Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Artisan Spotlight -- Random Creative

7 Questions is our spotlight on our favorite artisans. Please welcome...

Rose, creator of Random Creative!
 1.      What do you sell in your shop? 
I sell handmade beadwoven and button bracelets, earrings, pendants, and necklaces.  I also sell PDF patterns of some of my original bracelet designs.

2.      What is your favorite thing about Etsy? 
My favorite thing about Etsy is the community.  I have met a lot of wonderful artists through a couple teams.  My friendships with these ladies have made it worth staying on Etsy even when sales have been slow.

3.      What is your least favorite thing about Etsy? 
One of my biggest frustrations right now with Etsy is that no matter how much I tweak my listing titles and keywords, I consistently get Google hits that have nothing to do with my shop.  I use a very similar system for titles and keywords on freelance writing sites with a lot more success.  I'm not sure why Etsy doesn't work the same way.  Thankfully their own search functions are more effective.


4.      What does your studio/workspace look like? 
Our new house has three bedrooms.  Right now I use one of them for all of my craft storage and my light box set up.  I do almost all of my jewelry creating on the couch while watching TV or listening to music.


5.      What do you do to relax? 
Although I don't find the photography and listing process for Etsy very relaxing, I do find jewelry making and other crafty activities relaxing.  I also enjoy restaurants, museums, and other attractions in Milwaukee; entertaining friends and family in our new house; cooking and baking; spending time with our cat; and listening to music.

6.      What accomplishments are you the most proud of? 
While my husband completed med school from 2007-2011, I taught special education for 4 years, got my master's degree in special education, and started my Etsy shop.  Although the 4 years that we spent in Iowa were not easy, I'm proud of everything that we accomplished there.
As far my jewelry making goes, I am especially proud of all of the pieces that I've made for the Etsy Beadweaver challenges.  I have truly embraced the notion of challenge for almost every piece I've made, which has gotten me to try beadweaving stitches, color combinations, and other new techniques that I never would have attempted otherwise.  I attribute a large part of my growth as an artist to these challenges and to the group in general.

7.      What are some of your goals for the next year? 
This fall I plan to release my 8th PDF pattern, which will be a non-metal jewelry clasp tutorial.  I am releasing a brand new line of herringbone stitch bracelets in 2012.  In 2011, I completed 10 out of 11 Etsy Beadweaver challenges (I have my entry complete for the November challenge, which will run November 9-15).  Now that we have started the new Blogging Business Artisans team which also has a challenge component, I'm not sure that I'll complete that many beading challenges this next year.  However, I plan to complete at least 6 challenges for each team in 2012.

Since we moved to Milwaukee, my other personal goals have included exercising 2-3 times per week and trying more new recipes.  While were in Iowa, I saved many new recipes that I never tried.  So far I've done well meeting both of those goals and plan to continue them this next year.

Random Creative (Rose): Beaded and button bracelets, earrings, pendants, and necklaces as well as PDF Patterns 
Shop: randomcreative.etsy.com
Blog: www.randomcreativeart.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/randomcreative28
Twitter: twitter.com/randomcreative

9 comments:

storybeader said...

I enjoy challenges too, since it always stretches my imagination. It's so nice to hear that they have worked for you too. You and Jake seem to have a great start on life together. Love reading your blog and freelance pieces {:-D

Rose Clearfield said...

Thanks for sharing my spotlight here today!!

Memories for Life said...

Great feature on Rose!
I'm glad the challenges have been so great for your creativity!

BeadedTail said...

That was fun to read Rose! It's been wonderful seeing your creativity grow and am looking forward to seeing your new pieces! Congrats on all you and Jake have accomplished in the past 4 years!

Erika said...

I know I have said this before but I have serious organization envy:)

Thanks for being part of our team!

Sheryl Hastings said...

What a great spotlight and I love that button bracelet. Her items are so well photographed too.

Best of luck to reach your goals!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Rose! Love the purple studio! I remember seeing that room on your blog a while back, how cool to use it for your studio!! Glad to see that you've been able to be prolific with beading. I agree- challenges like that can really drive your creativity to evolve.

Jessie said...

I am a big fan of your beadwork and your business model Rose and happy to see you in the spotlight!

Judy Nolan said...

You've accomplished a lot this past year, and deserve to be proud. Your storage system for your beads is neat and attractive, I must say. I'd have to do some clean-up before I could show any of my work areas!