Meet the Boomers!

This week I would like to introduce to you, Liv from The Filigree Garden and Rescued Beauty.

1. What is/are the name(s) of your shop(s)?

The Filigree Garden and Rescued Beauty

2. What kinds of items do you sell ?

The Filigree Garden offers handmade jewelry and accessories created with a combination of new and vintage/recycled components. Rescued Beauty sells vintage and recycled/thrifted beads, fabric, jewelry odds and ends, crafting and sewing notions.

3. How long have you been engaged in your art/craft?

I have been sewing and crafting all of my life but I have been working on jewelry in earnest for only a short time.I tend to get into a new craft intensely at the beginning, trying to absorb a lot of information all at once.

4. Do you consider yourself a hobbyist or a professional craftsperson?

I am a semi-professional hobbyist-craftsperson. The definition changes depending on how I feel on any given day!

5. What inspires you?

I am inspired by the beauty of nature. Flowers, leaves and animals often come into my creations in some way. I am also inspired by being around other creative people, such as I have found on Etsy .

6. Please share with us what a typical day is like in your workshop or studio

There is no typical day. I don't even go into my workroom on a regular basis, which is often a problem. I squeeze work time in between family,volunteer and household duties, especially in the summer and fall when I have a large vegetable garden to tend. I make notes and sketches for new designs while I am doing other things or working at the computer, so I always have some project in the back of my mind. My work table is often cluttered with many different projects going on simultaneously. Periodically I will get in a mood to wipe the table clean and start fresh. At that time, I will take everything off of the work surface, put everything away, and set up the supplies to work on one or two of the most pressing projects.

7. What keeps you company while you're working on a project?

My lap top is usually running. If I work late into the night, I will have a TV on, playing reruns of sit-coms I missed when they were on first time. Or I may have the Etsy forums page open so I can check in on team conversations. During the day I may play music on the lap top if I can't have the windows open. Otherwise I will just listen to the sounds of the trees and birds outside.

8. What is your favorite 'task' related to your art/craft?

Designing and coming up with new ideas is the most enjoyable part of any craft for me.

9. What is your least favorite 'task' related to your art/craft?

I hate marketing myself, especially in person, which I tend not to do. My next least favorite task is editing photos and listing items because they are time-consuming.

10. What are some of the venues you use to promote your shop/ware? (Do you blog? To which teams do you belong? If you use other sites, which do you use? etc.)

As I said above, I don't like marketing myself and I don't do enough of it, which is a problem for someone who wants to earn money from a craft! I have accounts at TalentedDatabase, IndiePublic, and Flickr. Besides the Etsy shops, I also have a shop at iCraft which is a Canadian site similar to Etsy. The URL is: http://www.icraft.ca/the_filigree_garden . I spend most of my social time at Etsy where I belong to three teams: BBEST (Boomers and Beyond Street Team), Trashion, and NEST (New England Street Team). I dohave a blog at http://thefiligreegarden.com/blog/ . I enjoy writing and taking photographs, so blogging has fulfilled that creative need very nicely, even if I don't post very often!

11. Tell us about afunny, strange or unusual situation related to your craft that you found yourself in.

Sorry I am really drawing a blank on this today!

12. Tell us something about you that we wouldn't necessarily know by talking to you in the forums.

I design web sites as another side job. We've been home-schooling for the past 10 years.

13. What's your favorite book and why, favorite movie and why, favorite kind of music?

I tend to read non-fiction now more than I ever when I was younger.So my current favorite (as in "most referenced") books are subject-driven books on gardening, crafting or philosophical topics. A book that really moved me was "The Gift of the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. It really spoke to me about finding peace and moving on from one stage of life to another.

I don't really have a favorite movie. I don't see a lot of movies until they are on television. I do enjoy comedies and romances in general-movies that leave me with a feeling of hope and optimism.

In music my tastes are all over the board and vary by day and mood. I tend to listen to Native American online radio stations or new age music while I'm working on jewelry if I want something calming. In the car I like pop, rock, jazz and new age or "oldies" from the 70's and 80's. (When did they become "old"??)

14. Would you care to share any 'words of wisdom' with other aspiring artists or crafters?

Oh, the tough question is last! I am still learning and being inspired by others, so I would say never stop learning and being open to looking at project from different angles; receive inspiration from everywhere. I often get caught up in worrying about designing things that will sell (when I stress out about money), which takes me away from what I enjoy making. This is something I would say to AVOID doing! The old adage of first doing what you love is still the best.

Please leave comments on this blog for this versatile artist, she would love to hear from you!