Shop of the Week: Art by Betty Refour (Shop name: brefour)

Shop of the Week: Art by Betty Refour (Shop name: brefour)

Let me introduce you to Betty Refour, the proprietor behind our Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week, BRefour. Betty's Etsy Shop, offers original art and note cards created by Betty and Betty's sister, Rose, who has autism. Both artists use bright colors in small spaces, offering art that is both visually appealing and affordable. Betty says much of her inspiration comes from fabric and architecture. She loves art because, "with art there are no boundaries... limitless imagination." Betty is very inspired these days--she has joined a local 'daily painting group'!

The art of BRefour is internationally known. Her stellar customer feedback reflects the quality of product and service. Not only does Betty offer products that are made with care, but a portion of the shop's proceeds is donated to charity. Betty applies a similar selfless attitude to Twitter: to “establish relationships, tweet about things other than myself and retweet other tweets.”

Betty is practical about her 2010 resolution: to destash* She says "I think creative people can see something in everything and because of that, we end up with so much more than we need." All of us can relate to that!

This week, Betty is offering a special Etsy Twitter Team Shop of the Week Discount! 50% off all items in the SALE section. Use code SOTW in notes to seller and she will send you a revised invoice.

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Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/brefour

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bettyrefour
Facebook: http://artist.to/artbybettyrefour
Blog: http://artbybettyrefour.blogspot.com

Written by Judy

Shop of the week: Prettycheap

Shop of the week: Prettycheap Posted: 29 Mar 2010 02:02 PM PDT This weeks shop of the week is Prettycheap, run by owner and creator Nina Danza. Nina ships her items internationally from Ventura, California. Nina describes herself and her shop as the follows "I am the Frugal Artisan making many different kinds of beautiful bargains! Look in my shop for classic timeless jewelry designs in precious metal, natural stone, and pearls as well as richly colored original photo cards, pressed flower stationary, and embroidery and needlework cards (all very time honored classic crafts)." When walking through her shop please remember the following: "Everything at Pretty Cheap is made with quality and sold at inexpensive prices. Once you get past the name, my customers can't believe what a great value they get in their purchases: "These are just as sweet and well made as can be! Thank you for great items at good prices! In the words of my granddaughter, Prettycheap rocks" ... "I LOVE these earrings!!! Even prettier in person. They are gorgeous! I have gotten a ton of compliments on them. Fast shipping and very well packaged too. Thanks so much" are just a couple of the 100% positive feed backs." As always we here at the etsy twitter team love to share our information about how we work on twitter. Nina would like to continue to inspire all of you to use twitter by using the following trick of the trade: "Focus on following and interacting with those of the same passion. Instead of singing to the choir, figure out what sets you apart (ok, easier said than done) and use http://www.twellow.com to find others of like mind. I am such a die hard saver it was easy to start seeking out other thrifty folks. How convenient to have a recession come along and make frugality a trend!" Nina's business resolutions for 2010 is as follows: "Last year I did an experiment to see what scale of profit I would earn by selling at an increased number of in person shows. The result was good, and gave me first hand knowledge of what price range and type of items shoppers were buying especially at the year end holiday season. I learned that I want to develop the perfect all around gift, that would fit in a medium 2" square box, for a moderate price, by fall of this year!! (and if so I'll let you all know what it is!)" Nina is offering our readers for this week only: Free Recycled Guitar String Bracelet with every order (no minimum purchase necessary). While supplies last. Lots of colors and styles, great environmental fashion statement. Just ask for it at checkout. See examples here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/prettycheap/4368649814/ TWITTER ADDRESS http://www.twitter.com/prettycheap FB PAGE http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pretty-Cheap-Jewelry/250706407767?ref=ts BLOG http://www.prettycheapjewelry.savingadvice.com MAILING LIST Click on the blog link and add your email in the left sidebar box

Shop of the week: Wellspring Creations

Shop of the week: Wellspring Creations Our shop of the week for January 25-31 is from Northern California. When shopping in Wellspring Creations you will find beautiful pieces of jewelry that combine lovely stones or crystals with wire: necklaces, bracelets/cuffs, earrings, and rings. Judy, owner and designer of Wellspring Creations, shows her love for taking a straight piece of wire and turning it into something unique. "With wire and a lovely stone, my imagination simply blooms and I get to play with symmetry, asymmetry, and geometric design." She would like all of our readers to know that "I find unusual stones; sometimes beads (with a drilled hole) or cabochons (a flattened, polished stone with no hole). Many of my finds come from only one mine in the whole world! I consider the stone and how best to wrap it so that the stone is secure and the setting shows off the stone, rather than overwhelms it. I prefer using natural stones and high quality wire, mostly sterling silver, but often work with fine (nearly pure) silver, copper, and 14K gold filled wire. Since I put a lot of time and consideration into each piece, I prefer the components to be high quality, so they last well. I try to make every piece an heirloom." Her designs ship internationally so everyone can enjoy one of her beautiful pieces of work! One of the things I love about Judy is that she is always tweeting about her team members sales and the Etsy Twitter Team's important information. She is always Direct Messaging her fellow tweeter's just to see how they are doing. When asked about how she uses twitter and her tricks she told me: "My followers are my Twitter friends. I follow people that I find interesting and engage in conversations. I think of Twitter as a cocktail party: I go to meet new people, touch bases with old friends and, occasionally, talk about my work. Most of my tweets are comments or responses to other people's tweets. I retweet when it's something I personally find interesting or think others would. I sometimes tweet about my work process--what movie I'm watching while I wrap a pendant; if the light/weather is good enough to photograph my work on a particular day; and a few times a week I tweet a link to an item in my shop. I probably tweet links to others' items a bit more than my own to provide some variety and introduce folks to other handmade artists in a gracious way." Judy's new years resolution for her store is to work on her photographs so that they "look as good as the jewelry I'm trying to photograph! This is often reflected in feedback from clients delighted how much better their purchase looks in their hand than the picture they saw in the Etsy listing!" Judy is offering a free handcrafted gift with any purchase from my Etsy shop during the week of January 25-31, 2010. Use code: SOTW in the comments at checkout. To learn more about Judy and Wellspring Creations please follow the links below: Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/WSCreations Etsy Shop: http://www.wellspringcreations.etsy.com/ Facebook: http://www.artist.to/WellspringCreations Blog: http://www.wellspringcreations.blogspot.com/ Thank you Judy for sharing all of this information with us. We wish you a very successful 2010! Written by Jen K. http://www.jenco13.etsy.com/

shop of the week , lost mitten

Shop of the Week: Lost Mitten

When stepping into this week's Shop of the Week, LostMitten.etsy.com, you can feel Lauren Y.'s love for all things that come from video games. Lauren's shop includes handmade crafts, Perler Bead goods for your office and home, needlepoint creations, Nintendo DS cases, and more. In addition to video games, she loves to knit and crochet! You have to check out these amazing fingerless gloves and awesome hats! A perfect gift for this chilly season (and I do mean chilly)! Lost Mitten is also known for a variety of pinback buttons.

Lauren's shop ships internationally and is located in Brantford, Ontario, Canada (near Hamilton, Toronto, London). Lauren would like all of her customers to know that "Each item in the Lost Mitten Etsy Shop is lovingly handmade by me. The designs and concepts for the creations are a collaboration between myself and my fiancé, Paul. My shop has been open since September 2006."

Here at the Etsy Twitter Team we love to share our tricks and favorite ways to use Twitter. Lauren has told me that she just "loves to tweet about my handmade creations and anything else that happens in day-to-day life. I have met some awesome people through my tweets, so I feel that it is important to make these connections and friendships for an improved Twitter experience. I think it is important to establish a balance between tweeting for your business and tweeting about yourself because people don't want to feel like they are being advertised to all of the time. They want to hear about your interests and other interesting things, too!"

So true Lauren and we love to read your tweets about what’s going on in your Etsy store and your day-to-day life!

Lauren's favorite part of her craft is when she finds out that one of her items have made a wonderful gift for anyone or themselves. Her favorite items to make are the Perler Bead items that she started to make in 2006 when her shop opened on Etsy. Lauren also enjoys taking on new challenges in her craft. (Please convo her for custom made items.)

Since it is the beginning of 2010, we have challenged all of our members to take on a New Year’s Resolution. Lauren admits (like most of us here at ETT) that Etsy becomes addicting. She hopes to spend more time creating this year as a part-time job. We wish you tons of luck, Lauren, in this new resolution and want to say congratulations to you and Paul on planning your wedding.

Follow her on Twitter: @lostmitten
Fan her Facebook Pages: http://www.facebook.com/lostmittenetsy
http://www.facebook.com/lostmitten
Read her blog: http://lostmittenblog.blogspot.com

This week ONLY (ends January 17, 2010):
10% off all items for anyone who mentions this article! Mention "Etsy Twitter Team" in comments at checkout and after payment is received via PayPal she will refund you for the amount of the discount.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade lostmitten.etsy.com