Fresh and Undiscovered: Jennova from Hikisquid Designs

I'd like to introduce you guys to Jenn, a Michiganite who crafts the cutest animals! You know I had to feature her when I saw she had whales AND octopi! Her Etsy shop is here!

Tell us about YOU, the person behind the shop:

Well, I'm married to an awesome husband that lets me stay at home and sew things, I own a paralyzed bearded dragon named Ryuu, and I'm currently obsessed with axolotls. I draw too, but I don't show that off to people as much as my sewing. 

What do you make?

Plushies and soft sculptures mostly. Axolotls, dragons, stingrays, unicorns, lots of things. 

Where do you get ideas?
Mostly video games, random suggestions, and late night animal searches online. Once I asked for ideas, and that's when I came up with most of my current patterns, there were so many good suggestions from my friends. 

When and how did you get started?
I got my name from interrupting my brother's chat with a friend online, and having the attention span of a squid. I crocheted and hand-sewed plushies until my doctor told me to stop, then my grandma gave me a sewing machine and I started sewing plushies and fancy soft sculptures.

What do you do in your free time?

Play video games, sleep, eat, spend time with my husband, take care of house-related stuff, and play on the computer. Most of my day is spent either sewing or on the internet. 

Fresh and Undiscovered: 4 Ewe Designs

4 Ewe Designs is Rachel, a talented artist living in my sister city- she's in Melbourne, Australia and I'm in Melbourne, USA! She does some selling in a local gallery so if any of you lovely readers are in Melbourne (the Australian one) go check out the Fitzroy InCube8r store!

In the meantime, here are some juicy tidbits about Racel and 4 Ewe Designs!

 1. Who are you?
An American girl living in Australia.I am Rachel Buse, and my Etsy shop is 4 Ewe Designs. It is kind of a dream to be here in the land of cute and unusual animals. I refuse to grow up, even if I have some gray hairs. I love Hello Kitty, and all animals and cute things.  I live with my husband, two rabbits, and a cat. I am addicted to coffee.



2. What do you do?
I am a ceramic sculptor by day. I create "Living Vessels", teapots and pitcher and jugs that look alive. I am just starting doing that professionally though, we will see how it goes.
In my free time and at night I sew. I am fidgety, so I always need to be doing something. I sew cute things out of recycled wool sweater felt. Soft toys are my obsession right now, but I also make flower pins, jewelry, and bags. I will make the occasional hat or scarf, but I don't find them as needed here in Aussieland. It is a bit warmer here than my previous home of  Michigan. I am working hard to make a living from my art.

3. How did you get started? 
My dad was a photographer, and an engineer and painted too. He really encouraged my brother and I to be creative. He made a lot of the toys we played with as kids. I just grew up with the mind set of " if you want it, make it yourself". So I have been making things like jewelry and paintings and clothes for Barbie's or for myself for Halloween my whole life. As a result both my brother and I are artists.

4. Where else can we find you online?

Etsy shop

FB fan page

Flickr photostream

Meet WrathofRa- an Undiscovered (Yet Totally Awesome) Shop!

I really love giving a shout out and a leg up to new shops. It's so hard to start out and to get noticed.
So we're here to say, "Hey, we notice you!"


I recently caught up with Mark from WrathofRa and asked him some questions.
Actually, that's a lie. He asked himself the questions and then answered himself. I just took notes! Get ready to be blown away by sheer awesomeness!

 

Tell us about YOU, the person behind the shop:

I am a writer and editor for a publishing firm in Asia. I'm Canadian but have lived all over the globe (India, Singapore, Italy, Korea, US, Canada). I am incredibly tall and handsome (one of those things is a lie) and I just got married to my husband last December. Uh, I have a dog named Louis. That is all.

What do you make?

Egyptian-style art on a variety of recycled, wood, or stone materials.

 

Where do you get ideas?

Advertisements, ancient art, travel. Pretty much anything will give me an idea.

 

When and how did you get started?

I've always drawn or painted. I am self-taught. I heard the story of baby Moses at church one week and saw some pictures of the Egyptian princess at the Nile ... and that was it. For some reason, I was hooked on the Egyptian theme from that point forward!

To check out more of this amazing artwork, stop by Mark's Etsy shop! Give it a heart, spread some love, and tell 'em Waterwaif sent you!

Undiscovered Shop of the Week 2/21 - 2/27

I lead an Etsy team called Team Discovery. Our team is dedicated to finding and promoting fresh, undiscovered shops with less than 20 sales. A new tradition I've started on the team is an Undiscovered Shop o'the Week. Each week we feature a different undiscovered shop and include them in treasuries. All week long. Our goal is to get them noticed, get them discovered, and get them some sales!

This week our undiscovered shop is DeepWithintheArmoire.
DeepWithintheArmoire is Stephanie, a Michigan native who loves photography and antiques. She says she is highly influenced by dreams, reincarnation, Native American mysticism, and the female Surrealist movement.
 Stop by, show some love, and let 'em know waterwaif sent you. 


Here are some of my favorites:

Undiscovered Shop of the Week 2/14 - 2/20

I lead an Etsy team called Team Discovery. Our team is dedicated to finding and promoting fresh, undiscovered shops with less than 20 sales. A new tradition I've started on the team is an Undiscovered Shop o'the Week. Each week we feature a different undiscovered shop and include them in treasuries. All week long. Our goal is to get them noticed, get them discovered, and get them some sales!

This week our undiscovered shop is RippleEffectPhoto.
RippleEffectPhoto is Adva from Michigan. In the shop, you'll find Fruitography Meets Minimalism and gorgeous decor for veggie lovers!
 Stop by, show some love, and let 'em know waterwaif sent you. 


Here are some of my favorites:

Undiscovered Shop of the Week 2/7 - 2/13

I lead an Etsy team called Team Discovery. Our team is dedicated to finding and promoting fresh, undiscovered shops with less than 20 sales. A new tradition I've started on the team is an Undiscovered Shop o'the Week. Each week we feature a different undiscovered shop and include them in treasuries. All week long. Our goal is to get them noticed, get them discovered, and get them some sales!

This week our undiscovered shop is elehandmade.
Elehandmade is a shop filled with gorgeous handmade leather accessories!
 Stop by, show some love, and let 'em know waterwaif sent you. 


Here are some of my favorites:

Undiscovered Shop o'the Week 1/31 - 2/7

I lead an Etsy team called Team Discovery. Our team is dedicated to finding and promoting fresh, undiscovered shops with less than 20 sales. A new tradition I've started on the team is an Undiscovered Shop o'the Week. Each week we feature a different undiscovered shop and include them in treasuries. All week long. Our goal is to get them noticed, get them discovered, and get them some sales!

This week our undiscovered shop is TheTinyBlackbird.
TheTinyBlackbird is Jordan, a self-taught photographer. Stop by, show some love, and let 'em know waterwaif sent you. Here are some of my favorites:

Dancing with Myself 5x7

The Runaway 8x10

Winter Meets Flower 5x7