Are you ready for the next 5 Etsy artists?

Here is the next batch of 5 Etsy artists. If you're an Etsy artist and would like a feature spot contact me!


Square Rat
How did you get started in your craft?
I've always sewn. It's something my mother and I have done since I was a teen. She taught me. I got hooked into hand appliqué with her and we've always had a project we've been working on ever since. We appliqué the old school way, by basting and needle turning each individual piece. It's time consuming and tedious, but the end result is worth it.
Tell me about your featured item above.
I'm going to New Orleans in March and this reminds of it. Can't wait!!! This represents what I do in a nutshell and the current line that I am working on. All my pillows right now are done in this manner and this price is actually a deal because it's one of my firsts and I'm just trying to get it out there for people to see.
What inspires your creations?
Fabric inspires me. Take me to a fabric shop and I go crazy with inspiration!! Any quilter will agree with the inability to logically reason at a fabric store. "Do I have this fabric yet? Oh, I think I could use this in that one quilt I started fourteen years ago and never finished. It's just a fat quarter, that's not that much." Us quilters justify our addiction through the purchase and use of fat quarters. Of course that's never enough to make a quilt, so that's how I started using the fabric for pillows. My pillows started as presents for everyone I could give them to, mostly children and they eventually grew into home decor.

Char's Beads 4 U
How did you get started in your craft?
Many people ask me how I got started beading, well, I began to bead when my dear mother fell ill with double pneumonia and had to be put on a respirator...it was the beginning of a long 6 month battle until she passed in May of 2005. I believe that God had a hand in orchestrating a meeting between myself and a lady who made beaded jewelry. I just happened to run into this special lady in a crafting store. This woman inspired me to begin making jewelry and beading. Through beading I was able to keep my mind occupied so I could cope with what was happening in my life. I would come and visit my mother in the hospital and show her all the beautiful trinkets I had created and she loved them so much! I used to come into the hospital and place a special lavender bracelet on her wrist. It was adorn with a beautiful silver butterfly on it. I made it just for her! She'd always loved butterflies, they had a special meaning to us, the butterfly symbolizes eternal life to us! I have come to realize that each piece I make allows me to heal. I treasure the day that I was introduced to this wonderful craft! www.charsbeads4u.com
Tell me about your featured item above.
The cross guitar pick necklace represents who I am as a person, not only because I'm a Christian, but because I play guitar and love music! I have found that this has become the most popular item I've sold on Etsy

3Dots
How did you get started in your craft?
I started making these wood jewelry last summer just for fun because I wanted new unique pieces for myself. After getting a lot of compliments on them, I started selling some bracelets and necklaces to my friends. Not so long ago I randomly found Etsy and joined in! I love being part of Etsy, it's the perfect place to find unique and one of a kind items!
Tell me about your featured item above.
The "Tall inukshuk" necklace I present you today gives a good idea of what you can find in my shop. By his simple lines and his modern feel, this one represents very well my style and what i'm into.
What inspires your creations?
I'm really inspired by modern Art, architecture and contemporary interior design. I'm also very attracted by linear and geometric shapes. Nature is also a great source of inspiration to me. I love working with wood every little piece is always different!

Islandsweet
How did you get started in your craft?
I have been a professional visual artist for over 30 years. My background is in painting but over the past 6 years I have been spending more and more time in the "craft world". I've taken my love of colour and design into my textile work - rug hooking, sewing and knitting. and now instead of painting canvases, I'm painting functional objects with motifs borrowed from my textile work.

Tell me about your featured item above.
The candy floss scarflette is indicative of where my most recent knitting is heading. I love to experiment with colour and texture. these little scarflettes are fun to create. I gather a pile of yarns, fabric strips, ribbons etc. and just begin. The loose ends are part of the design and energy of the piece. I have an extensive collection of vintage buttons - so my big reward at the the end of the project is getting to choose just the right button to finish it off.

What inspires your creations?
I find inspiration for my work in my life. From my home on the west coast of Newfoundland, Canada. From my friends (many of whom are crafts people), from my garden. from my books and magazines. Definitely from the internet now.

AmiAna
How did you get started in your craft?
I learnt to crochet from my husband's Grandmother - one Sunday night she taught me how to crochet peggy squares and then the next day went and checked out a bunch of crochet books from the library for me and pretty much left me to it. From there I started making all sorts of things from patterns - primarily I would buy StitchCraft magazines I found at opshops from the 60s and 70s - they were chocka with all sorts of knitting and crochet patterns and also I liked the style of that era. Then I started going along to a Market day at the insistence of a friend and eventually one day I realised that as a result of making so many things to pattern and hence learning all those stitches I had learnt them so well that I could make things from a picture and even make up my own patterns and designs - and since then I have never used a commercial pattern again. I used to ask Grandma for help and now I often help her out ;) (incidentally she is also very proud of me)

Tell me about your featured item above.
It is definitely one of my favourites. It is also bourne of another of my designs. I like it cos its simple, classic (classic colours), and classy, its different in a unique way, stunning in its simplicity, versatile in terms of wearability - multi-season and also for complimenting casual or formal outfits - I like things that are versatile - it appeals to my practicality. Also it has flower motifs - showing my pacific leanings, whilst the shape (and perhaps choice of colours?) shows the asian influences in my work.
What inspires your creations?
My creativity is inspired mainly by two big influences in my life - firstly my Pacific Island heritage - my mother is Samoan and I also live in New Zealand - an island in the South Pacific. I like to use flowers and floral patterns in my work and I also like to throw together colours you wouldn't usually think would go together - go against the grain so to speak - but I think nature often does that too - just like with flowers!I also love earthy colours such as forest and sea colours - again linked to my Pacific Island heritage I think.
The second big influence in my work is Japan and Asiatic themes/colours/styles/shapes. I have lived in Japan and have great respect and admiration for their innate fashion sense and effortless style savvy.
I am also of course inspired by tv, music/music videos, movies and era styles (as mentioned previously)!