Thursday, September 30, 2010

Featured in a Treasury - Gifts for Him...

Treasury by Fudumudu
The Brown Canvas Yogi was just featured in a great Etsy treasury by shop owner Fudumudu.  The theme of this treasury is "Gifts for Him...", I love treasuries that have gift ideas for men! With the holiday season coming close it's time we all started thinking of what to buy for our loved ones, and this treasury has great gift ideas for the men in your lives!

I have to mention that I absolutely must have the Men ZipUp Jacket that is featured, it looks very stylish and very well made.

So a very special thanks to Fudumudu, who by the way has a wonderful store with amazing knitted items from jewelry to clutches.  I am particularly impressed with the craftsmanship of the necklaces, I would have never thought of knitting cuffs, let alone cuffs into a necklace! Really fantastic. Although as a bag maker I have to admit that my favorite item from her store is the Cassette Clutch, made from 100% cotton yarn, this clutch is great for every season and is perfectly made.

Cassette Clutch by Fudumudu

Don't forget to check out the Gifts for Him... treasury and Fudumudu's store for more great Holiday gift ideas, and as always, if you're looking for a bag, be sure to check out my Etsy store (I had to slide it in there somewhere).

Why I need this Key Fob

I hate shopping carts...hate them!  There is no rhyme or reason for my dislike of shopping carts, honestly, I wish I could justify this with some sort of concrete reasoning, but unfortunately I have none.  That being said, I also hate putting keys in my pants pocket, in my defense at least I have a reason for this. Somehow I find myself being stabbed with the keys at some point or another, and that my friends, is not a fun experience. I do however keep my keys in my messenger bag, but due to my hatred of shopping carts, find them difficult to find whilst carrying 20 bags of groceries.

By TracyDesigns
Why am I rambling on about all this you ask? Well, while perusing the Etsy aisles I came across TracyDesigns who not only makes amazing quilted items, such as hot pads and of course quilts, but also great wristlet key fobs. The key fobs are the best solution to my shop cart/key in pocket hating dilemma. Now I can easily keep my keys around my wrist and not have to start juggling grocery bags around like I'm in Cirque Du Soleil .

Tracy Designs has loads of key fobs to choose from, and even has some Awareness Wristlests, but my favorite one of all is the Black and White Barcode Wristlet Key Fob Keychain. It goes together well with my whole food shopping scenario, although I hope no one tries to scan my wrist in the checkout line :).  All of the key fobs in Tracy's store are handmade with the highest standards, so be sure to visit her shop and checkout all her great items, I guarantee you'll find something you like!

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Featured in a Treasury - Pink, Red, White, Black

Pink, Red, White, Black treasury by Dryw
Woke up to see that I sold a Grey Yogi... I love the Yogi, it's the bag I use on a daily basis (although sometimes I switch it up with the Helena).   I also woke up to see that the iPear Messenger Bag was featured in a gorgeous treasury by Etsy seller Dryw.

This is a first for the iPear and it always gives me the warm fuzzies when one of my bags is featured in a treasury! So a great big thanks to Dryw for the feature.

Going through Dryw's store I came across several beautiful pieces, but two of them really caught my eye.  The first is the Aliens Play Marbles with Galaxies necklace, which I actually featured in a treasury a few days ago.

The second item I loved was the Make a Wish - Mini Bottle Pendant. As a child, and let's be honest even today, I loved blowing dandelion seeds into the air and making a wish. This pendant brings me back to those moments, and is truly a unique item.
Make a Wish by Dryw

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Original with a Delicious Name

By Mel's Art Buffet
Browsing through Mel's Art Buffet, I noticed myself getting a bit hungry, although it took me a few minutes to figure out why. One wouldn't think of working up an appetite when looking at jewelry, but with names like Black Cherry Ice Cream and Honey Nut Chex Crunch, I guess you can't help hitting the pantry for a snack.  In all honesty this is a artist in my own heart!! Makes me want to call my next bag Nacho Bell Grande :)

All kidding aside, the pieces at Mel's Art Buffet shop are truly one of a kind and absolutely stunning! All the items have a similar theme thanks to the signature intricate thread inlay. My favorite item, by name and by looks, is the Beaded Necklace with Polymer Clay Pendant - Blackberry Glaze. This gorgeous necklace will make any outfit pop and help you stand out of the crowd.


Be sure to check out the other great items at Mel's Art Buffet Etsy store!

Item of the Day - Dahlia Whispers- Set of 3 Notecards

By RememberDecember 
If there is one thing I am always awed by is the amazing skill photographers have.  I notice that when I make treasuries on Etsy, if I don't pay attention, then most of the items I pick are prints.

These photographers are just so skilled at getting the perfect shot at the perfect angle that frankly my craft seems ordinary in comparison.

Today I was looking through the beautiful postcards at Etsy store owner RememberDecember, when I noticed these gorgeous notecards of a Dahlia flower. I am pretty much obsessed with nature and the beauty of it all so these photographs really grabbed my attention. These are great to send out to friends and family during the Holiday season, especially if they live in freezing cold areas and you want to make them crave the spring. Rude? Probably... but really not the issue here.

Anyway, be sure to check out all the other fantastic items at RememberDecember's store, the photographs are surreal!



Added Some More Stock

Front of Bag
A few weeks ago I sold off my last Niko Corduroy padded laptop bag in green.  I was unsure if I should make anymore, as there are a several other Niko's available, but my friend convinced me that green was the way to go and that I should stop being lazy and get on top if it.

So first off, a special thanks to my dear friend!

Secondly, I got them done and now listed some more Green Niko's at my Etsy store.  I've also made some new Grey Velvet and Rust Canvas Niko's, but need to take some pictures of those before I can upload them.



Back of Bag
Just a bit of background on the Niko.  This bag is a combination messenger and backpack.   The backpack straps can be detached and hidden in the back zipper pocket and the messenger strap is detachable as well as adjustable. The interior of the bag is padded and ideal for laptops up to 17".

Featured in a Treasury - WAITING for the first DROPS OF RAIN to come...

The Maude grey blue canvas messenger bag (aka purse) was just featured in a great treasury by Etsy seller TamTam Feng Shui Art.  The theme of this treasury was rain, or better still, waiting for the rain.  Living in Israel it can get a bit frustrating waiting for those first drops of rain, and this year we are still waiting, and worse yet, stuck in a bit of a heat wave.

But alas, those raindrops will eventually come, and until then, we can all enjoy the feeling with this gorgeous treasury.







TamTam Feng Shui Art sells some amazing items, including greeting cards and canvas prints. My favorite item from her store is Feng Shui Art No.1, Career, print on canvas, which by the way, is also available as a greeting card.  Be sure to check out the store for other great items and this fantastic treasury to see all the  featured items!

Item made by TamTam Feng Shui Art


Monday, September 27, 2010

There's Nothing Better Than Getting a Card!

There's no better way to show someone how much you care than with a card! And if you're going to give a card, you may as well give one that was made with love, instead of those generic old Hallmarks...

Etsy seller Old Soul Style  has some beautiful cards to choose from for almost any occasion! One of my favorites is this great Halloween card, perfect for your friends and family.

The card is decorated with buttons and ribbons and shows off the colors of quite possibly one of the greatest holidays. Now I may no longer live in the US, but I still love Halloween, and would really appreciate a great card like this! Be sure to check out the other cards available from Old Soul Style, such as the Holiday cards and a card just to let someone know you love them!

Item of the Day - Small Bouquet Pinback Buttons

Looking for a pin that will surely get you compliments? Then you need to check out the incredible selection by Etsy seller SoleDeVita.  There is a large variety of buttons and stud earrings at unbelievable prices.

And the most unbelievable part of all is that all her items are handmade using everything from real dried flowers to feathers and even water color paints! Every button and earring is truly one of a kind, or in Etsy speak, OOAK.

The Pinback button shown here is made with real dried flowers and skeleton leaves. It's the perfect button to add a touch of flair to your entire fall wardrobe including your laptop bag :). 


Be sure to see all the other beautiful items available at SoleDeVita's shop!



Featured in a Treasury


The Niko Canvas Padded Laptop Bag was recently featured in a great treasury by Etsy seller petekdesign!

Check out the great treasury and don't forget to see what fantastic items the curator sells.












My personal favorite is this amazing photograph, which incidentally has already been featured on the front page at Etsy.
photo by petekdesign

Brand New Bag Listed at My Store


So I finally listed a new bag that I made. I call it the iPear - because it's not fair that the apple gets all the fun!

Check out the iPear and some of my other laptop and messenger bags on Etsy.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

New to Blogging and New to Etsy

Let me get started with a little bit of background about myself.  I was born and raised in Israel and currently travel around the world thanks to my job at an airline. Although I have a "real" job, my true passion is designing and making bags for your everyday.  I mostly make unisex bags ranging from padded laptop bags to small messenger bags.  I gather inspiration from my friends and surroundings, and basically, I love every bit of the design and creation process. Recently one of my friends convinced me to start selling my bags on Etsy, which caused me to open a store and now this blog :)

I am new to the world of blogging but thought that this would be a good place to start posting some of my Etsy related happenings.

For those of you who aren't aware of what Etsy is, let me give you a bit of background:
Etsy is basically a community of sellers and buyers. The website is filled with thousands of sellers from around the world that offer vintage and handmade items.  At Etsy you can usually find one of a kind items from one of a kind sellers.  If you haven't been there before I highly recommend stopping by and looking around.

Etsy seems to be a bit of drug for newbie sellers, or at least it is for me.  You become addicted to a whole new side of your business, for example, Google Analytics or SEO, things that I was never concerned about when I was just designing my bags.  Suddenly life got so technical, I mean, I never in a million years thought that I would start my own blog, analytics account, or anything of the sort, but here I am!

This blog will be dedicated to all things Etsy, including great items from sellers I happen to find, and my adventures into the world of online sales.

Hope to see you around!