Feature Satuday AnBlathPaipeir on Etsy

Today we are featuring Becki Owner of AnBlathPaipeir on Etsy.  Please visit her shop to see all her pretty and amazing items!


First Name: Becki

Name of Shop:  An Bláth Páipéir ("uh BLAH paa-perh") - Means The Paper Flower in Irish

Url of shop:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/AnBlathPaipeir

Who runs the shop?  Why, I do.

What do you sell?  Recycled Eco Friendly Recycled paper flowers

What made you decide to sell handmade?  I have always loved working with my hands. This one is not my first shop. I started out with beaded jewelry. I still have the shop, but it is a rough market on etsy. I enjoy what I do, and I feel great that I can help the environment, and make a small chunk of change for my family in the process.

What exactly goes into developing your product (s)?
Mostly...Time...My flowers are unique in their assembly, and in their creation. Each has its own personality, and shape. They take about an hour to make. If you look at the picture, you can visualize each sheet of paper, singly its own place in the symmetry of the flower. And each one is placed individually.

What are some challenges in running your own shop?
Again, Time. I am a full time stay at home mom running a house hold of seven. I am a full time writer working on publishing my first novel, AND a full time business woman. I juggle a great deal of things in my daily life.

Anything rewarding about what you sell?  How it may affect others who use it?

Did you take any classes? Not presently. But I plan to take a few creative writing classes very soon. I have considered teaching a few classes as well.

What are your favorite materials?  For the flowers anything paper! I have tried nearly every type of paper.

Do you have another website besides etsy? I have a blog! http://beckisdesigns.blogspot.com/

Any goals for the rest of the year?  I am hoping to get to some shows this summer, replenish my stock, and reach 30 sales!

What advice would you give to someone just starting out?  Whooo...thats a big question. All I can say is don't give up.

Incredibly enough, I came upon the idea for these flowers in a dream. As far as I have searched, I am the only one with flowers like these.

Made from recycled printer paper, spray painted pink, and sealed with an acrylic sealer.

3/4 inch Star flower Ring.

$15.00

New featurette every Saturday!

I love finding new and exciting people especially on etsy. Every Saturday will feature an etsian so I hope you will look out for that. I googled my name this weekend and found only three pages lol. Anyway, I found that I was sorda kinda featured on the ReadyMade Blog! The blog spoke about using different colors in your everyday style so it features a color wheel and products that was similar. My item is the first one which actually sold on Friday! I always love combining red and gold together it's just so regal looking. I try to incorporate color into my wardrobe but it's difficult. I'm a basic black girl and while that is bad in summertime, I still love it. Do you have that same problem, comment below!

Also I will be giving away a piece of my jewelry for June. Not sure the date yet but it will be easy to enter! Look out for that later on.

Handmade Jewelry a style trend for 2010

I've been reading that the best purchase consumers are making is handmade jewelry. Obviously because the economy is not doing so great, consumers are looking for an inexpensive way to afford beautiful jewelry. The cost of real gold is so high so look out for those who want silver and even brass jewelry. If you were thinking of giving up your handmade jewelry shop don't. Keep your chin up and continue on because there will be people out there looking to make that affordable choice. All handmade items are becoming a more popular choice so whatever your selling keep it going. It's easier to give up than to keep the faith. I've been there for both my shops. Waiting and waiting for that first sale is difficult. Instead of worrying why your items are not selling, try constructing new ideas within what you know best.  Hoped you enjoyed reading this please post your comments below!

My love of flower jewelry

I have been patiently awaiting my order to start making more beautiful flower jewelry. I just love the look of them, so simple yet alluring. I started making these a year ago and have since never stopped. I've been studying mixing colors and the effects they have on the wearer. I still have more beads coming so more new products will be added in the next coming weeks. Below you will see some examples of these flower earrings.

Also please note that i'm having a sale! If you check out my sale section you will notice lots of beautiful items that need a home. Lots of earrings even sterling silver and 14k gold filled ready to be purchased as they are already made and ready for shipping! Check them out here:
Katdesigsnyc Sale Section

Pink Amethyst & Amethyst Briolette Flower Earring

These are made with Pink Amethyst briolettes wire wrapped in Sterling Silver wire, mixed with Pear shapped Amethyst Briolettes. Finished off with Sterling Silver Hooks. Ready for purchase and shipping.
Blooming Amethyst Briolette Flower Earring







Pink Amethyst & Aquamarine Blooming Flower Earring

These earrings are made with Pink Amethyst Briolettes and Aquamarine Briolettes. Wire Wrapped together with Sterling Silver wire and finished off with Sterling Silver Wire. Ready for purchase and shipping.
Pink Amethyst & Aquamarine Briolette Blooming Earrings





Love Destash? I will be adding some beads that need a beading home! Check my destash section this week for some beads.

New Year New Beginnings

Last year was wonderful for me! I made quite a bit of sales and had sastified customers which I imagine is out ultimate goal. I thank my wonderful customers for supporting me and purchasing some of my weird designs lol. I hope everyone had a great year and are ready for another great one. I've only been selling jewelry for under a year but, I've been selling bath and body for over 3 years. I thought about incorporating the two business' together because it is really difficult trying to manage both along with my two children and working. Sometimes I'm so tired I don't want to look at perfume or touch my jewelry! I have a new focus this year and basically don't want to go crazy stocking about 300 products. I'd rather have maybe 60 products that I focus on and manage. I often find great deals here in New York City but that leads to problems. I'm not always able to duplicate the product and who knows maybe someone else wanted the same one. Anyway my point for this year is to take one day at a time. Focus more on what's selling rather than what isn't. I will no longer be afraid to try out new ideas and just continue loving what I'm doing!  So tell me what's your ultimate goal for this year???

Gallery of items

Katdesignsnyc's Magazine

I just joined this great etsy app tool to make your own etsy gallery magazine! Check it out!

Low cost advertising with perks!

I just found this site called IndieSmiles and I love it because it is so affordable. I don't have a huge budget for outside advertising, so finding a site that not only is not expensive there are perks to it! So I submitted my information and my link and picture was approved. Great, so now what? I've advertised in Craftopolis and CraftCult but never knew how many people were actually checking out my site. I have google analytics but I don't always depend on that.

So I received an email from indiesmiles that showed a link to see my how my ad was doing? The other sites certainly didn't do this. Not only that but the ads were more expensive and therefore not for me. When I saw that a two week ad would cost only $12, I couldn't believe it! A one month ad would cost only $20! I thought it was a trick or something so I entered in my information and went to paypal and paid. It was fast and easy and best of all, in my price range. I decided to join up and be an affiliate and help out others by offering 5% discount when you sign up under me and buy an ad.

Just click the link above marked indiesmiles and sign up today for low cost advertising! In case that link does not work try this one:

http://www.indiesmiles.com/?ref=9