By guest contributor Amy Anderson 

At first glance, Ozlem Kilic’s jewelry looks like intricate metalwork. But all of the products in her shop, LemKa’s B Side, are actually made of leather. Ozlem, who lives in Istanbul, Turkey and has experience in fashion design, creates these whimsical necklaces, bracelets, and accessories. She features more designs in her other Etsy shop, LemKa’s Colored Garden. Enjoy Ozlem’s story and her fabulous creations in today’s Fresh Etsy Pixx.

1. What do you create and how did you get started?

I studied fashion design in Naples, Italy and after that studied Traditional Turkish Art as second major in Istanbul. After my education, I worked for Gap Inc. as a merchandiser in their Istanbul Sourcing office and handled knitwear and accessory business for Banana Republic brand in Mediterranean region.

After I quit working for Gap in 2005, I started working as a freelance designer/artist. I created sneaker shoe collections for an Italian sportswear brand, scarf print designs for some local department stores, curtain designs for a couple of Turkish producers and visual merchandising materials for couple of department stores.

I have been designing bridal hair accessories, jeweleries with silver and semi precious stones and leather accessories for the last 4 years.

2. Why do you sell on Etsy? Do you sell elsewhere as well?

I recently started selling through Etsy. I believe it’s the best site for reaching people who love handmade and special items from all over the world. I do not sell through other web sites, but I do sell my items to a couple of boutiques in Europe.

3. Where do you get the ideas for your pieces?

I love local and traditional art. I love to visit Grand Bazaar and old city of Istanbul and I get inspired by art events, sculptures, paintings, etc. My biggest inspiration is the young and dynamic people in fashion world.

4. Describe your artistic style in three words.

Happy, unique and affordable.

5. Where do you go or what do you do when you need inspiration?

I follow most of the art events and exhibitions for inspiration, I go to Grand Bazaar and surrounding area every weekend, but my favorite place is Paris. I also follow the trends from Bread&Butter Berlin and similar fairs and organizations.

6. Where do you see your work going in the future?

My biggest wish is a happy and healthy life with my son and husband. Then I want to set up my brand and become reachable to all people in the world. I am not targeting big figures as I want to keep my work niche instead of mass.

About the contributor: Amy Anderson is one of the Indie Fixx interns and just recently graduated from Northwestern University. Amy has wanted to be a journalist since she was just 5 years old and is also into the indie design and crafting scenes as well. In addition to writing the occasional post, she also helps me with a variety of projects.

Gur Kimel is only 24 years old and just started his Etsy shop in September, but already his jewelry stands out. This Israeli student living in Tel Aviv puts the beauty of nature into each piece in his aptly named shop, Nature Preserve Jewelry. Enjoy learning more about Gur’s natural inspirations in this latest installment of Fresh Etsy Pixx.

1. What do you create and how did you get started? Do you sell your work at places other than Etsy?

I am a student in industrial design at Holon Institute of Technology in Israel. I started working with jewelry as a school project last year, and now I’m making jewelry that is sold in several boutique shops all around Israel, and on Etsy.

2. Where do you get the ideas for your pieces?

I’m inspired by nature in the deepest way possible and dedicated to the idea of making people see the beauty of nature.

3. Where do you go or what do you do when you need inspiration?

I go outdoors and look for the “bare necessities” of life. The most interesting shapes, colors and textures, the small things that our modern society has forgotten all about: the way a tree grows, the shape of a nut, the shell that fits the body perfectly, the way a fruit unfolds its shape, the colors of the water at sunset time, the life that is found in the forest. That’s my inspiration.

4. Where do you see your work going in the future?

In the near future, I hope that my works will help me pay for my degree. After that, in the far future I’m hoping to work as a full time product designer, but I’m sure I’ll keep on making my jewelry. I just love it so much.

5. Describe your artistic style in three words.

Nature uniquely preserved.

Mine Kurtulmus is an example of why following your heart can bring great happiness. Her Etsy shop, LoveandKnit just opened in September after Kurtulmus decided to leave her job and focus on her knitting and crafting full time. Her knits have fun, unique designs and her sister shop, LoveandDream, has lovely intricate clothes and accessories. Enjoy Kurtulmus’ story straight from Istanbul!

1. What do you create and how did you get started?

Knitting is my meditation. I love knitting so much, so I knit all the time. I have two Etsy shops. For LoveandKnit, I make stylish sweaters, cardigans, scarves, beanies, shawles, gloves…everything for winter. And for my LoveandDream shop, I make apparel, accessories and some jewelleries inspired by gypsies. I’m a fashion designer–I worked for big brands for many years. To be a fashion designer was my childhood dream. My dream came through but after years in the textile sector, I began to feel tired. My life was just like the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”! I wanted to change my lifestyle. I quit my job and found Etsy with a magical coincidence. Working at home and independence! That was definitely what I wanted.

2. Why do you sell on Etsy? Do you sell elsewhere as well?

I sell on Etsy because Etsy is my first sweetheart. Everything is going perfect on Etsy, everything is clear. I trust Etsy as a buyer and also as a seller. I think this is why I sell on Etsy.

3. Where do you get the ideas for your pieces?

I make my designs like I’m making them for myself. I never make a thing that I don’t like to wear.

4. Where do you go or what do you do when you need inspiration?

If I don’t know what to do and need some inspiration, movies help me. I have a DVD collection and some of them are really speacial for me.It’s really hard to catch the images flying over my head after I watch them. And I get my inspirations from the materials I use.

5. Where do you see your work going in the future?

Just better and happier!

6. Describe your artistic style in three words.

Unique, well made, special.

By Guest Contributor Amy Anderson

Welcome to the latest installment of Fresh Etsy Pixx. This time, I found an artist who only started her Etsy shop this year, but has been creating art in a variety of mediums for years. Meet Annie Swincinski of Dwell in Style and her serene and organic printmaking.

1. What do you create and how did you get started?

I have always been an artist and crafter for as long as I can remember. Having attended the Savannah College of Art and Design I’ve been trained in all sorts of mediums but most recently I’ve been printmaking. I chose this medium because I am inspired to create affordable original art and design for the everyday home and printmaking allows me to do this with its use of multiples. The methods I use most are woodcut, silkscreen & gocco. Woodcut is reserved mostly for my limited edition 2D creations on paper, while I use silkscreen to create linen and textiles for the home such as place mats, tea towels, pillows, and even scarves. I consider myself a surface designer not a printmaker.

2. Why do you sell on Etsy?

I love love love Etsy. Every single aspect. The site has clean lines and beautiful design. It is easy to use. It is more than affordable. I am able to reach an international audience from one storefront. They bring the shoppers to my doorstep before I am even out of my pajamas in the morning. They are helpful and have the best supporting creative community I have ever been a part of. I am actually on my second shop. I opened my first one about 2 years ago under a silly name. It wasn’t long before I had hundreds of sales and was able to leave my day job. I knew I had to come up with a brand name and open a new shop. Dwell in Style was born. Etsy has also been a great promotional tool in itself. People find me all the time for features and blogs. I was even asked to submit work to be published in a book about printmaking this past year.

3. Do you sell elsewhere as well?

Etsy provides my only online selling venue. During the festival season I hit the road to sell in person at art festivals, galleries, and some small time wholesale and consignment. Traveling is so much fun. I love meeting new people other artists and especially my buyers.

4. Where do you go or what do you do when you need inspiration?

When I’m seeking inspiration I do a few things. Coffee in hand, I usually go shopping. I like to keep my art as well as my textiles in style and fashionable, even trendy. I usually hit a few of my favorite home decor stores, the fabric store and the bookstore to thumb through design magazines. My subject matter is usually organically inspired so being outdoors and close to nature is a very important part of my process. When I’m looking for color inspiration I love to search Etsy’s treasuries and look at the color pallets the treasury curators have chosen.

5. Where do you see your work going in the future?

I would like to focus more on home decor and textile design. Maybe even design for a textile company or sell my designs right out to those that are interested. I will always continue the limited edition woodcuts. I’m very passionate about everyone being able to afford and own original art and I believe printmaking is simply the best way for me to contribute to that goal.

6. Describe your artistic style in three words.

Modern & Organically Inspired.

About the contributor: Amy Anderson is one of  the Indie Fixx interns and is also a student at Northwestern University. Amy has wanted to be a journalist since she was just 5 years old and she is also into the indie design and crafting scenes as well. In addition to writing the occasional post, she also helps me coordinate Feed Your Soul: the free art project.

When I saw TANGLe & FoLd’s shop on Etsy, I knew I had to track them down and find out more. Jonathan and Charity are the crafters behind the intricate paper flowers, fun jewelry and funky legwarmers at TANGLe & FoLd. The Brooklyn, NY couple has some wonderful one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly products and they were nice enough to chat with me about their latest projects and inspirations. 

1. What do you create and how did you get started?

We make everything! We really don’t limit ourselves to anything. Jonathan is known for his paper flowers which are his own design and Charity is known for her legwarmers which are also her own design! We both dabble in jewelry making and other accessories. We started selling on Etsy due to our financial situation. We were both artists long before we opened our shop and even though we were told by friends to do something about our talents, it took a lack of money for us to do so. We are very pleased with the outcome.

2. Why do you sell on Etsy? Do you sell elsewhere as well?

Etsy is just plain awesome. It’s the perfect site for independent artists to showcase and sell their goods. They offer great workshops and virtual labs and are always on hand when you need help. Sometimes we take part in street fairs and markets when time permits and we always have people over our house, which is also our studio. We get good sales there.

3. Where do you get the ideas for your pieces?

Junk: we love the idea of taking trash and making it into something beautiful. A lot of the times we just make stuff that we would wear or stuff that we would want lying around our house.

4. Where do you go or what do you do when you need inspiration?

We stick around home a lot, play some old records and just stare at our supplies for a bit till something pops up. It’s really fun when your materials are endless. If that doesn’t work we just ask each other what we should make. There’s always a project we’ve been meaning to work on that hasn’t been started yet.

5. Where do you see your work going in the future?

Who knows? The options are endless!! We would love to see our flowers all over—they’re a great alternative to real flowers and they’re so good for our planet! Whatever happens we’re happy with the customers that have admired our work.

6. Describe your artistic style in three words.

Junky, Funky, Indie.

About the contributor: Amy Anderson is one of  the Indie Fixx interns and is also a student at Northwestern University. Amy has wanted to be a journalist since she was just 5 years old and she is also into the indie design and crafting scenes as well. In addition to writing the occasional post, she also helps me coordinate Feed Your Soul: the free art project.

By guest contributor Amy Anderson

In this edition of Fresh Etsy Pixx, I spoke to Brent and Jess Williams of Fabuluster, an Etsy shop out of Topsham, Maine. They came up with an amazing way to make a wedding day or important event even more special. Their custom fingerprint rings and other metalwork are truly works to remember.

1. What do you create and how did you get started?

We create limited edition and one of a kind custom jewelry. We got our start at Maine College of Art where our passions led us to metalsmithing and each other.

2. Why do you sell on Etsy? Do you sell elsewhere as well?

We like Etsy because the buyers are so educated on handmade items. It’s not a hard sell. They are there looking for good handmade stuff. We have our own web site and we have a gallery in Portland, Maine that represents us. We prefer Internet sales.

3. Where do you get the ideas for your pieces?

 We get our ideas from our life. Right now, we are very into our family and love to create pieces that have special meaning. We look around us to find inspiration.

4. Where do you go or what do you do when you need inspiration?

 We take a day off and just have some fun and relax. Brent, the self-proclaimed “idea man” never has a shortage for ideas.

5. Where do you see your work going in the future?

We would like to reach a broader market with what we have now. We also hope to have a few new lines in the upcoming weeks that also include wedding vows with the fingerprints. We will always be looking for the next idea.

6. Describe your artistic style in three words.

Heirloom, simple, modern.

About the contributor: Amy Anderson is one of  the Indie Fixx interns this summer and is also a student at Northwestern University. Amy has wanted to be a journalist since she was just 5 years old and she is also into the indie design and crafting scenes as well. In addition to writing the occasional post, she also helps me coordinate Feed Your Soul: the free art project.

Amy here, one of the Indie Fixx interns, and I seem to spend most of my free time browsing Etsy for cute new shops or the perfect gift for friends and family. That’s why I was excited when Jen asked me to find some artists for Fresh Etsy Pixx and it’s when I found out about Floridity, Barbara Bechtel’s fabulous jewelry and bead shop. Barbara started the shop earlier this year and also sells mixed media art at Second Surf.  I adore her bird and flower motifs created in polymer clay—simple but stunning! Read more about Barbara’s inspiration and love of the artistic process in my interview with her and check out her two Etsy shops, Floridity and Second Surf.

1. What do you create and how did you get started?

I am a painter by trade. I have a fancy piece of paper with my name on it from The Savannah College of Art and Design and everything. Beginning my career as a mixed media artist, my work has always  been focused on craft and process. I spent my time after college in management in the retail grocery industry. In February of 2009, I left that career to embark solely on my artistic ventures. It was then that I branched out from offering mixed media work to offering my handmade jewelry and pendant designs as well. Jewelry had always been a hobby aside from my other artistic pursuits and I really wanted to focus a larger portion of my time on it.

2. Why do you sell on Etsy? Do you sell elsewhere as well?

Etsy has been great since its inception! It is so clean looking and easy to use. I like that it has been kept relatively simple and provides a valuable opportunity to artists and crafters of all levels to enjoy selling their work! I also sell at handmade fairs and art markets and have exhibited and sold work through galleries and boutiques through out the southeastern United States.

3. Where do you get the ideas for your pieces?

My work is very intuitive. Most of my inspiration comes from nature. I keep a sketchbook and journal but normally I just have a sliver of an idea when I start. I let the idea work itself out through the process. I think that is the painter coming out in me!

4. Where do you go or what do you do when you need inspiration?

I go away from the studio! My boyfriend and I love taking long drives….just to look around. I love garage sales and discarded things. Seeing old things with fresh eyes. Part of being creative is looking at the world around you- hopefully showing people something in a way that they haven’t seen before. The beach and the mountains hold a lot of inspiration for me and I’m fortunate to be able to spend a good deal of time both places. The things I see in my travels make their way back to the studio and these mental images and whispers form their way into ideas for pieces. Cooking and food also inspires me. Cooking is alot like art making in the sense you are building something from scratch, taking all of these small things and transforming them into something different. My blog showcases my inspiration as well as the inspiring work of others at Second Surf.

5. Where do you see your work going in the future?

I am very passionate about making original work. I like to make each piece one at a time. That is the very essence of handmade. I want people to realize that they own the ONLY ONE in the WHOLE WORLD. I hope that my work will continue in this fashion and in that same spirit! I would also love to have my own brick and mortar shop someday. That would be an

6. Describe your artistic style in three words.

Organic.Thoughtful. Sincere.

About the contributor: Amy Anderson is one of  the Indie Fixx interns this summer and is also a student at Northwestern University. Amy has wanted to be a journalist since she was just 5 years old and she is also into the indie design and crafting scenes as well. In addition to writing the occasional post, she also helps me coordinate Feed Your Soul: the free art project.

For the feature Fresh Etsy Pixx I choose a new rising star on Etsy to highlight. I either pick a shop that is well on its way to being a rising star or choose a shop that I think has great stuff, but just needs an extra little bit of exposure. Today, I’ve chosen a shop that fits that latter category and it’s called OctopedalArts. OctopedalArts is made up of the husband and wife team, Peter and Jenn, and they just opened their shop about a month ago. Peter and Jenn create their original designs and hand screenprint everything themselves—they also model their work.

My favorite designs include: “Tell Your Mama to Vote for Obama” and “Octopus”. Both are available in both men’s and women’s sizes, styles and colors.

Read more about Peter, Jenn and OctopedalArts in my interview with them below.

1. What’s the name of your shop and what do you create?

The name of our shop is OctopedalArts. We create original handmade silkscreen designs on cool, comfortable, fashionable clothes. Our prints are inspired by our passions and adventures – many from the Greek island of Sifnos where we lived for a time after we got married. Each creation has a story behind it, which you can read about in the Behind the Design feature at our blog.

We also have a Barack Obama print because he inspires us and we believe he is capable of bringing about the change this country desperately needs. Several new designs are in the works that reflect our intense love and dedication to New Mexico.

We have had our hands in everything from start to finish: photography, design, making screens, choosing clothes, the printing, the finishing, the packaging, everything. It’s a holistic enterprise in the truest sense of the word.

Right now at our Etsy shop, you’ll find t-shirts and some one-offs on funky shirts that we found around town, but there is more to come. We want to sell kids clothes, baby clothes, hoodies, skirts, yoga pants and bags, as well as different styles of shirts. We have so many ideas, we can’t keep up.

2. How long have you been in business and how long have you been selling on Etsy?

We have been in business officially since June, although there was a great deal of preparation, anxiety and excitement beforehand. We listed our first shirts on Etsy on June 27th.

3. What made you take the plunge?

Besides the obvious desire to create and play in the studio, there is the ever-driving force to escape from behind the desk and be our own bosses. We love creating designs we are proud of, we love working together and we love hanging out with our pets all day. OctopedalArts was conceived during the summer we spent on Sifnos in Greece. There was a complete lack on the island of something we would want to buy and wear that could remind us of our time there. We knew we could fill the void by making cool designs on comfy shirts that make people look good.

4. What inspires you?

Travel, adventure, things that grow, mysteries of the deep, animals, dreams, forests, the sea, friends, octopi, family, Greece, New Mexico, color, pottery, John Reeve (potter), magic, springtime and each other.

5. Any goals you’d like to share?

We would love to sell our shirts on Sifnos as so many of our designs are inspired by that incredible island. Plus, of course it would give us the opportunity to go back regularly and swim at our favorite place on earth. In general, we would love for OctopedalArts to be our bread and butter, giving us the time to travel. For us, life is about adventure and our designs come from the discoveries we make along the way. This is our vision for OctopedalArts.

We are also potters, another craft inspired by our summer on Sifnos – also known as “The Potter’s Island”. If we can find the time, we will expand OctopedalArts to include pottery later in the year.

6. Share something totally frivolous that you’d love to do if time & money weren’t a factor.

Simon Leach, a well-known potter and grandson of the famous Bernard Leach lives in the south of Spain and gives pottery classes in his studio. He has amazing instructional videos on Youtube! We would love to go and study with him for a few weeks, maybe months.

We also fantasize about living in two hemispheres so that we could skip winter all together.Here’s the plan: stay in Santa Fe from Spring to early Fall and then head to New Zealand. Spring, Summer, Fall… then right back to Spring! Of course, we would also have to work in a month or so in Greece.

Some pics from the OctopedalArts Studio of Jenn and Peter goofing around and creating.