Meet Beadsoul

Lisa, known as Beadsoul is sponsoring our Sneak Attack today.

What started out as a way to create something handmade to give her Mom as a gift, has mushroomed into a love of creating handcrafted jewelry that will take your breath away!

And not only does Lisa make incredible art - she also teaches it! And loves doing it!

I love sharing my knowledge and letting people "learn from my mistakes" and give them shortcuts so they can get right to work on the type of jewelry creations they are interested in. I am inspired every class just by seeing how another person looks at the same materials and creates a whole different piece and to see the "light go on" when they get a concept!

Now, being kind of partial to earrings (ok, an obsession), I just had to show you these!



Be sure to check out Lisa's other exceptional jewelry, and come over and chat with us at our Sneak Attack thread.

Overheard in the Forums on 6/24/10

Normally in this little feature I bring you excited reactions from "victims" of a Sneak Attack, but today I had to share a reaction of another kind - that of first-time Sneak Attack participant, Noelle:  "What fun! Just bought two bars of soap from greenleafsoap. First time I have ever participated in the sneak attack, what a lift for me. Had a totally crappy day; this was a nice way to end it, thinking of someone other than myself for a few minutes. Thanks for the opportunity to participate!"

Thank you, Noelle, for so sweetly reminding us that in helping others, we help ourselves.

-- Annette

Meet Engel

Have you met Linda yet? Linda owns the Etsy shop Engelfelt, and we all call her Engel. Linda is sponsoring today's Sneak Attack at 7pm, and we are looking forward to it, as Linda always comes up with such adorable shops to be our 'victims'.

Linda comes from a family of Danish craftspeople and artists who have all passed on their interest and abilities to the next generations. She was named for her Danish material grandmother - Elisabeth Engel.

In thinking about a name for her Etsy shop, her sister in law actually suggested the Engel part (Engel means "angel" in danish, and I've always collected angels). So Engelfelt it was. Felt from felting - which Linda loves to do, yes. But felt from feeling even more.

Linda loves working with fiber of all kinds, and taught herself how to make the most delightful felted soaps that when wet, lather up and the wool gently exfoliates your skin. Ah, such luxury!



Be sure to check out the other felted soaps that Linda creates, and chat with us here on the Sneak Attack thread!

Meet Stock

Really, her name is Annette, but everyone calls her Stock, or StockAnnette- which is her Etsy shop name. And Stock is sponsoring our 'attack' today.

Stock is one of our frequent sponsors - she loves to surprise everyone with all the great shops she discovers that need our help! And we are delighted to provide that help during our Sneak Attacks that happen twice a week.

Stock is our busy little bee, always knitting away!



One of Stock's talents is creating Etsy Treauries. Etsy Treasuries are a way of highlighting a group of artists and their creations to make a shopping gallery.

Says Annette about the treasuries that she creates: Oh, Treasuries - I love them so! Sometimes they are inspired by one beautiful item I see on Etsy, and sometimes they are inspired by an event, a movie, or a memory. The hunt for "compatible" items is somehow very appealing to me... and it's very fun, because the wealth of wonderful items on Etsy is limitless - I can always always find enough things to fill one!

Be sure to check out Stock's adorable knitted hats for baby, and come chat with us at our Sneak Attack Thread! Our sneak attack starts at 7pm edt today.

Michael Phipps Owner of PhippsArt Donates to the Giveaway

Artist Micheal Phipps is the owner of PhippsArt and ScatterbrainTies on Etsy.  He is also the founder of The Handmade Movement website - Home of the Sneak Attack. Michael takes an active roll in promoting Sneak Attacks and supporting Etsy shop owners and the handmade community. Michael's Angel and Devil T-Shirt, shown below, was in the Etsy Voter.

Michael shares a little bit about himself in his shop bio. "I am an artist and illustrator who has been drawing and creating all my life. I have created illustrations for book covers, magazines, CD covers, posters, web sites, and more." There is much more you can learn about Michael by visiting his Etsy shops and reading his Bio.

Have a look at a piece of Fine art you will find for sale in PhippsArt .

Now Michael is making his "wearable art" available to all of us absolutely free by donating to The Handmade Giveaway. This is your chance to own an original creation from an artist recognized by the Society of Illustrators and Communication Arts and in the Society’s New York gallery. All you have to do is sign up for the giveaway!

Don't wait another minute! What you do in the next few minutes could decide if your name is drawn in the next Handmade Giveaway. Click the link in the upper right hand corner of the page and get registered to win. Then, jump on over to PhippsArt and pick out your favorite TShirt and check out all the original artwork in Michael's shop. Don't stop until you have visited ScatterbrainTies ~ you won't want to miss a thing!

Meet KT

Katie, better known as KT is sponsoring our Sneak Attack today. I wanted to share a little bit about how her shop KtOriginals came to be.

According to Katie, I started off designing and sewing purses and pouches for a fellow artisan who owns his own store. Obviously, Katie's creative ability was appreciated, and she decided to open her own Etsy shop almost a year ago.

Getting ideas from friends and family, Katie shares how she came up with this striking tote bag...



My Angry Cloud Lightening Bolt tote originated from a late night conversation I had with my best friend while driving through a thunderstorm. What a great bag!

Check out the other unique bags that Katie makes - and then come chat with us at our Sneak Attack Thread! Our sneak attack starts at 7pm edt today.

Til next time…

Sandi

Well Said...

Have you ever tried to explain something and someone else comes along and says it better than you did? Sheree of ShadesofVictoria sums up our current plans and longstanding mission in this well-articulated blog post (click here to read it).

Sheree has been in charge of coordinating our giveaways for a while now-- make sure to enter the current one! (Click the "Weekly Giveaway" link on the upper right of this site.)

Overheard in the Forums on 6/11/2010

One of my favorite parts of a Sneak Attack is when a "victim" comes by our discussion thread to say hello, all excited.  For instance, Linda Lewis (whose shop Creative Artworks we had Attacked the night before) : "Thank you all very much for the "Sneak Attack" and some nice sales! What a nice way to welcome newbies. I'm still glowing. I'm sorry I couldn't be here to talk with everyone. I'll try to do my part; when the time comes I can welcome someone else. In the meantime, I'll make it a point to check out your shops. Thanks for making my evening."

--Annette

Meet Java Jess

Jessica, known as Java Jess, will be sponsoring the Sneak Attack today, and I thought you might like to know a little bit about her.

Jessica and her husband Chris have a publishing business.  Using a combination of heat-applied vinyl and full color digital heat transfers, they create gorgeous designs on shirts and tote bags. (Believe me they are wonderful, I have a couple :D )

And according to Jess: When we aren't busy working, we spend our time with our many animals (at this time we own 3 cats and 1 dog.)   We believe strongly in giving back and looking out for others, man and animal alike.

Meet the animals: a Tortoishell cat named Kayla, a ragdoll mix cat named Rocco, a calico cat named Gypsy, and a Border Collie dog named Finley. All three of the cats were rescued from local animal shelters, and the dog was rescued from the Nebraska Border Collie Rescue.Jess carries her love of animals still further by donating part of the proceeds of many of her items to the local animal charities.

Be sure to drop by Java Jess Publishing and say hi! Then come chat with us at our Sneak Attack Thread! Our sneak attack starts at 4pm edt today.

Til next time...

Sandi

What makes a sponsor

I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Sandi. My new role in the world of 'Sneak Attacks' is to tell you about our sponsors. I've been a sponsor a few times, and I have to tell you it is so much fun to be able to keep a secret for a whole day LOL.

What kind of secret? Why, who the 'victims' are going to be during the 'attack'.

Why did I become a sponsor? I saw how much fun the past sponsors were having - knowing that they were going to introduce a new Etsy shop and help that shop with purchasing, tweeting, and letting everyone else find out what a treasure it is!

But, in addition to the fun, is the knowing that helping others is just the right thing to do! Being a sponsor is not about self promotion. It's about providing a way for a new Etsy shop to have their items noticed, hearted, and perhaps find their way into some one's home.

Til next time...

Sandi

Our Sneaky Past: Sneak Attacks in the Storque

Over a year ago we had the honor of being featured in Etsy's official blog, "The Storque". The article was a huge success, garnering over 300 blog comments to date.

The post featured interviews with some of our first "victims", complete with faux "surprise" photos (like the one shown here with Rachel of Tickleworm). One of the interviewed sellers, MonkeysAlwaysLook, has gone onto become an Etsy featured seller and has now sold over 3500 items! And to think this was once an undiscovered shop chosen for a Sneak Attack.

The article is still up in Etsy's blog archive: Featured Buyers: Sneak Attacks From the Handmade Movement. It was so great being officially acknowledged by the Etsy staff. Have a look!

Overheard in the Forums on 6/3/2010

In the midst of yesterday's delightful Sneak Attack, a familiar face appeared in the crowd and had this to say: "Okay, I am gonna stop perusing without participation. What's up everyone? I am one of the shops you performed your SNEAK on several weeks ago [Monday May 17]. As you can see by my shop, my business has picked up considerably, and now I am a hooked SNEAKer!"--Deneen Robinson, owner of Emma's Destiny.

--Annette

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Something's Coming...

Could it be? Yes, it could.
Something's coming, something good,
If I can wait!
Something's coming, I don't know what it is,
But it is
Gonna be great!

Big things are happening here at the Handmade Movement. Over a year and a half ago, we started sneaking in on new and undiscovered Etsy shops and going on shopping sprees- and we aren't about to stop.

We added Wordpress to the Handmade Movement web site last year, but until now we haven't put the effort in to making it really happen. But behind the scenes we've been pulling together a team of creative souls who are ready to turn this into something worth coming back to again and again. We're currently planning a number of blog features and will be rolling them out over the next two weeks. Is there something you'd like to see? Let us know in the comment section of this post.

Could be!
Who knows?
There's something due any day;
I will know right away,
Soon as it shows.
It may come cannonballing down through the sky,
Gleam in its eye,
Bright as a rose!

--Michael

New Facebook Page

We're on Facebook!

Again.

We had a page, but it got carried away in an unexpected gust of wind. Now it's back and staked down a bit better. Come join us! Here's the link: The Handmade Movement on Facebook