Since it's already mid-month in March, I realized that I am a couple of weeks behind with my 'What a Busy Month' post for February 2012.  Oops, my bad. 

As you can see, February was a busy month for my biz.  Also, I made 20 new sets of 2-ribbon braided ribbon barrettes with brand-new ribbon color combinations.  They are bright, bold, and colorful! And... you will fall in love with them, I already have!

Here is a list of new ribbon color combinations I have added to Retro80s Etsy shop:

1. Purple
2. Red
3. Red and Hot Pink
4. Hot Pink
5. Hot Pink and Orange
6. Orange
7. Hot Pink and Purplish Pink
8. Orange and Light Orange
9. Yellow
10. Yellow and Light Yellow
11. Green
12. Green and Light Green
13. Green and Yellow Green
14. Purple and Green
15. Navy and Hot Pink
16. Coral and Hot Pink
17. Purplish Pink and Light Pink
18. Lavender (Purplish Blue)
19. Bright Blue
20. Bright Blue and Light Blue

Twitter List

On December 20, 2011, I created a Twitter list for Meet This Handmade Artist.  You can start following all the artists & designers that I interviewed for Meet This Handmade Artist blog series on Twitter!

As you guessed it, 2012 is already here! I thought I would review all the interviews for Meet This Handmade Artist from the year of 2011.  Some of you know that I started this blog series on October 13, 2011; I really enjoyed interviewing all these talented artists & designers and I hope to continue interviewing more talented artists throughout this year. 

Here is the list of all talented artists & designers I interviewed between October to December 2011. 

You can click on these links (and on the images too!) to learn more about these artists and their arts & crafts.

1. Ann of Amg-Arts

2. Susan of Red Bess Bonney Creations

3. Carrie of Cherry Blossom Tattoo

4. RubyClover

5. Carol of Quirky'nBerkeley and TeenyTinyEnvelopes

6. Kelly of Retroeighties Accessories & Jewelry

7. Susan Moloney of Susan Moloney, Susarto, MoloneyArt

8. Lily of Petal to Petal

Kate of Bridget Fainne-handcrafted Irish jewelry by Kate Firns

Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/bridgetfainne

1. What do you make (or specialize in)?
I handcraft Irish/Celtic jewelry using Irish coins that are no longer in circulation due to the use of Euros. I will pretty much mount an Irish coin to anything! I love the fact that Ireland chose to make every coin look the same on the front AND that they chose that each denomination reverse side theme would feature animals and birds since Agriculture was and still is essential to the economy of Ireland.

2. How did you first get started in your craft?
My oldest daughter went to an all girls private school and received scholarship money to attend and in her 2 year the school sponsored a craft fair where the girls could make items to sell and the money would go to the scholarship fund and she wanted to participate so she and I made a few earrings. She sold out the first day and made over $200 for her school! And it just sorta grew from there. Following fall I participated in the school annual 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ craft fair. And then started selling on Etsy but I was still busy with my younger daughter who played club-soccer year round. About two years ago I decide to get serious and started participating in craft fairs and do more on Etsy.

Since my daughter chose to give up soccer to concentrate more on her dancing this past year I have been able to do many more shows and really concentrate on my Etsy shop. I have always loved 50’s vintage jewelry so early on I went to garage sales/flea markets and estate sales and purchase old broken jewelry. I originally took the jewelry apart to use in my Irish Rosary Bracelet but soon started repairing the large multi strand necklaces to sell. At first I had all my jewelry in one Etsy shop and it just didn’t seem to work and I think it confused customers on just what I was selling.  So a year ago I split the shop into two shops. All the vintage items going over to ALL THINGS DANDY.  I still use ALOT of vintage in my Irish jewelry, truly making them ‘one of a kind’ pieces.

3. What inspires you?
Almost anything! But I do so love the lush greens of Ireland and all the ancient carvings on places like New Grange. Oh and all myths of the Celtics. 

4. What is your favorite color combination?
I love the autumn colors, amber, coppers etc but my customers not so much.  I had to have a friend remind me that I never did anything in blue, which is her favorite color.  Her comment made me realize there are so many gorgeous colors.

5. What is your most popular handmade item(s) from your online shop(s)?
I sell a lot of Irish Coin Birth Year necklace.  It's funny; when I first started making them I was selling a lot of 1980's necklace. Which I suppose mothers were buying for their children. Now it is a lot of 1950s, which I think everyone is buying for themselves. I find it very interesting that even in years of the coins there are trends and my most popular Irish Rosary Bracelet is the St Teresa Bracelet.  

6. If you had to use three words to describe yourself, what would it be?
   #1 Scattered, too many ideas and things I want to do (being terribly truthful here. LOL)
   #2 accepting of all people/cultures
   #3 curious about EVERYTHING!

7. What superpower would you most like to have?
Be a jumper-like the movie, Ireland in the morning for the solstice, lunch on the Spanish Step in Rome, dinner in Paris.

8. What is your favorite thing(s) about being a small business owner?
Working in my PJ.............seriously, that everyday is a challenge - to create more - to learn more.

9. What are you planning to do with your business in the future?
Expand into more men's items. Do more Irish festivals, they are so much fun.

10. Do you have any upcoming news to share with the readers about your business such as upcoming events, new items, sales, etc.?
I am excited to be doing a new craft fair in a new by town and will post on my FB as the information becomes available. Look for new men's items such as money clips. I have been so blessed to be able to acquire a good amount of coins that I can now do a coin of the month necklace sale.

11. Where else can we find you online? (Website, Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, etc.)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bridget-Fainne/132692890113379
I do have a twitter but have not been good about posting..........New Years resolution?

Lily of Petal to Petal

Blog: petaltopetal.blogspot.com

Shop(s): Kwilla, Kilkenny- http://www.kwilla.eu/
Garrendenny Lane Interiors (sold in packs of 6)- http://www.garrendennylane.com/
2020 Art Gallery, Cork City- http://www.2020artgallery.com/
Crawford Art Gallery Shop, Cork City- http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/shop.html
The Irish Design Basket- http://www.thedesignbasket.com/petaltopetal

1. What do you make (or specialize in)?
I am a surface designer and create imagery and pattern that can be applied to a number of different surfaces. I mainly use thinly nibbed pens or rapidograph pen and the subject matter consists of very girly things- flowers, hearts, women's profiles and so on. As a side project, I paint on canvas and illustrate and work on the surface. I have recently launched my first range of greeting cards that are stocked locally and nationally.

2. How did you first get started in your craft?
I have always been creative, and come from a creative family. Art was always encouraged in my house and we always had a large and varied supply of artistic supplies. I moved to the city after finishing school and just decided to buy a large piece of card and a few thinly-nibbed pens. I sat down one night and just kept drawing and it didn't stop! That night was the birth of my pattern 'Flower bomb', which I use in so much of my work.

3. What inspires you?
Historically, the Arts and Crafts Movement and it's patrons such as William Morris and Charles Renne Mackintosh. Daily, so many different things inspire me- intricate detail in flowers, illustration, architecture...anything goes! My incredibly talented boyfriend a.k.a the illustrator Weathered Robot is also very inspirational and is a reminder of how important it is to have your own unique style.

4. What is your favorite color combination?
I like working in black and white as it shows the detail in my illustration. When I do use colour though, I am usually drawn to strong visual colours like hot pink. In painting, I love using warm earthy tones like browns and gold, which reflect my style of dress. I wear big wooly knits, jumper dresses and cardigans with piles of jewellery.

5. What is your most popular handmade item(s) from your online shop(s)?
'Lady of the Flowers' has been my most popular piece and I was lucky that it got so much exposure. My cards are quite popular, as people are inclined to buy little inexpensive tokens like cards.

6. What is your favorite thing(s) about being a small business owner?
You have to really push yourself to achieve anything, especially as small businesses have to invest in themselves financially and that is a challenge. This means that things like positive feedback mean the world. It is always a great feeling when something sells, it's a great feeling of support and encouragement as it's always hard to judge your own work- the only way that I know if something I've made is good is if it sells- I'm my own worst critic :)!

7. What are you planning to do with your business in the future?
I am hoping to get into surface design full-time. There are so many things I want to do, I don't think there will ever be enough time in the world! I always have several projects on the go at once.

8. Do you have any upcoming news to share with the readers about your business such as upcoming events, new items, sales, etc.?
I am currently exhibiting in the Christmas exhibition 'No Time Like The Present' at 2020 Art Gallery in Cork City, which is running until 24th December. I will also be selling some pieces from a new project at Elsa & Gogo, a vintage pop up shop, which opens for 2 weeks in Merchants Quay shopping centre in Cork City on 5th December.

9. Where else can we find you online?
http://petaltopetal.carbonmade.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Petal-to-Petal/185301594877242
http://twitter.com/#!/PetaltoPetal

Kelly of Retroeighties Accessories & Jewelry

Blog: http://modishandretro.virb.com/blog

Shop(s): www.retro80s.etsy.com (Etsy shop) & en.dawanda.com/retro80s (Dawanda shop) & www.bouf.com/retro80s (Bouf shop)

1. What do you make (or specialize in)?
I specialize in handmade retro-inspired hair accessories (braided ribbon barrettes and beaded bobby pins) and jewelry for women and girls.  I just started adding earrings to my Etsy shop – there will be more to come for the year 2012.

2. How did you first get started in your craft?
I was always into the arts and crafts since I was a kid and did a lot of different things such as making jewelry, tie-dying T-shirts, drawing, painting, and the list goes on.  I took art classes while I was in schools and colleges.

I started making braided ribbon barrettes in 2003 after seeing it on TV show “I love the 80s” on VH1 Classic.  It really brought me back great childhood memories - I immediately started making more and more braided ribbon barrettes because I really enjoy making them. 

Beaded bobby pins came to me 4 years later when I was searching for bobby pins that are suitable for young professional women to wear to work or to after-work social gatherings such as cocktail parties, etc.  To my surprise, there weren’t many options to choose from at that time.  So I decided to make my own bobby pins matching my personality, style, and wardrobe.  Then I ended up liking them so much that I decided to continue making them for others as well.

3. What inspires you?
My customers.  I always get different kinds of requests for hair accessories and I love doing custom orders!  Also, the color and design of supplies I work with inspire me to come up with new designs.

4. What is your favorite color combination?
Oh, boy! I love all kinds of colors.  As for now, I would say… Navy and Kelly Green, Lime Green and Light Gray, Camel (light tan) and Gold, Hot Pink and Neon Orange, Purple and Turquoise, and the list goes on.

5. What is your most popular handmade item(s) from your online shop(s)?
This year it’s braided ribbon barrettes.  Last year and the year before that was beaded bobby pins.  It depends on current fashion trends and forecasts.

6. If you had to use three words to describe yourself, what would it be?
Creative, Easygoing, Workaholic. :)

7. What superpower would you most like to have?
I wish I could fly like SuperGirl or transport like Harry Potter or drive a flying car like Marty McFly so I can visit families and friends in different cities, states, and countries and of course, there are craft events I would love to attend as well.

8. What is your favorite thing(s) about being a small business owner?
Flexible hours. :)

9. What are you planning to do with your business in the future?
I plan on adding more wedding items and jewelry pieces to my online shops in near future, and also start participating for upcoming craft shows for the year of 2012.  Can’t wait!

10. Do you have any upcoming news to share with the readers about your business such as upcoming events, new items, sales, etc.?
I have been adding new items to my Etsy shop for the Holidays – mostly beaded bobby pins and braided ribbon barrettes.  There will be a couple of new product lines coming real soon, which are braided ribbon barrettes with beads on top and mini beaded bobby pins!

Speaking of today's date (November 18th), there is a local jewelry boutique named Ziabird in Wilmington, North Carolina carrying my beaded bobby pins.  They are getting more new beaded bobby pins from me this afternoon!  Be sure to stop by their shop if you are in town.

11. Where else can we find you online?
Website – http://modishandretro.virb.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/shop.retroeighties
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/modishandretro
Google+ - https://plus.google.com/110042636074595454796/posts
Tumblr – http://modishandretro.tumblr.com/
Behance Network - http://www.behance.net/modishandretro