Tuesday, September 25, 2007

So Many Things to Talk About, So Little Time


That could have been the theme of our latest Hawaii Street Team meeting. I guess that's just what happens when people have something in common -- something they love! This photo was taken near the end of the meeting, and a few people had already left. From left to right: Keala of Keala Legacy Creations, Martha of AmorDePlata Jewelery, Kathi of IsabellaSmiles, and Angela of AMK Stitches. Missing from the photo are: Barb and Earl Sasaki from SasakiCreations and Wendi from YarnConfections.

This is the very cool bookmark I got from Wendi. I know it's not the best photo (my fault). It's made from a very thin yarn, includes beads, and is "gently hand washable" according to her tag. Hmm . . . looks like I may have found something for a couple of impossible to shop for people on my Christmas list after all . . .

We discussed how to better promote our shops and Etsy, of course, and it was interesting to hear all of the different perspectives. I was able to drop off my contribution to the thank-you baskets (boxes?) that Kathi was putting together for Cindy Cha -- the reporter from the KHNL interview, and for the Etsy admin in New York -- their gift was our thank-you for putting the story of our interview up on the Etsy newsletter, the "Storque."

For Cindy's thank-you, I included one of my origami crane star ornaments, in the turquoise/silver combination. I chose that one because it closely matched a bag that Angela had brought to the interview, one that Cindy kept admiring.

For Admin, that was a little more effort. I know the theme was kind of "island stuff" like macadamia nuts, coffee, that sort of thing, but I wanted to make something a little more special. I had a little left over orange foil origami paper from my graduation leis, so I made "Etsy orange" crane star ornaments. The color scheme was inspired by the Etsy.com logo, orange with white lettering. I used the silver rhinestones and a thicker, white ribbon instead of the 1/8" silver or gold rattail ribbon I usually use on the ornaments.

The "Etsy Orange" ornaments got such a great response at the meeting, I've made up a few extra that I will be listing in my store, eventually. For now, though, I'm waiting to hear when the Admin gift actually ships out -- I didn't want to post the listing, or photos of their "gift" until around the time they receive it. Not that I think they're going to come across this blog . . . lots of Etsians have blogs. But you never know who might see something you put out into the wide, wild world of the internet.

Monday, September 17, 2007

What's in a name?

Not much, I hope. I can't seem to think of a name for this particular combination.

This is the first wedding bouquet I've made in some time. I was having trouble finding the right ribbon color to use. Then I managed to convince myself I really needed a name for it before I could complete it. When I listed it on Etsy, I just included all three main colors in the title -- taking the easy way out.

The bouquet is the same size as my other hand-tied bridal bouquets, and contains 265 origami cranes. I'm planning to add more color combinations soon, hopefully they'll come along easier than this one.

I'm also finally getting to work on the matching bridesmaid's bouquet for the all-red bouquet I listed last month.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Oh, Christmas Tree

Fortunately this is online and no one can actually hear me singing (or maybe slaughtering is a better description) that particular Christmas carol.

After the interview at KHNL (which aired last night and this morning) , I spent some time with Kathi and Angela, eating lunch and talking about, what else? Etsy! Their suggestions and comments were very useful, and have led me to begin making several changes in my shop. The retaking of the crane star ornament photos was one of them.

I love how this photo turned out. Usually I'm very critical of my photography skills, but I have to say this one is now one of my all-time favorites. I had a 4 foot artificial tree I'd purchased last year at Longs to use as decoration for holiday craft fairs, so I dragged it and the string of lights out of storage and used it for this shot.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

By Special Request . . .


Kanji, Believe
Originally uploaded by origami3d_cranes
This is another result of the Mililani Hongwanji Bon Dance/Craft Fair last month. A customer there liked the look of my "Dream" kanji but wanted one that meant either "believe" or "imagine." During my research, I found "believe," but the closest I could find to imagine was "imagination." I received the go-ahead from the customer on "believe," and completed the piece on Aug. 29th.

It took 201 origami cranes using the ex-small (from 2 inch paper) size. After I finished it, I realized I probably should have used the next size up in cranes, the ones folded from the 3-inch paper. Oh, well. I like how it came out, and more importantly, so did my customer.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Television Cameras, Nerves, and Etsy

Well, I can't believe I actually agreed to it, much less did it. Kathi (IsabellaSmiles.etsy.com) managed to get an interview with KHNL (Hawaii's NBC affiliate) for their "Let's Talk Story" segment on their news, about our Hawaii Street Team. The reporter, Cindy Cha, choose to interview 3 team members: Kathi, Angela (AMKStitches.etsy.com), and myself.

The three of us carpooled to the station yesterday and it turned out to be a good idea, since we were all pretty nervous. None of us had managed to eat much, and I think we were all a little worried that we'd do something embarrassing, like pass out, or get sick on the air. (Good thing it wasn't a live broadcast.) We also wanted to make sure we represented our team well, especially for all of the terrific members who were unable to be on the broadcast.

It was great to see everyone's items in person, too. SasakiCreations, from the Big Island, sent in some of their work for a display of merchandise that was shot. It was amazing, beautiful jewelry and gorgeous woodwork (their ikebana vase was my favorite.)

Kathi's jewelry was just as eye-catching as ever, and Angela's blankets and bibs and baby bundles were just adorable. Her Wahiawa Dole Plantation Blanket was great (even to someone like me, who doesn't like pineapples), and the lining of the blanket was super-soft. It reminded me of an old blanket I used to have as a child, the soft , snuggly "security blanket."

The reporter asked each of us different questions, and we tried our best to highlight the many wonderful aspects of Etsy, but of course, we couldn't mention them all! And we did individual product segments in addition to the group display mentioned earlier.

Anyway, none of us passed out, and Kathi has already posted a few pictures taken at the studio on her Flickr page. I forgot to take my camera with me, so I don't have any shots .

I don't know yet when the segment will air, but when it does, it will probably be on the KHNL website as well as on tv.