Inspiration: Discovering Your Muse

Creativity has always been a strength that I have been blessed with. Recently, as life changes, so have my inspirations. They seem to be evolving right along side of me.

I used to teach High School English and I loved to use it in the classroom. I would dress up as characters, preform murder mysteries, create plays and the list goes on. I was always coming up with the next crazy plan to bring a lesson to life or to keep me from boredom. I could never use the curriculum provided--always had to create my own. Creativity became my drug of choice.

Of course, when I quit teaching, I had to foster that creativity through another channel. That part was easy since art depends on the creative mind but my art seemed to demand a little more from me. . .I needed a little inspiration to spark the creative process. Nature and color took the job and were always battling it out for the place of muse in whatever I was designing or painting at the time.

I soon assumed another role in life, mommy. This role was foreign to me but it was not long before the creative gene began to take it over as well. I was not excited about having a boy. I had planned the nursery for a girl, so when I found out Sebastian would be a boy I was pretty upset. I decided I would just throw a few toys in the nursery and call it a day. Obviously that plan soon passed.

I found my muse for the nursery in a very unexpected source, my husband. Jim suggested I do a Dr. Seuss theme. I LOVED the idea and ran with it. A friend and I sketched out the room according to our take on The Cat in the Hat and got to work on creating our little Seuss Land. We had so much fun creating Sebastian's room and it made me even more excited for his arrival. I was a little more receptive to the idea of having a boy:)

Inspiration has become such an important part of my creative process. Whether I was teaching, creating art, or just being mom, I had to find what inspired me and foster that into something great. I have learned that life is full of the unexpected but if you use the world around you, the situations you find yourself in, and the people in your life to challenge you, your inspiration is really just a moment away. Life is meant to be colorful and I am learning to use every crayon in my box.

Featured Artist: Eddyizm

Featured Artist: Eddyizm

I was relaxing one evening in the chat rooms when I first fell in love with the photography of our featured artist eddyizm. I was perusing through different shops when his incredible talent stopped me for over a half hour! So, I do have to warn you--don't click on his shop unless you have time to loose yourself in his digital world!

http://www.eddyizm.com/

http://eddyizm.etsy.com/

1. Tell me about yourself

Hi, my name is Eduardo Cervantes, but I also go by eddyizm in this digital world of ours. I am currently falling in love with a girl and have been falling in love with life as of my more recent years. I am 32 and a Capricorn.

2. Tell me about your art and anything that is new and in the "works"!

I just bought my first SLR less than 2 years ago and have been learning and shooting and printing and editing and learning and making lots of mistakes and taking crappy frames and finding wonderful magic since then. Photography has truly become my passion for life, adventure, travel, outdoors as well as the technical aspect and the enjoyment of others reactions. I do what I do because I enjoy it, because it makes my life complete and because I love the chance to share a part of what is inside of me, with someone else.

I just finished wrapping up 2007 and even though September is about to end, I just began posting my 2008 galleries. I have been shooting so much that I have a serious backlog but intend to catch up shortly. Coming up this year are trips to Joshua tree national park, Mt Rainer national park, Olympic national park, Grand Canyon national park, San Diego zoo, sea world, and many many more.

3. What is the best and worst think about owning your own business/working for yourself?

I don't really own my own business, but I sell prints, shoot portraits, weddings and also cover events. The best part is that I love what I do even if I wasn't paid, I would still walk out with my camera and shoot. It’s definitely for the love, not the money.

4. What is the story behind your brand?

My brand? Well, I guess my name has been around since 1999 roughly, back when there was no myspace ;-) my website portfolio houses over 1,400 images in over 100+ galleries. As they say, I let my photos do the talking...

5. How are you gearing up for the holiday season?

I have a lot of prints ready to go, lots of custom sizes and great selection of images, from flowers to animals to scenic deserts to lush rain forests and gritty urban decay along with eerie ghost towns. I would be surprised if you could not find something you liked in my shop.

6. Tell about one time you have been "caught RED handed"

I plead the 5th. Let’s just say it involved the police I WAS YOUNG ! ;-)

7. Secret Sale!

"Eddyizm is offering a Secret Sale to all of our blog readers! Include the following message in the note to the seller box during checkout and you will receive 25% off your total purchase(excluding shipping).

CRH Blog reader! Please discount my purchase 25%!

CRH Featured Artist: The Little Stitch

CRH Featured Artist: The Little Stitch

This week's featured artist is one of the first shops I hearted on etsy. In fact, I placed one of her pillows in my very first treasury and it made the front page! Susan's work is fantastic and admired for so long and am excited to spotlight her amazing designs and craft! So take a minute, stop by her shop, and make sure to tell her we sent you:)

http://www.thelittlestitch.etsy.com/


1. Tell me about yourself (anything from age and education to what you eat).

Well, my name is Susan and I’m the owner, designer & sewer of my very small company. I'm a born & bred western New Yorker who longs to move back east but is sadly stuck living on the west coast at the moment. I have a great love of music & sewing. They are the 2 things that make me the happiest (with Japanese magazines a close third). I also drink too much Pepsi—it is my favorite food!

2. Tell me about your art and anything that is new and in the "works"!

I love making pillows from some unknown reason it's what I gravitate to making when I'm in my studio. Eventually I'd love to do more art work type pieces, mini quilts, wall art, etc. I've been playing around with that & working with more prints.

3. What is the best and worst think about owning your own business?

The best part is doing what you love everyday & not answering to others. The worst is being disciplined; you have to really have a good work ethic to get things done. I have a tendency to spend a little too much time reading blogs & checking out my favorite groups on Flickr. Flickr is my downfall.

4. What is the story behind your brand?

The real story is too many years in retail doing visuals & not feeling fulfilled working for others. It's more gratifying being on your own. So I decided when I found etsy to try it out and haven't looked back. I owe so much to etsy.

5. How are you gearing up for the holiday season?

For the holiday season I'm trying to make more to fill the shop & have more pillows that mix & match together. A more cohesive thread that brings them together.

6. Tell about one time you have been "caught RED handed"

I'm a professional; I’ve never been caught:) And if I did get caught I'd never admit to it.

CRH Featured Artist: Cori Dantini

Featured Artist: Cori Dantini

I am so excited to bring this week's featured artist to you! Cori Dantini is my "partner in crime" and the wonderful designer behind the artwork on all of my pendants. There is so much more to Cori than the CRH pendant designs. Her art is spectacular so enjoy!

http://www.corid.etsy.com/


1. Tell me about yourself (anything from age, education, to what you eat).

mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, 501's, black t-shirt, strong coffee, seltzer water, japanese pen nibs, walnut ink, small flat pebble collector, free flowin', reader, observer, fragment lover... dependable, scatter brained, forgetful, open hearted and LOYAL. did i mention i love cake.

2.Tell me about your art and anything that is new and in the "works"!

My art (and I am not referring to my day job as an illustrator here) is truly an organic experience. I NEVER have a plan... because when I do things end up looking contrived and overly thought out. There are never any surprises when I plan and I think the creative process (for me) is truly all about the experiment. Just the simple notion of moving forward can take you to many, many surprising places.

As for what is new... I was just recently approached to do paintings for the art poster market... and I am actually COMPLETELY excited about this. It seems like such a fantastic venue to explore my painting, which is something that I never thought I would have the time to do.

3. What is the best and the worst part about working for yourself?

For me, the best thing about working for myself is the freedom. Though, what I am finding is that the more I work, the busier I get (which in theory is good)... but the busier I am, the less free I feel. So the best part and the worst part are really the same thing.

What I’d like to find is a great "life" balance, of work (freelance illustration), family, and time for myself
and my creative endeveaors (etsy/gallery work). So the struggle goes on, and so does the search for how to make it all work.

4. What is the story behind your brand?

The story behind my brand... is laziness. I thought to myself Cori Dantini is my name, so I suppose I will call myself coriD (like in kindergarten). But then I thought to myself, jeeze i'm gonna have to press the shift button to get that capital D and I don't want to have to do that all the time. So I quickly typed in corid, and then I was stuck with it! Promptly I started getting teased by my friends--Horrid Corid. UGH!!! I wish I had thought more about it. Sigh.

5. How are you gearing up for the holiday season?

At the moment I am pondering snowflakes, glitter, and building silly people/dolls out of paper mache. I suppose I'd like to do another series of handmade ornaments this year, and I am hoping to have time to do another group of original paintings and prints.
Oh, and maybe a calendar (which might be entirely too ambitious) but i am thinking about this hard...1" buttons maybe, and some pocket mirrors and magnets. It all depend on how much free time I get in the next month to do all the ordering and planning.


6. Tell about one time you have been “caught RED handed”

I had to think hard about this... I really thought that I had never been caught red handed, but then I remembered! When I was 7 my baby sister was born. She and I used to bathe together, and once my mom stepped out of the room (I know I know....... not safe but it was the 70's). Anyway, while she was out I shaved the top of my sisters head and of course good old Nancy walked in and caught me (shaver in hand). Oops.

Secret Sale!

Cori dantini is offering a Secret Sale to all of our blog readers! Include the following message in the note to the seller box during checkout at http://www.corid.etsy.com/ and you will receive a 25 % discount on your entire order:

CRH Blog Reader! Please discount my purchase 25%--thanks CORID!

Artist Series: Ziggy+Bean

Artist Series: Ziggy+Bean!

Ziggy+Bean is one of the original sellers on etsy.com and our first Featured Artist! I had the opportunity to get to know her a little better through her interview and am excited to share such a talented artist with you all! You can visit her shop at:

http://www.ajazwinski.etsy.com/

1. Tell me about yourself!

My name is Amy Jazwinski, and I am a 28 year old happily married mother of one beautiful little girl. I work full time in corporate america, but am building my business so that some day soon I can stay home with my baby girl (and future children). I graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in marketing. Marketing, and specifically branding, are two things I take very seriously with my business, and I think you'll see that reflected in my product line. I have an innate desire to create. I never knew I had this desire until I graduated college and went in search of a hobby that would fill the time that was now freed of studying and homework. I first started dabbling a bit in ceramics, and realized that wasn't my calling. Then my Mother-in-law got me a bead kit one year for my birthday, and boy did I take off! I started designing my own jewelry and went crazy buying supplies and trying new things. I also tried my hand at paper crafting, and I still love to make pretty things with pretty papers. I feel like my real calling though has come since my daughter was born. In search of cute hair clips to accessorize every outfit with, I started making my own hair clips. Well, I couldn't get enough (and still can't!) and I created my current line of products- Ziggy+Bean.

2. Tell me about your craft and anything that is new and in the "works"!

Ziggy+Bean is a line of "seriously cute handmade accessories." Mostly it's hair clips, but I have so many ideas in my head for new products that I feel that I'll never have enough time to get to them all. Coming soon in my shop over the weekend will be my new felt flower hair clips. I also have a fantastic idea for a hair clip holder that I can't wait to get started on. I love making accessories for children because it's just so much fun! When I was little I absolutely adored playing dress up, and dressing up my dolls and Barbies. Now I have a real live baby doll, and I'm having just as much fun dressing her up!

3. What is your favorite part of owning your own business?

Owning my own business has always been a dream of mine. I've been searching for so many years for the right business for me, and am SO glad that I've finally found what feels right. I love that one day, because of my business, I will be able to be a part of my children's lives on a daily basis, and not ship them off to day care on a daily basis. Each day I leave my daughter at the babysitter, I'm more motivated to turn this dream into a reality. I also want my children to be able to look to me as an inspiration that proves that you can acheive your dreams. I don't have huge lofty goals of millions of dollars, or building a company that's traded on the stock market- just something that will allow me to be the person I've always wanted to be, and to be the mother that I know I can be.

4. What is your least favorite part of being a business owner?

My least favorite part is approaching retailers to carry my goods! I love my creations, I have faith in my product, and am generally a good sales person. However, whenever I approach a new boutique I get really nervous because a rejection of my craft feels like a rejection of me. It shouldn't be that way, but anyone who puts their heart and passion into their craft will understand this.

5. What is the story behind your brand?

When my daughter was first born, her favorite position to be in was curled up on our chest in the fetal position- just like a little bean pod! My husband and I started calling her "Bean" and the name stuck. Her favorite stuffed animal is a zebra that my hubby named "Ziggy". When I was branding my new product line I knew I wanted the name to relate to my daughter, but still be catchy and cute. Hence, Ziggy+Bean was born, and it still brings a smile to my face when I think of it.

6. What is one thing you want your customers to know about you/your business?

I take a lot of pride in what I do. I use only the finest materials (real wool felt, genuine swarovski crystals, etc) and I put a lot of care into each and every item I make. Customer service is incredibly important to me as well- I want every customer to be excited about their purchase even though it's just a hair clip! And of course I want everyone to remember the name Ziggy+Bean because some day we'll be a national company, and you can say - "I remember when..." :-)

7. Tell me one time you have been "caught RED handed" in your lifetime:)

When I was about 8 years old I went shopping with my Mom and BEGGED to have a package Lip Smackers lip glosses that I saw in Kmart. She said told me I couldn't have it (as I had about a million of these things already). So I was all pouty and bummed out about it until I went into the jewelry section and say that someone had opened a pack of three- stole two of them, and left the grape Lip Smackers behind (apparently they were too good for the grape one). I was so excited and convinced myself with my 8 year old wisdom and logic, that taking the Lip Smackers wasn't really stealing since someone had already opened the package and they couldn't sell it like that anyway. So I stuck my new little treasure in my pocket and waited until I got in the car to take a peak at my new treasure. Well apparently, I wasn't as wise and slick as I thought, and my Mom caught me. She recognized the dang lip balm and turned a funny shade of mad!!! She marched me right back into the store and made me give the lip gloss to the check out lady and apologize for what I had done. I was eternally mortified and quickly learned my lesson that just because something was alreadu open didn't make it fair game for stealing. To this day, I get a chuckle every time I see a Grape Lip Smackers.

Secret Sale!

Ziggy+Bean is offering a Secret Sale to all of our blog readers--15% off your entire purchase.!During checkout just include the following coupon code in the "message to seller" box: CRH Blog reader! Please discount my purchase 15%!

**Make sure NOT to make your payment. Amy will send you an updated invoice with the discount included.

As Always--Happy Shopping!