Hey everyone!
The Tea & a Chat posts have fallen a little to the way side and so in an effort to re-boost them and find out more about all the wonderful Irish Etsy sellers, I've kicked started them by...well...interviewing myself! I've beefed up the questions and will shortly put a post on the Etsy Ireland Forum requesting that some of you lovely people put your names and shops forward for a wee cuppa tay and a wee chat! You can also email me if you're interested luckyrainbowdesigns@gmail.com
So...here it goes!
Tell us a bit about yourself!
My name is Rebecca O'Hare and I'm orginally from Dundalk but made the big move (well it seemed like a big move when I was 18) to Limerick nearly 11 years ago to pursue a degree in Fine Art in the Limerick School of Art & Design. I also completed the H.Dip in Art & Design Education and last September I returned to start a part time MA in Social Practice & the Creative Environment. A course I am throughly enjoying!
I currently run LuckyRainbowDesigns on Etsy on a part-time basis which I set up in 2009. Throughout my time in college, my friends and I would buy handmade cards for family etc but I always found them to be really expensive and always found myself saying "I could do better than that!". Years into college I told myself I'd set up a card shop and call it LuckyRainbowDesigns but it wasn't until I made a wedding card for a friends wedding in 2009 did it really begin to take off! Everyone kept telling me "you should sell your cards!". When I discovered Etsy, I knew it was the perfect platform for me.
How do you find selling on Etsy?
If I'm honest, I'll say that alot of my sales come from outside of Etsy and that is mainly down to word of mouth and all my amazing work colleagues in the University of Limerick buying my cards for their friends and family. I've only ever sold to America or Ireland and have no idea why I've never gotten sales in the UK seeing as it's only "across the water!" but then again like so many other parts of Etsy, there are lots of card makers - I'm only a drop in the ocean.
Overall, I do love my little shop and I do day dream about making it my full time job. I take alot of inspiration from other products and have learned alot chatting to others in the forums and of course from the Etsy Ireland team too!
In fact, I love the etsy Ireland family and I've made some great friends through the whole process! I've also been very proud to have worked alongside those (shout out to Ruth of NiceDay Designs) who have volunteered their time to work in the Etsy Ireland Pop-Up Shop in Limerick - it's been a very enjoyable and successful experience.
Describe your artistic process?
Mmmm, that is a difficult question for me! I am very sporadic, I can go head first into my craft room and make great item after great item and sell them all in no time! However in saying that I can also go in and get no inspiration what so ever to the point where it frustrates me! That's usually the time when tea is needed and a few choccie biscuits too!
I'd also say that I suffer from having a short attention span in that I like to change all the time. It's the same in my full time job, I like to try out different things during the day and get easily bored by working on the one task.
Future goals or ambitions?
So many....so,so many that I think about it on a daily basis! I'm an avid list maker and I've lost count the amount of times that I've tried to sit down and get my life in order! Only last night (at 2am when I couldn't sleep!) I was setting myself a "two year project" where by I give myself two years to get the perfect life / work balance. For now and for me I think it's important to concentrate and be grateful for the good things like a wonderful boyfriend, a free roof over my head (Yup, you read right, I get a free house as part of my job, but I'll tell you about that another day!), no health worries and a craft room full to the brim of crafty supplies!....BUT if you really wanted me to pin down a few ambitions I'd say "find the perfect, creative job, in the most perfect, creative city (think NYC!)"
What does handmade mean to you?
Handmade to me means someone, somewhere took time, patience, effort and love to make something worthwhile that they feel is important and needed in this world. Only today I received two packages from America and Korea from two etsy sellers and the time they took to pack their little items and send them to me was just...beautiful! One even popped a lollipop into the package and each wrote a lovely note....need I say more!
Finally, any words of wisdom?
Ohhh I don't think I'm old enough to part with any words of wisdom but I will say this...Do what you love and love what you do!
(I'm a sucker for a positive quote now and again!)
LuckyRainbow Links
Twitter: @LRainbowDesigns
Firstly thanks so much Rebecca for your part in the Pop up shop! Loved that you interviewed yourself..and it was a really good read!
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to notice there are a lot of insomniacs among us still working away at 2am...
Hello to somebody else who's tried and tried to get her life in order! I'm just sitting here, trying to set new goals and resolutions once again...like getting to bed before 2am, lol.
ReplyDeleteLove your interview - it's so full of life and energy!
Thank you for putting so much time and love into the pop-up shop!
Aw Rebecca this reads exactly how you talk, I could hear your voice while I was reading it!!
ReplyDeleteI think the new question about etsy is a really good idea...lots of people feel they are alone if etsy isn't working out to be all that they imagined, so it will be great to hear the different responses to this
HA!!! That's so funny Ruth!! - it probably sounded like me blabbering away! :)
ReplyDeleteAny takers for the next tea and a chat....g'wan!