Handmade Weekend- Little Glass Slippers
Hooray! It's the first installment of my Handmade Weekend Series. Today I'm so excited to be featuring Lauren from Little Glass Slippers.
images via Little Glass Slippers
Q. What is the first craft project you remember making?
A. The first craft project (or day really) that I remember making by myself is accessories for my American Girl Doll when I was around 4 or 5. My best friend and I were bored on a rainy day, so we hauled everything out of the craft closet and went to town at the kitchen table!
Q. What inspires you?
A. I love bright colors and patterns. I think nature is an obvious answer for everyone, but I get inspiration from anything that makes me smile, whether that be prettily arranged cupcakes or piles of embroidery floss. I'm also really inspired by fairy tales (hence both my shop and blog names!)
Lately I've been really inspired by printed fabrics, embroidery projects, and all the fun stuff that comes with summer, like fresh fruit, the beach, and silly games! :)
Q. Can you describe some of your creative processes?
A. I tend to randomly get ideas so I try to keep paper and a pen with me to jot them down. Once I have a few minutes, I usually start sketching whatever my newest idea is on paper before moving to felt. I tend to want to be a perfectionist, so I'll keep redoing a design until it's as close to the idea in my head as possible. I love when inspiration hits, but I also balance my crafty side with being a student and nanny, so it's so hard when all I want to do is make new products and I have to work.
Q. What is your most prized handmade possession?
A. It may be a little old fashioned, but I love my scrapbooks. I put a ton of work into each one to make them really special, and I love being able to look back at the fun times I've had. I also really love the embroidered tote bags I've been working on recently. They take awhile to complete but in the end it's worth it and I always love how they come out. (They're coming to the shop soon too!)
Two other handmade things I adore that I didn't make myself are the pottery pieces I use in my kitchen that my mom made, and the stuffed bunny my best friend knitted by hand for me. It was her first major project and I love that she made it for me!
Q. What was the hardest thing about starting your Etsy shop?
A. The editing process. I try to get my photos to look as close to the item as possible so the buyer knows exactly what they're getting, but that also means many hours taking photos and trying to edit them to perfection. It gets tiring!
Q. What's the BEST thing about running your Etsy shop?
A. That I get to do something I love, and have others love it enough to buy it as well! I always say my goal is to make people smile when they see my items and I hope that's always the case!
Q. How do your customers find out about your products?
A. I try to instagram my work in progress so people can see a bit of the behind-the-scenes side of things, as well as my etsy shop updates as well.
Q. What are a few of your favorite items in your shop?
A. The owl pins have to be my favorite. They're so cute and cheery looking, I just want to wear them everywhere. I love the sets of mini cards too. :)
Q. If you could give one piece of advice to a new Etsy seller, what would it be?
A. List an item every day, and constantly work to improve your shop, even if it's just minor tweaking here and there. Eventually things will start to improve.
Q. Where can we find you?
A. etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/LittleGlassSlippers
bloglovin: www.bloglovin.com/blog/3782759
instagram: instagram.com/onesweetfairytale
pinterest: www.pinterest.com/1SweetFairytale/
Finally, tell us 3 fun facts about you!
1. I'm a senior in college majoring in English
2. I'm a huge animal lover and used to volunteer at a shelter for multiple years.
3. I love to bake, and cupcakes are my favorite!
Thank you, Lauren, for sharing a little bit about yourself and your etsy shop! It was great getting to know a little more about a fellow handmade artist (btw, if you ever have any extra cupcakes, please send them my way!)
I hope that you all enjoyed getting to know a wonderful handmade artist and that you'll stop by and check out the rest of the super cute things in her shop (I'm partial to the felt owls and the embroidered paper airplane card!)
If you are a handmade artist and would like to be featured, or you know know a killer artist that I should feature, send me an email at aprilbern@gmail.com or leave a comment in the section below!