A DaWanda Seller's Christmas Holiday

The Christmas Holidays - so long expected, so yearningly looked forward to - Getting away is the key-word here. A change of scene.

So this is where I'll be off (photos taken early November, this year), as soon as possible, to be away from my day job, deep in the heart of the heart of the French country.
Apart from champagne and sweet as well as savoury delights (mandatory, you understand), there will be a lot of photographing and knitting involved, and hopefully a little time to experiment with new stuff - I'm quite curious about resin and look forward to trying out a few ideas.

By the time the End of Year holidays have arrived, the work on other people's celebrations and presents has long been done, so it's also a good time to focus on those excellent resolutions that will make me a better crafter next year... Not sure my holidays will be long enough to figure that one out!

One change I do intend to make is to make this blog bilingual - but I still need to decide on how exactly... Suspense!

A "small" wish for the New Year, if I may : let DaWanda improve and grow and develop, and let our enthusiasm and work and efforts be rewarded!

A very Happy Crafty New Year to you all, DaWandians and others!

Holiday Pinboard Extravaganza on DaWanda

Time to get your vote in for our special, holiday season contest.

Here's the link to choose your favourite among 13 pinboards in Silver, Gold and Crystal:

http://en.dawanda.com/topic/18/14245


Seven prizes to choose from this time! There should be at least one to your taste:

And the Winner is...

Maginette's list got exactly 12 votes - if you can believe that!









And the winning voter is Mimymeuh who was selected by my very own "Mimi"...

VOTE AND WIN!!!

The contest is now online.
Go to
the DaWanda Forum

Do a little Virtual Window Shopping by browsing our DaWanda pinboards, vote for one of the 12 pinboards and then pick up your chosen prize - you just might win it!

You need to be registered on the site in order to vote and enter the draw, but it's a fast and painless procedure.

Something's cooking - Preview!

A small team of Dawanda sellers from all over Europe has been planning to organize a contest on the site.
The shameless promotional purpose is to encourage as many people as possible to browse all over the site. To encourage this, we're organizing a vote on our pinboards of favorite items, with a prize for a randomly chosen voter.
If all goes well - that is if enough sellers get involved, this might turn into a monthly contest.
Here is what I plan to contribute for a prize :

(a black pearl on siver-plated cable with a sterling silver hook and rings)
I will post here when the competition is actually launched...

Designer Feature - SLACKSTITCHES

Meet Margaret Hamilton, of Slackstitches, and her irresistible militant bears!




Margaret is a deft hand at sewing, crochetting and knitting, as well as an enthusiastic blogger, as you'll realize if you look up her blog, her site and her Dawanda and Etsy shops.
http://slackstitches.blogspot.com/
www.slackstitches.com
en.dawanda.com/shop/slackstitches
slackstitches.etsy.com


1) What is your favourite word?
Create

2) What is / are your favourite material(s) / fabric(s)?
Natural fibres such as cotton, wool, silk. They are so much easier to work with than many manmade fibres.





3) Do you have a favourite colour?
I have several, mostly natural colours, but I am mostly drawn to purples when choosing my clothing.

4) What good are your five senses to you?
Nose, often picks up the smells that indicate things are off. Doesn’t like the copious amounts of artificial perfumes that people insist on wearing. Loves natural perfumes.
Eyes, constantly observing everything.
Ears, always listening for new ideas. Innocent conversations of others can be so inspiring.
Touch, absolutely vital. My fingertips pick up when things are not right with what I am working on. They also enjoy the tactile experience of different textiles .
Taste, no microwave and ready meals for me. My creation spills over to the kitchen and I love the taste of real food.

5) Why the need to make things?
It has always been an integral part of me. Whether workroom, kitchen, watching t.v. I love the experience of will it work? and then seeing the different stages and marvelling how the finished project is often quite different from the original intention. My bears and friends always seem to create their own personality as they grow.



6) What is your most ambitious project at the moment?
Creating enough bears and friends for a four day Christmas craft fair.

7) What is your pet (non-creative!) addiction?
Politics. Not just the party political stuff but the day to day stuff that affects us all on a daily basis. My ultimate hope is that we can all be more civil and considerate of each other regardless of what part of the earth we inhabit.

Designer Feature - SARA'S TEXTURE CRAFTS

Meet Sara Millis of Sara's Texture Crafts.

Her highly textured jewellery is soft even to the eye, and she combines a very distinctive brand of creativity with a delicate vintage look.

She is also very active on Dawanda and the initiator of the Dawanda Shop Directory on blogspot:

http://dawandashopdirectory.blogspot.com/


Look up her web site, blog and Indiepublic page for more photos and for links to her shops.

http://www.SarasTextureCrafts.fusiveweb.co.uk

http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com

http://indiepublic.ning.com/profile/SARASTEXTURECRAFTS






Meanwhile, here are her answers to my 7 inquisitive questions:


1. What is your favourite word?

Texture! It describes so many sensual feelings and emotions.


2. What is/are your favourite material(s)/fabric(s)?

I love any fabric with a textural weave, so tweeds and herringbones, to velvets and flowing silk.


3. Do you have a favourite colour?

At the moment I love shades of pink or green, which you can see from my shops!


4. What good are your five senses to you?

The five senses are extremely important to me and my whole being is effected by my reaction to each sensual experience. I am at my happiest when each is challenged and treated with love and at my weakest when a sense is violated. For work I use my senses to create and in my personal life to show love to those who are close.


5. Why the need to make things?

I think creation is in my nature! I am restless and am always inventing things in my head, so I create to let it out and save me from lying awake all night!


6. What is your most ambitious project at the moment?

My most ambitious project this year is turning my brand ‘Sara’s Texture Crafts’ into a successful business… This is me out on my own for the first time, so I am nervous and very proud of what I have achieved so far.



7. What is your pet (non-creative!) addiction?

Chocolate! I enjoy watching fancy chocolate being made and of course to eat it!

DEAL!

Free shipping worldwide in my Dawanda shop (exclusively) until next Sunday 23rd Sept. 8 p.m. (Paris Time).

Self-Inflicted Questionnaire

I would like to use this little questionnaire of mine to feature some designer friends on this blog. So I thought I had to answer it myself first.
1) What is your favourite word?
Idiosyncrasy
2) What is / are your favourite material / fabric?
Pearls come first, with also a soft spot for aquamarine, garnet and peridot - I don't actually mind emeralds, diamonds and gold... linen (the best excuse in the world for wearing wrinkled clothes) and cashmere (which feels like being cuddled by a cuddly toy)
3) Do you have a favourite colour?
Not really. There are some I don't like, of course. But I will need this or that, depending on - Black is comfortable, red is indispensable, and greens are soothing.
4) What good are your five senses to you?
I think and memorize and assess with my eyes. I enjoy life with touch and taste; when these two are low, so am I. My nose is, as often in women, too sensitive for my own good, what with living in a big city... but I think it tells me where I am and if I like it wherever; if I can smell cut grass or the sea, I am fine. My hearing - well my hearing is for music, and it is painfully susceptible to neighbourhood nuisance...
5) Why the need to make things?
Still trying to shape the world into my own - I guess. Some people might call me a control freak, but I like to make this streak into something positive...
6) What is your most ambitious project at the moment?
Apart from turning my life over (again) and opening a concept café place (hence the name of my shop), I have a turquoise necklace in mind...
7) What is your pet, non-creative addiction?
Shoes - I have this very volatile relationship with them - too many of them - always wearing the same, the reasonable ones. I can only be truly happy barefoot ( and Zola Budd made complete sense to me), only wore my first pair of shoes whan I was two - but they are to me fascinating figures of beauty. No, it's not a fetisch - not really - I am not interested in other people's...