Think Pink

Because this month is Breast Cancer Awareness month, we're featuring pink items from Idaho Indie Works shops on Etsy! Want to see more Idaho Indie Works items? Just search "iiw team" on Etsy.com.

Thank You Everyone!

We would like to thank the Boise North End Neighborhood Association for hosting the Hyde Park Street Fair and a huge thanks to everyone who came out and shopped at the Idaho Indie Works booth. We all had a ton of fun and we're looking forward to our next community event!

Hyde Park Street Fair

Come see the Idaho Indie Works booth at the Hyde Park Street Fair. The Hyde Park Street Fair has been a part of the Boise North End for the past 28 years. WOW! Camels Back Park has seen many families enjoy one of the last weekends of summer outdoors. September 12, 13, & 14th.
Participating artists:

Miss Courageous----pop jewelry and accessories
Bella Grano------------vintage style goods
Jamison Rae---------metal + style = jewelry
JM Craftworks-------handcrafts of wood and fabric
Hollydoodle---------whimsical paintings
Cranky Cowgirl-----fused glass
lovelylittlelovelies------------hairclips for your little hipster
cathy scarlett---------original paintings and prints
pfuzz--------------------hand knitted originals
engbynik--------------handbags and more
lea bowman------------great jewelry made with great love
sinfully natural: spoil yourself the way nature intended, spa quality skincare
The Red Bumble Bee---------Exquisite Stationary Design

Giveaway Winner!

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of the giveaway!

Congrats to quitecontrary1977 who said, "that is super fly! you don't see airplanes in jewelry much. i think this will be the start of a trend!" She is the proud new owner of a fabulous airplane necklace.

Thanks to everyone who commented! Please check back next month for another Idaho Indie Works giveaway.

Bella Grano Necklace GIVEAWAY!

Bella Grano will be offering a FREE airplane necklace to one lucky reader!

A little about Bella Grano:

Bella Grano is a small jewelry and accessory based design company started by Trish Anderson in 2007. Color is the main source of inspiration for Trish, as is the desire to keep things simple.

Q: Why are you a member of Idaho Indie Works?

BG: It gives me the opportunity to network and acquire new business contacts. Our group is an amazing source of inspiration and I enjoy being surrounded by other creative minds.

Q: What's the inspiration behind the airplane necklace?

BG: Simply put...I love airplanes. They represent travel, romance, exhilirating fun, and elegance. From the original gleaming silver passenger planes of American Airlines, to the 747's of today, I can't get enough! I worked for American Airlines before I had my kids and those days of travel and high stress will always be a treasured memory. Though simple, this charm necklace is meant to convey big dreams :)

Bella Grano- the shop

Bella Grano- the blog

Giveaway Guidelines:

-You have until Midnight PST on Saturday, August 9th to enter this giveaway.

-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.

-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.

-One entry per person, please.

-The winner will be randomly picked and announced on Sunday, August 10th.

Be sure to check back often! Idaho Indie Works will be having monthly giveaways!

Nampa Farmer's Market

The first time I met with the farmer's market board - they had one question for me: "Why is your name Revive?" - I answered, "Well, I think it's time for our community to be revived, and revitalized - it's time to make something old (Nampa) into something new." That response was mostly met with some quizzical looks and a grunt or two. This year they were ready for something new - so, I think that means things ARE changing.

What's that "something new"? It's our Idaho Indie Works booth. It incorporates a new artist or two each week, a variety of products from soap to jewelry to quilts. What's the common bond? Etsy.com - we all sell our items online. And now with our newly formed alliance of members, we're able to make connections and organize our small businesses into a large family of crafters - able to create unique face-to-face selling opportunities that promote us all.

When we artists spend countless hours creating our pieces, we understand the value of "handmade" and "local". Now, it's time to spread the word. Start a revolution in your community of friends, family and customers. Is there a better place to spend your hard-earned cash, than your local farmer's market?

Nampa Farmer's Market is very low-key, laid-back and down-home market. With everything from fresh baked bread to handmade doll clothes. Each week there is a local chef, using local ingredients, creating a dish for you to sample. There are sock monkeys and homemade jams, local honey and baby slings, pottery and cloth diapers. It is a small market, but very diverse and Idaho Indie Works brings even more variety to the table.

Here is a schedule of featured artists through the end of August. Invite your friends, family and direct potential customers to come see us at the market. Each artist will be promoting the Idaho Indie Works group, and Etsy has promised us promotional materials so we can introduce more and more customers to the beauty of etsy.com. It's going to be a great summer and a great opportunity to see something different every week at the market. See you there!



P.s. Photos coming soon of our team members at the market! With our nifty banner!

Destash Swap at Puffy Mondaes

We held our first de-stash swap hosted by Keren of Puffy Mondaes in Nampa. It was so much fun seeing everyone show up with bags of their creative "left-overs". The table was full in no time.

For those of you who didn't show up, well, here are a few things you missed out on:
-tons of wooden beads from a beaded curtain
-scrap book paper, LOTS of scrap book paper, very cool prints & colors!
-corks
-beads, assorted shapes, sizes & colors
-fabric, there was vintage fabric, quilting fabric, upholstery samples, TONS of fabric!
-polymer clay in assorted colors
-sewing machine parts (I think that's what they were)
-felt shapes
-soap molds
-and there was too much more for me to remember or list!

It was so much fun not only finding new treasures, but meeting some of our newer members too. Thank you to everyone who showed and thank you Keren for opening your space to us!

We'll be doing this again, so stay tuned for the next date & location!

Idaho Indie Works at Urban Shed

New Date! June 14th

Idaho Indie Works at Urban Shed

This will is an opportunity to browse unique & hip handcrafted items all in one location. In addition, there are several new an exciting shops and boutiques in Downtown Nampa. The Farmer's Market will also be open. Plan to spend a few hours!

June 14, 2008

Urban Shed
120 13th Ave S.
Nampa, Idaho 83651

To find Idaho Indie Works artists on Etsy, search "iiw team"

This weeks featured artist: Cathy Scarlett

Cathy Scarlett interviewed by Miss Courageous

MC: How long have you been painting? your history, education, etc...
CS: I've been painting and drawing for about 20 years. I don't remember exactly, seems like I've always painted. I started at the age of seven with pastels, I assume the painting began in Jr. High. I took some art classes at BSU but it didn't go anywhere. I tend to leave murals behind...my parent's basement, the sister-in-law's attic...

MC: are you a full-time artist? Other job? How do you balance family etc...
CS: I recently got laid off from my *awesome* tech support job, the severance package and unemployment insurance has allowed me a lot more time to work on my art. It gave me time to start my Etsy page and dedicate more time to paint, although most of it occurs on weekends and nap time. I have a 20 month old son and 13 year old daughter. My husband is super supportive and will take both our kids (or at least the boy) out for the day and give me time to work.

MC:What other forms of art do you do?
CS: Drawing mostly, which turn into paintings. I've started creating with screen printing and linocut. I used to make polymer clay beads. I've played wood burning, casting resin, wire jewelry, but keep coming back to painting.

MC: How did you hear about etsy?
CS: I found Etsy on a design blog.

MC: Favorite etsy shop or recent purchase?
CS: I have all kinds of favorite shops on Etsy, but if I have to narrow it down... louisartworld is pretty cool. I bought a couple of his ACEOs that I love. I recently purchased "Nice Smelling Beaver Stuffie" from prettygreeneye, check her out, she's hilarious.

MC: What have you learned from being on etsy?
CS: Patience.

MC: What would you like to get out of being on the street team?
CS: I joined the street team to meet other local artists and to get my name out there since I'm no marketing genius. We have some cool-ass artists here in Idaho and I'm diggin' it.

MC: Can you describe your workspace?
CS: I have taken over the dinning room, the storage closet under the stairs, half the master bedroom and usually half the kitchen. I like to spread out.

MC: Where do you get your inspiration?
CS: Where do I get my inspiration? I don't know. Nature is always good. Usually I just start drawing and see what happens. Oh, textured walls, ceilings, and floors are great inspiration, just stare long enough and you'll start seeing things.

MC: What goals or plans do you have for the future?
CS: I hope to sell enough to make some sort of business out of it, even if it only covers the cost of materials. I recently sold a logo design to a local business, so that's something.

MC: Where else can we find your work? (websites, blogs, brick & mortar?)
CS: I haven't another website other than Etsy, although I keep thinking about it. I've been featured on the design blog SimplyGrove.blogspot.com. I'll be at the Nampa Farmer's Market a couple times this summer and maybe the Music in the Mountains in August.

MC: Any plans for new products (t-shirts, cards, etc
CS: I've started adding some prints of my paintings to my site. I've also added some linocut greeting cards. I'm half thinking about doing a couple screen printed t's. I made a cool starry eyed skull t shirt the other day. I think my son could rock it, babies and skulls go together. I have a lot of drawings that would lend themselves to greeting cards as well.

MC: What other artists do you admire?
CS: Mark Ryden, SHAG, Keith Weesner, Chet Zar

Upcoming Featured Artists

Hello everyone!
In the upcoming weeks we will be featuring several local Idaho artists. First will be Cathy Scarlett with CathyScarlett.etsy.com watch for her interview soon!

Future featured artists:
ElegantbyDesign
CrankyCowgirl
Starmotif
gemmabeads
bruizerbeans

If you have a question for these artists please post a comment and we'll make sure they answer it!

Welcome!

Idaho Indie Works is an Etsy.com street team. We are a group of Idaho artists working together to promote our on-line shops and create an awareness to buy handmade and shop local!

You can find a list of artists here with links to their Etsy shops. You can also use the etsy search feature for "iiw team" to see a selection of our listings.

Coming soon we will have weekly interviews with featured artists. What better way to get to know the amazing artists behind the Idaho Indie Works etsy shops.