Great find!

Well, as you may have read in an earlier post, an Etsy Treasury featured my mom's jewelry, and the treasury was picked by fellow Etsian Sherry Truitt. What a delight to have stumbled upon her shop! I loved her things so much, (plus she has a fabulous blog), that I decided to do a little interview with her. I found out from her blog that she lives in a Craftsman Bungalow, which is a passion of mine, so I also wanted to learn more about that.

Sherry makes wearable art out of everyday tools and pieces of hardware. What first caught my eye was this necklace that makes use of a working carpenter's spirit level. What a clever idea! I asked Sherry what inspired her to begin doing this line of work, and she said:

"Ever since I was a little girl working objects have held a fascination for me. I rarely played with dolls. But give me an erector set, or some Lincoln logs and I could build you a working city. I used to drive my mom nuts, because I'd mix all the sets together. Then, I started collecting levels, compasses and old typewriter keys."

I guess her collection and obsession have paid off! Her shop boasts over 100 items sold, and has been featured on the front page of Etsy.

Having so many choices, I wondered if there were any pieces of jewelry that Sherry wore every day. She responded:

"I wear a blue level bracelet everyday. It's one I made about 5 years ago. I just love to watch the bubble move along. Twice I've been out in a restaurant with my husband, and I was asked to sell it right off my wrist. Now I carry an extra with me, but so far no one has asked."

I always like to learn something about an artist that is not directly related to what they make. I really believe that so many things in our lives make us who we are, and I was fascinated to learn that Sherry and I share a passion for Craftsman Bungalows. I am at a point in my life that it is not possible for me to have one, but Sherry is lucky enough to be living in one! Here she tells us a little about it:

"We've owned our Craftsman bungalow since 1992, and have lovingly restored it. It actually wasn't in bad shape because we are only the 3rd owners. Not a lot of modernization had been done. We did have to put new oak floors in a few rooms, and we installed a tin ceiling in the breakfast room. Old bungalows have little closet space, but beautiful wood work. Luckily, my husband is handy, and has crafted a number of built in cabinets. The grounds were neglected when we moved in because the last owner was quite elderly. So, we've been working on the gardens. No hybrids, please! We've tried to add original strains of flowers like, columbine, iris and old fashioned roses. The wisteria in the front yard is over 80 years old. The daughter of the former owner sent us black and white photos of how the house and grounds used to look."

Truly amazing - what a fun project that would be. Well, it wouldn't be fun for me with 3 kids running around at my feet, but maybe someday! I am actually in the middle of re-doing some landscaping at our house, and I like the idea of having original strains of flowers. Sometimes it's good to get back to basics! I wonder if Sherry reads my favorite magazine, American Bungalow?

Thank you very much to Sherry for sharing with us! Please check out her website and her blog! You can also find more pictures of her work here and here. I'll leave you with these few more things (I just can't resist sharing - they are so very clever):

I think he would be proud...

Today is my brother's birthday. It makes me feel old to think that my little brother would have been 28 today.

When I was fresh out of college, recently transplanted by my husband to a new "big" city, I was desperate to find a job. A degree in graphic design didn't leave me too many options, and I found that the criteria for a "good" job boiled down to 1) paid the bills and 2) I could walk to it. We lived downtown in a cool city loft, and I finally found a job working as a secretary in a law office that specialized in immigration. Within weeks, I moved up the ladder, became a "paralegal" (I use the word loosely since I didn't have any formal training!), and ended up with a swanky corner office on the 33rd floor of the tallest building in town. I remember how proud I was! I brought in some vintage maps to hang on the wall, an oriental rug, and tons of plants. I loved my office. I loved my job (well, it was a love/hate relationship actually)....

My brother came to visit me, and I proudly escorted him all over town. I showed him all the great places to eat, our awesome library that was just blocks from where we lived. I bragged that we were only minutes from the baseball stadium, and finally I took him to my office after hours so he could see what all the fuss was about. He smiled at me. I said "isn't this great?" He said "yeah!" Then as we were walking out, he said "it just isn't what I always thought you would be doing." I asked him what he thought I would be doing, and he said he didn't know. He just didn't think I would be the "corporate" type.

I didn't know it at the time, but he was so right. He was so right.

I think that he would be proud of what I am doing now. It is much more fitting that my office today is a studio filled with fabric, notions, photography equipment, art papers, stacks of books, and my kids running circles around me. Every nook and cranny is filled with interest. All the little bits and pieces of my life smooshed into one little room. I've come a long way.

Even though I can still think fondly of my corner office that I left behind, I know that I'm headed in the right direction now. Thank you, Ross.

449 users call thosegreathousewomen a favorite

This is what it says on Etsy when I click on "who hearts this shop" - wow! I remember a time (not too long ago?) when I was totally obsessed with how many "hearts" I had. When one user marks your shop as a favorite, it gives your shop a heart. I would check the count every day (actually multiple times a day, actually multiple times an hour). Now it seems that it has been like a week or something since I even thought about it. I used to click on every shop that showed interest in my work, scouring their shop to analyze why they "hearted me." Did they want to buy from me? Did they "heart" any specific items? Did they admire my work? Did they want to copy me? I swear it drove me batty. Now I guess you could call me a seasoned professional. Does 5 months on Etsy make me "seasoned" I wonder? Is 449 hearts in 5 months a good total? Do I care?

Now that my mom has a shop, I find that I'm becoming obsessed with how many hearts *she* has. I find it amazing that she has so many (38) in such a short amount of time being open (5 days). There is this really cool program that some Etsy nut created called the Heart-o-tron. It tells you how many hearts you have as a shop, how many hearts each item has, how many hearts you got in the past day, and who those hearts belong to. I guess this speaks to the "heart obsession" in all Etsians...

Have you hearted me lately?

Yeh! Greathouse Hardware has sold 2 items!

Everyone congratulate my momma, who has now sold 2 items in her own shop, after only being active for 4 days! My mom is SO cool. No, really. She is. Maybe a little mad.... *wink*

Right now she is living on a sailboat in Key West researching some more artifacts...

I discovered this evening that she was also featured in a treasury on Etsy. That is a collection of great things that another member put together to showcase. Etsy chooses from the treasury list to pick their front page. This is a pretty treasury, so maybe it'll make the front page!Thank you to SherriTruitt for featuring us! She's got some pretty cool jewelry herself - check out this cool necklace that is a level.

I can do this. I think.

So, I'm not sure I can do this, but I guess I'm gonna try! My hubby accountant is trying to get all the tax info on hiring an employee to help my business grow. I guess tomorrow I'm going to open a business checking account and apply for a line of credit. I had no idea that starting a business (for real, not what I've done on Etsy so far) would be so expensive. I'm freaking out over all the expenses. I know, I shouldn't be... but maybe that would be scary, too, if I was calm about the whole thing.

I got in the Etsy forums, and posted there about my woes/triumphs. Read it if you want. Hopefully a fellow Etsian will help a sister out!

Yikes! This is exciting and scary!

The jury is in...

I heard from Real Simple Magazine today, and (although not guaranteed until print time), my I Spy Bags have been chosen to go in their Gift Guide hitting news stands mid-August! Holy crap, I am excited! It's my big break. I think.

They shoot the photos next month, and I had to fill out a "credits" form giving them all the pertinent information. I seriously can't believe this!!!!!! I don't know which they will choose at this point, but I sent them these to choose from: