Generic Etsy

Was just thinking about the top sellers on Etsy, and something that strikes me is that although etsy promotes itself to be hand made site (what ever that means nowadays, with all the resellers and collectives nonsense going on), the best selling items are generally really quite generic. If you have a look in peoples shops, very often there tends to be a best seller or two (I'm talking about the better sellers not just the few items sold people.) and they are very often not one of a kind things, they are standards, just they have been made by hand by one person (hopefully) so are 'unique' in that way, but not really extra ordinary.
And when you start scrolling through the pages, you just keep coming across a pretty 'samey' feel all the way through. Is this just my imagination or has anyone else noticed this.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

On the front page of Etsy

Oh Yes - lovely way to end the year - on the front page of Etsy!

Thanks to Lacocone.

Pretty Things All In A Row

My rainbow flowers are here - I'm so proud of them, I wear mine all the time.

Lets Get Close

I love the 'freshness' of this lovely treasury. My silver knot - toally unique to somethingxtraspecial is featured here.

About Green Treasury

Love that my peapods have again been in a treasury!

Heart in my hands - treasury

My double sided heart pendant was featured in this lovely treasury - thanks to emsyjane.

Luscious Limeberry

So delighted that my summers day passion flower was featured here.

Glass - Jesterbaubles

   
      

Jesterbaubles says:  "Jester's Baubles fused glass pendants, earrings, and other items are handcrafted in the foothills of beautiful Cache Valley in Northern Utah. All pieces are kiln-annealed for beauty and endurance.


My love of stained glass and the intrigue of lampworked beads led me to fusing. I set up Jester's Baubles as a small, home-based business so I might be able to share my passion for glass and the satisfaction of creating something beautiful with others."

Painting - Mellville

The artist, Melville, was born in Hoquiam, Washington and raised in the Northwest Melville oil paintings are the result of years of private training, which took into account the distinctive style of Melville painting.

Painting is a life long love of the artist, and in a long professional career, Melville has shown and sold in many prestigious Art Shows including Carmel, Stanford, Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Portland and Great Falls
Melville work includes Landscapes, Seascapes, Figure Studies, Myths and a variety of custom paintings
The Artist resides in Aberdeen, Washington.  For over twenty years Melville owned a gallery on the Washington coast just south of Westport.  Melville has sold paintings to people from over twenty-four foreign countries and all of the states Melville now works in the home studio and shows work in a limited number of locations.

See more of her paintings which include seascapes, landscapes, fairies and lots more at

http://www.etsy.com/shop/melvillepaintings

Photography - Ellen at Theeye

Isn't this just the loveliest thing!!

I don't have much information about Ellen at Theeye, but I do know that she has one heck of an eye for a beautiful picture. She very kindly allowed me to post some here for you to see.

Do go and check out her store and blog, there are some gorgeous pieces.

Her Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/theeye

http://ellentheeye.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Eye-Fine-Art-Photography/171747866752

Art - Quirkydame

Now you tell me this lady doesn't have a lovely sense of humour - just makes me smile looking at these:




Julie says:
Hello! My name is Julie Behm and I am the artist behind Quirky Dame Designs. You can call me Julie, Jewels or even Quirky. :) I love laughter, color and whimsical things. I’m a bookworm and always have at least one book, as well as my sketchpad and iPhone, with me wherever I go. I give all my gadgets names – my iPhone is Clover, my laptop is Watson, my camera is Boo and my food processor is Donna Reed. Art is my therapy.

Since childhood, two of my greatest joys have been my art and imagination. I would spend hours, crayon in hand, creating the people and worlds that inhabited my imagination, seeing them come to life on the pages before me. I strive to do that very same thing now with a paintbrush and canvas. I use both oils and acrylics to create images that are colorful, fun, and whimsical, often with a spark of humor or quirkiness.
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/julie-behm.html
http://quirkydame.etsy.com/
http://www.twitter.com/quirkydame


Thank you Julie - you made me smile big time!!

Glass - Sheila Morley

Another true artist is Sheila Morely. I came across her site and just fell in love with her pieces. Each bead is a little world inside itself.

"I am making glass beads and sculptures, above a flame. I hold a rod of glass in a fire and melt it into a bead! I paint in the air! I work with the most amazing material in the universe! I hang out with people that say they are "in Love" with glass. (that is one of my favorite parts.) "
I make Murrini, beads,marbles paper weights, future sculptures, and ACEO cards...I love to draw and sculpt with clay too.
I live with my two children, and a supportive husband. All three are very creative, and I am inspired to make art with them. I have a feeling the art I put out in cyber space will not just be my own...exciting creations are ahead! ......
I like to create things. I have contributed to some other Artist's projects...; I just really like to have my create time to be for me; not just money. So, I am there in Autocad land, and I am here...
This is my passion; creating. It makes me happy when I can create something that has deep meaning, and have its value be sentimental to its owner.

Visit her website:

website: http://www.sheilamorley.com
or
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SheilaMorley

Thank you Sheila - Love love love your stuff!

Update: Bless her heart - she has blogged me back ;-) See it here:
http://sheilamorley.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/i-was-blogged-thank-you-sue-hodgens/

Glass - Greenstoneglass

Next up is the stunning artistry of Julian Butens. I am just in awe of artistry like this. You feel like you want to go in and touch the flowers.

He says:
"My name is Julian Buetens and i have been blowing glass in one form or another since my last semester in college in 1995. My first experience with glass was with bending neon tubes, upon graduation i purchased a lampworking set up and have been blowing glass ever since. I have studied at Pilchuck and traveled to Murano to study with masters there. Most recently i have studied with John Kobuki."



Do have a look at his shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/GreenStoneGlass



Wow!!
Absolutely amazing - thank you Julian.

Glass - Vsbeb

First up are Phil and Veda Bickley from Vsbeb

To see more of their beautiful work go to: http://www.etsy.com/shop/vsbeb
or click on one of the pictures.





"Phil and Veda Bickley are both self-taught artists who were drawn to the medium of glass for artistic expression at a young age. The parents of two lovely daughters, Phil and Veda met in California where they were separately exploring and studying craft, Phil specializing in glassblowing. This shared passion for art and craft has fused both their personal and artistic union and sustains the Bickley family. They work independently, but also encourage each others unique voice and vision in collaborative projects. Veda's glass takes on whimsical, fluid and sensual lines while Phil's work is always confident and rich in sophisticated expression. Having worked and supported themselves as artists for more than six years, their ability to live a life fostered by their art resonates in their pieces."

Thank you for letting me show off your lovely work.

Glass and Lampwork

Anyone who knows my jewellery will know that I just adore using glass and lampwork. Man there is some amazing stuff out there. Of course there is also a lot of pretty cheap stuff as well, but the quality is very different and this is reflected in the price. Once you go upmarket a little you find the quality and artistry increases until you arrive at the true artists. The next few posts are to show some of the truly stunning things that can be done with glass. Very kindly the artisans involved have allowed me to use their photos.

The life and times of an obsessive!

So I have been busy beavering away, feeling really happy. Lovely bits and pieces around me and for once a nice bit of time to design. If only that was all there was to it. So today, all I have done from 10 this morning is photo related stuff. Started off taking the pics, then uploading them. My computer memory is rather full so started going slow - very frustrating. Then comes cropping and adjusting. Then uploading to etsy, having converted the prices first. That's very time consuming - writing the descriptions, tags and waiting again for the pics to upload. Then over to paypal to make the buttons for my site, then over to picture trail to upload the pics there for my site. In between catching up with twitter, facebook and hotmail, and the odd forum or six. And here I am at 2 am writing on my blog! So here is what I have been working on today.

To see more details - either click on the picture or go to

www.somethingextraspecial.com.

Photography - KrissyKayCollection

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35975158
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40573012


Yesterday morning I went in the garden and was amazed to notice that the Spring flowers had noticed something that had passed me by - that Spring was on it's way!!
For me the following really show the beauty that nature gives us.




http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35976438
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40573012

Really happy to be able to show Krissy's pieces. Krissy is a photographer who now lives in NY. She has a fab eye for the unusual and the quality of her pictures is amazing.
To see the rest of the blog please click:
http://www.somethingextraspecial.com/special-cafe-blog/krissykaycollection