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/

ThatsHeadley.etsy.com

This is etsy twitter teams shop of the week.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=25865

ThatsHeadley.etsy.com Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry in Stone and Sterling

Beppies.etsy.com

Hi thanks for stopping by to take a look. I hope you enjoy my selection. In case you don't find anything this time keep coming back for new posts every week. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Thank you.****Follow my blog at ----> http://beppies.blogspot.com/***********Posting new every week so check back for new listings!.....Many items can be duplicated so if you are in need of more than one please convo me and we can work it out.

I am a 26 year old stay at home mom with 4 very young kids. I started my shop 10 months ago and am having so much fun!!! I love creating quality jewelry that is low maintenance but still makes you feel pretty. I try to design with the casual yet classy woman in mind. Etsy has opened so many doors for so many people like me and I feel like it is a wonderful place to express your creativity.

My shop Link is: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6052399

This is tough but my favorite item links are:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21819210http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22797235http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22795909

GladRaggz.etsy.com

Peach Sorbet - Biwa and freshwater and glass earrings. Nickel free.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22674071

I've always been creative and really enjoy what I do. I try to make items that strike a familiar chord in people, but with a new twist - something that looks classical, but with a modern twist - new materials, and with bling - something that's never been done before. I've never really seen any of my handbags anywhere else, and I truly take pride in my one-of-a-kind items. I do the same with my jewelry - trying not to copy anything in particular, but getting my inspiration from what's already been done and going off in a different direction with new approaches to make everything special and unique. Regardless of what I make, I strive to use the very best quality materials, and use my best workmanship skills in achieving the finished product.

Because I love each and every one of my creations, it's really hard to select just one that I like the best. If I had to choose, it would be these earrings - basic, elegant, stately, classical, and beautiful all at the same time - much like a Japanese Geisha...

Please feel free to visit my shop, Gladraggz, at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6352491

also

Please check out my new blog at:

www.carpetbaggercreations.blogspot.com

Bohemian Boutique

My name is Jenny Collins. I have a shop on Etsy called Bohemian Boutique. The url is http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5506241.I joined Etsy in 2007, but I just watched everything for a long time, I didn't actually set up my store until the end of October 2008. For about a year and a half, I owned an art gallery with my brother, who is a photographer. We sold mostly digital art, but I sold my jewelry there, too. When I closed my gallery, I opened my Etsy shop.I am a jewelry nut. I have loved jewelry since I was a very little girl. I used to sit and draw pictures of matching sets of jewelry....thought I was brilliant! I couldn't draw a thing, so they didn't look so hot. But the jewelry design aspect of it has always been there.The thing that is sets me apart from other shops and jewelry designers is probably my materials. I see jewelry in some very odd things. I like to use junk of all sorts. I recreate pieces from old jewelry. I have so much old junk jewelry you could not believe it. I don't like to make or wear anything that looks like there could be two of them anywhere. I also make home items, I just don't have them in my shop yet. I am starting to upcycle and redesign old purses and clothing. I find that lots and lots of fun. I will have that in my shop soon.One of my favorite pieces of jewelry in my shop right now is a necklace I made from a part from our old dvd player. It is very cool. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16797532.My second favorite piece is a necklace made from a washer and ball chain from the hardware store. It is http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16795492.At first, I tried to look all uniform in pictures like some of the Etsy shops, but that is really not me, so I just did what I wanted to do.I think when you look at my Etsy shop, it doesn't look like anyone elses. A few of my things look like I went to the bead store for supplies, but not many.I have only had one sale, so I can't talk too much about customer service. But when I did make that sale, my computer had crashed and was down for about three days. When I discovered that I had made a sale and she had contacted me about three days prior, I about had a heart attack. I got the package ready that second and took it to the post office. I emailed her at least three times to explain the situation and that I had mailed the package. She was a great first customer! I learned a lot from that.Well, enough about me. Check out my shop! My blog is http://bohemianboutique.blogspot.com/

rachellucie

Link to rachellucie.etsy.com http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6054113


I am Rachel Johns, a full time mum of two (Robert, 5 and Lily, 2.5) and full time jewellery designer. I only started designing and making my own jewellery last year, it being my first ever creative endeavour at the age of 36! I used to take great interest in art, design, crafts, interior design, anything visual, but was more of an armchair admirer.
I don’t know what happened to me last spring, it all started when I got a wad of birthday money and wanted to treat myself to some beautiful and unusual jewellery. I couldn’t find any! I hadn’t heard of etsy then. This started me on a long journey which started there and within about a month had me thinking, not only do I want to do my own jewellery, I want it as my job!

What do I make?
Well, I make sterling silver, semi-precious bead and freshwater pearl wire jewellery. That’s not very unusual! However, my inspiration is from early twentieth century design, whimsy, glitter, glamour, faded opulence, Art Deco, Art Nouveau.

My designs don’t look like Art Deco jewellery, though, they look like the mixed up concoction from that era that is in my head! My pieces are all about quality jewellery that lasts and my passion is semi-precious stones and silver, so no brass, gunmetal or other metals are used.

I create the pieces I want to wear, that can be worn with anything, dress up or dress down so people feel the investment they have made in something they will hopefully want to wear for years to come. My Grandma (‘Gilly’ we called her) had a silver and ivory inlaid sandalwood box with all the broken necklaces and beads she’d kept from the 1930’s, and her mothers and her grandmother’s jewellery - rock crystal, chrysaphrase, turquoise, pearls, jade, green onyx, originally from great long strings of beads. I spent hours as a child asking her the names and threading my own ‘necklaces’. Gilly also had a string of pearls she was given for her 21st and had worn every week for the last 60 years. I loved how those pearls looked. Vintage is very ‘now’ but I think I’ve always been there, I’m glad everyone else joined me!

I am pleased with my etsy shop, and I think I have managed to portray the image I wanted, although it’s very much a work in progress, and I enjoy tweeking it immensely! I use antique books, my dilapidated kitchen windowsill, local Yorkshire stone from my garden, things I have kept for years that I love and have had no use for to display my jewellery – suddenly it all makes sense! I suppose I am in between the minimalist shop display used by some jewellery designers on etsy, and the vintage whimsy ones who have a more complicated set up. I hope it works for me!