Etsy Review // Vision City

 

Etsy // Website

 

Hi Everyone! Today I am super duper excited to be featuring Melanie Greenwood's shop, Vision City. Now, for those of you who don't know, Melanie has worked with various Christian artists (including her husband Manafest) to create unique designs for music albums. The Colour, Anthem for Today, and Flame, are just a few of her clients. I just recently started looking at her work, and I am so inspired by everything from her logo design,  to photography. Melanie is truly talented, and passionate for her work. I am so grateful to her for spending her time to answer these questions for me.

 

What inspired you to start your business in the first place?
I always knew I wanted to be an "Artist" when I grew up but did not necessarily know which medium. Design became a natural fit for me because it incorporated several loves of mine... photography, typography, hand sketching, painting...etc.
My hubby and I (well, at the time he was my boyfriend..lol) decided to be biz partners when were were younger. The biz was all about Music and Art. But as I got more into Design and Photography, I started to feel like the art "side" of the biz needed its own branding, so while on tour in Copenhagen, I decided to name the "Art department" Vision City, because I was traveling on music tours at the time with my hubby and visiting new Cities daily were part of my life. So Vision City was born. Since then, its grown into its own company with its own products.

What do you think makes Vision City unique from others?

Vision City is about much more then art to me, its about being an inspiration. I do not just rush through art jobs and move on to the next one. I literally look for ways to inspire with every project. I always want their to be a light in my work. Also, all out Vision City Products use only black ink. This has become sort of a fun continual signature.

 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into design? 

 I would say start being creative everyday. Some people think that if they have not gone to school or if they do not have the newest equipment, then they cannot begin. I completely disagree. Most of my favourites artists never went to school for it. They had an eye and just started playing with ideas. Creativity is like a muscle, it can be developed.

 

 

What inspires you most when it comes to designing your prints?

 When designing my prints, I always think about one thing. "What would I want to put up on my own wall in my studio? What would inspire me?". That's it. That's the rule for me. I need to feel like it speaks to me before it can really speak to anyone else.

 

 

What tools do you use?

 A large black sketchbook, pens, a 17" Macbook Pro, paint, Canon 5D Mark 2 camera, 50 mm lens, wide angle lens,
random cloth textures I have around my apartment, anything and everything...lol.

 

 

 

Thank you so much Melanie for your time. I really appreciate it.

if you would like to have etsy shop featured on this blog please email me at:

cynthia_hacker@hotmail.com

Thanks Guys! Have an awesome week.

~ Emma-lee

 

Etsy Review // Fruitful Feet

                                                                              // Etsy

Hi there guys! Today I would like to introduce you to Sandra. She runs an awesome shop on etsy, with lots of of cute hand-painted shoes. And she was so kind to answer a few questions for me. I hope you check out her shop, and are as inspired by her work as I am.

When did you first start your Etsy shop?
I started my Etsy shop in December 2010. At first, I just did it for fun...and I really didn't sell anything for about 8 months. But, it is getting larger daily and I just hired 4 people to work with me. I have TOMS coming out of my ears...in a good way! :)

What's your biggest inspiration when it comes to designing your shoes?
I'm inspired by the simple things. We have a local store in town that sells really pretty things...pretty much anything and everything that glitters. Whenever I go in there, I am ALWAYS inspired to make something new. :)

And I'm also ALWAYS inspired around 2:00-3:00 in the morning. My brain is usually running a mile a minute when I am trying to sleep, so I always keep a pen and drawing pad by my bed to sketch my ideas. Sometimes I even get up and start painting!

What materials do you use?
I use Acrylic, Sharpies, Paint Pens, and Glitter (Sometimes). I love love LOVE glitter...so I try to use it whenever I can! ;)

What do you think makes your shop unique from others?
My shop is unique because customers may purchase any design they would like. If they can dream it, I can paint it.

and why did you start Fruitful Feet in the first place?
Well, I used to teach high school English. I taught for two years, but didn't really enjoy it. It wasn't my passion and I was really just going for the paycheck (even though teacher's don't get paid that much...ha). I majored in English and minored in Art, but I never thought I would get an art job anywhere, so I stuck with English. Since, I wasn't really using my creative side, I would always do artistic projects on the side. Then I started an Etsy store (while I was still teaching) and it just took off from there. I quit my job...and the orders have been rolling in! I never thought it would be this profitable--to be able to quit my teaching job, but God has been with me every step of the way! :) It is a scary process because I never know how much I will make month to month, but He always provides. :)

Thank you so much for letting me interview you!


if you would like to have etsy shop featured on this blog please email me at:

cynthia_hacker@hotmail.com

Thanks Guys! Have an awesome week.

~ Emma-lee

Etsy Feature // Tiffany from Rare Indeed

                                                                Etsy // Facebook


Hello All. Today I would like to introduce you to Tiffany. She runs an awesome shop on etsy, with lots of cute handmade jewellery. And she was so kind to answer a few questions for me. I hope you check out her shop, and are as inspired by her work as I am.

When did you first start your etsy shop?I first opened my etsy shop in January of 2010, which was actually before I’d discovered shrink plastic and started making jewellery from it. My initial intention was to sell a few of my mother’s vintage jackets that she no longer wanted, as well as some t-shirts that I’d designed and had printed. It wasn’t until around June of 2011 that I started to get into shrink plastic, and that August that I sold my first necklace.


What's your biggest inspiration when it comes to designing your jewellery?I don’t necessarily have one particular source that I go to for inspiration, I find that inspiration can be found anywhere and sometimes at random times when you’re not expecting it. When it comes to deciding what to make next, often I’ll just think of what I would want to wear, and hope that other people would want to wear it too! After all, it all started out as me making things for myself, and blossomed into a business when I started getting compliments and people asking me where I had bought the jewellery. One method I’ve used sometimes though when I’m feeling a little stuck is to use an online random word generator, and then writing down any ideas that I might get associated with the random word.


What materials do you use?I use shrink plastic to make my jewellery, a fantastic material that starts out thin, like paper, that you can draw on and cut into whatever shape you want and then shrink in the oven. When I was a kid occasionally I’d get the odd little shrink plastic card or keyring in a chip packet, and be fascinated by the way it shrunk in the oven, so I was excited when I found out I could buy it in packs, blank and ready to be drawn on.


What do think makes your shop unique from others?I think something that differentiates me from other stores is the bright, graphic, almost cartoony feel that my jewellery has. Each item is hand drawn and coloured, so each piece really looks like a drawing made into jewellery form. And because each item is individually hand drawn and coloured, it means I can easily create custom orders, using different colours, words or images, so customers can get something that’s personalised just for them.


and what inspired you to start making your cute creations in the first place?I’ve always loved creating and have been doing so in one form or another since I was little, whether it be drawings, sewing my own clothes and accessories, making jewellery, even filming silly little magic shows with my brother! Shrink plastic was just another thing for me to try, and once I got the hang of it I couldn’t stop!

 

Thank you so much Tiffany for letting me interview you!

 

if you would like to have your etsy shop featured on this blog please email me at:

 

cynthia_hacker@hotmail.com

 

Thanks guys! Have an awesome week.

 

~ Emma-lee