A Little Anthropologie Love

Today is an exciting day... the grand opening of the Garden City Center Anthopologie in Cranston, RI. Before this store opened, the closest Anthropologie was about an hour away in Massachusetts. Now, with only 18 minutes between us, I am in a dangerous predicament!

In honor of this very special occasion, and inspired by this blog post from my archives, I've put together a little inspiration board by combining on of my photographs with some pieces from Anthropologie. Doesn't that Albino Blue Jay look like it belongs there?



Sources:
Albino Blue Jay (by yours truly) - 30x30 or 8x8
Pen & Ink Violas via Anthropologie
Banda Chaise via Anthropologie

I'm hoping to stop by and visit the new store this weekend. Maybe I'll see you there?

A Little Springtime for Your Soul

The nearly-sheer roman blinds in my office are pulled all the way down. The sunlight can still stream in, but I can't see the snow and bare trees outside. Ssshhhhh.... I'm pretending it's springtime!





1. Ranunculus Blossom
2. Tufted Titmouse
3. Lilies of the Valley
4. Specimen 652
5. Solar Powered
6. Chive Blossoms

In Between the Raindrops

With a thunderstorm drawing closer and the humidity thick in the air, I ran out to the mailbox before the skies opened up. And today... today was a good mail day. You know what I mean - those days you open that little door, expecting to find nothing but grocery store ads and unsolicited credit card applications, and lo and behold there is something wonderful there, just for you!

My something special today was a package full of prints from the very talented Katie Daisy. I couldn't wait, they went straight up on my inspiration board. (Click the image to see details about my inspiration sources).



Care to share a special moment in your day?

Pondering New Products...

It's a beautiful morning, the birds are singing, I'm sipping some amazing coffee (roasted by my hubby), and I've decided I want to offer more large format prints in my shop. Currently I sell Specimen 652, Albino Blue Jay, and Wise Owl as 30" wide prints. I love how they look, and I want to add to that number, but the question is - what other prints should I make available at that size?

Won't you help me decide? I'm throwing in a giveaway to sweeten the deal - if you comment with your vote on which image you would most like to see as a large format print, you'll be entered to win a 5"x5" (or 5"x7") print of your the image you chose and you'll get a discount code for 25% off a large format print order. Tweet about this poll (and link to the tweet in a comment) and you'll get a second entry.

The contenders:

Chickadee


July Butterflies


Splashing


Intrigue


Which do you think would look best at 30" wide? Your entry must be received before midnight EST on March 14, 2010 to be eligible for the giveaway. The winner will be chosen randomly by comment number (a random number will be selected using random.org). Good luck!

Latest Etsy Favorite #1

You've been to Etsy, right? (And if not get on over and check it out!) Amazingly talented artists, right? Yeah, I think so too.

I've been wanting to share some of my favorite artists, but couldn't think of a good way to go about it. In the past I've spontaneously come out with an "Oooh! Look at this!", but I want to have something more regular to keep the inspiration and excitement flowing.

So - I'm doing a trial run of a new series here on the blog: "Latest Etsy Favorite". We'll start out with a 4-week stint. If we like it, we'll keep it! Sound good? I'll post at least once a week, but I've gotta warn you that I might shift days here and there while I figure out what works.

Here goes... my first featured fav:
Forester's Wife scarf by EveldasNeverland


(Source of images: EveldasNeverland)

What made me pick this particular piece? Well, I spent a looong day today in wetlands, where the ferns are really starting to come up in abundance. I had swamps on the brain, and decided to browse Etsy to see which artists out there were inspired by wetlands. The moment I saw this piece I knew I had to feature it. So delicate and lovely - it really does look like a fern in fiber art form.

By the way, did you know you can eat ostrich fern fiddleheads? They're delicious - remind me of asparagus, actually. Read about how to select, handle, and cook them up here.

Spring Celebration Sale!

I was enjoying my time out in the garden in the hot, hot heat yesterday and thinking it won't be long until Summer arrives! It was 90 degrees yesterday. Can you believe it?! That's a bit too hot for April. My friend & fellow photographer Roberta of Uncommon Depth asked me to send some heat her way - I tried to send her 10-15 degrees, but it didn't work. Oh well. ;-)

Anyway, I got to thinking, how can I celebrate this lovely Spring season with you all? My conclusion: a Spring Celebration Sale!



During this last week of April, I'm offering a coupon code for 25% off any purchase from my Etsy shop. (Coupon code expires at midnight EDT on April 30. Shipping not included in 25% off promotion. Cannot be combined with other offers.)

Here's how it works:

1. Head over to my Etsy shop and pick some favorites. (Be sure to ask me if you don't see the size print you want - I'm happy to customize!)
2. Place your order and enter coupon code violet09 in the "notes to seller".
3. As soon as I receive notification of payment I will refund you 25% of your order total (excluding shipping) via PayPal.
4. You're done! Sit back, relax, and keep an eye on the mailbox for your prints.

Why the refund process? Well, Etsy's system doesn't yet allow sellers to automate coupon codes. Bummer, right? The good news is I'm obsessed with checking email, so it won't take long at all for me to see your order payment notification and get your refund to you lickety split!

I hope you decide to freshen up your home with some new art this Spring! Even if you decide not to participate in the sale, I'd love to hear your comments on which photographs you like best.

Now I'm off to capture some of the little flowers around my yard - I'll share some images with you later!

Little Bird

Look what I got in the mail yesterday!



It's a beautiful handmade stamp by Geninne - an amazingly talented artist (as you can see by that glimpse of her business card), currently living in Mexico. She based the design on my 'Specimen 652' photograph, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I hope she'll like the print that is winging its way to her just as much as I enjoy the stamp. (Check out Geninne's Etsy Shop and don't miss her gorgeous Blog!)

In other news - and yes, this is big news - it's sunny for the second day in a row today! Woohoo! I am very ready for Spring. I took advantage of the morning light streaming into my dining room and took a few photos. Hope you enjoy this one!

Dreaming of the Sea

Céad Mile Fáilte

Welcome & Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm half Irish, and have always celebrated St. Patrick's Day with an Irish meal, eaten with family. We usually had the traditional Corned Beef & Cabbage - but none of us kids really like corned beef (all that marbled fat - yuck!). Today, I'm keeping the tradition alive with lamb stew and brown bread. When I went to Ireland (6 1/2 years ago now!) I fell in love with the bread there - dense, hearty, coarse grained wheaten bread. The recipe I'm trying today sounds like it might get close to the real deal - we'll see. I also ate a lot of Kilmeadan Red Cheddar in Ireland, and spent years trying to find a substitute in the US. (Kerrygold doesn't come close.) Tipperary brand is a pretty good fit.

But I digress. In honor of the day, I'd like to feature a couple of Irish artists I found on Etsy today - Bonzie & FunkyBlink! Glimpses of their work can be found below. Bonzie is feminine, elegant, and mysterious; while FunkyBlink is fun, energetic, and full of riotous color. Enjoy!

Etsy Buy Handmade bonzie

Etsy Buy Handmade FunkyBlink

Community

One of the things I love about selling on Etsy is that you actually *meet* people. It really is a community, not just an impersonal shopping site. I've met several wonderful folks through Etsy: the Arts in RI street team, local buyers who meet me for a cup of coffee instead of having their print shipped, friendly buyers and sellers with great talent and interesting stories...

The system Etsy has set up - with individual artists controlling their own shops, and many modes of easy communication - definitely helps encourage this community feeling.

Why am I talking about this topic this morning? Well, omitting details to protect privacy, it is through the Etsy community that I found out about the novel "The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet" by Reif Larson, and it sounds pretty darn good. (The website is fun to explore as well.)



(Image from Amazon.com, where you can pre-order the book.)

Global Community

Today, I'm shipping a print off to Tasmania - perhaps the farthest one of my creations has ever gone. One of the things I like best about selling my work online is developing connections with people around the world.

I'm a map person. Part of my "day job" is spent creating maps from GIS Data, or sketching maps of wetland lines I have flagged in the field. I use maps constantly: when I'm trying to find a job site, when I'm navigating a vacation route...

My shipment to Tasmania today inspired me to create a quick map of all the places my photographs have found a home. (I used Where I've Been to create it.) The dark blue areas show the places around the world where my prints have been shipped.



It's neat to think of "Specimen 652" hanging on a wall on the other side of the Earth. I think I'll keep this map updated - and see what new blue areas will be filled in next.

Pastoral Bliss

Today, among other things, I went to Little Compton. It's possibly the prettiest place in Rhode Island. Very pastoral, and right on the water.

Ice Water


My excuse to make the trip over there was to choose fabric for a custom sundress by PhriendlyK8's Threads. I LOVE her sundresses and I am thrilled to bits to be ordering one. I almost bought this one (it looks even nicer in person), but I decided to pick out custom colors/applique instead. She's also got some gorgeous bags and fabric paintings, so do check out her shop!

Spring is in the AIR

At 8:20 a.m., it's already balmy out here in RI, and temps should be in the mid-fifties today! I'm excited, can you tell? I am gearing up to take a nice walk in the woods, mud or no!

The spring-like weather today has encouraged me to showcase some spring-y finds from my fellow Arts in RI (AIR) members.



Clockwise from upper left, we have:

Custom Nature Spirit Pendant or Ornament
by Elysian Fields

The Subtleties of Spring Three Trees Painting
by Julie Beck

Live Simply Vintage Skeleton Key Necklace
by The Venerable Bead

Green Grass Cufflinks
by a la mode

What's your favorite way to enjoy nice weather?

Thanks!

Thank you PianoBenchDesigns, for getting me to the front page of Etsy!



In other news - the Foundry Show is officially over! I'm going to recover, rest up a bit today, and then tell you all about it. It's good to get back to my more usual routine!

Etsy Love

Thanks for the beautiful front page, annarubyking!

Hooray! Etsy Front Page

One of my photos just made it to the front page of Etsy! Thanks, GollyBard!



And while I was writing this blog post, the item sold! No worries though, it's been relisted if you'd like to nab one ;-)

New in my Shop

$15 Mini Prints!

Perfect for art lovers on a budget, for small nooks that need decorating, or for a unique Secret Santa gift!

Postcards!

Now available in my Etsy shop - postcards, waiting to fly to far away lands with messages for friends and loved ones!

Photographers of Etsy

The Photographers of Etsy (POE) Team's brand new blog is up! It already has some beautiful and inspiring content and promises to deliver more. Check it out here!

Front Page Lovin'

Today I found out about this fabulous Flickr group that tries to get screenshots of all of the Etsy front pages. Woohoo! It is quite sad to miss seeing your product on the front page, so this group gives you a chance to relive the glory :-)

Etsy Front Page 08/01/08
Originally uploaded by MariekUniek

Whee!

I'm on the front page of Etsy at the moment - and I even got to see it! Often I miss being seeing my work the front page, which is always a bummer because I'm curious to see which photograph made it there. I think it's neat that Splashing made it to the front page today, since I just picked up the gorgeous mounted version from Save the Bay today. I'll have to post some photos of the mounted pieces tomorrow (Splashing and Beach Cartwheels), because they really are pretty cool. They're mounted on furniture-grade plywood and sealed with a UV-resistant layer.

Anyway, here's a screenshot of my 5 minutes of Etsy fame!