Etsy Ireland - New Blog Co-Ordinator

BIG HELLO AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERS!!!

It's just turned 2014 and I have taken on the blog co-ordinator role for Etsy Ireland. On behalf of the admin team and readers of the blog, I would like to thank Rebecca for all her hard work during her time as Blog Co-ordinator. It will be hard to follow-up on all her great work, but I will give it my best!

Me - Shen Wong

About Me
Born in Hong Kong, my family moved to Ireland when I was a toddler. Within a couple of months here, I won the title of Cutest baby in Drogheda of 1982. After my win, we moved away from the glitz and fame to North Dublin.

Recently I set up my own business selling handmade jewellery via Etsy at Shen Wong Jewellery. Whats sets my work apart is the drive that I have to succeed and be different. 'Wired by Shen' is a jewellery wrapping technique that I developed. This technique is unique to my jewellery, it not only eliminates links between beads, but gives my products a polished finish. Read my press release here.



Etsy Ireland Blog
With the new year, I thought I might added one or two new resources. Before I do, I would like to assess the interest. Let me know if you think either of the below would be of interest. I am open to suggestions and ideas.

Ideas:

- Updated Competition Post
List of competitions submitted by team members. This way we can all enter and help spread the word about our members. Win-Win!

 - Markets and opportunities Post
Updated with links to markets and pop-up shops around Ireland

To read my weekly posts, just click on 'Hot Topics' on the left of the page. Starting from next week I will post the following topics. Based on comments and feedback from readers, we will decide on future topics. 

Ideas for Posts:
- How to get government allowance/support (STEA etc).
- Recognition for your craft, how to register with the Crafts Council of Ireland 
- Social media - what's available
- How to draw attention to your market stand

Feel free to connect with me as I would love to chat!

Shen Wong

Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/ShenWongCo 
Twitter      https://twitter.com/shenwongco
Blog          http://blog.shenwong.com/

Crafty Inspirations for the New Year

2013 art calendar by Makissima

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all team members and craft lovers. Anne-Marie of Handmade by Amo'r here. I'd like to share a few inspirational ideas for the start of 2013.

A NOD TO 'THE GATHERING'

One of the most significant happenings in Ireland this year is of course The Gathering, a year-long celebration of Ireland, homecoming events and the Irish Welcome. Perhaps we can come up with small ways we can individually, and/or as a team, celebrate with Irish Etsy people abroad?

Claddagh ring Irish language card by Irish Elements

For instance, I came across this team ‘Auld Irish Artisans’ on Etsy. They are a group of Irish and non-Irish Etsians who love all things about Ireland. A simple idea would be to make cross-team treasuries under the theme and tag of 'The Gathering' to extend a greeting to them. Anyone could do this as an individual member of the team at any time during the year. The more who do it, the merrier! (Don’t know how to make a treasury? See links below for help). 

seaglass fairy born from a crafty exchange across the ocean

Another idea might be to team up with Irish Etsians abroad for mini projects. In 2012 I have been fortunate to make ‘cyber friendships’ with Irish descendants abroad via treasuries, as customers and also through lucky encounters such as with American Irish girl, Joy of Seaglass Lass.  Joy sought some Irish seaglass and I got the chance to experiment with drilled pieces she sent me in exchange. To read about our crafty swap please see link at end of article. Perhaps it will spark ideas for swaps and projects between us and Irish Etsians around the world. Please do post any further ideas that may occur to you in the comments below!

Silver Celtic knot torc pendant by Claddagh Design

In terms of creativity, The Gathering may also provide inspiration for friendship bracelets, mementos, Irish gifts, greeting cards and so on. The possibilities abound.

NETWORKING

Having tentatively networked through the team forums, making treasuries, contributing to this blog, and via the few team meetings I have been able to attend, I have been lucky to find some crafty friends. On a  few occasions I have extended open invites for inspirational/cultural outings for a more relaxed, social meet-up with local team members. Born out of this, I have made two very supportive friends in Mo of Huggleknits and Heli of Heli Creations  and we continue to meet up ourselves on a regular basis for a crafty chat and a day out.

Mo & Heli at the National Botanic Gardens

We’ve had fun beach combing, hill walking, taking photos at the National Botanical Gardens and visiting places of cultural interest such as the Chester Beatty Library. We always come away with fresh inspirations, feedback on our newest creations and a helpful tip or two.  We also promote each other's shops when we post photos of our trips on our blogs or on Facebook. Hopefully in 2013 we will get to go a little further afield and meet other Etsy friends for a day out.

Hello Necklace by Fiore Jewellery

Sticking your neck out to network and meet up can be daunting but I've found it very rewarding.
Why not use the team forums and/or this blog to make contact with team members in your town or area in a similar way?  It's always good to make new crafty friends - and to promote each other too!

GET INVOLVED

On a larger scale, why not make 2013 the year to be more active in the Crafty Ireland team?  Please read the post below from our Team Captain, Sue, calling for volunteers. The roles are filling up fast so don't hesitate! Getting involved is a great way to network and to give something back. According to Etsy Admin, team members who are more active within a team tend to do better saleswise too!

Fleece for hand spinning or needle felting by FEONORcrafts

 JANUARY SPECIFIC

 January is the month for new beginnings, new hobbies, resolutions and early Spring Cleaning. It’s a good time to sell de-stash or set up that supply shop you’ve been thinking about. Why not match your needs to clear out overstock of supplies with someone else’s new hobby and sell your de-stash at a fair, but tempting price?

Garnet & Pearl bracelet by The Crystal Cavern

 The birthstone for January is the garnet, while amethyst is the birthday gem for February. 

Be Mine signed print by Amelie Gagne

Now is also the time to be listing and tagging for Valentines Day and St. Patrick’s Day will be hot on its heels.

Lastly, 2013 is the Chinese year of the snake. Let's hope it's not a slippery one, but a crafty one!!

Free your imagination brooch by Shiny Jane

Wishing you all the best for 2013. May it be a year filled with inspiration, imagination, fortunate encounters and crafty goodness!

RELATED LINKS
TREASURIES, ETSY HELP
SUPPLY SWAP ACROSS THE OCEAN
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
TEAM FORUMS

Happy New Year

Its been a while since I have tapped out a post on my laptop for the Etsy Ireland Blog.  Well, its a New Year and the time has come to say hello again......   So, Hello Again.......

I am not one to make New Year Resolutions, I used to be but I gave that up a long time ago.  So many good intentions never fulfilled...... So, what to do instead!!!!  

I have come across 2 positive alternatives while catching up on my reading over the last week which I have embraced for 2012. 

Firstly, before saying goodbye to 2011 I sat yesterday and wrote down all of the things I achieved during the year and I must say I was surprised at how long the list was.  It included all of my Etsy events, people I met, places I went to, new skills (I tried a bit of weaving for the first time), as well lessons learned from mistakes I made, etc. etc. etc.

Secondly, going forward into the new year I listed a number of new things I would like to try, places to go to, etc a type of bucket list.  I came up with 52, one for each week of the year.  Now I will look forward to planning them but wont be too discouraged if I dont get all of them ticked off the list before the bells ring out for 2013 as they can be added to the following year.

So, why dont you try to do the same - list what you have achieved and gather together what you would like 2012 to bring you. 

I wish you all the best of New Years.  May the Crafting Fairies visit you often and bring you creativity and sales to make this a positive year to remember.

Cheers
Mo
www.huggleknits.etsy.com

It's a New Year, What are your Resolutions?

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that you ate your fill of turkey, sweets and biscuits. But now the new year has rolled around again and lots of people are making resolutions. Every year we all promise ourselves to try harder, and set crazy tasks to complete in the year. Last year I wanted to get 100 listings in each of my shops and to hit 100 sales, thankfully both of those things happen. I also said I would learn how to drive...but as yet I'm have never sat behind the wheel of a car..oops, ah well, maybe this year. Here are some of the things I want to get done this year...and I'd love to hear all of your New Years resolutions too!

Eiffel Tower By Felix McGinley

I would love a holiday, not necessarily to Paris, I'd even settle for a weekend in Galway. It's been years since I had the time or money to take a holiday but this year I really want to get away from everything and give myself a well deserved break. This resolution might go hand in hand with trying to win the lotto though!

Toddler Tom by Miss Aine

I don't have a huge garden, in fact it's more like a decked corridor between my house and my garage, but I've been meaning to plant some flowers for ages. But I don't ever seem to make time for it. I haven't inherited my mothers magical green fingers but maybe this year I'll give it a shot. Even I like to grow some herbs as it's so handy for cooking.

Paddy the Rat-Tanya Bond

This is a rather unusual one, mostly people say things like 'I must work harder', but for myself I have the opposite problem. This is a resolution to spend more time with friends over tasty pints ( I prefer Beamish, but Guinness will do nicely too). I find that there is always a million orders to catch up on and the temptation is to stay locked away in my studio working all the time. But I have a great group of friends that I need to make more time for. Years ago I remember watching an episode of Oprah and she was talking to a man who was a workaholic and she said 'on your death bed you are not gonna wish you spent more time at the office, you will wish you spent more time with your wife and kids, enjoy that time now and don't waste your life working all the time'. It was one of those things that really stuck with me years later.

Jumper Pencil Case-2boos

These next few pieces are about getting organised. Part of having more social time will mean managing my work time better. I bough one of these fab wall organisers from Design Birdie and last year I got one of these sweet pencil cases from 2Boos. This year I will hopefully go full time at Nice Day Designs so things like spread sheets and all other grown up accounting things will have to happen. It's a bit terrifying but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out.

Gaelic Irish Book Page Pencils by Homespun Ireland

2011 Wall-Calendar by Designs Birdie

Home Card by Placed

My boyfriend is currently living down in Cork for college, and that means that my good friend Cecily has moved in to share the house/rent. Having a house mate that isn't my parter has made me much tidier and more considerate to live with, I actually wash the dishes instead of leaving them in the sink! I want to continue with this through the year, and when John moves back I'll try not to get lazy again...I can only promise to try though!