Monday, September 26, 2011

Etsy817 1st ever Artist Spotlight

Originally from the Etsy817 blog: http://etsy817.blogspot.com/

Etsy817 is proud to present our very first Artist Spotlight. Our Artist Spotlight hopes to bring you the inside scoop on our very talented Etsy817 members.


Meet Etsy817 member Andrea Doss of Andralynn Creative Designs

What are your Etsy shop name(s) and link(s)? 
Andralynn http://www.etsy.com/shop/andralynn

What do you make and sell in these shops?
Whimsical storybook style art

Where else can we find you online or off?
http://www.facebook.com/andralynncreativedesigns
http://twitter.com/andralynncd

http://childsphilosophy.blogspot.com
Howe Unique – Denton, TX

What inspires you to create your art?
There’s nothing more inspirational than a child’s imagination. In one afternoon, my daughters will hunt monsters, host a tea party and build a tent city. The stories they come up with while they’re playing are priceless. So, naturally, when they ask me to tell them a story, I have to invent something just as fantastic. My paintings are a visual interpretation of these imaginings. 
 

When did you start your business and what inspired you to do so?
I’ve always been a painter, starting way back when I was a little girl finger-painting pictures on my bedroom wall (my mom didn’t appreciate that very much and I eventually had to move on to paper and canvas), but it’s been on the back burner for a long time. Discovering Etsy and online selling has allowed me to follow that dream while still spending time with my girls.



What has been your biggest obstacle so far and how did you overcome it?
Finding the right balance between painting and keeping up with the crazy little monkeys I have running around the house has been an interesting journey. Luckily, my girls are very artistic and love to sit down to color and create with me while I’m getting some of my work done. I also have an ongoing battle with the clutter on my dining room table. I’m losing.



Have your friends and family supported your dream?
It’s amazing how supportive the people in my life have been. They are my own personal cheering section and I wouldn’t have made it this far without them. 


Where do you work from?
My dream is to have a big, open studio filled with lots of counter space and natural light. A place with storage space and a little refrigerator to keep my drink. A sanctuary. However, for now I make do with my dining room table in the kitchen that I have to share with a hundred other projects. At least it’s made of glass, so paint wipes up easily. That’s a bonus.


What's the best piece of business advice you’ve ever been given?
Don’t forget to pay yourself. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that with all the excitement that goes along with selling, but in the end, we are working toward making a living doing what we love.  


What memorable responses have you had to your work?
I’ve had several people refer to themselves as collectors of my work. Collectors of MY work? Wow. That still hasn’t sunk in yet.


What do you like about your work?
 I love being able to share what I do with my girls. They have lots of input into what I create, from concept to final critique. 


Professionally, what’s your goal?
To have so much incoming work that having my own studio workspace is an absolute necessity.

What is your dream project?
A series of large scale paintings that all interlock together. It would be so much fun to create something that big. 


If you had it to do over again, what, if anything, would you do differently?
I would have started earlier! I feel like there’s still so much to learn—I wish I had a bigger head start. 


What is your favorite product or service that you offer?
I absolutely love doing custom paintings.  


What is your best-selling item?
The funny little owls that I feature in so many of my paintings are a big hit. They are always getting into mischief.


What’s your favorite color?
It depends—which color paint do I have the most of? Today I like green. Tomorrow, it will probably be blue because I just bought a new tube of cerulean.

What superpower would you want to have and why?
Being in multiple places at one time. That would be super handy in so many ways.

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