Here are some jewelry lovelies from the Winter Love Galleria.

• Beth Pohlman
• My Sunset Road

•  Renegade Handmade
• Freshie & Zero

•  Renegade Handmade
• Glass Elements

• Tasha Mckelvey
• Kristin Perkins

• BuenoStyle
• tinahdee beautiful jewelry

The Indie Fixx Galleria is an online showcase of handmade, indie-made & vintage goods. Think of it as an ‘indie mall’ featuring a mix of designers & boutiques to provide a curated shopping experience. Participants do pay a fee to take part, but the Galleria is juried.

Now accepting applications for the Green Galleria - March 5th - April 23rd

All types of goods will be considered including handmade & vintage, but there will be a focus on green goods (both eco green & color greeen) as well as goods for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, April Fool’s Day and Earth Day. All artists, designers, crafters and indie boutiques that create or carry handmade, vintage and/or indie made goods are welcome to apply. The cost is $20. The deadline to apply is: March 2nd.

Send your url or 3 small images to apply.

By guest contributor Diahn Ott

The first week of February starts the countdown to one of the most beloved and reviled holidays there is – Valentine’s Day. All through my dating days, I either loved or loathed the 14^th of February, depending on my relationship status in the weeks leading up to it.

These days, I have a tendency to forget about it until the last minute, because I have a permanent sweetheart, who brings me chocolate whenever I ask him. I might be missing out on something really fantastic, though, based on what fabulous things I dug up at Etsy this week.

Regardless of your sweetheart status, you can’t help falling in love with such divine crafty goodness. It just reminds me yet again of why I heart Etsy.

xoxo

1. TheVintagePearl
2. Dekanimal
3. GretchensCreations
4. MDaisleyMoffitt
5. Blockpartyprints
6. Campanita4Life

About the contributor: Diahn Ott is an eclectic, self-taught artist, working primarily in water-based media such as gouache, watercolor and acrylics. She loves combining paints with ink, images with words, and natural with industrial elements. What separates Diahn from other artists is her ability to locate, and accentuate, the beauty in the ordinary by manipulating layered elements with the purity of line work. Her work can be viewed on her blog, Ottwork  and purchased at her recently opened Etsy shop, Ottwork Studios.  

Treat your valentine or yourself to these Valentine’s Day pretties from the  Winter Love Galleria!

1.  Monkey & Squirrel  2.  Flapper Girl

3.  Rabbit & the Duck  4. Stephanie Fizer

5.  SweetBeaker  6. Pretty Messes

7.  crystal j. silk  8. My Sunset Road

9.  A Punkin Card Company  10. Freshie & Zero

11. Jorgensen Studio  12. Phydeaux Designs

13. CJ Recht Jewelry  14.  Polarity

The Indie Fixx Galleria is an online showcase of handmade, indie-made & vintage goods. Think of it as an ‘indie mall’ featuring a mix of designers & boutiques to provide a curated shopping experience. Participants do pay a fee to take part, but the Galleria is juried.

Lauren Haupt is seriously one of my favorite jewelry designers…I own a couple of her pieces and could easily spend about $300 in her shop right now. I’m so pleased that Lauren agreed to let me pick her brain in an interview for Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx.

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

My business is Lauren Haupt Jewelry, but if you recognize my work from Etsy, you’ll see my user name is LocalLibrary. It’s an old name, I first created with Etsy and unfortunately unchangeable, unless I start a new shop account.

I am a creator/designer/constructor of necklaces and earrings. After realizing in college that furniture design wasn’t for me, I moved on and took a few metals and jewelry classes and fell in love. I love creating with my hands and this allowed me to continue to create material pieces while experimenting on a smaller scale with different styles, materials and ideas. A few months later, I took a part-time job at a bead shop where I gained invaluable information about materials, resources, trends and fabricating jewelry with beads, chain and wire. These are the skills I primarily employ, while I envision the future to hold a fully functional metalsmithing studio.

I heard about Etsy in a magazine I believe (Readymade?) and decided to sign up, post some new jewelry and see what happened. I freaked out when I saw not one, but two necklaces sell. And I realized I had no idea what to do next! I didn’t have packaging, business cards, anything really. It’s been a learning, discovering, resolving process ever since.

2. What are your inspirations in your art and life?

My inspiration come from everywhere; art mimicking life, life mimicking art. I have been inspired to create a piece from a chair I saw on display at MoMA, just as easily as I’ve found myself putting in an outfit I wouldn’t normally be drawn to because I’ve been inspired by a pair of earrings or necklace I’ve made.
Quality construction, complementary colors, beautiful lines, simplicity/complexity… I feel like these qualities inspire happiness and confidence in me and my goal is for that to be transferred into the jewelry I create.

3. What’s your creative process like?

I don’t have a specific method, and it tends to come in waves. I might see one color or one shape that I love and end up creating 5 different pieces around that idea. I sit down with my materials, tools, and the ideas in my head and play around until I have something finished in my hands and am leaping out of my chair to go try on in front of the mirror. Although it’s not always easy and it can be discouraging, especially if I work for a long time on a piece and have to throw up my hands and call it a day. One of my goals for this new year is to try out something I learned back in my furniture design classes: Measure twice, cut once.

4. Share something silly about yourself.

I am currently taking a cake decorating class! I’m so excited by it. I don’t have these aspirations to become a big fancy cake-shop owner but I’m excited about showing up with an awesome cake for someone’s birthday. Or maybe if I’m at the grocery store and I overhear at the bakery counter that no one is available to customize a birthday cake from the cooler, I could jump in a save the day! A girl can dream…

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

Oh gosh, too many of both. It is sort of a joke among friends how many magazine subscriptions my fiancé and I have for one household but I really started jumping on the band wagon after Dominio went under and now Gourmet. I felt guilty about stealing the knowledge for free from Barnes and Noble.
I use Google Reader to organize all the blogs I check, three favorites being Moco Loco, The Dieline, and Smitten Kitchen. I don’t even feel right about naming those because they are so many more I love too! *couIndieFixxgh*

6. What 3 things can’t you live without?

1. My soon-to-be-husband, Alex. 2. My dog, Zen. 3. And my computer: it’s my business’ lifeline.

7. What’s new or in the works?

I’m glad you asked… I’m in the process of creating some pieces from my most popular ‘wings’ collection in all sterling silver. I’m very excited. I don’t have anything final ready yet, so I can’t honestly say how beautiful and amazing they will be, but I have a good feeling.

I would also like to say thank you to everyone out there that took the time to read this and/or has purchased (or received and worn) something from Lauren Haupt Jewelry. I am so truly grateful.

Today is the last auction benefit the Red Cross International Response Fund!

You can still bid on Day 9 Auction items as well until January 27th at 11:59 pm EST, so let’s make it count! Be sure to visit the Haiti Relief Fundraiser page for all the details about the donaters and the auction particulars.

How does it Work? Each day I will share a new batch of items you can bid on via the comments. You will be able to see everyone’s bids and rebid if you get outbid. The highest bidder will win the item and pledges the amount bid towards the Red Cross International Response Fund. The item will then be sent out in the mail to you from the artist, crafter or designer who donated it.

How to Bid. Leave a comment on this post with the following:

• your name
• your email address
• the item number
• your bid amount

Keep checking back throughout the day to see if you have been outbid. I will do my best to keep up with moderating comments, so you will be able to see everyone else’s bids. If you are outbid, rebid! You may bid on multiple items, just be prepared to win! The goal is to raise as much money as possible!

Item # 1 Tree Print w/ Rachel Carson quote from Earmark Invitations

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts” ~ Rachel Carson.  A gorgeous print with a distressed design and a large illustrated tree. It is simple and beautiful and we hope you agree. Print is 8″ x 10″ and is matted in a 11 x 14 double mat with a laid texture. Valued at $20

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 28th at 11:59 pm EST.

Item # 2  Spinning World Necklace from Sherry Truitt

The spinning world is a seasonal diagram found in the front pages of a 1935 world atlas. This is the view of earth called, spring begins. It’s a great piece for new beginnings. The world is forever preserved in domed magnifying resin and is set in a 16mm sterling silver loop bezel and hung by a 1.5mm, 16″ long sterling beaded chain. This necklace is ready to ship in a signature box. Valued at $40

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 28th at 11:59 pm EST.

Item # 3 Charcoal Soap and Squalane from Zaja Natural

This listing is for 2 sets of 1 charcoal soap and 1 squalane each. There will be 2 winners–the 2 top bidders will each win a set. The charcoal soap is a gentle facial bar that will leave your skin feeling smooth and thoroughly cleansed without stripping your skin of its natural moisture. Perfect for all skin types. The squalane  is a clear, odorless and colorless oil of very low polarity that is perfect for moisturizing your skin. Squalane is believed to boost the skin’s ability to naturally regenerate, nourish, hydrate, oxygenate and protect itself. Valued at $33.50

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 28th at 11:59 pm EST.

Item # 4 - Vase from Plays with Mud

Sweet little rustic-inspired vase, perfect for pencils or flowers.  Approximately 4″ tall and 3.5″ in diameter.  The glaze breaks along the text, making the variation and design of this vase completely unique.  The text reads “you make the world a brighter place”, because you’re making the world brighter by participating in this auction. Valued at $15

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 28th at 11:59 pm EST.

Hope you had a great weekend.  I painted all weekend long, but now it’s time to get back to raising money for the people of Haiti. So far, after 7 auctions, we’ve raised $1521!  That’s amazing!  There’s

only 3 more auctions to go, but let’s try to raise at least another $1,000 for the Red Cross International Response Fund.  Are you with me?  Remember, all the goods have been donated by generous crafters, designers & artists. Be sure to visit the Haiti Relief Fundraiser page for all the details about the donaters and the auction particulars.

How does it Work? Each day I will share a new batch of items you can bid on via the comments. You will be able to see everyone’s bids and rebid if you get outbid. The highest bidder will win the item and pledges the amount bid towards the Red Cross International Response Fund. The item will then be sent out in the mail to you from the artist, crafter or designer who donated it.

How to Bid. Leave a comment on this post with the following:

• your name
• your email address
• the item number
• your bid amount

Keep checking back throughout the day to see if you have been outbid. I will do my best to keep up with moderating comments, so you will be able to see everyone else’s bids. If you are outbid, rebid! You may bid on multiple items, just be prepared to win! The goal is to raise as much money as possible!

Item # 1 - Market Bag from Moop

The Market Bag is made of Provincial Blue corded canvas and lined in light gray twill. Corded canvas is slightly distressed and very durable while still being soft. It does not have a nap to it, it’s smooth and the cords lie pretty flat…which is pretty awesome! On the inside you’ll find uber organization with 3 pouch pockets (2 – approx. 5″x6″, 1 cell phone sized – approx. 3 1/4″ × 4 1/4″), one pencil slip, one large 14 inch by 7 inch zipper pocket and 2 d-rings for keys and phones and pouches. It’s a pretty big bag for carrying big pretty things (laptops, books, diapers, bottles, ipods, more books). The Market Bag comes an adjustable strap. Approx. Dimensions: 13” across the top, 14” deep, 19” across the bottom.  The adjustable strap varies from approx. 33″ (end to end) when fully extended to approx. 17″ (end to end) at its shortest. Valued at $93

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 26th at 11:59 pm EST.

Item # 2 - Talisman Earrings from Leaves of Glass

Vintage Glass, Vintage Metal, Bright and Oxidized Sterling Silver Earrings. Asymmetrical design of a very long, delicate and dangly arrangement of  vintage beads, these earrings feature a mix of blues and yellows in a woodland bird-nest-feather theme. Vintage Japanese spiderweb glass beads in periwinkle and lemon are accented with tiny bright sterling silver fetish birds, and anchor trailing lengths of oxidized sterling silver chain. Vintage metal pendants in blue and yellow, reminiscent of feathers, flutter at various lengths, complementing two tiny glass beads in icy blue and lemon yellow. Finished with oxidized sterling silver French hooks. Large yellow bead is 5/8″ wide, smaller blue spiderweb bead is 3/8″ across, birds are 3/4″ from beak to tail, metal pendants are 1″ long; long earring hangs 5″ long from top of hook to bottom of lowest pendant, and shorter earring hangs 4″ long from top of hook to bottom of pendant. Valued at $54

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 26th at 11:59 pm EST.

Item # 3 - Looking for Love Photographic Print from Irene Suchocki

This stunning and ethereal photograph is printed by a professional photo lab on premium acid-free, archival paper, which has a matte finish and will last a lifetime. It will be signed by the artist and shipped in sturdy, moisture-resistant packaging. 8×10.  Valued at $30

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 26th at 11:59 pm EST.

Item # 4 - Cleopatra brooch from Snapdragonbeads

The Cleopatra brooch features a handmade beaded motif, in gold, copper and sea-blue and measures 30mm across. Pin it to a top, bag or hat.  Valued at $24.15

Bid on it and make it yours! The bidding period for this item will close January, 26th at 11:59 pm EST.