This month's Featured Seller is Anna White, also known to some as airportlovestory. You can visit Anna's lovely shop at http://www.airportlovestory.etsy.com/ where she has everything, from jewelry to supplies, and even gifts. What made me want to interview her were her 'Red Reds Earrings' which I adore and now own! Here is a picture:
When I had a little chit chat with Anna here is what she had to say.
Tell us a bit about yourself - name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
Hi! My name is Anna, and I live in Omaha, NE with my boyfriend Jake in an inspiring old house partitioned into apartments. I spend most of my free time on Etsy.com, working on improving and maintain my online handmade shop, http://airportlovestory.etsy.com/. I work for a wonderful business called Teddy Bear Connnection, a local stuff-your-own-animal store, with cars and race track, to boot! I hope to be the manager come Christmas, and I think I can make it happen, the owners really like me - knock on wood! ;)
As for personal stuff, well, I’m eccentric, neurotic, and generally weird. I have lots of fun mood swings, hate doing the dishes (I simply refuse), and love shopping. I don’t even have to buy anything, I just have to be in a store for an hour or two or 14, and see what’s on sale and look at eeeeeverything! I end up doing this alone, of course, haha, but it’s good to see all the fashions and trends out there, and incorporate it into my creations.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
Honestly, creating things is EVERYTHING I do! I write songs and play guitar/sing around town, and the most rewarding part of that is when the music and lyrics come together with a crowd full of smiling, bobbing heads. I also sometimes cook dishes that I make up in my head and never get the recipe for (it usually doesn’t turn out so great or edible!) I make jewelry, of course, and bead mixes. Sometimes, I make bad decisions, or start a new project I can’t seem to finish. All that aside, I always create love. And spread it all over like the world’s a big piece of toast! (I also create jokes in my head that come out as non-jokes!)
OH- And I opened up a new Etsy shop, http://beadsinflight.etsy.com/ – where I sell supplies, including beads and charms for my fellow jewelry makers. It helps sustain my PayPal balance and since supplies sell quicker than jewelry, it’s keeping me busy on slow days! J
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
I made a necklace awhile ago, when I first opened my Etsy shop in April ’08… that has a foam bird, antique key, a rhinestone charm on it, that represents my boyfriend and I’s relationship. I used the tiny foam bird to cheer him up when he was the saddest I’ve ever seen him (poked him in the nose with the tiny beak, screaming “Cheep! Cheep! Cheep cheep!”) … the rhinestone is the very first thing I left/lost at his house when it fell off a necklace and showed up a week later, making him smile and call me right away… and the key is from eBay, but obviously represents the key to his heart - I KNOW! Nauseating, right? Plus, I just got a tiny aluminum charm with a J stamped into it, for Jake, my lovie. J
How do you promote your work?
I network with other Etsyians in chat rooms (especially Featured Seller), I talk to strangers on the street about my work, I go shopping with friends who see jewelry they like and I smile coyly and say, “I can make that for $5 less, and in a color you’d like better.” And I work with other Etsyians, giving away free jewelry in turn for distributing my business cards with their orders. I’ve been thinking about some other ways to promote, including bumper stickers, referral program, and frequent buyer cards, but I’m still working out the kinks in those.
In ten years I'd like to be…
My long-term career goal is to own and run a business along a main shopping/dining strip in a nice city (think the San Antonio Riverwalk, downtown Seattle, Kansas City Court, NYC’s 5th Ave, etc.). My building and business with be two suites and two-fold. One suite will be a handmade boutique, more or less taking other artist’s talents and putting them into an offline Etsy-type shop. The other suite will have fine art and a stage for local artists and small name fame to perform… pretty cool idea, huh? I also can’t wait to be the proud mama of a beautiful baby, when that time comes. I want to travel and learn and grow and experience things in not-so-typical ways.
Thank you for reading more about me! I invite you to visit my shops, http://airportlovestory.etsy.com/ & http://beadsinflight.etsy.com/, and my music, at http://myspace.com/airportlovestory. Hope to see you soon!
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