Etsy feature: Twigandleafbotanical

My usual policy with my Etsy feature is to feature those who have a low sales total and/or volume. However, this shop is so amazing I thought it would definitely be worth it to write about despite the success reflected in her 1900+ sales.

Being a vegetarian and a member of EtsyVeg Team, I first heard about twigandleafbotanical while browsing the member list. Run by Kelly Beth, the shop sells ‘organic vegan products for your health and home’, ranging from organic spices to teas, facial masks, lotions, to soy candles and organic soap nuts (a natural detergent alternative)! Having recently been dissapointed by a different soy candle shop whose fragrance I found terribly strong and a bit artificial, I decided to give her soy candles a try.

Six custom made to order organic soy votive candles

Kelly provided the most amazing customer service, and also sent me some extra soy votives, scented with various blends of organic botanical oils. I’m not sure if it has to do with her training as an aromatherapist and clinical herbalist, but she certainly has a talent with creating lovely, non-iritating scents! Now, note that I am not really a believer in alternative medicine – but I do enjoy playing around with essential oils myself as I love all the various scents. But I certainly enjoyed these candles so much, I kept 3 of them aside to scent my clothes drawer. Too precious to burn!

I have yet to try any of her other products, but here is a tiny selection of items in her shop which have (in the past) received great feedback:

Organic mud mask for even or sun damaged skin

New Mother organic herbal tea refill – goes in her 2 oz. recycled glass jar if you have bought from her before

Organic soap nuts – “These strange little berries are organically grown in their native India, and are used all over the world as laundry detergent and a hypo-allergenic laundry detergent alternative! They are incredibly gentle and can be used by anyone, including those with nut allergies, because they are actually berries!”

Although the shipping prices on her listings are US only, Kelly is happy to ship out of the US – but you have to message/convo her in advance so that she can calculate a shipping price based on your location.

Etsy feature: Sameheartdesigns

Most of us interested in handicraft will usually know at least one person who knows how to knit or crochet. However, I have the impression that not as many people know how to hand-weave on the loom.

I found Nadia’s handwoven scarves (Sameheartdesigns) as she was a fellow member of EtsyVeg and BeKind treasury team on Etsy. Hailing from Leipzig in Germany, Nadia makes her lovely scares from a mix of organic and non-organic cotton, hemp, wool and bamboo. Her shop focuses on her handmade scarves (both vegetarian and vegan), although she also sells organic lavender sachets, baby blankets and other items.

Mayan Sunrise Scarf – what a lovely mix of warm shades!

Forest prism scarf - a cool, male-friendly scarf. Featured on the German Etsy front page twice!

One of her scarves in progress on her couterbalance loom

Handwoven organic baby blanket - what a gorgeous range of colours!

In fact, I’d probably be considering buying a scarf myself if I already didn’t have an assortment of handknitted scarves from my mum (thanks mum all the same)!

The (neighbour’s) cat comes back

Uh oh, she’s noticed I’ve benen looking at her.

Here she is!

Etsy feature: Catmacdesigns

Next up in line for the Etsy feature is Catmacdesigns, run by “a mother to 3 great kids” and “grandmother to a fiesty 5 year old girl”. Also a regular Etsy Chatter, Catmac studied Art at College and went on to get her Masters in Social Work, only to have her career disrupted by medical issues. According to her profile, crafting to sell on Etsy has therefore given her a “new lease in life”. She expresses her creativity via many different mediums, ranging from mica earrings, bird houses, greeting cards, needle felting and polymer clay.

Here are some of my favourites from her shop:

Hand-dyed Apple Gourd Birdhouse. Notice the little worm and welcome sign!

Felted leaves and Clay Rose Pin – an example of her multiple craft skills!

Carved Autumn Leaves Gourd Bowl – Gourd-geous!

Lastly, some lovely items from her Zibbet shop MyGardenCloset:

Wooden Goldfinch Suet and Orange Slice feeder – so CUTE!

Cardinal Polymer Clay Garden Ornament

The revival of Etsy feature – and introducing NaturePaintings

One of the things I loved about Etsy was the sense of community it could bring. I made many friends on Etsy Chat, which sadly saw its demise on the 18th of July 2011. Thankfully, Etsy user Surferbeads created a chat room at http://www.chatwagon.com/ where some of us are starting to meet. The chat room is growing and I am happy to be able to chat with my old friends again.

Another thing I have recently been getting into on Etsy is treasury making. A treasury is a collection of 16 items and when the items compliment one another, the result can be artistic. I was lucky enough to have some of my treasuries featured on the UK front page, namely my tribute to Armstice Day (Lest we forget), my Men’s Gift Guide UK Version – under £50 and the Gift guide for her – under £50. I have realised what a powerful tool treasuries can be (apart from the fact that compiling them can be fun!) and so have more recently started to look up shops (mostly from the UK) with low sales counts but with talent. I have decided to include them in my treasuries as much as I can so that hopefully, one day they may make it to the front page too.

As my first Etsy feature of the year, let me introduce Theresa Evans of NaturePaintings from Manchester, U.K.. Being pretty useless at watercolours (although I can draw a little), I have always admired people with a talent for it – and Theresa is one such person. Beautiful colours in her paintings – and wonderful portrayal of light and shading.

Her work ranges from animals:

Robin – Original Watercolour Painting 12″ x 8″

To flowers -

Golden Daffodils – Fine Art Print (10×10) plus border

And landscapes.

Venice Sunset – Fine Art Print (10×14) plus border

Cypress Trees, Tuscany – Fine Art Print (10×14) plus border