Let's meet ... Veryan from Beady Pool!

I know Veryan from Twitter and Folksy, and it's my pleasure to introduce her to you!

Cats or dogs?

Oh, definitely cats every time. If there is such a thing as reincarnation I would love to be a cat.

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Red Dwarf please for me, takes me back a few years. I missed the new one on Dave the other evening and forgot to record it, sure it will be repeated though.

Fruit or chocolate?

I love both LOTS

Favourite colour?

Blue, blue and ……blue.



Favourite meal?

Roast lamb or salad.

City break or weekend in the country?

Weekend in the country preferable near the sea so I can blow away the cobwebs.

Soaps or documentaries?

Not really into either, but I loved Hustle and am quite enjoying The Mentalist.

Bath or shower?

Shower, every morning it wakes me up.



Now we’ve got you warmed up…

What brought you to Folksy? Tell us about your shop (or shops) Do you sell anywhere else?

Beady Pool sells handmade unique jewellery made using artisan beads, gemstones and quality glass beads with Sterling Silver and fairtrade Karen Hilltribe silver. I like using lampwork beads as each one is different and each lampworker has their own style. It also makes my items even more unique as mainly, the artisans only ever make one set of each design. I make bracelets, earrings, necklaces and pendants.



I came to Folksy as a way to get my unique jewellery viewed by a wider audience. I liked the fact that it was UK based for a predominently UK audience.
My Folksy shop can be found at http://www.folksy.com/shops/Veryan.
I also sell from my own website www.beadypool.co.uk.

What’s the favourite item you’ve made so far?

Oh tough choice I have so many favourites. The old cliché it is usually the last thing I made but I do like the Ebb and Flow bracelet featuring lampwork by Rachel Dawes and also the Summer Days charm bracelet with Angie Finns eatable strawberries – yum yum.




If you could start again, is there anything you’d do differently?

Set up my website sooner, even if it was just a shop front with how to contact me and some information about what I do and sell. I think these days the first place we look for information is on the web so it important to have a web presence.



How do you see your store developing?

I am currently trying out a more affordable range on my website called the Beady Pool Treasure Chest. All the items will still be handmade, but I will be using more readily available beads. So more Czech glass beads and swarovski crystals. I still plan on making only one of an item, but if there is a market I may do limited edition runs of say five items of each design.
I would also like to incorporate more silver into my work and have been having some silver jewellery making lessons and maybe one day even make more of my own lampwork beads…watch this space.(these are pics of my first attempts at lampworking)




What have you been doing today that I’ve interrupted?

Keeping an eye on my 3yr old son and trying to cross things off my ever increasing to do list.

What’s your top marketing tip for today?

Tell everyone and anyone about you and what you do. Always carry business cards with you and if it is jewellery you are selling make sure you wear what you sell, it’s free advertising. Plus, you don’t have to part with your favourite pieces.

Great advice Veryan, thanks! Could you remind us of your links again please?

My Folksy shop can be found at http://www.folksy.com/shops/Veryan. I also sell from my own website www.beadypool.co.uk.

You can follow me on twitter or become a beadypool fan on facebook . I also have a blog http://veryanparker.blogspot.com

Let's meet...AMIdesigns

Alison from AMIdesigns.etsy.com is a fellow UK seller, hailing from Northern Ireland. Let's get to know the girl behind the counter...

Cats or dogs?

cats

Fruit or chocolate?

chocolate of course!

Favourite colour?

blue



Favourite meal?

my hubbies prawns in garlic butter

City break or weekend in the country?

city break

Soaps or documentaries?

documentaries



Bath or shower?

shower. I never ever have a bath

What brought you to Etsy? Tell us about your shop ... do you sell anywhere else?

When I started making jewellery I stumbled across the crafts forum and read a lot about Etsy. Eventually I decided to give it a go. AMIdesigns.etsy.com I make beaded jewellery and online I sell mostly bracelets, though that's not what I started off trying to sell. I mostly sell memory wire bracelets or chunky cluster bracelet. My other online shop is on Folksy - www.AMIdesigns.folksy.com

What’s the favourite item you’ve made so far?

I love the Caviar bracelet, which is the first cluster bracelet I made with silvery grey glass pearls



OH, those are Nifty's favourite too, although I prefer the chocolatey one...or maybe the teal...or maybe the champagne...

What has been the most useful lesson you’ve learnt so far?

To make a success of it, it takes loads of time, effort and promotion

If you could start again, is there anything you’d do differently?

I'd tell myself not to get down when the sales didn't come immediately. It wasn't really until the summer and being on here for 7 or 8 months that I started selling consistantly

How do you see your store developing?

Probably more bracelets and more designs.



What have you been doing today that I’ve interrupted?

Updating my blog! amidesignsjewellery.blogspot.com

What’s your top marketing tip for today?

Treat each buyer as well as you can. Answer convo's promptly, use attractve packaging and I offer a small discount for repeat buyers, which seems to encourage people to come back again

Thanks Alison! To find out more, go to
amidesignsjewellery.blogspot.com
AMIdesigns.etsy.com
AMIdesigns.folksy.com

and of couse she's @AMIdesigns on Niftyknits new favourite, twitter!

Let's meet...SantiamDesigns

Debbie of SantiamDesigns surprised me with her first answer ;-)

Quickies or starters: Either, as long as he 'gets 'er done!

Cats or dogs?

Dogs, and lots of 'em. I have three of my own {Kira, my German Shepherd, Winston, my AmStaff, and Dice, a border collie} and a foster pit bull pup, Penelope Pit Stop. Currently planning for GSD pup 'Mikey', who hasn't been conceived yet. I'm still shopping breeders, though I've narrowed it down to three. One in PA, one in CA, and one in WA.

Star Wars or Star Trek?

EWWWW. Neither. Unless it's the Star Trek Trouble with Tribbles episode! My first two husbands were huge sci fi fans, I corrected that mistake with #3.

You're forgiven - my very favourite episode is "trials and tribble-ations", a DS9 tribute to the original series tribbles. I love the bit when someone asks Worf why the Klingons don't look "right" and he says "We don't discuss it".

Fruit or chocolate? I love chocolate, but I eat a lot more fruit. Fruit.

Favourite colour? Green



Favourite meal?

Anything prepared by Gustav's in Clackamas, Oregon.

City break or weekend in the country?

Life in the country, with occasional breaks in Philly and Manhattan with my daughter and her partner. I LOVE NYC!

Soaps or documentaries?

Documentaries, always.

Bath or shower?

Shower. I want everything icky off of me and down the drain!


Usually I say "Now we’ve got you warmed up…" but I don't think there was any question of that!

What brought you to Etsy? Tell us about your shop. Do you sell anywhere else?

I belong to jewelry and beading lists on yahoo, so that's where I first heard about Etsy. Before my Dr. 'disabled' me, I was working in a medical lab, and had 1 hour for lunch. There was a lovely bead store nearby that I couldn't seem to stay out of. I made things for friends, co-workers, clients, and strangers. {Compliment me on something I'm wearing, and I'm liable to give it to you!} Once I was retired, I had amassed a huge amount of beads, and lost an income. I did the math, and Santiam Designs was born. I also have a SD presence at Artfire, where nothing has sold. Yet!

What’s the favourite item you’ve made so far?



My Sterling and Crazy Lace Agate Choker (above) I want to keep it. :-)

What has been the most useful lesson you’ve learnt (about Etsy) so far?

Hmmm. Don't sweat what admin is doing, or not doing. I see so much anger and frustration in the fora regarding admin and to me, it's wasted energy and not good for one's health. Or, maybe I'm just too old and settled to keep up! I cruise the forums for useful tips, opportunities to help a new shop, and general amusement. I frequently sit on my hands, though. ;-)

If you could start again, is there anything you’d do differently?
Yes, Santiam Designs would be Santiam *something else*. I was in a hurry to get started before we drowned in jewelry, so I didn't spend much longer than a nano second on the name. Silly, really.




How do you see your store developing?
I sew, have a full stained glass shop stored away, I do needlepoint, cross stitch, embroidery, have a full grow operation for producing african violets for show, a full Siamese Fighting Fish breeding set up, and love making crazy quilts with lots of embroidery and embellishments so maybe I'll dig this stuff out and open another store one day, when I can't ride my horses up the mountain anymore. While I might add an eclectic item to SD on occasion, it'll pretty much stay the same, just with new items. I want to get into metalsmithing, and DH has offered up his large shop. I just need to make time for classes. I make what I love, and want to wear, in hopes that someone else will covet the items. I don't do trendy, my brain just can't cope with keeping up with anyone else but me!

What have you been doing today that I’ve interrupted?
Not a darn thing. Sitting here, sipping my lovely cup of Senseo and swallowing my twice daily handful of medications. Six more pills to go! And apparently the dogs would like to eat something, they're all lined up sitting, staring at me, licking their lips. I do love them so!




What’s your top marketing tip for today?
Um, you're talkin' to someone that hasn't even installed google analytics. I don't advertise, though I do donate items for auctions and raffles, mostly at dog events. I try to list something new daily. I occasionally renew, and try to make an appearance in the fora a couple of times a day.
I'm so totally laid back these days that hustling just isn't part of my repertoire. I'd rather play with my horses and dogs!

Oh you sound so sorted! Thanks for this, the best piece of advice I'm going to try to take from your interview is "Don't sweat what admin is doing, or not doing."

SantiamDesigns
debskibblesnbits.blogspot.com

Birthday in Brighton :-)

My two sons both live in lovely Brighton so we drove down on Thursday to have a birthday lunch on Friday. We stayed once more at Hudsons who do a great full English brekkie!

Then off to wander North Laine and a trip to the bead shop before lunch with OH, my boys and DiL.

We saw some great street art - though I suppose some would call it graffiti.

We went on the Galloping Horses after lunch, that was always my favourite ride when I was a child. Very tame for this generation, of course, so the boys kept doing bareback riding tricks - not to the amusement of the bored fairground guy.

We had another mission - to find a copy of the current Komedia(local venue) programme - my middle son's band A Scandal in Bohemia is on the front cover!

*proud mum glow*