pungency to make it interesting without overpowering the wonderful milky and buttery flavors there.

Yum.

In addition to the Unfancy Food Show, also check out the New Amsterdam Market this weekend at the South Street Seaport. The New Market building will once again be bustling with fresh and sustainable produce, meat, and bread, hearkening back to the Seaport's roots. At the end of the summer, travel out West for the Slow Food Nation market in San Francisco, where you can not only meet farmers and eat more cheese, but also explore a 21st Century vision of self-sufficiency in the Civic Center's urban garden, continuing the legacy of Victory Gardens from half a century ago. And of course, don't forget about your fellow Etsians, such as motleymutton, who's working hard to keep that farmer work ethic alive.

The Slow Food movement reminds us of the love behind the food, the craft behind the product. So savor some Constant Bliss cheese from Jasper Hill Farm, and show your affection for the farmer, the environment, and your stomach.

Gotta Travel On | Travel Showcase | Etsy World Tour

Family Farm: From Sheep to Yarn

2007-12-15T19:47:00-05:00

In an era when many family farms are disappearing, there are members of the Etsy community keeping this way of life sustainable. Woolhandcrafts is one such Etsy seller. Please also read motleymutton's previous post, in what we hope will be a series. Please comment below if you are an Etsy seller living and working on a family farm.

Welcome to Vermont Grand View Farm! We are a small fiber farm nestled on a hillside in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Each member of our family participates in the care and feeding of our animals. Our store, Woolhandcrafts, at Etsy.com has allowed our family to continue in this lifestyle and has broadened our customer base world wide.

Through our years of farming, I have come to realize that most people have no idea where the wool in their sweaters and blankets come from. Everything just comes from StuffMart, doesn’t it? “Wool grows from seeds planted in the ground,” a father explained to his son after passing through the sheep barn at a local fair. Upon hearing that comment, I just stood in amazement. I"d like to tell you a bit about our Vermont sheep farm so you can learn about our wool producers!

From Sheep

Our small flock of Romney sheep, angora rabbits, and llamas produce the fiber we use in our unique Vermont farm yarns. Much love, time, and labor go into the care of each of our animals and the production of our yarn. We breed for soft, lustrous locks of wool ensuring a high quality product. Come follow our ewe, Fedora, from shearing to yarn.

To Shearing

After growing her wool for 11 months, Fedora's wool is approximately six to seven inches long. Through the summer Fedora is out on pasture where the rains keep her wool clean. During the winter months Fedora wears a coat to protect her wool from getting full of hay. In late March the sheep are ready for shearing. Shearing day on a fiber farm is very exciting. On this day our year long labor brings reward. The sheep shearer comes to the farm to carefully shear each sheep. A skillful shearer will remove the entire fleece in one large piece.

To Mill

Next, we take the fleeces to the skirting table. Here we remove any wool with hay in it or any manure tags. We use only the best wool for our yarns! Then we put the wool into clear plastic bags. Each bag is labeled with the name of the sheep and the weight of the fleece. It is important to us to know whose fleeces we are combining when sending them away for a yarn order since we want our customers to know whose wool goes into the yarn they are buying. We are finally ready to decide which fleeces will be sent to the mill and which ones will be handspun at home.

To Yarn

Our desire is to have a yarn that is grown and processed in Vermont. However, the mills in Vermont are unable to process the long staple length of our wool. We work closely with a wonderful fiber mill in Michigan called Stonehedge Fiber Mill for our processing.

At Stonehedge, the fleeces are washed and dried. Then, they are ready to go onto their carding machines where the fiber is carded into long roving. This roving is threaded onto spinning machines which spin our wool into yarn. The folks at the mill are able to set their machines to my specified weight of yarn. The completed yarn is put into skeins at the mill and then shipped back to us. Once back at home, we hand wash the skeins before selling them to you.

We usually keep out most of the natural colored wool and ask the mill to send us roving for handspinning. Our natural colored sheep each have a unique color that I want to preserve and pass on to our customers. Our angora fiber from our bunnies and our llama fiber are also hand blended with a drum carder and handspun into unique blends of wonderfully soft yarns. On occasion, we purchase fibers from other local small farms to offer you more variety.

We greatly appreciate our customers. With the help of Etsy and our customers we are able to continue farming. When purchasing small farm yarns you are:

supporting a family farm and home business
receiving a high quality yarn from all natural fibers
promoting the fiber arts

Thank you for your continued support! We look forward to many more years of providing you with yarns from the Green Mountains of Vermont.

Check out their website for more info!

Etsy Finds: Driving Through 22

2007-11-06T05:24:00-05:00

cjshanks is the Etsy shop of the talented, award-winning artist, Christine Julin Shanks. She has a series of work in her shop called "Driving Through."

The photographs in "Driving Through" are dramatic, Hitchcock-like stills, such as the one above. The blurred edges of houses and trees and the deeply saturated colors of evening light are familiar to me...Like I experienced them in a memory or dream. Christine says that the photos "are shot mostly in cooler months when the light is crisp and clean. They are often shot before a storm has rolled in or out because I find that light so breathtaking."

Each photograph in this series has a strong, striking composition -- which is a feat, considering they were taken from a fast-moving vehicle! cjshanks will print these from 9" x 13" to 2 by 3 feet for exhibiting. This shop is a great place to start your art collection. If you want to know more about this artist and read her statements, visit her personal website at christineshanks.com.

Family Farm: Live Where You Choose

2007-11-02T16:36:00-05:00

Is setting up a family farm in the US possible today? According to Nancy Bevins aka motleymutton, living off the land has its challenges, but in the end her family found a balance in a hybrid lifestyle: selling handmade crafts online, along with selling farm products locally. Read on for her family farm story.

[on the left, the abandoned farmhouse on motleymutton's property; on the right, the new house they built from scratch.]

Driving through my husband's hometown and surrounding areas in suburban and rural Ohio, I am floored by the view. Where I used to see acres of cornfields I now see gated communities and shopping centers. I grew up in Los Angeles County, so these sites are not unfamiliar to my eyes. There, before urban sprawl took over, family owned dairy farms were a bicycle trip away. And in nearby Garden Grove we were permitted to glean the local strawberry fields at the end of harvest.

The story is the same there as it is in many other place: the younger generations can't make a living farming the property. The land is worth much more as houses and stores. I wonder if more people would stay on their ancestors land if they could generate a fair income.

We soon found out about the toil and hardships of owning a family farm. We bought property in West Virginia where my husband's parents were originally from. We'd wanted to relocate to a rural area for years, and thought by reading a lot of books on farming, we could easily survive.

The first few years, we scraped by. I'd left a good paying job in California, and now I found myself waiting tables for about a third of my former pay. This took me away from my children, which is something I had wanted to avoid with our move. My husband did even worse, working at a donut shop for just above minimum wage. Simultaneously, we struggled to build our farm, but were left discouraged because we could not find an avenue to make a profit. Our land wasn't vast enough for cattle, and without a tractor we had to buy hay. During this time we also became foster parents, so although that brought a small amount of money into the home, it was designated for the children we took in. We sold the cows, and through our kid’s 4H group, bought 6 mixed sheep.

The first year of raising the sheep cost more than our earnings. Wool was selling at the “wool pool” for a disgraceful price of 40 cents a pound! It would cost more in gas to drive to the collection site than I’d make selling it!

Our kids' 4H leader invited me to the local Fiber Guild: a group of folks dedicated to working with fiber and passing along that knowledge. I was AMAZED at the equipment they had to share: looms, carders, spinning wheels, videos, books. Most were ladies who were thrilled to have younger people interested in their hobby. I also took a class in Needle Felting, but never pursued it because we were not yet efficiently shearing our sheep.

We began buying more sheep, and was blessed by another friend who sold me all her castoffs from their flock of mostly Purebreds. They were a motley, befuddled group of ewes, some with the personalities of matronly queens. I also picked up a couple of rams, both mutts. Our flock was growing.

At the same time I ran across the book, Introduction to Permaculture, which theorized that most successful farms in the world were small, diverse, and sold directly to local people. We began looking at ways to diversify. We changed our garden, planting on smaller patches (square foot gardening) and began feeding the soil a steady diet of organic matter. We made plans to sell at the local farmers market in a year or two. We bought chickens and goats. We contacted the local USDA conservation office and signed up for programs, which partially pay for farm improvements that are ecologically helpful to the land.

We began the backbreaking job of shearing our own sheep. We processed the wool ourselves, and for the first time I had a huge amount of it stockpiled. My wool wasn't nice and probably couldn't be spun easily so I thought again about felting. It was right before holiday time and we were in need of money, so I thought, I’ll just try making something and see if it sells. I was shocked when my first attempt netted me $172.00!

We also began selling lambs in the fall, which paid for all the yearly feed, breaking us even. We finally saw a profit when we counted the freezer full of meat we butchered, eliminating the need to buy meat for our large family. I looked at things from a different perspective. Whatever we DIDN'T have to buy, was INCOME. Eggs, milk, meat, veggies, fertilizer (manure), bug killer (chickens ate them). Even gas for the lawnmower was saved, as a rotation schedule for the animals grazing was implemented.

I had some family friends help me set up a website, Motleymutton.com. I had only been selling on eBay, when a good online friend told me about Etsy, so I branched out to having a store here, motleymutton.etsy.com. Many of my customers followed me, setting up buyer accounts. Special orders from the website added to the mix along with a specialized primitive group I joined. Last year we were able to participate in the local farmer's market. What an awesome lesson for the kids to exchange their hard work for cash in hand! Through my website a local co-op discovered my stuff, and placed orders for necklaces. With some of the money I've earned, my sons are going to build a greenhouse.

Here in the United States, the Amish have had a few things right for a long time. Smaller farms, less expensive machinery, and the family working together. They take what they grow and turn it into a finished product. A tree becomes a piece of furniture, a simple wooden box, or a woodcarving. Through organizations like Etsy, personal websites, and co-ops, living in a small rural town will become a possibility for more and more people. And I believe as more folks discover venues like Etsy, those in rural places may finally be able to stay there.

Nancy Bevins, Buckhannon, West Virginia

Feel free to leave motleymutton comments and questions below!