I want to make my hallway into a gallery.

With the natural lighting of the skylight along with the light that comes through the window in the door, and the two little night lamps on the wall, this space would make a beautiful art gallery.

The wall space is huge, and I could fill in all of that white space with original artwork and prints.

I can collect artwork from Deviant Art, Etsy, and from my own work, and I can find frames at dollar stores and thrift shops.

It would be a great conversation piece at get-togethers, and it would feel so nice, inspiring, and fresh to walk down the art covered hallway.

Hubby and I have lived in this house for 6 months, and drab blank walls are no longer acceptable.

I can't wait to get started. I'll definitely post pictures as I start to add art to the walls. Do you have a gallery in your house? I'd love to see a picture of it. Please feel free to post links to your pictures in the comments.

Etsy Artist Feature - TamarHammer

It is important to show the world the charms of handcrafted items, and I plan to do this one artist at a time. Today I feature TamarHammer from Eugene, Oregon.

Below you will find Tamar's interview:

1. What is the first memory of crafting that you can recall?

I remember my self painting from ever. My first “piece” that I was really proud of was a shoe from clay – it was pretty abstract but for me it looked amazing (I was 7……)

2. What are some of your favorite past times?

Playing and making art with my son, writing, reading

3. What do you specialize in?

Painting, illustration and graphic design.
All the cards and magnets in my store are based on my original designs, painting and illustrations.

4. What made you decide to open up a shop on Etsy?

Oh - try to find a better way to sell my stuff other than marketing myself to stores – which means being in competition with Hallmark …which is of course ridiculous……
I like Etsy – there is such a positive and kind environment for both customers and sellers. I also found it to be a very inspiring place.

5. How did you choose your shop name?

…Just after my name – it felt authentic to me…I still remember my disappointment when I found that there is no real Sarah lee beyond the corporation …

6. What are your hopes for the future?

To enlarge my store and get to know more people that do crafts.

7. How do you feel about custom orders?

I’m sure open to that.

8. Try to sum up your workspace in as few words as possible.

My interests are quite diverse. That’s why at times I create whimsical paintings, greeting cards and magnets that are suitable for every occasion – ancient mosaics, flowers and my original comics and collages, while in other times I find my self drawn to special events - birthdays, Valentine’s Day and Jewish holidays.

9. Is there anything else you would like to add?

I’m having a lot of fun writing my blog. I write about issues connected to my designs and every day life thoughts and stories.

You can read there also my list about the mosaics and flowers card:
http://tamarhammer.blogspot.com/2009/01/locate-yourself-mentally.html

Featured Items:

Kites at the Coast, Fun Collage Painting Card

SO, WHAT, SAY IT'S POSSIBLE, THINK SUMMER, NOT AGAIN, I'M NOT SO SURE - Original Comics Magnets (Set of 6)

Owl Love ,one of a kind hand-painted owl magnets (Set of 2)

Thank you so much for reading,

-
Christina
CM Designs dba 1337 Art
[Elite Art for the elite at heart.] Featuring jewelry for men and women, awareness items, bookmarks, brooches, cards, cell phone charms, clip on earrings, cuff links, hair accessories, wine charms, and more!

You can also find _1337 Art on:

Twitter / Myspace / Live Journal / Deviant Art / Etsy / Artfire

Etsy Artist Feature - ara133photography

It is important to show the world the charms of handcrafted items, and I plan to do this one artist at a time. Today I feature Amy with ara133photography. She currently resides in State College, Pennsylvania, and her fine art photography is simply amazing! Her husband also contributes his photography, and he has a nice, stylish edge.

Below you can read the interview:

1. What is the first memory of crafting that you can recall?

I've been drawing since I was little... some of my earliest memories are of drawing horses and other animals - I used to draw unicorns a lot! I remember I would draw on my napkins during meals at home.

2. What do you specialize in?

Photography, but I also have a passion for painting and drawing still!

3. What made you decide to open up a shop on Etsy?

I saw a brief note about Etsy in Lucky Magazine one day, and checked it out - I loved all the awesome things and variety! I'd been considering selling my photography but didn't really have a venue (my grad student schedule doesn't allow me to do things like craft fairs, shows, etc.)... once I saw Etsy I knew it would be perfect!


4. What are your hopes for the future?

I hope to become a professor in Biology at a small college, and for my husband and I to get a house someday soon! :)

5. What are some of your favorite past times?

Photography - my husband and I share that creative passion, so we love to go on photography walks together! Also snowshoeing in winter; painting & drawing; reading; training my cats to do tricks (they know "sit", "footsie" (similar to 'give me your paw') and "lie down" but are stuck on "speak"!)...

6. Try to sum up your workspace in as few words as possible.

I'm a grad student so I have 2 workspaces - one at school and one at home for photography. My school office looks like a tornado hit it, but I know where everything is! My workspace at home is a desk with everything I need for packaging orders (it's lovely, we've just rearranged that area so I don't have to wander around the apartment looking for paper, ribbons, etc.!). I do a lot of my digital collages on the couch, so that is a fluffy brown microfiber workspace.

7. How do you feel about custom orders?

I enjoy custom orders - it's really a lovely feeling to be able to help people find exactly what they're looking for, something they'll enjoy looking at!

8. What can you tell us about the pictures you have selected to be apart of your feature? (in order that they appear.)

Bounce - 5x5 Fine Art Photography by MSM

This is one of my favorites by my husband - he took it in Boston when we were going to my cousin's wedding last year!

At Tara in this Fateful Hour - 5x7 Fine Art Photography Print


I like the way this one came out - It's actually exactly what was in my head! I enjoyed doing that digital collage from various photos I'd taken.

Through These Halls - 5x7 Matted to 8x10 Final Size

This is another digital collage I made with photos I'd taken of a doorway and hall on campus - I used mirroring, layers, black and white with color, and I like the way it came out!

Away - 8x10 Fine Art Photography Print

I took this image in Boston (on the same wedding trip as the Red Ball image) and it really brings back the memories of the moment I first saw this memorial. We were walking to the Old North Church (where the wedding was) and we walked through a little park area behind the Paul Revere statue... we heard a light chiming noise and saw lots of metal sparkling and moving in the breeze - and when we got closer we saw it was rows upon rows of dogtags.

How can people get in contact with you?

I can be reached through my Etsy shop http://ara133photography.etsy.com I have plans to develop my own website in conjunction with the shop but that is still in the works.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope that you enjoyed Amy's artwork, and please feel free to forward this feature on to your friends and family.

-
Christina
CM Designs dba 1337 Art
[Elite Art for the elite at heart.] Featuring jewelry for men and women, awareness items, bookmarks, brooches, cards, cell phone charms, clip on earrings, cuff links, hair accessories, wine charms, and more!

You can also find _1337 Art on:

Twitter / Myspace / Live Journal / Deviant Art / Etsy / Artfire

1337 Collages - Mini Style

Tonight I introduce a new product to our Etsy Shop. I have been into collages since high school. They have a certain, unspecific freedom to them.

ACEO stands for 'Art Cards, Editions and Originals'. They are a standard size (2.5" by 3.5"), and are a great way of buying a piece of original art at a very low price. They are fun to collect and display.

You can own an original piece of artwork at a very affordable price!

There are many uses for ACEOs:

*Wall/desk/notebook art
*Miniature greeting note/card for a bouquet of flowers
*Coffee table book
*A fun little extra in a birthday card
*Cubicle art
*A unique addition to your personal collection
*Inspiration

Please keep checking back for new ACEOs and more from 1337 Art.

Christina
CM Designs
http://1337art.etsy.com
Elite Art for the elite at heart. Featuring jewelry for men and women, bookmarks, collage, charms, awareness items, and more.

Promotional Opportunities

If you want to promote your small handcrafted business, the first place to start is Etsy. This website is devoted to selling your handmade goods. Their shop fees are very fair, and you meet a lot of great people within that website. It's like an ebay for handcrafted goods.

Locally - Every small town or large city (and everything in between) should have bulletin boards and local newspapers. I have started to put flyers around the town I live by. My first one was about my Valentine's Day items, and at the bottom of the flyer I had my business name, email address, and Etsy shop url in strips. That way when my flyer caught someone's attention, they could rip off one of those strips of paper with my contact info.

We have a very small and growing monthly newspaper where I live. I recently started putting in classified ads. The rates are very cheap, and I can put anything I want into it. An example of what I put in is something like this:

Handmade jewelry, bookmarks, and more!
Special requests accepted.
Support your local artist: CM Designs
http://1337art.etsy.com

We Love Etsy - This is a growing website that is a huge directory for Etsy shops. It is very easy to navigate, which means it is easy for customers to find what they're looking to purchase.

Metawebpages - A recently launched website made exclusively for sellers to promote their goods, and for buyers to find what they're looking for. There are already 242 registered members in the forums.

Deviant Art - I have been with this website for years. I currently have one account for my jewelry, and one account for my personal art. Artists around the world share their artwork in many forms, ranging from culinary to collage to woodwork and so much more! The website even offers you the opportunity to sell your artwork as prints, calendars, coffee mugs, and more.

Myspace - Yikes. The social networking website that everyone has heard about. It really is a great place to meet people and to network your business with other people of similar interest. It is a great way for people to stay in touch with you to find out what your business is up to.

Blogging - There are many blogging websites out there. Why have a blog? Not only is it accessible via search engine, it lets people get to know the person behind the business while at the same time keeping updated on the progress of your business. I use mine to promote my business, but I also use it to feature Etsy artists. If you are interested in starting a blog, but you're not sure I suggest looking at other people's blogs to see what they write about. I have some listed blogs under the "Things to read with your morning coffee."

I hope the above content and advice is helpful to you. I thank you so much for reading. Good luck with your business!

Christina
CM Designs
http://1337art.etsy.com
Elite Art for the elite at heart.