Fresh From The Kiln, Fused Glass From Featured Artisan, Jonna Vaughn

Today we are going to talk with glass worker and owner of the online shop Tennessee Glass Stains , Joanna works with both fused glass and stained glass. Her shop is filled with amazing handmade pendants, right from her kiln. Please read more in her shop About Section , if you are interested in the process of making fused glass. It is truly a fascinating read! Here is what Jonna says about her business and art:


My name is Jonna Vaughn, and I am a Cincinnati native transplanted to the small town of Fairview Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. I am a glass artist specializing currently in fused glass, although I got started in stained glass windows when I first moved to Tennessee in 2000,

Although I do love my little town (we just got our second traffic light wootwoot!), it is about a 40 mile drive to "town" (Nashville). There are no real source for supplies locally, so I do all of my ordering online from reputable glass companies but I wouldn't trade the country living, the quiet outside, wildlife, and friendly front porch waves for anything.My full time corporate job left me with weekends only to market my glass doing festivals and art shows. After several years I knew I had to find another way and the ETSY shop was born!

Being an ETSY rookie, I underestimated the amount of time that I now know should have been dedicated to my ETSY shop. Not long after the shop opened, I was discouraged by the lack of sales (although my first sale was to Johnny Cash's daughter!). I guess I must have just thought that if I listed it, they would come. Well....they didn't... and somewhere in there I was learning the world of fusing and the commitment to my shop crumbled. Fast forward a few years...I had learned a new level of glass artistry to share, gained some confidence and stopped poking my lip out so I was back to the ETSY drawing board. I blew the dust off of my shop, set out my new pretty things and open the doors once again.

With the holidays coming, I am feverishly stockpiling finished pendants like a little squirrel. I typically take a break from festivals and shows during the hot summer months and spend that time preparing inventory for the fall festival season. Once I make it through the holidays, it's time to take the winter hours and start preparing for the springtime shows. It took me a few seasons to get out of the "oh my gosh I don't have enough stuff to take to this weekend" mode, where I stayed up like a vampire and ran the kiln so much I got a holiday card from the power company.

My current goal is to get to and keep my shop inventory level at about 300 pieces. One step at a time, right?

I try to keep people engaged in the shop and Facebook pagewww.facebook.com/Tnglassstainsdichroicglass 

Fans of the FB page get a discount code for 10% (hey, it covers shipping!) as do repeat customers. You will also find a monthly dichroic pendant giveaway on the FB page. Following the entry rules is like falling out of bed, and the winner is selected and posted on the page the 1st of every month. Best of all, the winner gets to select their own prize from anything in the shop!

If I had to give any advice to an ETSY newcomer, it would be to learn from my mistakes.....engage with ETSY- participate in the forums and teams. You will get lots of support, make some great friends, gather best practices from others and get the sales going. Treat your shop as you would a physical business and commit the right amount of time to grow it. It won't all come in a day, a week, or a month. But mostly...don't get discouraged and keep finding ways to improve. I am still doing all of these myself!

Local Spotlight: The Vintage Honey Shop

Adorable Photo of a Handmade Necklace

Thank you so much to TheVintageHoneyShop for taking the time to answer some questions and allowing us to showcase some of their amazing photos and products. This local business endeavor is the collaboration of 2 Nashville area women who make vintage style products for stylish moms and babies. Please take some time to browse their photo links and online shop. The photography and products are truly amazing!

1) Please tell us a bit about who is behind The Vintage Honey Shop and how you started your business.

We are Jennifer & Melissa Gilkes, owners and designers at The Vintage Honey Shop.  Not only are we business partners, but we are best friends and sister-in-laws.  We are both pretty crafty & would make cute lil things as gifts.  We both really just started sewing & making paper items only a year or so prior to opening our shop, so we were a little nervous about opening a shop, but decided to take the plunge after hearing friends & family member say, 'you could sell this stuff'! .  We opened up our shop as a fun lil hobby in 2011, but it has turned into a business! 

2) You have excellent product photo, can you give us some of your best tips and tricks for great photos? (lighting, type of camera, editing software, etc.)

Thank you!  We take all of our product photos ourselves.  We do have a few photos with models wearing our necklaces, but hose are done by professional photographers.  99% of all the photos in our shop are taken by us though.  We use a DSLR camera (Canon t1i with a 50mm lens) to take our photographs.  We only us natural light, no flash.  We take our photographs in the mornings by the window.  We set up a white lace fabric on the kitchen table & put up an old white shutter to be in the background.  The shutter gives the background a cool vintagey look & it helps reflect light back onto our product.  For most of our photographs, you don't even see the shutter!  We edit our photos using a free downloadable program by google, Picasa.  The most common editing we do using Picasa is cropping, adding or brightening lights & adding contrast to the photos.

3) Can you please link one of your photos of mamas and babies taken by a professional photographer and tell us about how you found a photographer for your products. 

We have used a professional photographer on 3 occasions for our shop.  Twice with a local family photographer, Christina Campbell of Eternal Treasures Photography, and once with a photographer in Fort Wayne, IN who swapped necklaces for photographs!  We hired the local photographer to take photos of our us & our shop after Jennifer's family did a family photo session with her.  We loved the style of her photography & wanted the same look and feel for our photos.  We contacted Christina to see if she did product/business photography.  She did and suggested doing our shoot on the back of an old truck located at Miller's Grocery in Christiana, TN.  

We set up 'shop' on the back of the truck and our photographer took photographs of us making necklaces & of our products.  We used these photos for our blog & business cards.  We recently did another shoot with her, but this time we hired some mothers & babies to model our necklaces.  We wanted some professional photos taken of our products in use.  We can write the best description of our necklaces in our shop listing, but a photograph is worth a thousand words!  Some people want to see a necklace in use.  It can help them better to see themselves using our necklaces!  The other photographer we have recently used had actually contacted us.  She was a customer who loved our necklaces & wanted more for herself and to give as gifts.  So we traded necklaces for a photo shoot!  She had a beautiful editorial style to her photography that we loved.  She had a big ol' play date with her friends & they all wore our necklaces!  It was a great trade that we loved & appreciated!  

The "Queen Bees" Of The Vintage Honey Shop

Before you hire your own photographer or decide to use one, you will want to find a photographer that will give you full rights to your photos and one that will give you print rights as well.  You will also need to have your models to sign releases, giving you full rights to using them.

4) What special things do you do for branding your shop? Are the necklaces packaged a certain way? What do you include with your orders?

Before we opened our shop, we contacted a graphic designer to create a logo for us.  We traded products for a logo & etsy shop banner.  If you don't personally know a graphic designer like we did, you can just search 'logo' on etsy.  You will find a ton of talented graphic designers that can create a great logo for your business!  Once we got our 'bee', we were branded!  We have our logo on our social media sites, blog, business cards & etsy shop.  We even had a stamp made of out logo that add to a tag on our packaging.  We felt that if we are going to start a shop, we might as well do it right!  Getting a logo professionally made for us was one of the best decisions we ever made!  Even though you are a handmade shop doesn't mean you shouldn't look professional!  

Every order we send out is hand wrapped in tissue paper, wrapped up in bakers twine and a beautiful paper doily and tag are added to the outside of the package.  Inside the order, we place two business cards.  A mini one & one that has a coupon code for free shipping towards their next order with us.  We want opening our necklaces to be an experience!  We want our customers to smile while they are opening their order from us!  Making sure our packaging is super cuter is very important to us!  We get lots of compliments & feed back on our packaging.  Yes, it takes a lot of time to hand wrap every order, especially when you have 20+ going out at a time, but it is worth it when get photos back from customers of not only our product, but the way it came wrapped to them!

5) Are your products ready to ship or do you make them custom? If you make them to order, how do you work production into your time management schedule?

The majority of all of our products are ready to ship.  Our rosette cuffs are made to order, but we make sure that we allow enough time to complete them without feeling rushed, so we say to allow up to 7 days for their item to be handmade.  We do get a lot of custom requests for necklaces & those turn around times are a week as well.  Our first year of business, we made most everything made to order, but that ended up causing a lot of stress on us, especially around Christmas. We decided that we would make all of our necklaces ready to ship.  It was one of the best things we ever did!!  Now all we have to do is ship...sometime on same day a purchase!

We will also give a coupon code for 10% off using code: midtenn

Here are some links for you of our past photo shoots:

http://www.diaimagesblog.com/2013/05/the-vintage-honey-shop.html

Here is the link to our photoshoot we did last year in Christiana:

http://www.thevintagehoneyshop.com/2012/09/our-photoshoot.html

And here is a link to our most recent photoshoot:

http://www.thevintagehoneyshop.com/2013/05/we-recently-had-another-photo-shoot.html


Here are our shop & social medial links:

SHOP: www.thevintagehoneyshop.etsy.com
BLOG: www.thevintagehoneyshop.com
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/thevintagehoneyshop
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/theVHshop
INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thevintagehoneyshop or look for us @thevintagehoneyshop

In Memoriam: Rew Elliott, Jewelry Created With Love

A Rew Elliot Original Design By Kristin

Today's featured seller, Kristin, reminds me a lot my story, and how I coped with the death of my husband, Tim, through making crafts. Kristin lost a beloved brother, Andrew, far too young, and began making jewelry to assist in the grieving process. The process of creating can fill a void where it is easy to get lost in sadness and passes the time that one might spend being lonely or angry at the loss of a loved one. Thank you so much, Kristin for letting us feature your lovely jewelry and touching tribute to your brother, Andrew "Rew" Elliot.

1) Where do you live in TN and what is your favorite thing about your community?

I live in Kingston Springs, TN, on the outskirts of Nashville. I'm a big city girl, but now that my husband and I have children we were looking for a change of pace without actually moving far away from a large metropolis. We have several acres - enough to satisfy my sometimes green thumb, to watch deer crossing through our woods, and to enjoy starlight without city lights, but I can still be in downtown Nashville in 20 minutes. I totally can have my cake and eat it too. I like that :)

2) What crafts do you do and how did you get started?

I make jewelry from vintage rhinestones. I hand set each stone into antiqued metals and create custom designs. I first began making jewelry in 2005 as a way to keep my mind and hands occupied after the death of my brother, Andrew Elliott. Rew, as we often called him, was taken at the tender age of 21, far too young and most unexpectedly. 

I soon began to realize that I really liked creating beautiful pieces and that other people really liked what I was making.
So when it came time to put an actual name to my little business and as my vision began to grow beyond making jewelry as a hobby, I was never in doubt as to what I should call my company. And so Rew Elliott was born.

Andrew was a remarkable person, and though he was my little brother, I look up to him in many ways. He had such passion and enthusiasm. He was a risk taker who was always pushing the envelope and striving for the next level -yet he also had such a meticulous nature and such a desire for perfection in all that he did.These are qualities that I try to bring to my business and to my creative process. 

3) What future plans or projects do you have in store for your crafts and business?

Last fall I started doing a lot of art and craft shows, and I am really enjoying them. I am continuing to apply to and be accepted at larger juried shows, so I hope that trend continues. I also am looking to expand into wholesale markets. I've done a few large wholesale orders which have built my confidence in my ability to handle such orders, so I'd like to see that side of my business grow. I still love doing custom bridal and special event statement pieces, so I will be working on more one of a kind, unique pieces and listing them in my Etsy shop. I will be moving away from listing smaller items there and putting the focus on my one of a kind statement pieces. 

4) Any favorite places in TN to buy craft supplies, take classes, or enjoy others' arts and crafts?

I am still getting my sea legs when it comes to the TN arts and crafts scene, but I have been a part of some great shows here and have discovered many favorite artisans that way. I try to "shop small" as I believe wholeheartedly in supporting your local economy and artisans. 

5) What is your favorite item in your store now?

www.etsy.com/listing/126246632/poppy-aqua-blush-rhinestone-statement?
Without a doubt. I love the color in this piece as well as the design. I am very inspired by turn of the century, Edwardian era design. I try to bring those classic design elements to my pieces while fusing them with modern color combinations. This vintage-chic look is a hallmark of Rew Elliott styling. 

6) Do you have any social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pintrest...etc.) to share? How about sales and promotions codes?

facebook.com/rewelliott
twitter.com/rewelliott
pinterest.com/rewelliott/
web.stagram.com/n/rewelliott/

LOYALREW13 gets customers 10% off in my Etsy shop!

Anicca, Arts Inspired By Nature

Canvas Print of Original Photography by Melody of Anicca

 Today we are going to hear from our featured local artisan, Melody Ryan. She is a photographer, artist, and jewelry creator, and owns the online shop Anicca. She also has vintage items available in her Etsy store. Her shop name and inspiration comes from nature and the cycle of life and death that each living thing must move through..."although every little thing that arises to exist in this universe will eventually cease to be- will return to the dust; 
for a shining moment in time, every little thing stands still- frozen and glorious in its own special moment of existence."

I live in Nashville, TN. I love it here, because it is filled with art and music. There are so many different areas here that are very unique, and there is ALWAYS something interesting going on. It has a wonderful, deep-rooted artistic community that I am happy to be a part of!


 I dabble in all sorts of crafts and love to create anything and work with any kind of materials, but have recently settled on jewelry-making and photography. My first artistic passion was painting. I still paint occasionally, but photography has definitely won over my heart. I also really love the editing process of photography. I started crafting hemp jewelry when I was younger, which eventually transitioned to making all kinds of jewelry and working with metal.

In the near future, I plan on getting more involved in showing my work at different events and participating in more shows and festivals. But my main goal is that I would especially love to eventually be able to travel around the world to do exotic wildlife photography.

There is a great art supply store here in Nashville called Plaza that also offers a wide variety of art classes. And of course, there is the trusty Hobby Lobby down the road that I always get a little too carried away in. :)

My favorite item at the moment is a long bronze necklace with criss-crossing chains that dangle down and have little feather charms and a blue skull charm hanging from them. 

I have a facebook page at www.facebook.com/oAnicca
Currently, I have a happy spring coupon for 20% off any item in my store! Enter the code "BIRD00" (zeroes)

Remembering Home

Josh Hawkins Designed Tennessee Posters

"I was raised in Knoxville. I went to Karns High School, home of the Beavers! Which is definitely the most respected and feared mascot in the sports world." - Josh Hawkins

Today we are going to talk with Josh, the owner of our featured shop, TheBrainFreeze on Etsy. Josh is from Tennessee, but moved away, and found himself nostalgic for home, the heart of Tennessee. He started making posters from elements of original design and vintage book photographs. What you see here in the picture is a series of posters devoted to places in Tennessee. What a great idea to celebrate this state and honor the photographers of the past! Let's see what Josh has to say about himself and his creations. Here is his story:






"My name is Josh Hawkins and I live & work in NYC. I write music by day and design art by night. My artwork is not my career so I can do whatever I want with it. I like it that way. I take Polaroid pictures and dabble in lomography but most of my art usually consist of manipulated vintage photographs that have a surreal or dreamy feel.

It started when I started looking for artwork to hang in my home. I knew all about Hatch show print & Yeehaw print shop, who produce really great letterpress posters, but I struggled to find something that was in a more modern style. So I took it upon myself to make new artwork dedicated to Tennessee. The initial creative process for me starts by searching through my secret catalogue of images from old textbooks, public domain archives and photos I've taken. I almost never start a design from scratch. I just look for something that draws my attention and then from there it's a blur...

Even though I live in Brooklyn now I was born & raised in Tennessee. Moving away made me realize how great that state is. Now every time I come visit for Christmas or a quick escape from NYC I always pack 3-4 cameras and tons of film because I know I will find some great shots to capture. So even though I'm constantly surrounded by tall buildings & subways I find my roots always pushing me towards the scenery of the south for inspiration.

The only solid plans I have are just to experiment more with photography. I definitely plan on continuing to produce prints but my work will be less focused on a specific place. HOWEVER, I will not be a one hit wonder I promise you that!"

Here is his favorite poster, a tribute Knoxville, TN, the Marble City.

You can find his shop and other work here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBrainFreeze

Eat More Kale!

Gardening is America's number one hobby in terms of money spent on supplies and time invested. One of the great things about growing plants is cultivating edible items to cook and prepare. Common sense tells us that eating greens and vegetables is healthy, plus, what could be more satisfying than growing your own? Let's talk about one green in particular and then see my homemade greenhouse to grow my own indoors. Behold, the nutritional powerhouse, kale.

Loaded with nutrients and fiber, but having few calories, kale is a dieter's friend and a great filler in soups, stews, salads, and other dishes. It is more fibrous than spinach, with a similar flavor and can be used in many recipes. One of my favorites was the kale and white bean soup that was served in my college cafeteria. If you are new to kale and want to try it raw, it might be best to mix it in with other greens in a salad. Personally, I like to cook a large batch of kale in the microwave, then saute it with olive oil and garlic. This cooked kale freezes well or can be kept in the refrigerator to be added to pasta, pizza, soup, or casseroles. It is fantastic in rice dishes and I even add it to mac 'n cheese!

My Indoor Kale Mini-Greenhouse



Kale seeds can be purchased at any garden center, or you can find heirloom varieties online. Above, you can see my growing station to grow my own indoor kale and lettuce. I live in an apartment, so I need to cultivate my greens indoors. I use a jumbo lasagna pan filled with potting soil and plant food. The plastic lid keeps the cat out and the humidity in while the seeds are germinating. When the greens are about 5-6 inches tall, I harvest them and add a fresh 1/2 inch or so of potting soil to the top of the pan, along with plant food, as instructed on the label.

If you like kale, but don't want to grow your own, try the farmer's markets in Murfreesboro or Nashville. You might get kale in a CSA box if you participate with a local farm. Kale makes a wonderful addition to many cooked and raw dishes. You can even use it in green smoothies or homemade juices. Here's to healthy eating and fun cooking in Tennessee!