Showing posts with label Morrisville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Morrisville. Show all posts

Monday, March 23, 2009

Local Featured Seller: sweetsparrow

Who are you?
Sarah B. Hyde of Sweet Sparrow

Where are you located?
I live in Morrisville, North Carolina

What is your favorite place to visit in the "triangle"?
I love
Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary. It was the first outdoor spot my husband and I visited when we moved down from Vermont, and it gave me that same feeling as the woods back home. Peace and tranquility!

What do you create?
I create things I would use myself such as handbags, accessories, clothing, and home decor items that bring beauty to your space.

Why did you choose your shop name?
When I started sewing 3 years ago, I knew I wanted a shop but wasn't sure how to market what I was making because I wasn't really into anything real specific. I have always loved birds and at the time was watching them out my window quite often. There was a pair of sparrows (male and female) that would come to our feeder and were so cute together. I always called them "sweet" so the idea just popped into my head to name the store Sweet Sparrow after them. I loved the combo of the "S's" and it was just a pretty little name. I am so glad that a Sparrow is my logo and a big part of my shop. I love creating bird-themed items because I know there are so many other people out there that love our feathered friends.

What is your next project going to be?
My second "Sense & Sensibility" Regency Dress. I have been making my own clothes for a few months now, and I am really getting in to it. I LOVE "Period Clothing" and Jane Austen flicks are my muse for these creations. I hope to sell them once I have made a handful. My first dress was white with a sky blue sash, and the next will be blue with an oatmeal sash. Can't wait to find a place to wear them! Is anyone having a tea party?? ;)

What inspires you?
Patterns inspire me. And I'm not talking about Simplicity patterns, I am talking about graphic art that has been made into fabulous bolts of eye-catching fabric. I collect them like they are going out of style! I tend to lean more towards the "Mod" style of fabric. I can't tell you how many times I have made a handmade top just to have my husband say, "Hmm...very sixties looking!"
My sewing closet (yes, closet) is chock-full of fabric I love and hope to put to good use.
I am also inspired by other people -- I feel like every good idea is a branch off of another person's good idea and so on. We all inspire each other and then apply our own artistic abilities towards making something "ours".

Where do you create?
I create in our apartment. I have a designated walk-in closet that houses my fabric, sewing machine, ironing board, and tons of other craft materials (I am a "Jane of all trades, master of none". I try to keep it neat, but it is more what I like to call an "organized mess." My supplies often end up growing legs and meandering out into the TV room and plopping themselves wherever they will (Hubby doesn't really love that!). I am rather messy when I create because I am so into what I'm doing, I will cut a piece out of a yard of fabric and then chuck the remainder over my shoulder and keep going. There are scads of thread, needles (ouch!), and scraps littering my area! My ideal sewing room would be huge with massive storage bins and labels and bolts of fabric neatly lined up, but that is far off!

What are your goals?
Personal: To work from home or work part-time somewhere I love while raising my children (don't have any yet).
Business: To create beautiful crafts that women love and want for themselves and their friends and family. I would love to have a small boutique or co-own a shop with another crafter.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Featured Seller: Across the Pond

Who are you?
My name is Casey and my shop is Across the Pond.

Why did you choose your shop/company name?
My husband and I met in London while I was living there for a semester in college. He followed me home, and I kept him. :) We've been married ten years now and we have two beautiful children. London is my second home and so many wonderful things got started there, and I felt I wanted to acknowledge that in my Etsy endeavors.
Where are you located?
Morrisville, NC

What do you create?
A little bit of everything! In my shop I have jewelry (mostly rings) and paper goods. I also love sewing, scrapbooking, photography, and pottery (although I haven't been to the studio since before the baby was born and I'm so out of practice I think I will need to retake my classes!)

What is your favorite place to visit in the Triangle?
My husband and I like to take the kids to Crabtree Lake, Duke Gardens, and the Museum of Life and Sciences in Durham (I could live in that butterfly house). When we get the chance to have a date night, my husband and I usually go to MacGregor Village and eat sushi at Wasabi and go to one of the many bars around there to have a few drinks and hang out together.

What is the most time consuming part of your craft/art?
The most time-consuming part is shopping for supplies with my 8 month old!

What is your favorite place to sell your items?
Etsy is my favorite, because it's the only place I'm selling right now. :) I have to keep things on a smaller scale right now because of family obligations, and I see Etsy as a first step on my crafty business journey. As time goes on, I'd like to slowly add more to my Etsy shop and branch out into other venues. I'd love to get in on the craft fair scene soon!

What online activities have brought you the most noticeable success?
My business still has a lot of room to grow, but I have come a long way! I'm so glad to have joined the Triangle Street team because you all are so sweet and have done so much promoting. Ya'll are Treasury Queens! I have also found that posting in the forums at Etsy is helpful, as well as blogging and chatting. My shop is listed in my signature at all the parenting sites I post on. I have also been featured on a few blogs. And all this is fun, so it doesn't really feel like I'm working at promoting my shop!

--If you'd like to read more about Casey's life and work, check out her blog.