Friday Feature -- Beaded Tail

This week's featured Etsy artist is Beaded Tail, who is also the Etsyblogger of the month for June! Congratulations!

I love the focus on animals in this shop, as well as the charitable focus. Isn't this Lucky Ladybug bracelet precious?



Enjoy the interview!

1. To which Etsy Teams do you belong (if any)?

I'm a member of two fabulous teams - the EtsyBloggers and the Etsy Angels.

2. Please tell me about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?

I make beaded jewelry with many items having an animal related theme whether it's cat face beads, dog charms, paw toggles or butterflies. I learned how to make jewelry in 2007 after my mom took a class a beading class and subsequently taught me. My creative process involves seeing something or thinking of a new design and then I mull it over in my head for a few hours or a few days before sitting down and attempting to make it. Creativity doesn't come easy for me but I'm working on tapping into my creative side every day!

3. Tell me two (or more) other interesting things about you.

My day job is a CPA and I live in Oregon but work in Colorado thanks to the ability to telecommute. I'm married to my high school sweetheart for nearly 22 years and we have two cats, Angel and Isabella, and a husky, Sadie, who always make us smile! My husband and I love exploring Oregon's beautiful coast, trails, waterfalls and mountains.

4. What inspires your creations?

I often see a jewelry design and figure out a way that I can make it or something similar. My latest necklace was inspired by seeing a singer wearing a similar necklace on a TV appearance. I have too much left brain so it's hard for me to envision things from scratch so most always I have to see a style or design and then work my way towards it.

5. How did you get involved with Etsy?

After my mom taught me how to bead, I ended up making enough bracelets to cover my arms from wrist to elbow so I knew I either needed to stop beading or sell them. While doing a Google search on animal beads I came across an Etsy shop for the first time and checked into it a bit further and here I am today!

6. What is your biggest challenge related to your Etsy shop?

Finding time to make new things. Between work, my blog, family and just the desire to be outside sometimes, it's hard to sit down and make new items.

7. What is your favorite item in your shop (currently for sale or previously sold)? Why is it your favorite?

This is the necklace similar to the one I saw on a singer on TV. It took me about a week to get the nerve up to sit down and try to make it but once I did, I absolutely love how it turned out:


8. What advice do you have for other folks selling or buying on Etsy?

For sellers, keep track of your income and expenses! Not only does it help at tax time but you should always know your bottom line to make sure your prices are set accordingly. As an accountant, I guess this is what I always think about and I know the struggles of trying to determine Cost of Goods Sold and Inventory amounts at the end of the year so keeping up on it makes things so much easier.

For buyers, you can't go wrong with buying homemade but because of the nature of buying online, if you have any questions or can't determine a size, color, etc. from the pictures and description provided, contact the seller for more information. My experience has been that they will gladly help you with your questions so you get exactly what you expect.

9. What crafting skill(s) do you wish you had or hope to learn someday?

I would love to learn how to knit and my grandma had taught me how to crochet when I was a kid so I want to refresh my memory on that too. I recently caught the scrapbooking bug and want to learn more about working with paper too.

10. What has been your biggest success and/or proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?

Since my Etsy shop was opened to help raise money for animal charities, I'm very proud of donating approximately $1,200 to various charities to date!

11. Where else can we find out more about you and/or your creations?

I blog daily at http://beadedtail.blogspot.com
I'm on flickr at http://www.flickr.com/BeadedTail
Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/BeadedTail




Posted for the EtsyBloggers team by: Mama's Magic Studio
See EtsyBloggers team membership requirements here: etsybloggers.comGot a blog? Love Etsy? Check us out!