Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx with Elsita

In my next life I want to be Elsa Mora, if that sort of thing is possible.  You may be more familiar with Elsa’s nickname, Elsita, that’s the name of her Etsy shop too.  Elsita is just so talented and I really wish I had a just a soupçon of her talent and her artist’s eye. She does a little bit of everything: illustration, painting, ceramics, doll-making, sculpture, the most awesome papercuts (I love papercutting, so Elsita is my hero) & jewelry making. I’m just as pleased as a slice of blackberry pie that Elsita let me interview her for Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx.

You can see more of Elsita’s work on her blog, her papercuttign blog and on her flickr page.

1. What’s the name of your business, what do create and sell and how did you get your start?

Elsita is my nickname and also the name of my Etsy store. I basically sell prints of my illustrations and papercuts, plus some other handmade crafts like dolls, buttons, jewelry etc. One afternoon in 2007 I heard a buzz in my ear while I was seated in front of my computer and then BING! I got bitten by a tiny bug. Later on I realized that it was the bug of the independent seller spirit that was flying all over the world. The bite made me open an Etsy store that same afternoon, that’s how my business got started.

2. What’s better…all the money you could want or all the free time you need?

Both of them. Lots of each one if possible please 🙂

3. What are your inspirations?

Everything that calls my attention and makes me curious, it is a long list but I will mention three things here:

1. Anything new that I never saw or heard about before.
2. Anything that you can open and look inside it. (book, box…)
3. People in all sizes, colors and shapes.

4. What three things can’t you live without?

My head, my hands and my heart.

5. What blogs and mags do you read and what shops do you shop at?

I enjoy reading all the blogs in my blogroll, starting with this one: www.williamhorberg.typepad.com (my husband’s) and I also enjoy reading any visual magazine alive on planet Earth that finds its way to me. I shop at different Etsy shops, but I want to mention one that is very special to me and the name is arthursimo. This is the store of Arthur Simo, a wonderful young artist=2 0(he is Autistic like my three-year-old son). I am one of his most enthusiastic collectors. Don’t miss the explanations of his creations, you will love them.

6.What’s the best thing about what you do? And the worst?

The best thing about what I do is that it makes me happy and when I am happy it is easier to make other people happy and the more happy people on Planet Earth, the better. On the other hand I don’t know what the worst thing about what I do is yet.

7. What’s one thing you’ve learned as an adult that you wish you knew when you were a kid?

That your parents love you no matter what. It took me to become a parent myself to understand this idea deeply.