lumafina

Herkimer Diamond Ring, Gold Fill Rivet - Custom Stone, Sizing
"As a jewelry designer I carefully work a happy collaboration of the styles I cherish. I design pieces in a contrast of both elements and structure: organic and vintage, airy and funky, modern and natural. Creating jewelry with a unique self-expression is a joy to me. About the artist:I just couldn't take it anymore, sitting at a desk, shoulders aching from a bottom-rung job I despised yet felt I needed to do. Surely helping the needy and their children is a noble cause. So why was I so exhausted, depressed, bitter and unproductive? I became the worst version of myself, snapping at my lovely husband, withdrawing from friends and family, complaining, spiteful toward God. I would read the "Quit Your Day Job" Etsy bulletins and cringe with guilt and envy, self doubt even. I began to wonder what I was doing with my life, questioning the choices I made everyday that made me such a different person than I used to be. I couldn't have survived the changes I needed to make without the love of Jesus, so patient and encouraging, strong and sweet. Nor Aaron, my husband, the love of my life and best friend. With new ideas budding all around me, I took the plunge from non-profit work to stay-at-home, entrepreneurial, creative work with nothing more than a business plan, some set-aside money, and a random collection of jewelry tools and bits of knowledge. lumafina was born, my own creative company, but not by my merit. Without the source of strength in God, I don't know how I'd do it, day in and out. Please, please tell me you are finding strength outside yourself, that you are not doing this alone. Surround yourself in the loving Spirit of Jesus, with friends who give you life, with professionals who challenge and inspire you, with your family who loves and needs you. I am very blessed to be working a handmade life. I am girl who sketches and dreams and hopes. A cherisher of books, gardening and danish modern furniture. And french food. Oh, french food. Thank you for supporting my dream of working a handmade life. Thank you for investing your time and resources in what creativity I have to share with others. Thank you for being a part of my life in this season, I am truly thankful for each encounter! Note: It is important to me to use reclaimed and recycled materials. Whenever possible I buy from ethically aware and local suppliers and use environmentally caring techniques in my studio. I think carefully about where gemstones and materials come from - sometimes not using them at all if I feel an abusive system will be supported by their presence in my designs. I like to not only support art but people too! About the name: lumafina(lu-ma-fee-na). Luminous and fine. Jewelry that is softly aglow with warmth, structure and a fine sense of color."
bio written by Hilary Ann via the etsy profile

stadtkind potsdam

jersey shirt - purple - flowers - button
"we are denise & gordon, we are siblings and we founded our fashion label in 2005 in potsdam/germany. first we had a shop in the town centre and since 2009 we only sell online on etsy (worldwide) and dawanda (europe). we make fashion for young women, mostly dresses and shirts. we like to play with cuts, colours and fabrics. and try to be distinctive. always!"
bio written by stadtkind-potsdam via the etsy profile

Kiki Mood

The little black whale - Doll decoration

Nancy Jean Home Goods

Chickadee Notecard
"I'm a full-time professional artist and have been a member of the Etsy community since 2008. Stop by ThePaintedSky, my Etsy studio shop, where I sell original paintings, inspired by nature, and farm-life with a modern twist."
mini-bio written by Nancy-Jean via her etsy profile

The North Country Girl

Splash
"I'm Nadia Alenov, a Minnesota artist dabbling in illustration, photography and crafty things. This particular shop is dedicated to my illustration and craft work. If you want to see what my photography looks like check out my other Etsy shop: www.alenovphotography.etsy.com. And if you like what you see, my blog, www.thenorthcountrygirl.blogspot.com is a conglomeration of all the art I do."
bio written by Nadia via her etsy shop announcement

i am a bird

christmas sweater bunny rabbit necklace- hand painted wooden necklace- red white holiday necklace
"Hello there, My name is madeleine belanger, I am a 21 year old jewelry designer from British Columbia, Canada. My inspiration comes from Canadian landscape, colors and animals. Such as owls, deer, evergreen trees, squirrels, racoons and of course birds! I have jewelry in 4 gorgeous stores across B.C. and am always looking for more to carry. I love doing custom orders for people, pets, flowers, anything really so if you are interested send me a message and we can chat further!"
bio written by Madeleline via her etsy profile
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what. no mints?

Autumn Apple Garland
" I live and work in a beautiful little south Florida neighborhood with my boyfriend Jim and our pet betta Rupert. I enjoy running, reading, food, chemistry and crafting geeky and cute goodies to share with you! My items are inspired by my infatuation with all things science and random places or things I encounter during my day-to-day. Each is entirely hand cut and sewn with love by yours truly. Why "What. No Mints?" My shop name has sort of been a joke for years and it all began when my family and I went out to dinner. When we were finished I promptly got up and immediately went searching the area around the hostess for the after-dinner mints. To my dismay, I discovered that there were none and exclaimed incredulously, "What! No mints!?" It was apparently amusing to have such a small child make this declaration and we still laugh about it to this day!"
bio written by Sasha via the etsy profile
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Bella And Bunny

11x14 ART PRINT - Ondine, Sing Me A Song
"My name is Emma Bazan, and I'm the artist who creates all of the art found in my shop! Bella + Bunny, was inspired by my furry friends. Bella my cat, who loves to watch me paint, and midge my bunny, who loves to nip my toes. A little about my work - My paintings are often portraits of pretty girls, animals, and other things found in nature. Bright colors, organic flowing lines, are common elements throughout my work. Subject, color palette, and composition are inspired by things from nature, folklore, poetry, textile, fashion and beauty. My pieces are all hand drawn and painted on watercolor paper, with inks, watercolors, colored pencils, and sometimes digitally finished or tweaked. A little about me - I was drawing and painting since I was itty bitty. I studied and majored in illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I currently live in Brooklyn NY, where I create my art. Besides painting on paper, I also freelance as a makeup artist in the fashion/beauty industry painting on many lovely beautiful faces."
bio written by Emma via the etsy profile
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Aly's Designs

Large blue, pink and ivory floral pleated bag
"Welcome to my Etsy shop. Thank-you for stopping in to take a look. I hope you find everything you are looking for, and things that make you happy :-) All of my items are handmade by me in my home studio and are READY TO SHIP. I owe all that I am today to my mom. She was a professional seamstress and she taught me how to sew when I was very young growing up in England. She taught me that there was nothing I couldn't do if I put my mind to it :-) Sewing remains my first love - (in my crafting world) - the thing that relaxes me and makes me feel happy. All of the women in my family were knitters, so it was natural that I would learn that too at a very young age. I don't have any knitted items in my shop at the present time. Please check back later. The jewelry is all mine - I'm self-taught and loving every minute of it! Just another way for me to showcase my creativity!"
bio written by Alyson via her etsy profile
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tuwhittuwhoo

liberty belle square gingham picnic tablecloth
"I sing, saw and sew and I love to eat cake and make, which I've been doing under my crafty nom-de-plume THE NIGHT OWL since 2009. I'm an artist and graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee and Edinburgh College of Art."
mini-bio written by Ellen via her etsy profile
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south india bazaar

Dont Worry Be Hippy....Indian Printed Wrap Skirt
"Hi, my name is Kelly and I live in the beautiful jungle of Kerala, South India. We are in a small village just north of Trivandrum city. I have a great love for all things handmade from india, with their intricate embroidery, mirrorwork detailing and sparkling sequins. So when i started making them, i thought I should share all these wonderful things with the etsy community. This is a collective shop and consists of everything that is handmade by me and my husbnds family. Members of this collective store: Myself: I make all items of clothing in this shop. Nandini ( my mother in law): Makes all items that include embroidery or beadwork. Velikutti (husbands grandfather): Makes all items made from weaving straw. My husband is the postman From Tunics to Harem pants, from sparkling bags and purses to blankets or throws, hand carved stone items and not forgetting indian slippers!"
bio written by Kelly via the etsy profile

Blue Fire Studio

Ceramic Owls, Whimsical Owl Sculpture, Art, Owl Couple Dreaming Love and Beauty by the Lake.
"i am Blue Fire. ....i've been doing artwork in various mediums throughout this lifetime....i've been working with clay and selling my creations for 20 years. .....i create sacred clay art... standing at the doorway, the Mystery, bringing my passion into being through my heart, hands and clay. i work with my dreams and mother earth's sacred body, from which she creates and nurtures all of life... i bring into being that which comes.... blessed by sacred fire the art / creation begins its ceremony / life."
bio written by Blue Fire via the etsy profile
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Studio Lara

8x10 Dalmatian Dog on Vintage Red Suitcase Fine Art Giclee Print by LARA
"My name is Lara Harris, I am a primarily self-taught artist who paints original oil paintings. My favorite subjects include still life, interiors, pet portraits, portraits, and master studies. My work has been featured in HOLIDAY with Matthew Mead (on pg. 17) and was mentioned in Flea Market Style Magazine (Summer 2010). My work is in private collections throughout the United States, Canada,the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong."
bio written by Lara via her etsy profile
WEBSITE * ETSY * FACEBOOK-WEDDING DRESSES * FACEBOOK-PORTRAITS

love struck soul

Rustic Romance - Sterling Silver and a Copper Heart - Stacking Ring Set of 4
"I'm a single mom and a metalworker, and I live in sunny Florida. This is what I do to support us:) My background is actually in fashion design, but somewhere along the way I bought two kilns and a torch, then just fell in love with metal. Everything in my shop is hand forged by me, out on the back porch. (no more indoor studio in NY winter!)"
bio written by Jen via her etsy profile

STRanger Artiste

Water Colour Off-the-Shoulder Shift Dress
"Sheri STRanger is a self-taught, Toronto artist who works in paint, mixed media, print making, textiles, photography, and fashion & accessory design. Sheri has participated in numerous community arts projects with the Barbara Schlifer Clinic, Parkdale Community Health Centre, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario, YWCA, Mad Pride, Workman Arts & Frugal Fashion Week. Her work is part of many private and commercial collections and has been exhibited around the Greater Toronto Area at Art Gallery of Ontario, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario events, Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Arts, Workman Arts, Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Mad Pride, Frugal Fashion Week and local galleries & cafes."
bio written by Sheri via her etsy profile
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Dancing Grains

Dining Table - Modern with Walnut Slab
"Dancing Grains is a Boulder, Colorado maker of fine custom furniture, cabinets, general woodwork, and larger scale design and architectural products. Working with salvaged, reclaimed and otherwise sustainable materials and practices, we seek to create elements of the lived-in environment that bring a sense of ease and grace to it's users. This goal is achieved with old-world craftsmanship (quality), a quiet sensibility for enduring beauty, resourceful and creative collaboration with other artists, and a real-world practicality neccessary for bringing extraordinary designs to fruition."
bio written by Austin Aaron via the etsy profile

Mud Pups

Porcelain Cat Sculpture, KC, Figurine Ornament Hand Sculpted OOAK Unique
"“Be mindful o man that though art but dust and to porcelain shalt thou return.” This quote tickles and touches me. The idea that once dust we become the best is both irreverent and heart warming. Humour or serenity always decide my art and fusing these passions produces happy serene porcelain pups. I've been an enthusiast of pottery for more than a decade and Airedales for much longer."
mini-bio written by Wendy via her etsy profile

Vintage Chase

Handmade Large Brown Leather Bag with Vintage Embroidery Accents
"I'm a born and bred California girl, colleged on the East Coast, spent some time in Central America, lived on an Island in Washington and then circled back to California. I've been creating, sewing, designing for as long as I can remember, as my mother did before me, and her mother before her. Lucky for me my mother could look at anything and figure out how to make a pattern from that vision, luckier for me I seem to be able to do the same thing. I seem to be happiest designing, creating, and sharing that vision. I have been in the textile business for the past 15 years, creating, writing, copywriting and publishing contemporary quilt patterns. This exciting pursuit has taken me to trade and retail shows across the country and to England to teach and sell my patterns (Chase Adams Designs). During this time I started to notice that once a fabric was down to several yards on the bolt it was usually thrown out, ending in landfills. With this in mind I went back to my studio and began designing handbags from discarded decorator fabric and recycled leather, plus vintage kimono's and scarfs for the linings. Using the skills that I learned from a Master Level Leather class while in college, couture and quilt making techniques I was taught as a child, plus antique brass pieces and embroidery sourced from Europe, Vintage Chase was born! We are excited to be part of the eco-designer community that is striving to have our product represent as close to 100% recyled/upcycled as possible. Please take the time to visit my second store ChaseVintage.etsy.com, where I am offering an eclectic mix of vintage items for your home, and our upcoming online store at www.ChasingVintage.com. Also please visit my oldest daughters RiordanStudio.etsy.com She has a beautiful selection of vintage estate jewelry. Ahh, love it when things come full circle!"
bio written by VintageChase via the etsy profile

Taylors Eclectic

Sterling Silver Hearts Necklace, Pink Magenta Blush
"How It All Began: I started my artistic adventure after transferring from a US college to an American university in London as a history major. I was required to take an art class, and I chose photography. Photography has always been a passion of mine. After that one class, I realized that I preferred to have my hands doing something instead of dusting off old books in the library for research. I was very, very lucky in that my university professors chose to present art in a less traditional, less formal manner. We were given concepts or ideas and told to go do. We chose our mediums, chose our method of presentation, and chose how to perceive those concepts and ideas. I have always preferred to go my own way, and for me, this environment was perfect. By my senior year, I really began to view myself as an artist for the first time in my life. My professors really gave me the confidence to view myself in a different way. Without them, I truly do not know where my life would have led me, and I will always be so very grateful to them for helping me to truly see myself. The Jewelry Side of my Art: After graduating from Richmond, the American University in London in 2007, I returned home to the wilds of West Virginia to pursue my art and got a bit overwhelmed by the absolute freedom. I spent nine months sculpting an incredible clay sculpture. I tend to work in minute details, and this piece was perhaps the most detailed and complex piece I have ever done. But when I completed it, I ended up burning myself out and losing my passion for it. I have long had a love affair with jewelry, and I decided to pursue that passion. Jewelry to me has always been more than a pretty thing to wear around your neck. I like it to mean something, to evoke something. I have always used jewelry to change my mood or to change how I view myself. At times, jewelry has been like a shield for me, and at other times my beacon of confidence. I can pull any piece out of my jewelry box and tell you what it meant to me at that time in my life, and why. I wanted to create this same sort of emotion within my own jewelry line. Paper to me was always a natural choice. It has so many facets to it and is such an underestimated medium. I wanted my paper to be as strong as the metals it was incorporated with, and as beautiful as any gemstone. I wanted my jewelry to be as complex as my clay sculptures, but so much more delicate. And above all, I wanted my pieces to have meaning to people. My Paper Technique: I spent many months developing my paper sculpting process. It is not paper mache. It is not paper stretching. It is not decoupage. What is it? It's my own specialized process. It's my own specialized sealants. It's a piece of jewelry with an obsessive attention to detail and hours of hand sculpting. Working in intricate detail has a strangely calming effect on me. The backs of my work are just as neat and clean as the fronts. I never send out a piece that I am not proud of. I never cut corners. I will also at this point not do tutorials or share my technique. The art world is exceptionally competitive, and I was told in university by a brilliant artist to never give away whatever you can make unique about your work. I hope that you will understand that, and hopefully you will appreciate that. I am an entirely self taught jeweler, which is incredibly difficult at times, and has an incredibly steep learning curve. I spend a lot of time failing at things before I succeed. But I am so grateful to spend my days and nights sculpting jewelry that I feel has a purpose and a meaning. I hope that these pieces will mean something to you as well, and that they will be as relevant to you in twenty years as they are to you today. Inspirations and Other Things: I am inspired by everything around me, as broad as that might sound. Nature is a constant font of ever changing beauty and inspiration. Movies inspire me. The atmosphere described in a book. Textiles, particularly lace work and embroidery. Sunlight behind leaves on a windy day is my personal kryptonite. As are the stars, which I can never quite capture in my art and it endlessly frustrates me. I like to look at the jewelry people wear and wonder how I can get them into my jewelry. My cat Lucy and I also have long discussions about potential concepts...he's part Siamese, so he can be rather mouthy. My favorite piece is always my next piece. My newest pieces always represent some sort of growth to me. I never sketch primarily because I sketch very badly...although I do well with circles and lines. All of my designs are always floating around in my head, and I will work through a design in my head for months until I finally pick up my pliers and wire and make it happen...if the wire lets me. As Alexander Calder said, wire has a mind of its own. Wire is never quite as accommodating as you might think, and it generally likes to have the lead. My favorite color is blue. Particularly royal blue. I often get asked by bloggers in interviews where I hope to be in ten years. I hope to be better than I am today. I hope to have grown within my medium. I hope to have pursued my passion for writing. I hope to be sculpting in clay again. I hope that I can pursue photography again. I hope to still have passion. But, as with anything in life, I know that hard work is the only thing that makes hoping worthwhile. So I hope that I am still working hard, and I hope that the hard work pays off. As Robert Frost said, "The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep." If you have read this far, thank you so much, and I hope that you enjoy my work!"
bio written by Taylor via the etsy profile

Jennifer Davis Art

gardening - oringinal painting - art
"Making art is a daily ritual for me. I enjoy painting everyday and get a deep satisfaction from sharing my work with other people. For me, painting is a vehicle for expressing my most personal thoughts and ideas. I am trying to communicate things that are often unspoken and private but commonly human. I started selling original paintings and collages on Etsy in 2006 and added limited edition prints in 2010. In addition to selling work via my Etsy shop, I regularly exhibit my work in shops and galleries throughout the U.S. and beyond. My exhibition resume/CV"
bio written by Jennifer via her etsy "about" page
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berlin-clogs

Clogs blue

Gifts and Stars

Sea Urchin Ornament with Vintage Crystal
"Hi! Thank you for checking our profile! This is the place where we sell little gift goodies for you or someone else. Our main shop is here: http://staroftheeast.etsy.com where we sell our one of a kind and limited edition jewelry. We like to share our life in Turkey and Etsy's findings here: http://star-of-the-east.blogspot.com"
bio written by Esther & Estella via their etsy profile

murmurfremo

Raccoon Boy Animal Pin - Green Shirt with Heart
"Oh. I just like animals. Happy little animals. It's pretty disgusting. Sometimes I want to make dark, mean animals but unfortunately they don't come out that way. Sometimes serious, but usually happy and colorful. Oh well. For a slightly darker side of Murmur Fremo check out: www.etsy.com/shop/murmurfremo2"
mini-bio written by Tere via the etsy profile
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pamela's jewelry

Honey bee earrings topaz bronze glass garden fashion
"My name is Pamela and I love designing and artistically handcrafting beautiful jewelry. I am constantly evolving with unique styles and materials. I am inspired by nature in the many different textures and colors in my designs. Each unique design is a mix of semi-precious gemstones, freshwater pearls, Swarovski Crystals, Czech glass, turquoise, coral, handcrafted artisan lampwork glass, sterling silver, gold filled, antique brass, and copper."
bio written by Pamela via her etsy profile

tione

Kid Silk Shawl.
"My name is Magdalena. I live in Poland - on the bank of Baltic Sea. I love knitting in all colors and executable invoices. All items are hand knitted by me. I want to show in my shop."
mini-bio written by tione via the etsy profile