Wednesday 28 September 2011

An Interview with Elegant Craft

Good Morning, today's blog features Elegant Craft, check out her Folksy shop, she has many beautiful items for you to browse.

 My shop name is ElegantCraft and I actually "borrowed" it from my sister as she had it for a while after a very brief flirtation with selling card toppers on Ebay. I really liked the name and when I decided to try out selling online I couldn't think of something else that encapsulated my work in a nutshell. I wanted something short and memorable but also slightly intriguing as I couldn't decide which of my crafts I wanted to stick with and so didn't want to become stuck with a generic name that limited me to one craft.

 I learnt to knit and crochet as a child and dabbled with it briefly over the years. I got into papercrafting about 6 years ago when handmade cards were a novelty and have dabbled with various other crafts since then. I dabbled in the online market about 4 years ago after working with a direct selling company for a while and thinking I would rather put this much effort into promoting my own stuff and making some money for myself. That didn't pan out too well but I have always wanted to try harder with it. I have been with Folksy since February and am really enjoying it.  www.folksy.com/shops/elegantcraft

 Knitting and crochet is my biggest passion and I credit that to my Mum who showed me how to start and was always making something. I have a blog post dedicated to her http://elegantcraft.wordpress.com/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog titled "Inspiration". I love looking around at things that people have made and am addicted to leafing through magazines, surfing the web or finding TV programmes looking for exciting things I wonder if I could make.

 I love looking around at things that people have made and am addicted to leafing through magazines, surfing the web or finding TV programmes looking for exciting things I wonder if I could make. Generally I go for a theme depending on the time of year and look around for interesting patterns, books or other items on the highstreet or craft sites and see what grabs my attention.



 My main selling outlet is Folksy and my page is www.elegantcraft.folksy.com I have been caught up in the Facebook revolution so I also have listings on there which can be found at www.facebook.com/elegantcraft.

 My favourite pieces have to be the dolls and bears. I try and create character whilst knitting them up and there is just something about a doll or a teddy bear that makes them special in some way. I have started a range of themed bears which are currently listed on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.221285351260214.61811.156342757754474 although they will be coming over to Folksy soon. I am also hoping to complete some fashion dolls in the near future too.


 I have tried a few other crafts in the past and would really like to add them to my selling repertoire. I have a selection of cards on Facebook at the present time. 




 I think it's more a case of where don't I at present. As knitting/crochet is my primary obsession it is quite a portable craft and easy to fit into my schedule. My place of choice is in the living room so I can be sociable or watch TV whilst I craft. I try and take projects with me if I am out and usually take something when visiting my Mum and have become something of a feature in the Dentists waiting room. I travel on the train a fair bit so it certainly helps while away the time there too. Paper crafts and salt dough etc are usually squeezed onto the dining room table when the children are at school or in bed. 





 I love trying out new crafts and anything that is tactile really grabs me.
I have dabbled with candles and sewing soft toys which are two areas I am keen to work with more and hopefully sell successfully. I love working with felt and have made a few projects which I hope to add also. Similarly I aim to rediscover cross stitch and start a range of cards and embellished items. I also tried out working with salt dough and have a listing on Folksy currently http://www.folksy.com/items/1868405-Personalised-Cherub-Engagement-Gift?shop=yes although I hope to add more items in this medium in the future.





 Folksy of course is a great site full of wonderful items and lovely friendly crafters a real homely community. I really enjoy www.Ravelry.com as a source of inspiration. I have various other wool craft sites I like to browse although www.lionbrand.com and www.lilysugarandcream are my most frequented. www.stumbleupon.com is a rather addicting browse but I have found some great inspiration on there.

 My fairytale fantasy would be to have a retail shop selling a wide variety of my handmade items. I would love to be able to craft fulltime and make this my occupation if possible in the future so will have to keep plugging away and see where it goes.



Check out my craft shop www.folksy.com/shops/elegantcraft
for cards and gifts for all occasions.

http://about.me/elegantcraft



Thank you so much for the interview Elegant Craft, and I hope you have all enjoyed reading it


Signing off
F xx

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