Storque articles: THIS HANDMADE LIFE

The Collectors: Weird Vintage Figurines

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:48:00 -0000

Thank you to ScribbleNation for sharing your weird and wonderful collection of W. R. Berries with us! I've been obsessed with ceramic figurines myself lately (see my personal Top 10 here). You can find lots of good stuff in the vintage category (which you can now search directly through the new drop-down menu).

If you have a collection — especially vintage or handmade things — comment below or join us in this thread! Tag your video with "Etsy" and "collectors" Youtube.

Break the Shackles of Robotic Slavery: Crankbunny's Handmade Video

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:23:00 -0000

Crankbunny made this video explaining why she makes handmade things. Here's the link to a high resolution file: MP4 Link.

This is a really special video so I asked Crankbunny some questions about being an animator.

What kind of software do you use to make your animations?

I use alot of Photoshop and Aftereffects, and sometimes Premiere to put any animation together. I mostly do everything digitally, with the exception any actual drawing. That I do with simple pencil and paper, which then gets imported into the computer.

How did you become an animator?

I didn't really plan to become an animator... well, at one point I did in high school a long time ago when everything was done with film. I had played around with it then, but once I went to off to undergraduate college there were many other artistic distractions like photography, sculpture, metalsmithing, film and design. I somehow ended up doing design work and interactive media for this thing called the 'internet.' It was interesting for the first few years but ultimately really boring for me.

At that point I knew I liked to tell stories with illustrations, drawings, photographs and editing. I started to make small personal little movies for the internet with any free time in my life. Eventually I decided to quit my full time job and concentrate on animating. I even went off to graduate school at one point for animation. I learned by meeting and working with other animators. It was through all these these little steps that I found the focus, approach I needed for my own animation work.

What advice do you have for aspiring animators to get started?

Just start playing. Use your digital camera and start putting things together in the computer. I recommend using free shareware programs like Frame Thief (mac) and Anasazi (pc).

Start off small. Watch animation - ALOT. Many different types of animation too! Dissect them with the pause buttons on your remote. Watch good old films and dissect those also if you wanna learn more about editing and lighting. Show your movies to anyone, see and listen to how people react to them. Fail. Learn patience. Animation is generally really boring tedious work.

If you are interested in traditional cartoon animation - that is great, but animation is not limited to that. A wonderful place to learn and see animation is the NFB (the Canadian National Film Board).The NFB is an amazing institutional heaven of animation - it caters to all people. Film dorks, children, parents, teachers, superheros and regular people. Check with your local museums, colleges, and libraries frequently to see if they have animation screenings also. Ask them to show animation or do workshops.

Thanks Crankbunny!

If you want to learn some of Crankbunny's amazing skills, you might want to sign up for her upcoming paper puppet making class at the Etsy Labs! You can also visit her animation website and read her Featured Seller interview.

Handmade Video Portraits: 1AEON

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:34:00 -0000

Gabe Molnar of 1AEON says his designs often come from his dreams. The fantastical imagery includes lions, dragons, skulls and owls ("since before all the owl hype," as Gabe says). Working non-stop in his small kitchen in Brooklyn, this Hungarian-born artist is driven to be the best at whatever he does and to push the boundaries (maybe this comes in part from growing up under Communism?). But his passion and ambition hasn't made Gabe lose sight of his humble beginnings. We were very inspired to meet the maker behind 1AEON and hear his story.

MP4 | Youtube | Blip.tv | Subscribe in iTunes

[Music by Assemble Head in the Sunburst Sound, Jukeboxer, The Fucking Champs & The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight]

Watch our other Handmade Video Portraits and make sure to subscribe to our Youtube Channel and Subscribe in iTunes.

If you're interested in all things Hungarian, check out this post on traditional and contemporary Hungarian crafts.

Etsy World Tour: Hungary, Where Traditional and Contemporary Crafts Meet

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:07:00 -0000

In this edition of Etsy World Tour, vadjutka highlights a few of Hungary's diverse crafting traditions, both traditional and contemporary. Enjoy!

Gömör Pottery
Once upon a time, a few hundred years ago, peasants of a county called Gömör (which is now part of Slovakia) started to make a special kind of ceramic that could be used for cooking. Soon this area became the center for supplying households with nicely painted bowls and pans. Meanwhile, potters of Gömör county lived in small villages and did their everyday work: ploughing, feeding animals, etc. Making beautiful pottery was only a small slice of rural life. By the beginning of the 20th century, potters of Gömör found themselves competing with porcelain and saucepans made of iron. Unfortunately, mass production eventually won out over handmade ceramics and Gömör Pottery is now part of folk art history.

Zsolnay Porcelain
The world famous Zsolnay Porcelain was founded in 1853 to make both stoneware and porcelain. After a few years of difficulties, Zsolnay became world-known and reached its peak in the 1910s. Its signature look is called eosin: a unique greenish, iridescent metallic luster glaze that reminds me of the color of some flies. Jardinieres, wall plates, lamps, and jewelry were made using this glaze, all reflecting the spirit of Art Nouveau. After WWII, Zsolnay started to mass-produce some designs, but they did not stop making exclusive models with eosin technology adapted to porcelain. Currently, Zsolnay Porcelain is not just following trends, but leading them: they teamed up with the famous Hungarian fashion designer, Katti Zoob, who designs haute couture as well as pret-a-porter clothes. Here is a nice example:

(photo by drgnmastr)

Matyo Embroidery
I think every Hungarian woman (including me) has tried doing embroidery at least once in her life: embroidered clothes, tablecloths, etc. are quite common in Hungary. Many patterns are available, but the most famous is the colorful Matyo embroidery. Though it is very well-known — most Hungarians can only recall Matyo if asked about embroidery — it is made only in three small villages. Mezökövesd is the center of Matyo embroidery, where the ethnic group called Matyo lived. Although most of the embroiderers were originally peasants, the industrialization process at the turn of the 19th century resulted in a flourishing folk art scene, especially with embroidery. Below is a picture of the most famous pattern of Matyo Embroidery: a rose with red, green, blue and yellow.

(photo by hattyu)

Painted Eggs
Painting eggs for Easter is common throughout Eastern Europe: almost every nation and ethnic group has its own tradition of egg painting. Though most of Europe uses mostly one color for egg painting, Hungarians use the batik technique to paint the eggs multiple colors. Nowadays, men visit women on Easter Monday, and spray them with perfume: this represents attraction. In return for their efforts, men get a nicely painted egg. The original tradition was to spray the egg with clean water as a symbol of rebirth. A beautiful example:

(photo by hattyu)

Crafting Today
Almost twenty years after the political upheaval in Central-Eastern Europe, craft society (as well as civil society) has started to re-blossom in Hungary. Since the summer of 2006, Hungary has instituted an ongoing craft fair called WAMP (short for Sunday Art Market). It takes place every month, on a sunny (or rainy) Sunday in the heart of Budapest, Hungary's capital. Originating as a small market with around thirty artists, WAMP now has more than 300 registered artists and crafters. Lots of them are professional artists with university degrees, but there are plenty of crafters like me, coming from outside: geography teachers, sociologists or engineers.

Products are as varied as crafters themselves: from bags made of LPs, to earring made of LEGO toys, one can find everything. Since retro became very fashionable - once again - in these years, Matyo patterns have found their ways into mainstream fashion: one can find blouses, bags and wristlets decorated with specially designed Matyo patterns.

A cool wristlet:

(photo by vadjutka)

A retro outfit with traditional influences:

(photo by vadjtka)

A huge thanks to vadjutka for sharing her thoughts on both the traditions of crafting in Hungary, as well as her insight into today's crafting scene. We'd love to hear more about crafting traditions around the world; send your thoughts to the Storque's pitch box and make sure to include the words "Etsy World Tour"!

Mothers Galore

Wed, 07 May 2008 18:40:00 -0000

Together, Marianne and her daughter Adrianne run Bellebeads (also known as Family Flame Artisan Beads). Carole Brender of brenderart is mother to Marianne and grandmother to Adrianne — three generations on Etsy! Carole says that she heard about Etsy through her daughter and granddaughter. "My daughter has been helping me learn to list items, and even participate in forums, etc. If I have a question, both my daughter and grandaughter are there to help." It's a true family affair!

Do you have a job or do you Etsy full-time or are you at home with the kids? Do you try to "do it all"?
Adrianne says: I do lampwork beads and jewelry design part time and am a full time mother / housekeeper. In September I will be returning to school part time to further my talents and knowledge in photography and glass as an art and career.

Marianne says: I am a full-time housewife and glass artist.

Carole says: I am a full time artist (screenprints, watercolor, drawing, sublimation) and piano teacher.

[Five generation portrait 2008. Left to right back row: Marianne, Carole, Carole's mom. Front: Adrianne, daughter Audry, niece Lexi]

How has your mother influenced you or passed down the creative gene? Or has it, as some say, skipped a generation? Did you learn from your grandmother?
Adrianne says: My mother, grandmother, and great grandmothers have influenced me my whole life. Growing up I was always taught the importance of individuality and putting my best into everything I do. I was and still am a daydreamer. I think that is the creative gene in me from them. My mother pretty much taught me everything I know in beadwork and jewelry design, and eventually got me into lampworking. I seem to always follow in my mom's footsteps. My grandparents took me to Europe when I was 14. In Venice, Italy, we watched the glass blowers, and learned about how the different colors were made. Little did I know that experience would have a huge impact on what I am doing today.

Marianne says: My mother, Carole Brender, has always been my inspiration. She has been a professional artist most of my life. I helped her at art shows, and we were members of a local cooperative gallery for many years.

Carole says: My mother, grandmother, and I took china painting classes together. Mother was always creating something, and still is at 95!

Please let us know if you're a Mother/Daughter-Son creative duo in the comments below or in this forum thread!

Mother-Daughter Shops: CaptureCapeMay

Tue, 06 May 2008 19:24:00 -0000

Mothers and their daughters and/or sons can often be creative forces to reckon with: keeping it all in the family and playing off of each other's deep understanding of strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes frought, sometimes breezy, these duos bring something special to the handmade experience. CaptureCapeMay is one such team...

If you're a mom, tell us how many kids you have. Do you have a job, do you Etsy full-time, or are you at home with the kids? Do you try to "do it all"?
My mom and I run CaptureCapeMay together. I am her only child. Right at this very moment, I am 10 weeks pregnant with my first baby! My mom works full-time for the county and I am a full-time Social Worker serving the elderly community. I am not sure what I will do after I have the baby, I would like to continue working full-time but you never know. We both are "do-it-all" kind of people.

How has your mother influenced you or passed down the creative gene? Or has it, as some say, skipped a generation? Did you learn from your grandmother?
There are no genetics involved as I am adopted. I have no way of knowing genetically what was passed to me. I am able to specifically pinpoint the basic principles of both art and science that I learned as a child due to activities with my mom. Together we enjoyed making candles, creating "rainbow ice" with salt and food coloring, mixing our own play-dough, using glue to curl shoe laces, making underwater volcanoes in a cylinder bowl and forming sentences with flash cards we made ourselves. I was always very much nurtured in the most scientific arts and the most creative sciences and had a lot of fun.

Is there anything particularly difficult or great about working with your Mother?
Unfortunately, I am not in Cape May full-time like my mom is. I moved to Pennsylvania (about 1.5 hours from Cape May) when I got married almost two years ago.

I still go down on weekends and in the summer. The great thing about working with my mom is, she is a very good photographer and I can leave custom orders safely in her hands.

[The duo will write something about your mom in the sand and capture it for you. Perfect for mom's who are hard to shop for!]
She (and my dad, too) also funded getting the really nice cameras for the business. I run the Etsy store, the website and all forms of online communication and marketing. I'm more internet savvy than she is and enjoy computers, so it works out well. There isn't really anything difficult, we work well together.

Next year will be Amanda's first Mother's Day. She says she's looking forward to "anything in DesignsbyAutumn's or Savor's Etsy stores." Please let us know if you're a Mother/Daughter-Son duo in the comments below or in this forum thread!

Cinco de Mayo!

Mon, 05 May 2008 13:12:00 -0000

Apparently, Cinco de Mayo in Mexico is not such a big deal; it commemorates a Mexican victory over French colonial rule, but it's not the biggest holiday for Mexicans. However, in the US, people of Mexican descent and Mexicans living the States celebrate their heritage, and the 5th of May is known for being lively and full of color.

For many people, this means lots of beer and music and family fun, but for Etsy, it's an excuse to go on the hunt for some art and crafts from Mexico using Shop Local.

Check out ziazia's shop, with unique and whimsical bags full of detail:

rosiemusic offers prints of her fresh, original artwork:

titarubi uses traditional Mexican techniques from the Colonial era to create intricate silver jewelry:

Mexican patterns brighten up bellaandjune's bags. She makes jewelry too:

Birdies and flowers, in a new folk style, fill Geninne's shop:

And finally — though there are certainly more talented Mexico-based Etsy sellers I didn't have room to showcase here — gatomagico makes crazy little felt kitties:

Happy Cinco de Mayo and stay tuned for more Etsy World Tour posts! Give a shout-out in the comments below if you love Mexico! And vote in the California Crafters Club's contest here.

Etsy Pets: Euthanasia to Etsy – Mulligans Story

Sun, 04 May 2008 20:15:00 -0000

Mulligan is my 3 legged golden retriever rescue puppy. She was born the runt of the litter, with a deformed front leg. Her birth mom rejected her, and her breeder didn’t think she'd live or have much of a life so he brought her to the animal hospital to be put down at two days old.

Lucky for Mulligan (and for me) the girls at the hospital and one very kind veterinarian thought the puppy deserved a chance to live and offered to take her in to see if they could nurse her back to health.

Mulligan struggled at first as she was half the size of her littermates. But over time she became stronger and stronger. She was fostered by her veterinarian at night and she spent her days at the clinic socializing and playing with all the pups and people there.

At 9 weeks old she was strong enough to handle the surgery of having her front right leg amputated. The next day she was hopping around chasing the big dogs. Two weeks later she was ready to come home.

I adopted her sight unseen. My sister was one of the girls at the Animal Hospital who saved her. She emailed me that day, "We have a tiny little golden puppy, I don’t know if she'll make it though"... I followed her story; I had just gone through a divorce and lost a dog. I knew what it felt like to be thrown away. My other dog Morgan was missing her pal. We needed Mully as much as she needed us.

We were in two different states, but that didn’t stop us. Mulligan flew from Buffalo, NY to Nashville, TN by herself. The airline treated her like royalty — last one on, first one off. I was told the pilot announced over the loud speaker that they were flying with a very special passenger. He told a little about her rescue story and surgery and all the passengers clapped for her!

I named her Mulligan, it means second chance.

Mulligan is now 4 years old, a happy healthy little golden retriever, full of life, ball crazy with a heart of gold. Mulligan taught me about unconditional love and being proud of who you are no matter what your flaws may be. Sometimes I wonder who rescued who.

My Etsy shop (art4milkbones) is dog themed, I add photos of my dogs to my Etsy listings when I have an extra spot or it's golden related. I get so many sweet comments about Mully & Morgan from my customers or sometimes strangers just convo me and say "Mully makes me smile!" or they want to tell me about their dog. I have met some wonderful dog people through Etsy.

If you're thinking about adding a canine companion to your family please consider adopting a handicapped or special needs pet. All dogs deserve a great home.

... and sometimes it's the things that aren't perfect.. that turn out to be the most perfect of all!

The Dog Made Me Do It!

Sat, 03 May 2008 19:39:00 -0000

That’s what I tell people when they ask me how I came to the wonderful land of Etsy. Now granted, I wasn’t tied and held at paw point, but without my two canine companions, I wouldn’t be here.

In 2003, I had the wonderful experience of becoming a doggie mom to my Siberian Husky mix, Anakin. As a first time puppy parent, I wanted to make sure that not only would he have a loving and nurturing home, but a healthy, plentiful source of nutrition. With all of the kibble and treat options filling the grocery store shelves, I was confused and overwhelmed with what would be the most beneficial choice for my little guy’s diet. I took my query to the internet and what I saw was disturbing. The bags of commercially produced of kibble I inquired about promised “whole chunks of chicken and fresh garden vegetables.” Digging deeper into the translations of “chicken meal” and “lamb by-products,” I found synthetic vitamins, beaks, hooves, chemical preservatives and other not-so-appetizing ingredients littering my pup's choices for dinner. With no readily available alternatives to this problem, I began my quest to provide my dog with a healthy alternative to processed dog food and dog treats.

I researched the ins and outs of canine nutrition and found what ingredients were beneficial to the growth and overall wellness of my pup such as omega three fatty acids, Vitamin A, Vitamin B complex, and Vitamins D, E, and K, which are crucial for growth, appetite, gastrointestinal regulation, and skin and coat health. I also kept close eye on what ingredients I needed to steer clear from, such as theobromine, grapes, raisins, and onions.

As a wholehearted supporter of organic farming, I wanted to incorporate a mission for chemical free diet as well. Specifically, organic refers to the way food is grown, as well as the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to preserve the environment for years to come. Organic products such as meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that have not and will not be given antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Foods can be labeled organic only after a government-approved USDA inspector inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is compliant with each and every rule necessary to meet USDA organic standards.

In experimentation with ingredients, I conjured my own recipes, and before long, I had created a healthy and tasty diet that not only my own dog enjoyed, but the dogs of my neighbors and friends. I began to sell my dog treats in small volume, but after several years, I decided that it was time for me to share my wholesome healthy goodness with a larger market. I stumbled upon Etsy during the summer of 2007 and have been here spreading the good word since! Etsy has been key in my ongoing quest to reach and teach as many doggie parents as I can. I’m a proud member of the Dog Mafia Team, where a fabulous group of Etsians meet to discuss and promote all things dog.

I run my Etsy shop Organidog with the help of Anakin and the newest four-legged addition my household, my adopted Siberian Husky, Vader. Running shop can be quite tedious with eight paws in charge of quality control. They taste test a sample from each and every batch to ensure it is 100% deelish.

While what each doggie parent chooses to feed their pup is a personal decision — raw versus cooked diets, what is best for their breed, advice from their veterinarian, and personal convictions — all of these factors weigh heavily on what we feed our furry companions. Etsy has a multitude of dog treat sellers to satisfy the most persnickety of pup parents.

While I am all about the dogs, we can’t forget our other four-legged pals, the kitties. From freeze dried salmon treats to kitty collars and catnip lovies, our feline friends make their mark on Etsy as well with a plethora of shops offering fabulous items to choose from! My fellow Dog Mafia Team members LuckyFiona and BentleysBones have catered to this calling. While Lucky Fiona makes small-scale collars for our kitty companions, Bentleys Bones creates a catnip toy in the shape of fortune cookies. With over 6,200 pet items for sale here at Etsy, it is clear that we value our furry, scaly, fluffy, and slimy friends.

The Very First Alchemy Request

Fri, 02 May 2008 18:45:00 -0000

While Etsy engineer Jorge Lopez coded Alchemy, he was daydreaming of the his ultimate Alchemy request. As soon as we released the new site feature on Etsy, he was the first one to post a request! He ended up choosing artist Emily Balivet's bid and getting the most amazing painting. Watch the video to learn more...

MP4 | Youtube | Blip.tv | iTunes

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