ETSY INTERVIEW #2 BUGSANDFISHES

All our names (brand name) have a story, what's yours?
I sell under the name "Lupin", which is an old nickname from school. I like it because it's short and sweet and easy to remember, and I love the flowers...

How did you discover etsy and why did you decide to open a shop there?
I found Etsy via Flickr. People kept linking to "My Etsy" and I was very curious! It seemed like a great way to test out selling some stuff - their listing fees are so reasonable and setting up a shop is so simple, it seemed silly not to try!



Can we find your goodies any other place apart from etsy?
At the moment Etsy is my main thing, but I'm starting to set up shop on Dawanda and Mintd too... You can always see my new work on my blog bugsandfishes.blogspot.com or my Flickr www.flickr.com/photos/bugsandfishes

What is your main source of inspiration?I love colour, and I love to be carried away by what's interesting me at the moment. Currently I am in love with spring and my garden, and making lots of spring flowers, and I'm becoming increasingly obsessed by British wildlife. I love to look at things and think "how can I make that out of felt?", it's a fun challenge.

Do you work on a fixed timetable?
I can never stick to a timetable! I sometimes set aside days to get certain tasks finished, but normally I just work on what I feel like making whenever I feel like making it. It helps keep me interested in my work.

Is art your what you live upon?
It's starting to be, yes. I do have a small part time job that helps pay the rent, but I hope to rely on that income less and less as time goes by.

Your "fetish" material when working is ......
Felt, always. It's such great stuff to work with. I am also starting to be a bit obsessed with seed beads - I love to add fancy little details into my pieces.

Do you think people appreciate the true valor-effort of the handmade gift?
Some people do, luckily! I always used to give homemade gifts to friends, and people always seemed to appreciate the time that went into it. The first thing people say about my work is always "wow, it's all handstitched, that must take you ages!" :)

Do you promote your things locally? if not are you planning to?
There are not really many craft fairs or crafty shops where I live, unfortunately. The internet is my friend!

How did you learn to do your work?I'm completely self-taught. I do have a GCSE in Textile Technology but mostly my needlework skills come from years of sewing things at home for fun, and my pattern designing comes from years of doodling.

You also write a magazine after your own name we can also get at etsy.what can we find in there?
I wrote my zine "Bugs and Fishes" while at school and University, it's full of silly thoughts and odd things like annoying shampoo commercials and tv shows, and little articles about hats or spiders or other funny things I was obsessed with.

You have done very different things from "Magelopes" (recycle dmagazine envelopes) to cute felt brooches, are you planning anything else in the short term future?
I love paper goods - I cannot stop buying notecards on Etsy, there are so many beautiful ones! - but I've decided to drop them from my shop. I'm still going to be making cards and recycled envelopes and things like that but they'll just be used as my packaging. My Etsy shop is going to be focused on felt this year: lots of brooches, some mobiles and pincushions and (I'm quite excited about this) some textile art. I'm going to make lots of small affordable felt pictures and also indulge my artistic whims and make a few very elaborate pieces too.


What is your star item and why do you think it is so?
My favourite item changes from week to week but one of my bestselling items are my moustache disguises... They look rather plain but the moment someone wears one their whole face lights up and it's very very funny. I love seeing all the pictures my customers send me of themselves wearing the moustaches, it's great to have created something so fun.

Crafting is the antidote or the lovely poison?
The antidote. I can have the most stressful uninspiring day ever, and I sit down to do some sewing and almost instantly I feel better, it's like magic.