My Lucky Day

Hey everybody! I have some cool news. I took a video of my weird 70's figurine collection and The Storque posted an article about it! I have been collecting these things for a while. Who knew they would ever come in handy?



They are starting a series about collectors so if you have any handmade or vintage collections that you'd like to share let them know on this thread.

HOLY COW!

As most of you team members know by now, Etsy Admin. Beth is coming to visit our team on Memorial Day Weekend. There will be a little lunchy Meet and Greet at The Space. (They have a food bar and a cute vintage shop that will be open for us to check out by the way!) I sent out evites to everyone.
I am so excited and nervous! Heh. Our little team is taking off! I really hope everyone is pleased. Let's keep the ideas rolling and keep promoting one another!

Etsy Buy Handmade MsKittyLeftovers

Which pieces should I take with me?

I will be taking Monster of Rock, Victorious, Witchcraft, Pool Bear, Shroom Squirrel, and Ninja Snail with me to Anthrocon for the general show in June. I will probably get one more general show piece done before then to take with me. Which means I have space for one or two more old pieces.

So team members, which of these creatures from previous years should I take with me again? They'll all been to Anthrocon's show at least once.

Etsy Buy Handmade fenrislorsrai

Good Luck Catherinette!

As many of you know Katie Stack, the krafty lady behind Catherinette is leaving our fair state of CT for the political wilds of Washington, DC.

Katie encoraged me to join the CTetsyteam, and is truly a krafty inspiration.

Please show Katie's shop some love, and join me in wishing her all the best on her latest and greatest adventure.

TEAM CHALLENGE!!!!

Promote promote promote. It seems everyone is in a sales slump. The economy is effecting us all. So this just means we have to push a little harder. Let's boost those sales by promoting the team in anyway we can! Etsy Treasuries, Etsy Team Mini's, pass out fliers or our new brochure,post fliers, change your avatar to the team avatar, do a blog entry on your blog about the team or team member(s), get creative! In the end we will all see some results with more hits and HOPEFULLY more sales!
Please email me with your challenge outcome! I'd love to know what you did and how it went. Go team!

Chili Con Carnage!

I did a Chili Cook Off yesterday in Somers CT, hosted by Mad Mike. And boy, that name is no joke! That dude seemed mad as Hell (and he wasn't gonna take it anymore!) I wasn't suppose to be in the show. I was initially going to say hello to my friend Liz from LAA Designs, meet Lia from OMG! Lia? (great shop name!) and get my chili and beer on. But Lizzy came down with a very bad bad case of Strep throat, and since I was feeling better and she was still recovering, I filled in for her and made sure to bring her goodies to sell too! BUT the Chili Cook Off was a bust for ALL the crafters. No one made any money. It was populated mostly by big guys in cowboy hats and boots, bikers, and broke dudes trying to get their cheap chow on. They ain't buyin' Ms. Kitty stuff.
So aside from being covered in delicious chili smell, freezing in 40 degree cloudy temperatures and only making $11, oh and one of my rings getting stolen by some punk kid, I came home with over 4 POUNDS of chili!
The women in the booth next to me were from the CT Culinary Institute. They were friendly, lovely and talented ladies in the competition, both instructors at the institute. There name were the Chili Chicks! I thought for sure they would win the people's choice award. But no. I even broke down and ate the meat and enjoyed some of their delicious chili. It made them very happy to make me break from meat free yummies, which made me happy that they were so happy. They kept feeding us their competition chili (which the public didn't get to eat!) I got my own little bowl full of their awesome salsa and corn chips. So I gave them some free jewelry. They came back and gave us POUNDS of chili to take home. It felt like a lot more than 4 pounds, I gotta say. Those suckers were like carrying my nine year old sister!
But we shared the love. I gave 1/2 of it to my next door neighbors, the Berkshire family. They have about a million kids, and our friend Marquise just lost his job, so we figured they could use some awesome chili love.
I think that even though I didn't make any money, the awesomeness of trading and sharing has finally broken my craft show curse. I didn't come home feeling depressed or defeated. I felt glad that it was over! Lol, but mostly I felt glad to have met some really great people. That was kinda worth freezing my ass off. So even though it wasn't great, I am making this negative a positive for sure!
Now I'm getting ready for the Forest Folk Festival in Oxford CT May 16 - 18th! I'll be there all three days! Tiring, but I bet it will be fun! It will be at Schreiber's Farm in Oxford, out in the middle of nature. Very cool earthy event.

Chili Cookoff in Somers, CT (aka my first show!)

So, that's me ... making a funny face and looking weird at my booth! Just a thought, but the face might have been from the intense freezing cold that was permeating my poor bones (and it was only 8am!) The Chili Cookoff was a total success for chili cooks, but not so much for us crafters .... which was only like 5 people! Lesson learned: only sign up for shows that people interested in buying my stuff will be attending. At any rate, it was an experience. I sat with my sister and her fiance for about 12 hours in 40 degree windy weather (At least it didn't rain) while odd folks in cowboy hats and overalls walking around tasting chili (which was odd, considering I'm from KY and I was in CT, and I definetly didn't expect to see cowboy hats and overalls.) There were lots of little girls with cheap parents who wouldn't buy their kid my stuff (lame) but also some really nice folks including Jillian from Ms. Kitty Fantastico, who I met and who is wonderful! All in all, I came out just about even - the entry fee was $50, and I made $41 plus my sister and her fiance bought 3 things which I kind of don't count, hehe. Anyway, in the weeks leading up to my next craft fair (on the 20th!) I'll be posting pics of my DIY labels and signs and whatnot. In the meantime check out My Flickr Photostream for more pics of the fair and what I've been working on!

New Member

Hi everyone! I joined the CT Etsy team a few weeks ago. I am a photographer and I also dabble in jewelry making and sun catchers. It is great to meet many talented Connecticut Etsy people! :)
You can find me at jmcguinness.etsy.com and my blog is bunnyluver930.blogspot.com.

My talented business partner, Lauren, also joined the team (tagliatela.etsy.com). Our photography business is going on its one year anniversary this June-- hurray for TM Creative! (tm-creative.net)

Hope to see you all this summer!

Another CT Team Member - Hey there Everyone!

Thanks so much to Jillian for the invitation :)

Sending a hello to everyone out there ~ I'm so thrilled to see such an active, vibrant group for local CT events and connections. I've been reading through the boards and looking at everyone's shops, and am so impressed with the sharing, cooperation, enthusiasm, and everyone's work. You people are *talented!* So glad to be part of it all!

I see a bunch of familiar names from the old NEST group (shout out to QueenVanna, 315Thomas, and Analiese Designs!) and am really looking forward to meeting lots of new people, too.

I make PMC & Sterling jewelry, enameled silver, and fused glass. Basically, I love making anything I can with my little kiln! (aka my EZ-bake oven)

Here's a link to my etsy site: http://Sulimos.etsy.com I also have a "general" site (which links to etsy): http://www.SulimosDesign.com

Can't wait for the Jewelry Spectacular - I'll stop in to say some hellos!
Sue

ps - I'm based in New Haven ~ Anyone who wants to get together for a cuppa just let me know!

Another New Member!

Hi everyone!
My name is Kristen, from MJM Jewelry Designs. I have just joined the team as well, thank you Jillian for inviting me! I have spent many hours online reading a lot of your entries and visiting your Etsy stores and I must say, there are a TON of talented people here in CT! I have already put many of you in my "hearts" list, and I look forward to meeting all those attending the Jewelry Spectacular in June. If you have some time and would like to check out my shop you can do so at Etsy or to read a bit more about me you can visit my Blog. I would love to hear from you if you have any comments or just send a note to say hello! I'm home with my kids all day, so any adult interaction is GREATLY appreciated! I look forward to meeting and talking with you all! Thanks again for having me!
Kristen