December 17, 2009

Thursday's Treasure~ Girl*in*Gear Studio & my Next Giveaway!

Last week, I hosted my first giveaway and girl*in*gear came out the winner.

That's her...Stacie Humpherys,
the owner of the beautiful, creative, girl*in*gear studio.

She won a vintage clutch along with an opportunity for a feature on her wonderful Etsy Shop! Enjoy!

I chose my shop name because…
it hints at a few facets of me and my personality. I have a degree in mechanical engineering and worked in that field for 7 years, so I’m a bit of a “gear head.” The phrase “girl in gear” also hints at my industrious and persistent side - the gears are always turning in my head, thinking of new things to create and explore.

5 interesting facts about me are:
1) I’m an engineer (Montana Tech, Class of 2002, B.S. General Engineering) that decided to be an artist for a living (last I checked, that’s not a very common career move). I joke that I’m the only artist on my block that can solve a differential equation.
2) One of my hobbies is helping my husband work on our race car. Yes, that’s right, a race car. My husband races occasionally at our local quarter mile circle track, and sometimes I help him out a little. It’s a lot of fun, and we love traveling to NASCAR races around the country.
3) I love dogs and have two of them - a German Shepherd named Milo, and a Vizsla (Hungarian Pointer) named Jennie. They take care of “security” around my home office and remind me not to take life too seriously.

This is her little helper, Jennie.
Mostly she just lays at girl*in*gear's feet and keeps them warm (an important function!)
4) My favorite food right now is sushi. It took me a while to get up the nerve to eat raw fish (not a common dish here in Idaho) but once I tried it, I was hooked! (Is this a pun, girl in gear? Very clever!)
5) I love to read, especially about history. Right now, I’m obsessed with the history of my hometown; Butte, Montana. It’s a mining town, full of colorful history - and there have been many books written about it

My inspiration and motivation for my Etsy shop are:
I love, love, LOVE to create.  After working in a corporate engineering job for 7 years, I wanted a change that would bring me back to the arts. I learned about Etsy through some of the blogs I read, and thought it would be a great opportunity for me to put my artwork out there for people to see and to possibly buy. I have been pleasantly surprised by the response - my shop has been live since about November 14th and I’ve had 32 sales in my first month.

Tools I use for my shop are:
my trusty Nikon digital SLR, sometimes with a tripod and my remote shutter release. I try and post at least one photo per day on my blog (http://girlingearstudio.blogspot.com/). When I decide that a photo is good enough to market, I process it in Adobe Photoshop.


Her drawing workspace with a beautiful view.

All of my cards and illustrations start as ideas and thumbnail sketches in my sketchbook. I scan my refined sketch on my scanner and load the image into Adobe Illustrator. I then digitally “ink” the illustration in Illustrator, meaning I trace the illustration by hand with my mouse or sometimes with my Wacom pen and tablet.

 
Her digital workspace.  How neat!

After my illustration is done, I use either Illustrator or Adobe InDesign to lay out the final product that the illustration will be featured on. My photo shows the process I used to illustrate my Santa Christmas cards just recently. Depending on the type of project, I use different printing methods - sometimes I print on my color laser or inkjet printer, sometimes I use a screen printing process, and sometimes I have the product professionally printed. All of the items in my Etsy shop I print myself at home.

                                           
Her refined sketch next to the digital illustration.

My favorite item in my shop is…
a photo of an abandoned tugboat in Anacortes, Washington, called “The Enchantress.” It has a mysterious aura about it and an interesting story.


Is Etsy your job or a hobby?
My Etsy shop is part of my job as an illustrator, photographer and graphic designer, but it is only one outlet for my work. I also do custom designs and illustrations for clients (such as logos, product labels, etc.) and I sell my work at art shows and farmer’s markets.

Some of my goals for my Etsy shop in 2010 are:
Offering an expanded line of plantable paper products (like my 2010 3-in-1 Sustainable Plantable Calendar). I am really interested in being a good steward of our planet, so that we can leave it a nice place for our children and grandchildren.

Developing relationships with at least 5 retailers this year and have certain product lines available in stores, as well as on Etsy.

Having at least 365 sales in 2010 and end the year with 100% positive feedback. I want to develop great relationships with my Etsy customers and have them know that they mean so much to me, and that I care about every sale as though it were my only sale.

Isn't she amazing?? Please visit her shop and show some support.  This is personally my favorite!


Hope you enjoyed this feature. You can be featured next week if you enter the next giveaway. 

The prize is next week's featured seller spot and $10 gift certificate to my store!
                  
To enter, just:
1) Follow my blog and/or request to be added to my mailing list where I send out information on secret sales, discounts, and promotions for my shop.
2) Comment on what item you would use the $10 Gift Certificate on
3) Leave your email address with your comment so I can email you if you are the winner.

This giveaway contest ends on Monday, December 20th at Midnight!

Good luck!

2 comments:

  1. What a detailed, fabulous post! Loved getting to know more about the artist, Stacie, along with the history of a photogenic tug boat!

    xox,
    Loren

    ReplyDelete
  2. hi, love where u r going with your blog! i would love to be featured on your blog too...

    i would use the gift certificate on the beautiful vintage mod dress.

    ReplyDelete