Team Spotlight! Interview with Indulge Your Shelf

MsAnomaly's interview with Indulge Your Shelf

1. When did you open your Etsy store and begin selling?
I opened my Etsy shop in August 2008 and began filling it up immediately. I originally sold all of my handmade items along with vintage finds in one shop called Indulge Your Shelf, but recently moved my hand made items into a second shop, Twice Shy Restored.

2. How did you select your shop’s name?
I selected my shop name Indulge Your Shelf in 2005; I'm a writer, so words are important to me and I always love a play on words. I wanted a name that would describe the fact that my items are primarily decor, and fun.
I chose the name Twice Shy Restored as another play on words for my hand made shop; the idea is that almost everything I make began life as something else, thus, "twice shy"; and then, "re-stored" is a play on words since the materials I use are prettied up and then sold in a shop again (re-stored.)

3. What do you create and sell in your Etsy shop?
In my hand made store, Twice Shy Restored, I create pillows and wall hangings from antique and vintage materials, lace, trims, charms, jewels, and buttons. They have a kind of collage look to them. The other decor I make is made from paper ephemera, and then sometimes I throw in "new" paper crafts, too -- but everything has a distinctly vintage look to it.

4. How did you become involved in your craft?
My grandmother taught me too treasure hunt in thrift stores when I was just old enough to walk, and I have just always been in love with color, texture, and patina. I have been rescuing beautiful bits and pieces of textiles and papers from antique, thift, and garage sales all of my life and making them into something new; I first started selling the things I made in 1992.

5. Explain your favorite part of the creative process.
I really enjoy hunting out and rescuing my materials and when it comes time to create, I love surrounding myself with all of my found materials and choosing which ones want to go together!

6. Do you sell in another Etsy store or anywhere outside of Etsy? If so, where?

I used to have a booth in an artist's co op, and I have sold my vintage items on eBay for years, but have recently phased out. I'm strictly selling my handmade items on Etsy, but would welcome wholesale orders if I could get them!

7. So far, what project are you most proud of?
So far, I'm most proud of my small pillows that are stuffed with lavender, uniquely long and skinny, and made from lovely vintage floral fabric and vintage trims and a button http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23437296

8. What advice can you give to someone who would like to learn your craft?
My craft isn't hard to learn -- it's a matter of putting your hands on the things that you love and rearranging them to their best advantage. It takes a little time and a lot of passion.

9. What motivated you to join the Etsy Beagle Street Team?
I joined the Etsy Beagle Street Team because of my wonderful beagle, Snoopy. He belongs to my son, and if I'd been the one to name him I would have named him Maxwell Smart, Max for short. He always has a slightly worried, intense expression on his face, and a kind of sly energy to him. We also have a yellow Labrador Retriever named Maggie, and a long haired kitty named Kyra.

10. Any other places we might find you (Flickr, blog, Facebook, etc.)?
You can find me on my blog: http://www.indulgeyourshelf.blogspot.com/
and on FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indulge-Your-Shelf-on-Etsy/58065005791 and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Indulge-Your-Shelf-on-Etsy/58065005791#/pages/Twice-Shy-Restored-On-Etsy/80094737774?ref=ts