Internet Artisan Interview - Sunshine Daydreamz

I'd like to give Beth, owner of Sunshine Daydreamz, a big newbie welcome to the Etsybloggers team. She joined the team about 3 months ago, but has been operating her Etsy shop since March 2008 - about the same time I joined. And it's full of gemstones and vintage jewelry... but I'll let her tell you all about it:

• What's the name of your business/shop?

Sunshine Daydreamz Jewelry

Do you have a registered domain name and/or a blog?
My blog:






My Etsy shop:

• What type of handmade products do you sell?

I sell hand crafted jewelry for women and men, with a California touch. Most of my designs feature gemstones with turquoise being a favorite. I also love working with different metals, hammering metal is very therapeutic!

• Show us a piece you recently finished

The Inner Circle Turquoise with Hammered and Twisted Copper Brown Leather (just listed)

• What are you working on right now? Any sketches?

Right now I am working on more twisted metal pieces. I don’t usually sketch out my designs. Sometimes I will write down ideas - they seem to come to me in the middle of the night.

• If you have a website or blog, what do you use for advertising?

For advertising, I have used Facebook Ads with some success and some shameless self promotion on sites like Twitter.

• Which online selling vendors do you use? What do you like best about each one?

I mostly sell my jewelry online at Etsy. I love the artsy look of Etsy, and the community interaction really excites me. I also use eBay for my men’s leather necklaces. I have been selling them for years on eBay and figure, why not? I think men are comfortable with the format eBay has.

• Are you involved in social networking? What's your favorite and why? If you're not involved, you must have a good reason!

I use Twitter and Facebook. My favorite is Facebook because I have found some long lost friends. I have also been able to re-connect with cousins that I haven’t seen in ages. It’s kind of like an ongoing family reunion!

• If you have a website or blog, tell us about your favorite widget.

On my blog I use the Etsy Mini widget. It is easy to install, and automatically updates with my newest listings and featured items.

• What do your avatars look like?

I use the same avatar on all of my sites. It’s a picture of the sunset over the Pacific Ocean in my hometown in Southern California.

• All of us can use a helpful business hint once a week. What's yours?

I think a good business hint is to keep an open mind. Being open minded will allow you to grow your product line and your customer base. Experimenting with different materials can really spark your creativity! Take classes and try something new. Many jewelry designers forget about men. But can you honestly say men don’t wear jewelry? I love the look of surfer type necklaces, or chunky rock star bracelets on guys!

• Do you have a "modus operandi" for computing the price of a handmade object? Tell us your formula?

I don’t have a set formula. I take into account the price of materials, how complicated it was for me to make the piece, and what I might pay if I were the one buying.

• We'd love to see your little corner of the world, where you create.

I mostly work on my dining room table, with the family milling around me. On nice sunny days I take my designing out to my patio to create among flowers, palm trees and birds. Most of my supplies are kept in a rolling cart so I can be mobile!

• Where do you see your artwork in one year? Any plans in the works?

My goal is to grow my Etsy shop, and to get some jewelry pieces into some of the surf shops and boutiques locally. As far as designs go, I am taking it day by day, keeping an open mind!

• OK, time for the storybeader to pick a favorite!
  

I really like Beth's surfer style heishe necklace (the one that sold, above) but if I had to pick something in her shop right now, I'd say the Mother Earth Gemstone Necklace with that gigantic citrine pendant. Eeww Boy!