Lately Joel and I have been talking about some exciting possibilities for the next year and I’m not spreading the details around just yet, but I’m excited! It helps to have something to daydream about when you’re a lowly administrative assistant. And I thought you might need some pretty inspiration too so I tried to make today’s Etsy finds extra daydreamable…

All from my recent favorites: berry leaf wreath, felt crown, breukelen white 3speed bike, and silver swallow necklace

PS. I thought this article on daydreaming in the New York Times was so interesting!

Hijirik Studio is more than one print, the shop is filled with all kinds of beautiful samples of letterpress and I always love seeing new items pop up. (Right now I am head over heels for the black lace heart!) And I am so happy to be able to feature one of my favorite Etsy shops of all time!

Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Hello, my name is Hijiri, I am a freelance graphic & web designer as well as a letterpress printer & an online shop owner in New York City — DUMBO Brooklyn, to be exact. I am originally from Japan, lived in San Francisco for 10.5 years where I went to art school and then worked full-time as an online art director prior to moving to NYC. I live with my wonderful husband Randy, cute and funny miniature dachshund Maia, and two handsome chinchillas, Mallow and Milo :)

Q. How did Hijirik Studio get started?
Hijirik (my name Hijiri + my middle name initial K) Studio was what I decided to call my “studio” when I first started taking my own clients/projects while I was in school. Just wanted to call something so it sounds more exciting and sounds like I have my own studio. and 10+ years later, it is still with me, now with letterpress shop! Having a letterpress shop was a total (awesome) accident — I’d been always in love with the letterpress texture and its specialness, I’d always wanted to take a class so I can learn more about it. When I came to NY and started my freelance life, I finally decided to do a class over at Cooper Union… that was it. I was completely in love! (I never stop printing ever since.) And as I was posting about my prints I did in the class on my blog (heartfish.com) people were interested in buying one and so I set up an Etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/hijirik) and that’s how it started. I am so grateful for my customers’ support, without them, I won’t be printing as much so thank you!!

Q. Your shop is so lovely! What is your creative process like?
This depends on the project… sometimes, I gather inspirations first and then, develop from there. I keep my blog for all my inspirations and that always helps to come up with something, too.

Q. What’s a normal day in your life like?
Everyday is different as being a freelancer and a online shop owner and I love it :) More like a weekly cycle for me: Once a week, I go to my letterpress studio to print all day. I go to post office to ship stuff twice a week. I blog everyday except weekends. When I’m not doing any of these, I am working on my clients’ projects, talking to them, replying emails, managing my shop, taking photos, updating my shop… sometimes on weekends, too. Oh, and of course to hang out with my family and friends, going out in the city!

Q. What inspires you most of all?
This is hard… because, really, a lot of things/people inspire me! I am so lucky I am surrounded by lot of things/people like that. If you ask “most of all” then it’s my family.

I especially love her Big Cartel store maybe because my dad is a geologist. Once when I was little he brought home a bag full of little brown rocks.  They didn’t look like much but after dinner he took my sister and me out to the driveway and gave us each a hammer. We banged away on our little rocks and before we knew it they had cracked open and were full of crystals!  Sophi’s jewelry give me the same feeling of wonder.

Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I enjoy a lot of simple things like going for ice cream, a bike ride, cooking new recipes or just lay down in the grass but also like many women I love to go shopping! I adore fashion although almost every thing is out of my league, it really inspires me, looking fashion in a point of view like a way to express yourself , as an art, as a concept.

Gold Feather Ring

Q. How did you get started making jewelry?
I’ve always been a creative and dreamer person, I would be always writing or making art projects, or taking photographs and when I moved to Montreal I started looking for a Graphic designer job because that’s what I studied , but in the meantime I was so bored!! I always wanted to study sculpture in metals, so then it hit me. I started to research about jewelry making, what was the process, where to buy supplies etc. I started to hang out more in galleries and art shows in Montreal to get more inspiration from this the creative area.

My Little Treasure

Q. Your shops are so beautiful! What is your creative process like?
Well I love to do research, I’m currently subscribed to many fashion and photography blogs as well as DIY and art pages and I do read them. I like to know what’s going on, what’s in, but at the end I do what my inspiration leads me and since I only work on Jesophi  I have a lot of free time. I have many jewelry books and magazines where I find tips that they are meant to be for one specific technique but I give it a twist and use it for another one. Also I hang out with my suppliers and in antique stores a lot so when I find something that I can use for my collection the single findings (I call them treasures) inspires me.
After that I just take my time and make the pieces, take the photographs and upload them on the stores. Although it sounds like a quick process it takes time to do everything as the way I like it, sometimes I have pieces that I created two months ago and I totally change them because they never really convinced me.

Pyrite Necklaces

Q. What’s a normal day in your life like?
As a real life is, I wake up and make coffee I can’t work without my morning cup of coffee I turn on the computer, if I am in the mood I read some news in the world but that’s sometimes because it can be really sad at that time of the morning then I get into a cranky mood, but well I read all my emails. I check if i have any sales that I need to work on them if so I eat a quick breakfast and start working, if not I try to schedule the days that I’m working on new pieces and the ones that I’m taking photographs, after that I just do some housework there are days that I go for a run or workout and then I start make dinner, after dinner I usually watch a movie while working on the shop or making posts for my two blogs , I also video chat a lot during the night with my old friends.

Q. What inspires you most of all?
Everything, really.
But mostly I would say:
French culture I live in the french part of Canada so they have a lot that in their traditions also I adore vintage treasures. Nature I mean I have always been very into it but well my boyfriend is a biologist so that’s part of my daily life. Fashion, Art and Architecture, I love colors I love photography the process of it. The meaning that you can give to some creation that is very personal and not that many people understand it sometimes, I guess is the weirdness that I’m most attract. I love music I’m listening to everything from jazz to electronic and new music, I’m a music nerd, sort of. I also like simple things, to be just in silence or thinking very deeply, doing that leads me to start planing future projects.
Jesophi Etsy Store
Jesophi BigCartel store

]]> http://waysideviolet.com/2010/07/01/interview-jesophi/feed/ 0 http://waysideviolet.com/2010/06/24/interview-corrieberry-pie/ http://waysideviolet.com/2010/06/24/interview-corrieberry-pie/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:08:15 +0000 Jessica http://waysideviolet.com/?p=6490 Corrie is one busy lady and she still finds time to make the sweetest things! Her whole shop is darling, but I especially  love the textile necklaces! Each piece is one of a kind (or just a few of a kind) and handmade using a wonderful mix of vintage, reclaimed and newer materials. I’m so excited that Corrie was able to make time for a little interview (thanks Corrie!) and don’t miss the sweet giveaway that Corrie was nice enough to offer for one luck reader!

darling necklaces

Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a wife to a handsome madman and a mother to a sweet crazy three year old boy. We are expecting a new addition to our crew early this fall (It’s a GIRL!). I am constantly making, creating, painting, finding, cooking, sewing, drawing, mending…you get the picture. But my medium is subject to change at any moment. Right now – with nesting in full swing – my work space is all about blankets, bibs, burp cloths, and nursery decorations.

Q. How did Corrieberry Pie get started?
It actually started as a blog just after my son was born. I was always piddling around with new craft ideas, and coming up with new recipes and thought it would be a good way to share them. Honestly, I didn’t think anyone but my mom and Nana would look at it! But once I started sewing I collected more stuff than our tiny apartment could hold, and it became apparent I needed an outlet to sell my goods. That is when my husband (yup, my husband) discovered Etsy.

Q. Your shop is so beautiful! What is your creative process like?
In one word: Sporadic
I go through seasons and get in kicks where I’ll make 15-20 necklaces all at once followed by a drought. Then a month later my living room is covered in a pile of vintage fabrics and all my friends get clutch purses for gifts as a result. I like to stick to one project at a time until it’s completed.

Q. What’s a normal day in your life like?
Around 6am I’m up with a cup of coffee soaking in the quiet of the morning. It’s my favorite time of day. Before I was pregnant it was more like 5ish, but not so much these days. Once the rest of the house is up we will usually do family breakfast, a walk or bike ride, trips out and about town, reading, art projects, playing cars…etc. Then about mid-afternoon my son will conk out for a few hours (thank goodness!). I used to get a lot of work done during this time, but now I try to read or nap as well. In the evenings we might go to the park, or cook dinner together, then it’s the dinner-bath-bedtime routine….and up to do it all again the next day.  As mundane as it may sound I have completely fallen in love with the comforting predictability of this routine – not to mention that a three year old keeps it interesting!

Q. What inspires you most of all?
The challenge and thrill of creating something new where nothing existed before.

The Giveaway: a pretty Breezy Butterfly Necklace!

To enter just visit Corrieberry Pie and leave a comment here about your favorite item. The giveaway will be open until June 30th. Good luck!

1) devotion award 2) mini cream pitchers 3) estate earrings 4) rainy day mobile

*the super cute tiger-kitty hat on the front page is made by shan329

]]> http://waysideviolet.com/2010/06/22/recent-etsy-favorites/feed/ 0 http://waysideviolet.com/2010/06/14/pretty-things-19/ http://waysideviolet.com/2010/06/14/pretty-things-19/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:08:39 +0000 Jessica http://waysideviolet.com/?p=6280 I was still feeling pretty under the weather all weekend – no fun!- but it did give me a chance to find lots of pretty things to show you today! Starting with these beautiful address stamps from Primele on Etsy. I use stamps all the time at work, but none are as pretty these!

My favorite shot from a seriously beautiful home tour with Paula from Sweet William over on Paper n Stitch:

I love this pretty flower display idea from decor8! I’m a little stamp happy these days and I think these look just perfect. Petals and pretty patterns, love it!

And my newest favorite Etsy shop, Ello There they make the sweetest wedding invitations ever! I love all the record and vintage inspired invites!

Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Tansie, it’s not short for anything! My mum calls me a hippsy (hippy gypsy). I travel around a lot and love the freedom to move on when ever I feel the time is right. I was brought up in a small town on the ocean in Western Australia and love every bit of time I can spend in the water. I love making magical things, going on adventures and cooking lentil spaghetti.

Q. How did Feather Children get started?
It all got started when I was spending a lot of time in a house in a forest by the sea, my boyfriend was recording an album down there so I was there a lot in pretty much the middle of nowhere and I would go walking through the forest for hours at a time and collect feathers and I just started to put together these head pieces for my self while sitting on a couch over looking the ocean and being inspired by the music that was being created around me. I started wearing them out and people always asked where I got them so I just started making them for other people then stocking them in a store in Perth, and now I’ve moved onto to the online store.

Q. Your shop is so beautiful! What is your creative process like?
It all starts with the feathers, I choose some then look at the colours, get some beads sit down and just start beading the band, I never really plan or design them first I usually have a vague idea in my head then they just evolve.

Q. What’s a normal day in your life like?
Wake up, make fresh juice, surf if it is any good, work at a bakery for a few hours, sit in the backyard in the sun, work on designs, watch always sunny in Philadelphia, go for a bicycle ride on my beautiful bike Nadia, make music with friends then try to sleep!

Q. What inspires you most of all?
I am really inspired by the idea of wild freedom. I have spent a lot of my life camping in really isolated spots just being surrounded by nature and when you are away from civilization you just roam free, skinny dipping at midnight, running through the forest pretending to be peter pan! I think that’s what I love most about wearing my headpieces, as soon as I put one on, even if I’m surrounded by people, I feel wild and free, it transports me from being at a party in the city to being out in the wild and dancing around a fire and I think that’s a kind of magic.

click photo for credit

One more happy thought:
Congratulations to Kara, the winner of the Paper Owl giveaway!

Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Kate Blake and I am an illustrator living in the UK. Aswell as drawing I also paint and make things for my Etsy shop Paper Owl.

Q. When did get started making such cute things?
I have been making things since I was a child from whatever I could find. I often buy bits and bobs and then see what I can make from them. I saw a porcelain painting starter kit online and it progressed from there.

Q. Your shop is so adorable! What is your creative process like?
I have a lot of scrapbooks and collected images for my illustration work, so sometimes I will make sketches of ideas inspired by them, but other times I will just start painting directly on to the plate or brooch and see what happens.

Q. What’s a normal day in your life like?
I am woken up early by my cat meowing loudly, I then try to split my time between illustration and making things.I will go for a walk in the afternoon,then I usually tend to be more productive in the evening.

Q. What inspires you most of all?
Taking trips to wonderful places and nature.

The Giveaway: an adorable bear mug, the winner’s choice of design!
I’ve totally fallen for the Chief and the Winter bear looks so cozy!

To enter just visit Paper Owl and leave a comment here about your favorite item. The giveaway will be open until June 9th. Good luck!

Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I was born in the UK before moving to sunny Southern California as a little girl. I studied at Pepperdine and USC for Communication and Business while also acquiring a degree in Fashion Merchandising. I entered the world of business with Balance Bar Company and Kraft Foods before beginning my own wholesale business in luxury beauty and on the retail front with a brick and mortar boutique.  Life changes and a stroke of lovely inventiveness awoke me one morning with the bohemian-chic and whimsically-wise Plum Pretty Sugar concept. And sewing!

Q. How did Plum Pretty Sugar Loungerie get started?
Plum Pretty Sugar Loungerie lived in my heart for some time before pouring out and over. It was a journey of sorts… a mutation of lessons learned, life changes, heartbreak and inspiration. Like a dream I pieced together in order to find my path, my truth. Throughout this there was this idea of how I wanted to feel… the carefree-ness of breezy happiness, of cozy comfort and with an ease of living beautifully, inspired and with heart. From there came Plum Pretty Sugar.

Q. Your shop is so pretty! What is your creative process like?
Gosh, it is all about inspiration to me… and a vision. And then really following it through. The idea of inspiration is so interesting me too… the deep down feeling of what inspires me and not someone else. I suppose it is that sort of eclectic thinking that moves me. And so to be moved… gosh… it is color, especially in dreams, art, nature. Night-blooming flowers, fashion photography or just a feeling that bubbles up.

Q. What inspires you most of all?
I think emotion… feelings. Is that silly?