Frozen In Time Contest

The SteamTeam has a contest running for it's member's creations that have to do with them theme "Frozen in Time"

The Contest is open to EVERYONE, if you are not a member of the time, we would still LOVE for you to vote! There are a lot of great entries!

You can click on the entries to see the Etsy listing, see more pictures and the listing!

If you have a moment please come by and VOTE!

Thank you!
Hyla

http://etsysteamteam.com/polls/index.php?sid=54753

MadArtjewelry

Name: Madelyn Smoak
Shop Name: MadArtjewelry
Shop Link:http://MadArtjewelry.etsy.com
Location: The Triangle area of NC
Ships To:Everywhere

What inspires you?
Objects inspire me. When I get a fresh shipment of found objects or watch parts something will catch my eye and I will start pulling out other pieces from my vast and growing inventory. Then I let these items visit together in a composing area over a few days and they sort of gravitate toward each other until it looks like something I want to make. Although often a trip to the flea market will get me so excited I will come home and have to make something immediately.

How long have you had your shop on Etsy?
I started my shop on November 20, 2007.

Is this a job for you or a hobby?
I would say neither. It is more of a passion. I am driven to make things and have been since I was a child. Many of my earliest memories are of making stuff.



How did you get into your craft?
I am a former Art major (painting!) and have always had a creative side to my life, from fiber to 2-D work. I got into metal fairly recently-only about 6 years ago. I had been making beaded jewelry and wanted to be able to create components for my work. Since then the metal has just taken over.


Do you have any advice for fellow Etsy shop owners?
My personal philosophy is that I only list things I would want to buy.



What do you love about Steampunk?
The steampunk aesthetic closely matches my personal aesthetic. Worn brass with a patina of age makes my heart beat faster and
I also love the aspect of it that the simple mechanisms that served us so well in the past can still be appreciated and enjoyed. Getting to play with all the wonderful old found objects to make jewelry is just such a pleasure!

Anything else you would like to add?
Being a member of the Etsy Steamteam has been a wonderful experience. So much energy, support and creativity in one place!!

Front Page Treasury

Late night on August 22nd the Steam Team was featured as an Etsy front page treasury! The treasury was curated by Cognitive Creations and featured the following artists;
JewelrybyTiki
Rivkasmom
Zkitten
nullalux

As well as other members of Etsy that have steampunk goodies! Congratulations to our members that got on the Front Page! I hope it generated some sales for you!

~Hyla

Designs by Victoria/Miss Victoria’s Vintage

Name: Victoria Shaffer
Shop Name: Designs by Victoria/Miss Victoria’s Vintage
Shop Link: dbvictoria.etsy.com missvictoriasvintage.etsy.com
Location: Tukwila, WA
Ships To: Everywhere, although international customers should contact me for shipping costs before purchasing.

What inspires me?

I’ve been an avid reader since I can remember. It’s my mother’s fault. She was reading me the Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit before I could do so myself, and no matter what there was always the money for a new book. She was a librarian, and I’d go with her to work all summer long and spend the entire day curled up in a book cubby with the stack of the day. So I’m always dreaming of fantastical far away places and the people who inhabit them.

It’s hard to pinpoint one area or idea as a single source of inspiration. My subconscious is my greatest ally. It remembers little things that I see or read, and little things that I’ve got stashed away here and there, and when I’m in that grey netherland between wide awake and either falling asleep or waking up, suddenly *poof* all the pieces come together and there’s a grand idea. It plays havoc with my sleep patterns, but I consider it to be all in a good cause. Most of these ideas end up improbable to make into reality, but the process of trying is so much fun that I don’t mind, and I absolutely love taking random odd bits and bobs and making them into a unified piece.

How long have you had your Etsy shop?

I created the profile for my Designs by Victoria shop in February of 2007, but it took me about 8 months to actually start listing pieces. My vintage shop was just begun at the beginning of August, as I’ve got this terrible habit of picking up fascinatingly nifty stuff at yard and estate sales and thrift stores and such, when I’m supposed to be looking only for supplies.

Is this a job?

This is currently a hobby, although it would be fantastic to be able to make it my job. I’d love to be working for myself, but I’m in a tough crowd, as jewelry is a very populated category. That’s why I’ve begun branching out into a few other areas, like photography.

How did you get into your craft?

In college, I was working in a little boutique in the French Quarter of New Orleans, and we got in some new merchandise, some wine glasses with wire-wrapped stems. I didn’t think they were very well done, and apparently I voiced this opinion one too many times to my coworker, because one day she told me “Like you could do any better!” I took this as a challenge, and a month later presented my boss with some of my own work. The store sold my work for the rest of my stay in the city. When I decided to make a go of this as a business, I realized that I needed a bit more variety of wares, so I began the jewelry making, and nowadays that’s my main line, as the jewelry is so much easier to transport. I am starting to work on costuming pieces as well, with hats and parasols being my main love, and this year for the first time started showing some of my digital photography.

I love variety, so you’ll find many completely different styles in my shop, with lots of one of a kind pieces. I love the creation process, so I’m always wanting to try something new, and also don’t want to get into the rut of making the same things over and over again.

For most of my career as a business, I’ve been concentrating mainly on craft shows and fairs, so this world of internet commerce is a strange new beast to me.

What interests me in Steampunk?

I’ve been playing “dress up” for as long as I can remember. My father used to teach theater, and the school bus would drop me off at his office after school. I’d haunt the costume department, and beg fabric scraps from them, and go home and make outfits for my dolls and my model horses (!). For myself, I started first thrift-store costuming, sometimes with alteration, sometimes not, for the pieces I found. About 6 years ago, I bought my first sewing machine and progressed to making my own outfits. What’s completely endeared me to the Steampunk aesthetic when I discovered it was the openness, where your creative imagination is your only limit. Although Victorian is the general time frame, you can also cultivate a style from the 20’s or 40’s, or the 22^nd century, and still steam it up.

What advice for new Etsy sellers?

Three simple things:

1) Your shop appearance is very important. Take the time to fill out your profile and shop announcement, as well as the details for each piece you are selling.

2) Don’t undervalue yourself! I see so many artists with amazing work, selling for peanuts. What we do is work, just as much as a job in any other industry. Ask your friends what fair prices are, do research to see what similar items are selling for, and make sure you’re correctly calculating how much in materials you are putting into each piece.

3) If you have questions, ask for advice. There are lots of folks out there who’ve been where you are, and plenty of them will be willing to give you pointers.

Anything else you would like to add?

Create because you love to do so, share it because you delight in inspiring others, and take inspiration from what others love and share with you.

Wenchie

Name: Wenchie (Brettney Perr)
Shop Name:
Wenchie's Sacred Relics
Shop Link:
http://wenchie.etsy.com
Location: Los Angeles
Ships To: Everywhere that the items are allowed

What inspires you?
Items of antiquity are first and foremost; I've always harbored a love and awe for the craftsmanship of antique and ancient items, where as they were pieces of art rather then just another thing. (My love for antiquity mainly comes from partially being raised by my great grandparents who came to this country during WW1 from Czechoslovakia.)
Other times I get inspired by going to a museum, the ornate facades of an old building or the sculptures (grave markers) in an old cemetery. However, more so recently the parts that I have laying around inspire me or practically make themselves in a way.


How long have you had your shop on Etsy? Wenchie's Sacred Relics since Jan 24, 2008

Is this a job for you or a hobby?
It's a jobby? I don't really have any other steady income right now so it is a job but I'm not really making enough to live off of so I started a supply shop on etsy as well as doing acting and other random craigslist jobs.

How did you get into your craft?
I've always been an artist or crafter of some sort, I have been drawing and doing sketches for as long as I can remember. In elementary school I made dreamcatchers which I also sold, and taught an art class for doing paper mosaics. With getting into making jewelry that started with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian Jewelry Maker Kit.

Do you have any advice for fellow Etsy shop owners?
Do your research on what you've made or are planning to make, so you don't copy someone, and so you can accurately market what you have made to those looking to buy the item. Secondly, keep challenging or reinventing yourself and your techniques to make more ambitious and incredible things that will set you apart from the crowd as an established artist.


What do you love about Steampunk?
I love playing with vintage things and old parts the items that are made now a days don't last for 100 years so I really admire what I'm working with. I really get bored of making the same items over and over again so with the Steampunk genre it basically gives me the "one of a kind" item escape from repetition. I also adore the dress up and character creation aspects of it as well.

Anything else you would like to add?
Don't let your imagination become stale, always push your boundaries and limits to create things you never would have thought you could.

TotusMel Tats

Name: Pamela Quevedo
Shop Name: TotusMel Tats
Shop Link: TotusMel.etsy.com
Location: Merced, CA
Ships To: Anywhere

What inspires you? I am inspired by a lot of different styles and designs from Gothic and Victorian to simple and modern. I like to start with vintage patterns and turn them into something a little more wearable and unexpected. Other artisans constantly provide me with ideas. I enjoy trying to recreate only styles of jewelry with tatting though sometimes the results are less than spectacular.

How long have you had your shop on Etsy? I started on etsy in April of 2006. It is my very first and my only selling experience.

Is this a job for you or a hobby? My job is my two daughters and my family, but my tatting has been slowly gaining momentum as of late and could one day be profitable enough to consider it my job. I would, however, continue to tat for the sheer joy even if I never sold another piece

How did you get into your craft? I'm a lifelong creator of stuff, but I only discovered tatting a few years ago. I taught myself with the aid of the internet and a few books. It began as a much needed break from more time consuming knit and crochet projects, but quickly became my favorite pastime as I began to design my own jewelry and accessories. The versatility of tatting continues to amaze me with each new project.

Do you have any advice for fellow Etsy shop owners? While I am no great success story, I have been very happy with my etsy experience. I think it's because I really enjoy what I make and try not to take any rejection too personally. Etsy is a big place and though I'm not a very sociable person, making friends on the forums and in teams has made the experience beyond selling much more enjoyable.

What do you love about Steampunk? I love the dichotomy of the many steampunk genres. While many folk see it as broken watches, gears and keys, I see it as a way for us to find what we like in different eras and styles and mash them together in interesting and amazing ways. It is like creating an alternate reality through fiction and art. To imagine a future, but from the past, is a creative experiment that I for one thoroughly enjoy!

Anything else you would like to add? I would just like to thank all the many creative minds that I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with throughout my etsy adventure. I have had nothing but good experiences with the steamteam and I highly recommend them as sellers and friends!