New Etsy Team Pages

Have you seen the new Etsy Teams pages? here's a great way to see what Idaho Indie Works Team members are up to.

Check it out here!

Welcome Our New Members

Please join us in welcoming a whole slew of talented new members that have joined our team in the past few months:

Alice Kiick of Wise Wild Women
Teri French of Teribears
Athena Barkdull of spooners delight
Kath Harris Bronson of Kaths Handmade
Kim Nguyen of JKarma3
Amber Shing of Amber Shing Collection
Krista French of French Elegant Jewelry
Rachel Teannalach of Tiny Expanse
Dustin & Shanda of Natural One
Maureen Gibson of Quilt Petaler
Terry Krasen of Betty Beader

Please check out their Etsy shops!

July Give Away

It's another month and that means that it's time for another give away. This month's featured artist is Reni from Knit Girl in Idaho and this is what one lucky winner will receive:

Your choice of personalized

stitch markers or wine charms

About the artist:

Hi, my name is Reni LeBard and I have an Etsy shop called Knit Girl in Idaho. I have been married for 23 years and my husband and I have two teenage boys, ages 17 and 13. Our family moved to Idaho from Seattle five years ago this month, but having been born and raised in Alaska, Idaho is much more like home to me than Washington ever was!

I learned how to knit when I was a little girl, but didn't pick up the craft again until my kids were in school. I started out knitting only garter stitch scarves and other novice patterns, however, it didn't take long until I was bored with those projects. Now my all-time favorite project to knit is socks. They are portable, challenging and you can make a pair of socks with one skein of yarn. There are so many free patterns available that I don't think I can ever tire of knitting socks.

In October 2009, I started Knit Girl in Idaho out of necessity because I wanted to make and use my own stitch markers when knitting my socks. Stitch markers are used while knitting socks, mittens, hats, shawls or other patterns that require you to keep track of your stitches. Some people use scraps of yarn, but stitch markers are a fun way to adorn any knitting project, but also make great gifts! I belong to an online knitting and crochet social network, called Ravelry and the gals on Ravelry saw my stitch markers and started requesting sets for themselves! After a few short weeks, these same women encouraged me to open an Etsy shop, which I did. It wasn't long before my non-knitting family and friends wanted to support me, which is why I also sell wine charms in my shop!

Knit Girl in Idaho is where you can find unique, handmade stitch markers and wine charms! My one-of-a-kind, keepsake items are created using virtually any picture, personal design, personal logo, and even some short sayings. My wine charms make the perfect keepsake wedding favor or a treasured gift for the bride and groom, as well as an inexpensive hostess gift for bbq's, showers and cocktail parties! All of my items are sold in sets of 2, 4 or 6, plus I have wholesale & bulk pricing available.

Why are you a member of IIW?

One of my first goals when I opened my Etsy shop was to connect with other creative people in my community, so I joined the Idaho Indie Works team! It's wonderful to have a group of experienced, local Etsy sellers to chat with and glean invaluable insight from, but I'm more interested in cultivating new friendships with the men and women who are members of the IIW team.

About the prize:

For this blog give away, I am donating a set of 6 Personalized Wine Charms or 6 Personalized Stitch Markers, winners choice!

Here are a few simple rules for entering the give away:

1. Please visit Knit Girl in Idaho's Etsy shop and have a look around then leave us a comment on which of Reni's items you like the best and why. Please make sure to include your E-mail or Etsy shop name so we know how to get in touch with you.

2. The give-away will end July 17th and the winner announced shortly after.

3. Only one entry per person, please.

Etsy Craft Party 2010

This past Friday Etsy turned 5 years old. To celebrate, they threw a world wide craft party. Groups all over the world participated in crafting together and promoting handmade. Our group in Boise made it on to Etsy's Top 50 list for the most people who signed up to come so Etsy sent us a very nice package of goodies for the party.

Here are some of the highlights from Friday's crafting goodness.

Wooo! Party!

The welcome table with some of the fun stuff that Etsy sent us, including these...

button buttons,

a tote bag,

and a make your own crafting fortune teller.

As you can see, we had a good turn out and everyone had fun visiting the different craft stations like ...

the mini bunting table

and the glass painting station.

There was also a screen printing table, a scrabble tile bookmark table, a paper craft area, a raffle for t-shirts, and a supply swap. If you missed the Etsy birthday party, stay tuned to see what we have planned for First Thursday!

A special thanks to Aimee Nord who helped take some of these photos.

Etsy Craft Party!

Come join us for an Etsy Craft Party!!! Everyone is welcome to attend!!! Please rsvp at meetup.com

see you there!

BLog Give-Away Winner

A big congratulations goes out to The Prickly Pear, winner of the May give away. Come back soon and enter our next give away in June.

Blog Give-Away

It's a new month and that means it's time for another give away. This month's featured artist is Cher from Cher Wisdom Freer. Keep reading to find out how you can get the chance to win this:

Artist Bio: I am a native Idahoan who's work requires me to travel to all kinds of interesting locations. One day (4 years ago) I wandered into a bead shop on the banks of a gorgeous canal in Pittsford, New York and that was the beginning of my beading/jewelry obsession. From that day on I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to hunt for unique items in all the charming cities I visit. I just think it's so cool to take a piece of stone or glass and incorporate it into something that expresses one's personality. And I'm easily distracted by shiny objects!

Why I'm a member of IIW: I stumbled across the Idaho Indie Works team at the Hyde Park Street Fair last year and was absolutely amazed to discover that such a talented group of local artists, selling their goods on Etsy, even existed. I was even more honored that they would allow me to join their amazing team. I am new to selling at craft shows and this group is so supportive and full of creative ideas. I'm in awe every time I am around these folks.

About the piece: Abalone Sterling Silver wrapped ring size 7. A green abalone stone is surrounded by purple and green Swarovski crystals wrapped with Sterling Silver wire.

The Rules of the Give-Away:

1. Please visit Cher Wisdom Freer's Etsy shop and have a look around then leave us a comment on which of Cher's items you like the best and why. Please make sure to include your E-mail or Etsy shop name so we know how to get in touch with you.

2. The give-away will end May 24th and the winner announced shortly after.

3. Only one entry per person, please.

P's to Success

I don’t know if you all subscribe to the Etsy E-mails, but last Thursday I received one that had a link to a Forum thread called “How the Four P’s Helped Me Hit 100 Sales”. Here is what the author, NaturalAmber, had to say:

I am so excited, I had this feeling after I left on Friday that on Monday I would hit my first major milestone, I just hit 100 sales and I have the four P's to thank for that.

Persistance: Even when sales were slow and I felt like giving up I kept pushing forward. determination is what kept me from closing shop on ETSY. I had this false expectation that just setting up shop would mean sales, now I have learned its determination, promoting, and marketing that gets customers to your shop.

Patience: I had to learn that patience was key to success. It's so easy to get caught up and compare yourself to many other shops on here. Once I learned to be patient I started to not get so down on lack of sales or views during slower times.

Perfection: There is no such thing and ytour shop always has room for improvement. These weekend I will be working on my new spring line, and the pictures are better then the ones I have in the shop... but I always know that you can improve on that. Never fear setting up construction in your shop.

Projects: Keep on crafting. Thats what brought you here. You'll find yourself more happy that your continuing your art, and you'll find customers love the freshness of new items in your shop!

Thank you guys for all your support! This has been a fun and exciting ride to my first 100.

Amber

Posted at 11:16 am, February 22 2010 EST

I would like to add my own P's to this list.

PRIDE: Have pride in what you do. If you aren’t doing the best that you can do, then don’t do it. Anybody can be mediocre, but very few people can rise above that. Be proud of yourself and what you accomplish.

PLEASURE: I think for most of us, we create for the pure pleasure of it. It’s not that we expect to get rich and famous from what we do. We do it to feel the highs of making something new, of trying new techniques and mediums, to push the limits of our creative mind. If what you do doesn’t make you happy, then it’s time to rethink your motivations.

That’s how the 6 P’s can help you achieve, 25, 100, 500 sales. The sky’s the limit.

The Dream is Alive

Just in case there is anyone who hasn't heard yet, Idaho Indie Works is opening up a boutique. That's right! This great group of talent is going to be selling its wares to the public in its own store. For many people, having their own store is nothing more than a dream, but for the lucky few, it can be a reality. I, personally, am so excited to have a shop and am happy to be sharing it with an awesome group of people.

The boutique will be located in a corner of the Pioneer Tent Building (6th & Main, downtown Boise), a place where we have been making a name for ourselves through First Thursday. It seemed the most natural place for the shop to be and good fortune that we were able to get in there.

As we speak, people are down there painting and getting the store ready. It is set to open March 1st, with a grand opening for April's First Thursday. Stay tuned for more details.

Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it.

~Author Unknown

Written by Robyn (Polka Dot Dreams/Girl A GoGo Designs)

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Happy Valentines Day

Come join us for a Valentines Celebration at First Thursday!

Thursday February 4th 5:00-9:00
in the Pioneer Tent Building, Old Boise, 6th & Main


Enter to win a basket of Handmade Valentine goodies from Idaho Indie Works artists.