Friday Feature: Holly Beck from Hollyand Sage on Etsy

Holly Working

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing holly from HollyandSage on etsy! I am hoping to do weekly blog features of the many wonderful artisans on etsy and other handmade venues.

How long have you been selling on etsy?

I have been selling on Etsy for about a year. I opened my shop in March or April of 2010, but didn’t really get going with it until mid-summer.

What is your busiest season?

The busiest I have been so far is 2 weeks before Christmas last year. After that, business dried up – I guess everyone was afraid to order online too close to Christmas (for fear it wouldn’t arrive in time).

Is etsy your sole income? If no, what is your “day job”? Would you quit if you could?

Right now I don’t have a paying day job, but I maintain a household and do a lot of “mom” things. J

A mommy necklace

What inspires you?

A lot of my items are inspired by color combinations – I have always had an eye for color, and a love for creating my own combinations.

I love the sophisticated color pallet in this button bracelet

Do you sell on other venues?

I do. I have items in three retail locations: Pure Gifts in Mount Pleasant, SC; Back Home in Gold Hill, NC; and Borrowed & Blue in Mount Pleasant, NC.

Are you a good or a bad influence on those around you?

Lol! I guess that depends on the topic! I am a good influence on eating – I am all for natural and local foods, etc., so my friends consider me to be a bit of a food snob. I may be a bad influence in some other areas, but we won’t go there today! ;-)

I love this simple chic necklace

Name some of the sellers whom you look up to and why?

I think The Bead Girl at Studio Jewel is my hero! I don’t know her personally, but I love her work and I would like to learn to work with metal the way she does. Her designs are so simple and stylish! She is also very successful – I guess I hold her success up as an ideal that I would achieve in a perfect world.

Holly's workspace

Do you have any advice for new sellers?

Spend some time on the forums – I learned so much of value there about how to take better photos, things to do and not do, etc. I also made a few connections to teams that I joined. Etsians are very helpful if you get to know them, and some of us need a lot of guidance!

Do you have any pets?

I have a Ragdoll kitten named Blaze. He follows me from room to room when I move around the house throughout the day – he is a wonderful companion! We also have a bearded dragon (lizard) named Simon, and a Rottweiler named Molly.

Holly's kitty, Blaze

Do you have a strong support system? Who is your biggest cheerleader?

My husband and my family and friends are all great supporters of my work! My mom and my aunt have bought multiple pieces from me (in addition to the ones I have given them). My husband is my biggest fan – he is very supportive!

This money clip would be a great guft for the men in your life

Holly is hosting a giveaway on another blog:

Enter to win a vintage button wrap bracelet, a $20 value, from Holly&Sage in the North Carolina Artisans Event on this blog: http://kaeliskiwis.blogspot.com/ - the giveaway starts Sept 3.Keep an eye out for that to win the beautiful bracelet pictured here:

You may click on any picture in this post to be redirected to Holly's shop, or visit her here:

http://www.frugal-living-now.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/hollynsage

Handmade Camping

So, our friend is unable to go camping with us this weekend, so we will probably be postponing our trip until the weekend of may 21st. I am still excited!

Handmade and camping seem to go so well together, I wanted to share some awesome etsy finds.

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Preview

Happy Retro Camper Trailer from thecraftpantry



Happy Camper Tee from my own CausticThreads




Camp Candles From CampCandles

Vintage Stanly Thermos from TheQueenofRe


Trail Mix from marasmaples

And on that note, I just noticed that I am hungry!

Have a great weekend, and happy camping, even if this weekend takes you no further than your own back yard!

Xoxo
♥Erica

Featured Seller: Cappy Sue Creations

You can find something amazing and hilarious in Cappy Sue's stores, and she is busy... she has four of them!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cappysue
cappysueclay.etsy.com all clay all the time
cappysuevintage.etsy.com find your unusual vintage here
cappysuespice.etsy.com a budding supply shop



I entered a giveaway on Cappy Sue's blog for a print of a unicorn with the stomach flue, and I WON! I received the 5x7 glossy print in the mail on saturday and I LOVE IT. It has rainbows coming out of both ends and it makes me giggle uncontrollably every time I see it. Click the picture to go to the listing in her store.



Cappy has pets as kids and LOVES animals. She paints things that she dreams up or that she thinks is funny. I really love her sense of humor! Please check out her awesome stores~!

Xoxo,

Erica

Great Weekend!

Roller Girl ACEO (available in my store AcrylicandSteel)



This weekend was awesome! I was really stressed out going into it, but everything went great! We won both of our games, one was close and the other one felt closer than the score indicated. Everyone who came got to play in both games which was important to me, though one girl was still disappointed with her playing time. The entire team was pleasant and worked together and I am so proud of everyone!

I missed Autumn and Adam while I was gone, but not as much as the last trip I took, so that was good. That was a trip to Denver and it was REALLY hard on me! I was still really happy to see them when I got home.

My good friend Francis went with us to help manage the team during the games, and he did well for his first time. It was also nice to have him around. Sunday we took the ferry from Bremmerton to Seattle and spent the day walking around downtown Seattle. That was really fun, the ferry was awesome and it was a beautiful day! Unfortunately things started shutting down sooner than I had hoped.

I have looked for pictures from this weekend and have not found any yet, but here are some awesome roller derby inspired items from etsy:


"Stay Down" panties from http://www.etsy.com/shop/hotacrossbuns , two derby girls from Ontario Canada.


Toe Guards from http://www.etsy.com/shop/derbyvixen
Roller Skate Ring from http://www.etsy.com/shop/sculleydesign

Featured Seller:TilTcreations

The featured seller on my etsy Blogger team is TilTcreation!

you can go to her store here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tiltcreations

Her store is filled with super-cool bags that are totally my style and she is having an awesome sale: buy one get one 1/2 off Feb 21st - 28th

Here are some of her great items:

Please take a moment to visit her store, and also her blog:

http://tiltcreationstoo.blogspot.com

http://etsybloggers.blospot.com

at buy one get one half off I am very TEMPTED to buy a few things ;)

I hope everyone had an excellent weekend! Mine was pretty good, though the weather played tricks with our practice times this weekend. We almost canceled practice on Saturday, and did cancel on Sunday due to rain. Fortunately I still got a good bike ride in on Sunday. The weather is bad today, cold and wet, and is expected to be bad tomorrow.

We are going to a tournament this upcoming weekend in Washington, so I am a little stressed about that. Our travel team is not the same as it was last year, and we have a lot to overcome. As one of the captains I am having a difficult time trying to make things fun and still work towards a competitive team. I made some great roller derby inspired items this week! I will share them when I get a post up about my screen printing kit (LOVE LOVE LOVE IT).

Have a great day!

Xoxo

Erica

THANK YOU The3Maries

I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Jennifer of The3Maries for featuring my shop on her blog! It is a wonderful feature, please visit her blog to read it: http://the3maries.blogspot.com/

Jennifer has two etsy stores, please take a moment to visit them:

For vintage items like these awesome salt and pepper shakers:


go to:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/The3Maries

For handmade items like custom painted saw blades:

go to:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreatedByThe3Maries


Click on either picture to go to the listing.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Adam and I both had a long weekend, and we had a nice Valentines day.


On Saturday we drove up to Santa Fe for roller derby practice and then came back and went for a nice bike ride. My dad treated us to dinner at Black Angus and the food we had was really delicious. I had practice on Sunday, too and enjoyed riding my bike to that and we celebrated with some small gifts and handmade cards, a nice dinner at home and a netflix movie.

Monday biked to the zoo and autumn was way more interested in the animals than the last time we went, so that was really nice. I was off work today also, because I had an appointment with my regular Doctor. It was a pap (BLAH) and he prescribed some anti-depressants. I have never taken anti depressants, but have definitely had issues with depression throughout my life so I am sure this will be a positive move!

OXOX
-Erica

Featured Seller: Black Sparrow Jewelry

Hi! Today I am featuring Whitney from Black Sparrow Jewelry! Please visit her store!
Black Sparrow Jewelry has lovely items that have antique pieces and I find very fascinating. Granted, it is really easy to win me over with skeleton keys! This store has awesome Items if you are into the steam punk look, or just love pretty things with a vintage flair.

You can go to her website or her etsy store to see much more than I am showing here!

http://www.BlackSparrowJewelry.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackSparrowJewelry


Here are a few of my favorite items:

Antique Sterling Silver Spoon Ring With Elegant Design

Vintage Whistle On Quality Ball Chain

Vintage SCRABBLE Necklace

Coin, Black Glass Bead And Star Charm

You can click on any picture or on any link to get to the items above! You can also find Whitney on twitter:
http://www.Twitter.com/_BlackSparrow

and she has a blog:
http://blacksparrowjewelry.blogspot.com/

And a word from the seller:

"My name is Whitney. I live in Daytona Beach, Florida.

I started my first online business five years ago. I sold horse related products because of the love I have for my horses. Five years and a number of business ventures later, I find myself doing something I never could have imagined. I started designing jewelry for myself to save money without sacrificing style. Now I am fortunate to be able to share my designs with my wonderful customers.

My designs are made from vintage finds. Each unique piece embodies enchanting history and is made from quality finds."