Feature Friday ~ Sweet Dixie Design

While writing critiques in the Etsy forum (http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6399670&page=41 ) I have met some incredible artists and I wanted to be able to share them with everyone I could. So I decided to start Feature Fridays where I could highlight a new artist each week that I have met in the critique forum. For the first Feature Friday I am brining you Sweet Dixie Designs (http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetdixiedesigns ) who stole my heart (literally I hearted her on Etsy) with beautifully hand painted frames. I think one of the best gifts you can give is a great picture and the only way to make it better is to put it in a great frame and that is what Sweet Dixie Designs provides. She has tons of fabulous color combinations and her patterns are oh so chic. I had Jane answer a few questions for us and all of the feature items to your right are from her shop.


Q - What got you started making these frames?
A - I started painting many years ago after graduating from college with a degree in textile design. I painted furniture and home accessories and sold my work at local craft shows and also through artists reps who sold my work to stores in my area. After my third child was born it became too hard to find the time to paint so I took a break for several years. Now that my children are older I have been trying to find my way back to painting, and I started back with my frames. I started painting them this fall I and have been listing them on Etsy since November.

Q - How long does each piece take since you are hand painting?
A - I usually work on several frames at one time and handle it almost like a production line, allowing for the paint to dry between coats. Sometimes I work by style and other times by color. It just depends on my mood and if I have come up with a new combination or pattern that I am excited about. I would say each frame takes a few days from start to finish.

Q - Where do you get the inspiration for your very chic color combinations?
A - I obviously love color. I have a lot of color in my home...no white walls here. I am inspired by what I see in magazines, catalogs and peoples homes. There always seems to be some new "in" colors. My combination's often come to me as I am standing in the craft store paint aisle buying paint.


Q - What is your favorite color combination?
A - I don't think I really have a favorite combination. One day it is hot pink and lime green, another day it is black and cream or turquoise and chocolate brown. I like it all.

Q - What was the last thing you hearted on Etsy?
A - The last thing I hearted is a pendant made from laser cut paper hanging on a gold chain. It is very delicate and beautiful, and so unique. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=37847168

Sunshine Day Come My Way (please, please, please)

I am surrounded by about 3 feet of snow so I needed a little sunshine. See the beautiful sunny items featured to the right? To see even more sunshine go to http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=87491 to see my latest Etsy treasury!

Pricing Your Etsy Items

So it is the moment of truth, you are entering a new item for your Etsy shop and you have to enter a price. What to do, what to do? Well I can’t tell you how to price your items but I did want to pass along a few tips I picked up in my pre-mommy career. So first and foremost don’t under value your work. Make sure you know your costs and your time. Then compare your work and pricing idea to similar items out there. If you are way over you may need to rethink some things and it isn’t good to be way under prices either it may give the impressions that your work is somehow less valuable. So now that you have a general price point in mind you need to consider the following.


There is a theory that goes back to long before our current ATM/Credit card world that is based on actual bills. The general idea is that every new bill increment ($1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100) that a buyer has to break comes with a mental barrier that makes them think more about the purchase they are making. Hence we live in a world of $9.99 and $19.99 pricing because breaking that $20 makes the buyer think just a little more about what they are buying.

Now depending on what you sell and your costs you may not have a ton of room to move the numbers but don’t think you always have to make things cheaper. For instance going from $29 to $32 probably won’t turn any customers away but that is $3 more a sale for you. It is really more about thinking about the actually numbers being used! Happy pricing!!!

My Etsy Treasury ~ Soft Purple Warm Lavender Cozy

Love the Pretty Purple to your right? Check out the entire Etsy Treasury of lovely lavenders at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=112035

Tip 2.1 - Photography Help for Etsy Product Photos

Hi all. A friend told me about another great tool for those of us desperately trying to create the BEST product pictures possible and I had to pass it on. There is an ipod podcast and an iphone app called "Photography 101" it provides information on everything from camera settings, composition, lighting, and photoshop. If you have the camera but feel like you just can't get quite the right pics. These tools could really help you. I couldn't figure out how to post a link to iTunes but if you go to the iTunes store and put "Photography 101" in the search area both versions of the tutorial will come up.

Tip 2 - Photography Help for Etsy Product Photos

Not good at taking pictures or don’t have a the best equipment for the job? Try your local high school or college. If they have a photography program you should be able to get a student to do pics for you for free or a very small fee. You can also offer to provide them copies of the photos for their portfolio. Contact the teacher or professor (my dad teaches photography at a high school and he gets these requests all the time) because they will be able to suggest the best students for the job.