Featured Member Meg Murray of RedandMain

Our next featured member is the extremely talented and creative Meg Murray of RedandMain.
RedandMain features handmade, kiln-fired ceramic critter sculptures, mythical beasts, and ferocious monsters. It's cuteness overload and nearly impossible not to smile the entire time you are in Meg's shop. Meg is one of our newest Treasury Tree members and a welcome addition at that. We asked her to tell us more about her and her art.

Would you be so kind as to tell us who you are, what you sell, what you are all about?
I’m Meg and I live in downtown Washington, DC with my totally awesome husband. I create handmade, kiln-fired ceramic critter sculptures, mythical beasts, and ferocious monsters. I’m all about making adorable creatures that, hopefully, make people smile when they see them.

Who are your business inspirations?

My mom and dad are both exceptionally talented entrepreneurs; they both have started and successfully run their own businesses for over 25 years. Growing up and witnessing their shared successes and failures – it made me acutely aware of the responsibility of owning your own business… but it also inspired me to create a business that was my own.

What are your business inspirations?

I receive inspiration for my pieces from all sorts of places: cute videos of animals online, graffiti in my neighborhood, weird dreams I have. Really, anywhere I can get it.

Do you sell online full time? If not, what is your other business/job?

I quit my big corporate job in April this year to pursue Red & Main full time. There are things I miss about office culture – camaraderie with coworkers is something I miss very much – but I’m so happy I decided to take the massive, scary step of going out on my own.

What is the biggest challenge when selling your work online?

Getting noticed in the marketplace is the biggest challenge I have found. Etsy is now a very large place with so much talent – distinguishing your shop from others in both appearance and merchandise – is so important.

Tell us about how you got your start selling your craft, either online or local?

I took my first ceramics class in high school and instantly fell in love. I have pursued lots of other forms of art, but there is something about working in three dimensions that really speaks to me. I was really unhappy at my day job, so I purchased a kiln and 50 lbs of clay. My initial intention was to blow off steam after work, maybe sell on Etsy. As soon as I started working with the clay, I was addicted. I started my Etsy shop and applied to local craft shows within a couple weeks of receiving the kiln. The whole thing kind of got legs after that…and now here I am.

Tell us why you do what you do (your particular craft; why make it a business vs. just a hobby).

I love ceramics and I love making really cute things. The largest aspect of my day job that was missing was hands-on creativity.
Prior to starting Red & Main, I believed that politics was my business and art was my hobby. Once I started to pursue ceramics at home, it became abundantly clear that I had my priorities reversed. Now, art is my job and politics is my hobby… and I have never been happier.

Are there any tips or tricks to selling online vs. local that you can share?

The most helpful thing you can do for yourself on Etsy is to have exceptional photos, which is not crucial selling locally. At local sales, I try to make certain I have an eye-catching booth display and lots of business cards.

A few of my favorite Etsy shops:

Merrypad: awesome household goods made from repurposed materials
Digforvictory: incredibly gorgeous hand-sewn dresses
Dandyrions: The freaking cutest shirts ever
Babus: adorable hand-felted, sustainable toys for children (and adults)

Featured Member Bobbi Lewin

This week's featured member is Bobbi Lewin of Bobbi Lewin Crochet and Fiber Art Designs and Bobbi's Mixed Media Art. Bobbi is one of The Treasury Tree's newest leaders and we are honored to have her. Bobbi is a founding member and with such a keen sense of color and design Bobbi is a wonderful treasury curator. We asked Bobbi to tell us about her shops and her art.

Hi Bobbi, would you be so kind as to tell us who you are, what you sell, what you are all about?

Who am I? I have been trying to figure that one out for half a century now and am still trying! I can tell you who I am as an artist.
I have been drawing and painting since I was old enough to hold a pencil. Even though we did not have a lot of money when I was a kid, I always had art supplies. I’m grateful that my parents chose to nurture that part of me. I have also been doing various needlecrafts since I was a young girl. My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was about 8 years old.
Up until the past year, my primary artistic focus has been on mixed-media paintings. I love being able to use paint and paper and beeswax, or whatever found object I want to stick on the canvas.
Over the past year, I have been very drawn to the idea of using traditional feminine handicrafts in fine art. I love that there is a resurgence now of these crafts, especially among younger women and even men. I have been reading and researching about the history of feminine handicraft, and how it has been used by feminist artists.
My artistic focus has been turning more in that direction. I have gone crazy for crochet. I recently split my one shop into two shops; one for my mixed media paintings and the other for the crochet and fiber art. Recently my main interest is on the crochet garlands I make. They just make me happy!
When I’m not working on my Etsy shop, I’m focused on some larger crochet art projects. One project I’m working on is with some other local artists to create a hyperbolic crochet coral reef here in Salt Lake City.

Who are your business inspirations?
There are a couple of people I have found on the Internet that I just really admire. One is Sister Diane of CraftyPod. I love her approach to crafting and to growing a crafty business. I have learned a lot from her. Another is Linda Tieu from torta gialla. I have been watching her grow her business and blog over the past couple years. Her energy and creativity are very inspiring!

What are your business inspirations?

I want to be able to create a nice balance between selling on Etsy and having time to create some fiber art installations, which are not exactly a lucrative venture! My goal is to be able to make enough through my shop to fund my other art aspirations.

Do you sell online full time? If not, what is your other business/job?
Right now Etsy is my only job. Except for when my cat bosses me around.

What is the biggest challenge when selling your work online?
Getting found! Marketing. Also, knowing when to put the computer away and do something completely unrelated to selling.

Tell us about how you got your start selling your craft, either online or local?
I had heard about Etsy, had seen some fun shops there, and just thought I’d give it a shot. I opened my shop in November of 2009.

Tell us why you do what you do (your particular craft; why make it a business vs just a hobby)
I believe everyone deserves to be able to make a living doing what they love to do. I love to crochet, and want to do it all day long.

Are there any tips or tricks to selling online vs local that you can share?
I haven’t put a lot of effort into selling local. I’ll do a craft fair now and then, but my preference is to sell online.

A few of my favorite Etsy shops:
Sewandsowlife, pquinn, leahduncan, vesselsandwares

Featured Member Leah Copplestone of LBC Paper

We are starting a series featuring members of our team to give others a little peek into the lives of our talented artists and sellers. Our first featured member is Leah Copplestone of LBC Paper. Leah is one of the founding members of The Treasury Tree, a former leader and challenge coordinator and all around wonderful team member. Her shop is a treasury curator's dream; filled with color shape and texture and bursting with holiday themed goodness. Leah is also an amazing treasury curator herself and we are lucky to have her.

Leah would you be so kind as to tell us who you are, what you sell, what you are all about:

I am Leah, pronounced Lee-ah. Half the time people see my name written down and pronounce it “Lee” or “Lay-ah”, which is the #1 way to get on my bad side ‘cause I’m not a Star Wars princess (unfortunately) and “Lee” is…well, just not my name. Last name = Copplestone, kind of like those old streets from a wicked long time ago. I sell things made out of paper. My shop is mostly full of cards and stationery. One day I experimented with some paper ornaments and they kind of took off, so I have made many more and am now making them into magnets and pushpins. I like using recycled paper from old books and maps. I like making things that are useful and I like bright colors.

Who are your business inspirations?

Fred Astaire. And Bono.

What are your business inspirations?

I want to make enough money to fund a cure for cancer. ALL cancers.

Do you sell online full time? If not, what is your other business/job?

Ummm…no…well, now it’s time for a story: I’m 21. I’m supposed to be in college but instead I’m very sick. I was in school playing field hockey but developed a bad overuse injury. Due to the persisting condition and several unsuccessful surgeries I now have extreme and irreversible nerve damage throughout both legs, which is very very painful. This is called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. I used to be able to run really fast (like, faster than a cheetah) but for the time being it is quite difficult for me to walk (which is why I’m not in school, ‘cause if you can’t handle walking to class you really should do something about it). When I’m better I’ll be starting at Boston Architectural College, where I will learn how to build you a house.

What is the biggest challenge when selling your work online?

Accurately portraying my work through photos.

Tell us about how you got your start selling your craft, either online or local? It started with the whole not-being-able-to-walk thing. I was desperate for a way to keep myself busy while being able to sit down. For months I had been making cards and sending them to all my friends at school so I just started making extras and putting them on Etsy.

Tell us why you do what you do (your particular craft; why make it a business vs just a hobby).

A business is able to keep me more distracted from the legs than a hobby ever could.

Are there any tips or tricks to selling online vs local that you can share?

Well, I don’t sell local but I have been asked by several out-of-town shops and boutiques to consign with them. I live in Virginia and the shops I’m consigning with right now are in Atlanta, Chicago and Boston. Because I can’t make regular visits to any of them I have made sure I am very comfortable with the agreements we have made. I have lots of documents and things-in-writing and signatures, and they have the same from me.

A few of my favorite Etsy shops:

merriweathercouncil, JennSki, LittleHouses, inaluxe, paintsquare and papercutsbyjoe.