Featured Handmade Artist- SteelPetalPress
Hello!!! Welcome to this week's Featured Handmade Artist-- Shayna from SteelPetalPress! Shayna is a fellow Chicagoan (almost a neighbor!) and I'm thrilled to feature her today. I've seen her letterpress cards at the Renegade Craft fair and I can attest to how cool and how well made they are. This is my current favorite card...
Seriously? How fun is that? Check out a sample of some of her other products that are for sale. She creates custom wedding invites (how cool!), bound journals and really fun letterpress cards...
Hi Shayna! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Shayna and I currently live in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago by way of San Francisco, New Orleans, Los Angeles, St Louis and Washington DC. I print handmade letterpress greeting cards, custom wedding invitations and make hand bound journals.
What is the first craft project you remember making?
I remember drawing birthday cards for my all my family members starting a very young age, 4 or 5 maybe? I also remember writing stories, illustrating them and turning them into books around the same age.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I'm inspired by old mechanical tools, vintage objects, collectables and type. The Vandercook and Chandler price presses that i print are from the midcentury and have fascinating cranks and levers and gears. I love the tactility of it all.
Can you describe some of your creative process?
First I have to think up a new idea. This can come at any time and is usually out of the blue: riding the train, while jogging, on a Sunday morning reading the paper, running errands, riding my bike. Then I need to transform the idea into an image or object. This takes some time tinkering with the materials and the images and seeing what looks best. Then there's production mode, in which I just crank out a bunch of work. The last part is much less creative.
What is your most prized handmade possession?
The fingerless mittens a friend knit for me in exchange for a mix CD many years ago. I love them and have managed to not loose them.
If you could give one piece of advice to a new etsy seller, what would it be?
Do what you love and keep working at it. There will be slow times and busy times. Put care into what you do, make beautiful things, stay true to yourself and don't give up.
What are some of the ways you promote your shop?
Word of mouth has been really great for finding people looking for custom work. I also have a facebook page, twitter account, flickr and blog.
http://www.steelpetalpress.com/news/
http://www.twitter.com/shaynakatherine
http://www.facebook.com/steelpetalpress
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steelpetalpress/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SteelPetalPress
Also, I try to renew an item at least once a day. And I sell at local and regional craft fairs. I am a member of the EtsyBRC street team and Ladies of Letterpress on ning.com:
http://www.ladiesofletterpress.ning.com/
I've also spent some time going door to door presenting my work to stores that might be interested in wholesale.
What are the three websites you couldn’t live without?
Etsy.com - naturally
Facebook.com - is a love hate relationship, but because I've moved around quite a bit, it helps me keep it touch with friends in other states
Lastfm.com - is great for discovering new music
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I would really love to be living in a house with a large studio where I could keep my own press and store stacks of type and survive entirely off my work.
If you could have one super power, what would it be and why?
I wish I was the type of person that could survive with little to no sleep. Then I would have time to both work and play and I wouldn't have to cut corners in any area of my life.
Thanks so much Shayna!!! I hope to see you at the Renegade Craft Fair this year!
Please be sure you stop by the SteelPetalPress shop and check out all Shayna has to offer!!!
SteelPetalPress.etsy.com
Is there any shop that you think should be featured? Would you like me to feature your shop? Please feel free to send me an email aprilbern at gmail dot com!
Have a great day!
-April
http://www.creativeapples.etsy.com
Seriously? How fun is that? Check out a sample of some of her other products that are for sale. She creates custom wedding invites (how cool!), bound journals and really fun letterpress cards...
Hi Shayna! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Shayna and I currently live in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago by way of San Francisco, New Orleans, Los Angeles, St Louis and Washington DC. I print handmade letterpress greeting cards, custom wedding invitations and make hand bound journals.
What is the first craft project you remember making?
I remember drawing birthday cards for my all my family members starting a very young age, 4 or 5 maybe? I also remember writing stories, illustrating them and turning them into books around the same age.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I'm inspired by old mechanical tools, vintage objects, collectables and type. The Vandercook and Chandler price presses that i print are from the midcentury and have fascinating cranks and levers and gears. I love the tactility of it all.
Can you describe some of your creative process?
First I have to think up a new idea. This can come at any time and is usually out of the blue: riding the train, while jogging, on a Sunday morning reading the paper, running errands, riding my bike. Then I need to transform the idea into an image or object. This takes some time tinkering with the materials and the images and seeing what looks best. Then there's production mode, in which I just crank out a bunch of work. The last part is much less creative.
What is your most prized handmade possession?
The fingerless mittens a friend knit for me in exchange for a mix CD many years ago. I love them and have managed to not loose them.
If you could give one piece of advice to a new etsy seller, what would it be?
Do what you love and keep working at it. There will be slow times and busy times. Put care into what you do, make beautiful things, stay true to yourself and don't give up.
What are some of the ways you promote your shop?
Word of mouth has been really great for finding people looking for custom work. I also have a facebook page, twitter account, flickr and blog.
http://www.steelpetalpress.com/news/
http://www.twitter.com/shaynakatherine
http://www.facebook.com/steelpetalpress
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steelpetalpress/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SteelPetalPress
Also, I try to renew an item at least once a day. And I sell at local and regional craft fairs. I am a member of the EtsyBRC street team and Ladies of Letterpress on ning.com:
http://www.ladiesofletterpress.ning.com/
I've also spent some time going door to door presenting my work to stores that might be interested in wholesale.
What are the three websites you couldn’t live without?
Etsy.com - naturally
Facebook.com - is a love hate relationship, but because I've moved around quite a bit, it helps me keep it touch with friends in other states
Lastfm.com - is great for discovering new music
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I would really love to be living in a house with a large studio where I could keep my own press and store stacks of type and survive entirely off my work.
If you could have one super power, what would it be and why?
I wish I was the type of person that could survive with little to no sleep. Then I would have time to both work and play and I wouldn't have to cut corners in any area of my life.
Thanks so much Shayna!!! I hope to see you at the Renegade Craft Fair this year!
Please be sure you stop by the SteelPetalPress shop and check out all Shayna has to offer!!!
SteelPetalPress.etsy.com
Is there any shop that you think should be featured? Would you like me to feature your shop? Please feel free to send me an email aprilbern at gmail dot com!
Have a great day!
-April
http://www.creativeapples.etsy.com