I joined Etsy on September 30, 2005, just a few months after the site first launched. I had been searching desperately for an alternative to eBay, which had always felt like such a vast and impersonal place to sell my artwork. I remember how excited I was when I came across a website specifically focused on handmade arts and crafts, because it felt like for the first time, I finally had a warm and cozy spot on the internet to call home. I had no expectations and no business plans, but I knew that this was the place I wanted to be . . . but what was I going to sell? I ended up going through several phases before landing on the whole "rubber stamp" idea, and waaaay back in the beginning I actually had a shop full of paintings and prints.
This was my very first sale on Etsy. A print of my "Secret Garden" painting.
My current stamp storage system situation is in need of some upgrading. I have too many stamps made and not enough drawers to hold them all. I'd really like to improve my efficiency through better organization in some way. I just have no idea how!
Yes. I know it's been a while, ages in fact, since I last updated my etsy shop. But it's finally here! I have a few new designs to add to the shop and will be posting them throughout the week. I just posted my first new stamp. It's a Koala.
I saw this woman on Yo Gabba Gabba and I just had to look for the rest of her stuff on you tube! Check out this gem. It's like the unofficial etsy theme song! P.S. I wanted to add that I don't usually sit at home watching children's programming, haha. I was just doing a bit of research to help a friend plan her son's Yo Gabba Gabba themed b-day party! :)
I've received more than a few requests from customers who want me to send stamps out as a gift to a friend or relative. Unfortunately for them, all I have are the plain plastic baggies that I send my regular orders in. So boring! :P I was thinking it would be nice if I could find a way to spruce up gift packages for my customers so I turned to the supply section of etsy to do a little browsing. I did a search for "cute gift bags" and was surprised to come across this:
The dark owl and doppel "gäng"
I love to see customers selling beautiful and creative items using my stamps. My policy regarding the use of these stamps is simply that any item to be sold must be hand stamped (no mechanical reproductions). That's it! I don't even ask to be credited, although it is always nice when someone feels kind enough to do so. :)
So anyway, you may be wondering why I was so caught off guard when I came across this cute little zippy bag with what looked like the "dark owl" design stamped all over it? Well, that dark owl was not hand-stamped by an indie/crafty customer, but instead it has been mechanically copied and mass produced by some Korean company called Rollercoaster. (Btw, I have no problem with the etsy shop I spotted this in. The vendor simply sells cute stationery supplies from Korea.)
Crazy huh?
From Rollercoaster's catalog . . .
The page from my sketchbook where I was trying to figure out my final owl design. Even though I love Bubo, I'm so glad I didn't choose to give the owl a clockwork eye! Ugh! What was I thinking?
I've decided to shorten this post because I feel really bad for ranting on and on earlier! I've even decided that I'm semi-flattered that a big company actually liked my design enough to copy me. :) I'm just a little bummed that someone might come to the conclusion that I was the copycat in this situation, and not the other way around. I found a video on TED related to this whole issue. It's about copycats in creative industries and the lessons we can learn. Okay then. Sorry about all that. Done ranting now. Cheers! :)
Rebecca (a.k.a. SquirrelJunkie on etsy) wrote to me last month to let me know that she was going to incorporate some of my stamp designs into what will eventually become a 3/4 sleeve tattoo on her arm. She sent me a link to her flickr page where you can see the beginning of her journey. I've been so busy moving into my new apartment that I was unable to post a pic of the tattoo until today. It's my narwhal design. . . and she's named it Lucille! Tee hee. . . so adorable! Don't forget to check out her etsy shop too!
Customer Sari just shared with me some pics of these cute onesies she made using the light owl and tabby cat stamps. You can find these and other altered/upcycled clothing for sale in her etsy shop!
Did you know that October is breast cancer awareness month? Fellow etsy member Tina recently brought this to my attention and she also let me know that for the entire month she has been "blogging for boobs" and trying to generate a bit of attention to the cause. At the end of the month the money from the traffic generated to her blog will be donated to the Susan G. Komen and Keep-A-Breast charities. Please check out her site, "Talkin' with Teenie", for more info and to view personal stories contributed by those whose lives have been affected by breast cancer. She's also having a bunch of giveaways for a lot of great stuff! I donated two of my halloween themed rubber stamps so stop by her blog for a chance to win! :o)
I just added a Mystery Box/Grab Bag style listing to the shop due to special request. For those who would like to buy a few stamps (but not enough for wholesale) here's your chance to get a bit of a price break. You get 10 randomly chosen stamps for $35 (worth $50). This is $15 less than if you purchased them individually! I think that's a pretty nice deal. :o) And don't worry, these are exactly the same quality as all the stamps I sell in my shop. No reject stamps here. The only catch is that I will not take special requests, they will just be randomly chosen from the stock I already have made. That way I don't have to spend extra time cutting out and assembling ones I don't have around at the moment. In the end that makes things easier for me and that's why it will be cheaper for you. Yay!
A former customer contacted me to let me know that my raven stamp was featured on September 8th's Halloween themed Etsy Finds. Thanks so much! Halloween is my favorite holiday after all. :o)
Hello! My name is Nicole Holi. I ♥ cats, chickens, rats, totoros, windy days, thunderstorms, stargazing, synchronicity, learning new things, dreaming, drawing, painting, soda, gummy bears, poi and lomi salmon, grey goose, folklore, ghost stories, all things strange and unusual, strays, hoboes, and anything cute.
I live in Hoboville with my little troupe of hoboes (hobocat, hoborooster, hobocrayfish and hoboturtle!) and I design and assemble rubber stamps and other goodies all day long. Thanks for stopping by!
