Red, White and Blue for Veterans

Red White and Blue for Veterans! curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Pumpkin Spice & Fall Decor from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Pumpkin Spice & Fall Decor curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Sunny Yellow Gifts - Buffalove on Etsy

Sunny Yellow Gifts curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Creatures and Bugs from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Creatures and Bugs curated by Buffalove on Etsy

We are the Buffalo Etsy Team!

So you've been wondering, what is the Buffalo Etsy Team? We are a diverse group of Etsy sellers from the Western New York region - mostly in the Buffalo NY area.

Etsy sellers have the option to join teams for networking, information sharing, and other types of assistance.  Teams can be virtual or location-based as we are in the Buffalo, NY area.  The benefit of joining a local team is you get to meet in person and learn from one another face to face.  Many of our team members have developed strong bonds and collaborate with one another in many ways.

The team blog - buffaloetsyteam.blogspot.com - has a number of helpful series for Etsy sellers including:

• Craft Show 101 - a guide to selling at local shows,
• the Did I Really Just Quit My Day Job series, 
• interviews with sellers from the team, 
• useful photography tips for Etsy sellers,
• a look inside team members' studios,
• and coming soon a featured shop series. 

The blog is loaded with other resources and features both for Etsy sellers and Etsy buyers so its worth scrolling through the calendar on the right side of the screen to find something of interest.

As of July 2015, the Buffalo Etsy Team is now meeting at the Whimsy By Kelly Studio.  Thanks to team leader Kelly we have a dedicated meeting spot where we can hold monthly meetings, workshops, crafting classes and other activities. This team selfie was taken at our July meeting.

The team has over 600 members who reside in the Western New York region though most meeting attendees come from Erie County and Buffalo area.  For those who cannot attend meetings, the team has an active discussion board on Etsy, a team Facebook page, a Pinterest page, and Buffalove on Etsy - a page full of themed collections of items for sale from Buffalo Etsy Team members. If you are looking to see what team members have for sale, visit our Shop Buffalo Etsy Team page.

In addition, the team has held workshops on photography and financial matters, raised funds in a successful campaign to support a veteran's family, and been featured on local TV to promote gift guides during the holiday season.

To join the team, you must be an Etsy seller living in Western New York.  Visit Etsy.com to see more about teams and how to join us by searching for us in the Community section.

Everything Wedding!!!!!

Everything Wedding curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Why I started my Etsy shop: Stories from the Buffalo Etsy Team

More than ever Etsy is connecting with individuals who want to sell their handmade and vintage items.  The Buffalo Etsy Team has seen a growth in members and with that a lot of new sellers want to know - how did you get started and why? So we asked some team members and here are their stories.

Jessie of Pigknit sells illustrated prints, clip art and other printables, and she's been selling on Etsy since 2012.

"I sell illustrated prints on Etsy. Years ago I opened an Etsy shop and listed a few items. I didn't know what I was doing, my listings were terrible, and after the unsold items expired I let my shop sit empty for years. It wasn't until a friend expressed interest in a series of alphabet prints I had designed that I decided to try listing them on my old shop. This time, with experience working in branding and marketing from my day job, I took Etsy more seriously and it paid off. I made my first sale within 2 days, and Etsy has since become a much bigger part of my life than I had ever anticipated."

Erica of PECollectibles and a team leader is a collector who sells vintage pieces ranging from jewelry to historic photos to books. She's been selling on Etsy since 2011.

"I am a vintage seller and have always had a passion for preserving history especially in Buffalo. This passion probably comes from my family who taught me about antiques and history beginning as a child. After having little financial success at flea markets and other selling venues, a friend suggested I sell on Etsy. Once I made my first sale I knew I could grow this into a nice part time business and it has been very enjoyable for me."

KitchStudios began in 2010.  Erin is a designer and screen printer who sells kitchen and home accessories including tea towels, table runners and other retro and vintage themed decor.

"My husband and I got started screen printing when we were both in touring bands and wanted to make our own merchandise. When I had my daughter, I let my recording contract run out and became a stay at home mom, while my husband ran our shop out of the Larkin building downtown.  When I found Etsy, I fell head over heels in love with their mission about hand made goods and decided to give it a go as a work from home mom. I started small with two tea towel designs and have grown every year since!"

Karin of KarinLorenc makes stoneware pottery coffee mugs, bowls, and serving pieces in bright modern colors.  She's been selling her pieces on Etsy since 2008.

"I've always loved working with clay. I started making pottery in my home after finding a rustic old kick wheel at a garage sale. I'm a minimalist so I couldn't keep everything for myself. I found Etsy almost 9 years ago, and I've been selling my mugs and bowls here ever since."

Jessica makes women's accessories including unique silk flower hair clips, bobby pins, earrings and necklaces. She opened her shop, Fast|crawl, in 2011.

"Mine is a story akin to the chicken and the egg; which came first? I don't remember if I had the idea for flower hair clips first or the materials, but at some point in 2011, I found myself in possession of two 100 gallon totes full of silk flowers, and Fast|crawl was born. I had found Etsy in 2008 through...StumbleUpon? Word of mouth? Sheer happenstance? and was hooked - I knew I had a ready made market, but didn't know where to begin. Four years later I'm still finding things to tweak, though my focus has shifted and I'm finding more business success. There would be no Fast|crawl if it weren't for the platform Etsy has provided."

Dan sells a wide range of handmade pieces including Concrete Decor, Original Art, Limited Edition Art & Photography Prints, Art Cards Editions and Originals (ACEOs), Jewelry and more.  He began his shop, DanDoroArtAndDesign, in 2009.

"I opened my Etsy Shop so that I could share my creative work online with a diverse array of people. My hope was to have others send feedback via conversations, favorites and purchases to learn what products of mine proved to have value in the eyes of others. Those hopes have been realized many times over and I am so grateful for having Etsy as a creative outlet. Much of my work includes rustic handcrafted concrete decor, paintings and illustrations."

Nicole of mealymonster makes creepy, strange, weird, and odd art dolls and creatures (as she describes them) using polymer clay and acrylic paint.  She started her Etsy shop in 2008.

"I put my artistic side on hold for a very long time in order to start a family. I found eEtsy back in 2008. I was looking for a place to reconnect with my artistic side and a creative community to share this journey with. Etsy fit the bill. Etsy inspired me to make art again and also offered a place to share and sell the art I was making."

Mary is a Buffalo Etsy Team leader who has been selling handmade wine charms in her shop, CharmedByWine, since 2011.

"I found Etsy in 2010 when I started planning my 2012 wedding. We didn't really have a wedding theme other than our black/ivory/burgundy colors, and that my family is Italian and naturally goes overboard with food and wine -- so we did end up incorporating some wine/vineyard aspects into our day. I found a really neat wine crate on Etsy to use as a card box, and I wanted to do wine charms as our favors -- but I hated all the designs I was finding! The charms themselves were made from weaker wire that bends out of shape easily, and a lot of the designs made it possible for beads to fall off the charm. To make it worse, nothing really reflected US as a couple. So, I designed and made my own!

1000+ wine charms and 3 months later, my fingers hurt and I had watched the entire Harry Potter series twice. I had leftover materials, and just started messing around with different designs other than the 6 I kept repeating for our guests. My "Vibrant Vino" wine charms were the first set I made for Charmed By Wine (which is why it is my profile photo!). Scared that wine charms would slowly take over my house, I officially opened my shop in November 2012. I love finding interesting beads and coming up with new designs, but my favorite part is helping people create something fun and unique for a gift or special event."

If you're new or want to start an Etsy shop, let us know. Looking for more work from Buffalo Etsy Team members? Visit the team's Buffalove Etsy page and the team's Facebook page.

Green for Luck, Green with Envy from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Green for Luck, Green with Envy curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Buffalove! Buffalo-centric Treasures

Buffalove: Buffalocentric Treasures curated by Buffalove on Etsy

City of Good Neighbors/ Family of a Vet Project: Ends Dec. 1st

Help a local Vet with PTSD and his family by December 1st! City of Good Neighbors Project curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Gifts under $25 from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Gifts Under $25 curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Holiday Entertaining gifts from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Holiday Entertaining curated by Buffalove on Etsy

City of Good Neighbors Project: FAMILY OF A VET

Please follow the blog to see how we're progressing!

Visit www.etsy.com while you're shopping this holiday season. Enter FOV bflo into the search bar to find participating Buffalo Etsy Team shops.

The Buffalo Etsy Team members offer all kinds of delights in their shops, both handmade and vintage!

Thanks for supporting our inaugural "City of Good Neighbors" team project!

Did I really just quit my job?

It’s been 4 months now.

I’m 1/3 of the way through my first year.  

It’s been 127 days since I started.

 I can package it many different ways, but no matter how I state it, the clock is ticking, the days are flying by and my savings are shrinking.

It’s hard to believe actually that this much time has passed since I started working for myself.

 A lot of things have changed and uncertainty and surprise seem to be my constant companions. 

I am not where I had hoped to be, at least not as I had originally pictured it, but I have made some positive strides - none bigger than starting to think beyond my original plan.

July and August were very good months for sales and got me started with a lot of momentum. After that though, things began to drag. I had this idea that if I had time to make more diploma frames and kept adding them to my shop the sales would continue to grow.

That hasn't really happened.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about my approach to this and what my goal actually is (was). I've come to realize that my goal is not to sell diploma frames. My goal is to earn a living, working for myself, doing something I enjoy.

Coming to that realization has opened me up to a much larger pool of options.

While I will continue to sell diploma frames, I plan to add a large selection of picture frames and will soon begin to use pre-cut molding in addition to milling my own.  I've signed on with a wholesale picture frame molding company that provides me hundreds of choices and opportunities to increase revenue, while becoming more efficient.

Not only will that help me increase what I offer in the way of frames I make, I will soon start to “retail” the pre-cut molding through my DIY picture framing web site, so  DIYers can buy nice molding at a reasonable price to make their own frames.

I have just taken on a large project with a local chapel to make hymn book holders for their pews. Working for the Lord has to help, right?

And of course, I've been gearing up for the holiday crafts shows. I have a table at the St. Greg's show November 28-29 and the Heim Middle School show December 6-7.

Whether these things help or not, we'll see, but I know the odds increase as more things are tried.

One thing I said at the beginning is that faith has to play a big part in this. I truly believed that one way or another, things would happen and opportunities would present themselves.  I wasn't sure how, and until I was forced to think beyond my original plan, I didn't realize just how many opportunities are missed if you don’t open your mind.  

So, until the next installment, I will continue to keep my eyes and ears open for the opportunities that are hiding, in plain sight, all around us every day. I hope you do as well.

Al

harvestwoods.com

Teacher Gifts: Thank a Teacher this Holiday Season

Teacher Gifts: They're the best! curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Party Host Thank You Gifts from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Party Host Thank You gifts curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Creative Spaces: Where Buffalo Etsians Make Their Magic

Featuring Suzanne O’Brien from ZanieCrafts

~ by Linda Richards

Suzanne’s craft is felting. She creates her stunning pieces using the wet felt method.

I asked Suzanne how she became involved in this craft and where she first learned the process.

 “I learned about wet felting while we were living in Christchurch, New Zealand for my husband’s job.” 

“While attending a weekly knitting group, several knitters decided that we should form a crafty co-op for a time, to share other creative skills that each possessed.  Learning how to make wool felt via wet felting was one of these lessons. I was so amazed with that lesson that I knew I wanted to continue doing more felting projects."

“Soon after that first lesson, Christchurch began its long period of geological activity, (Christchurch earthquakes, 2010 & 2011.) During this time, I turned to felting as a means of channeling my energies and nervousness into an active occupation of my free time.  Making felt really helped me to cope with being in an earthquake zone, forcing me to relax in between all the thousands upon thousands of aftershocks.” 

“Ever since those early days, I have been experimenting and mastering new wet felting techniques that I read about in books, on blogs, through Facebook, watched on YouTube, etc. I have been felting for four years now, and selling my creations at handmade markets for three of those years.”

Certain crafts like felting can require more than one area to complete the project.

Suzanne explains how she manages to do it all within her home.



 “Currently, we live in a small two bedroom house, so my work space is anywhere I can find the space at any given moment.  Where I work greatly depends on what I am making. All the purses that I make are lined with coordinating fabrics, so sewing happens on our kitchen table.  Our basement has a second kitchen, that I call our Krafty Kitchen, because that is where most of my felt-making and lately dying my own wool for felting projects occurs. My husband also makes use of the kitchen when he makes his batches of home brew. I’m quite happy to share that space with him.”

“I do have a little corner set up in our lounge where I keep all finished product for Etsy and craft shows.  My sewing machines (yes, I have two.), fabric, idea/reference books, and all of my stitching supplies are kept there in as organized fashion as possible.”

“I usually have something in my ‘work in progress’ basket that sits on the top of my three drawer crafting cabinet.  All of my wool, silk scarves, and embellishments for felting are kept downstairs in plastic containers when not in use to avoid infestations from flying insects who like to lay their eggs in the fluffy stuff. (I’m trying hard to avoid saying the “m” word.).“

I think most artisans have many ideas of what the perfect workspace would be like. What would your dream studio look like?  

“My dream space would someday consist of an enclosed space or dare I say, a crafting room, where I could store supplies and finished product and not have it imposing on the rest of the house. (My family puts up with it now, because they love me.)  The room would be decorated with fun organizational things and contain lots of inspirational color.  Making felt would probably still be in the basement or somewhere else with long table or counter tops near a kitchen because of the wet and soapy nature of things and needing access to warm water."

This craft is so interesting. I imagine there are all kinds of materials, tools and equipment involved in felting.

“The materials I use to make felt are very simple.  Bubble wrap, natural soap, a water bottle that sprinkles (I use a large garlic powder container from Sam’s Club), a flexible plastic resist for 3D objects, and a felt-able breed of wool roving. There are tools that people use to help speed up the process of felting, like electric sanders, hand held palm washboards, swimming noodles, old pantyhose.  It’s magic, I tell you!”

“Sometimes I add other things onto or into my felting work like: silk fibers, silk threads, Angelina fibers (synthetic glittery strands), glass marbles, rocks, seashells, vintage silk scarves, unique secondhand buttons, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  That’s what makes it so fun and unique!"

Besides your Etsy shop, you also display your work at shows throughout the area. How do you manage to keep your workspace organized?

“ZanieCrafts is still a fairly new business (opened Oct. 2013).  I have only done a handful of markets in the US so far, but I’m starting off on the right foot by keeping all of my packing supplies together in one container for shows.  I have gift boxes already assembled, tissue paper on hand and shopping bags all ready for packaging up purchases.”

“I like to incorporate secondhand and vintage into my creations and I use a lot of repurposed Salvation Army Thrift shop finds for my table display. I package my online orders with my leftover hand dyed sock yarn from my personal knitting stash, and my earring and brooch cards have been printed by a friend on leftover stationery that was purchased for our wedding invitations. I like the idea of reusing and repurposing something for a different use.  It’s creative, unique, and good for the environment!"

Suzanne is such a talented artist. I can’t wait to see what she creates next!



Find Suzanne’s work at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ZanieCraftsFeltedArt

https://www.facebook.com/ZanieCrafts

Photos by Suzanne O’Brien

  

Linda Richards Design

 www.LRichardsDesign.Etsy.com

 www.facebook.com/LRichardsDesign

Color Trend: Orange Gifts from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Color Trend: Orange Gifts curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Feathers and Plumes: A Collection from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Feathers and Plumes curated by Buffalove on Etsy

Halloween Treats! Spooktacular Items from the Buffalo Etsy Team

Halloween Treats! curated by Buffalove on Etsy