Featured Handmade Shop: Dahlia Soleil

I would like to introduce you all to Paulette, the designer and owner of the Etsy shop, Dahlia Soleil.  She is an artist who is specializing on machine embroidery.  Paulette lives in New York with her lovely 10 year old daughter, Dahlia Soleil.  In her shop, you can find a mix of crochet and embroidery collection like beanie hats, head band ear warmers, and iron on patch appliques.  Please take a moment to read my interview and visit her Etsy shop or check her out on Facebook.
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And if you happen to be in New York on the 27th of April, stop by at the opening day for the Hester Street Fair.  Paulette will be there to showcase some of her new work.  Come up, say hi, mention her Etsy shop and receive a special discount.

Let's get to know the Entrepreneur:
 

Why the shop name? 
My shop name is the name of my daughter.

How old is your shop?
My etsy shop was started in 2006 so almost 7 years old.

What inspired you to start your own home business? 
I wanted to earn an income and still take care of my daughter at the same time.

What was the toughest challenge you faced so far and how did you get over it?

The toughest challenge so far is juggling my business and being a mom.  I haven't quite figured it out yet really, just going with the flow at this point. 

What tips would you want to share for aspiring home based entrepreneurs like you? 

Have a back up plan financially.  Sometimes the sales are great and sometimes not so great.  You have to plan for the slow times.

Let's get to know the Artist:

What are your inspirations? 

Nature is my inspiration. I grew up on a small island called Barbados with really rich colors everywhere so I pull from those memories when I am crafting my pieces. 

Can you give us a peek on the creative process involved in your craft? 

I crochet and machine embroider so each one is different.  I start with embroidery software to create a design.  I like to call it the Photoshop for stitches.  Then I transfer the file from the computer to the embroidery machine.  Sew it on to felt and then iron on adhesive to the back to create an iron on patch applique.

What are your top 3 favorite picks from your shop? 

Crochet Hat in Wheat and brown  

Iron On Patch Sloth Applique

Slouchy Beanie Hat with Sloth Patch Applique

Let's get a bit personal :)

What do you do when you're not busy in your shop?

I really love exploring New York City.  In this pic I'm exploring Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum in in Manhattan.

What's inside your bag? 

Dried cranberries, phone charger, bottle of water, a pen, a newspaper to do the crossword puzzles and a tampon. 

What are your favorite shops? 

My favorite Etsy shops are Meg Roberts and The Soap Seduction. My favorite real world shop is forever21. 

What makes you smile? 

When I cut into an avocado and it's good, a ripe mango, my BFF Stacia and the love and support of the people in my life. 

What is your message to your customers and the people who support you?

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to be a full time artist and the ability to be there for my daughter.  Every sale and compliment confirms to me that my "job" as an artist is the perfect "job" for me.

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BIG THANKS & HUGS:

Dahlia Soleil

Featured Handmade Shop: Serejkin Dom

Anastasia Maltseva lives in Kyiv, Ukraine.  She is the designer and owner of the handmade shop Serejkin Dom.  I fell in love with her creations the first time I saw them.  I had featured one of her lovely necklaces here and asked if she wanted to be a featured shop on my blog.  Thankfully, she said yes :) If you are into pretty, whimsical things, you'll surely love this little shop too.  I hope that you will take a moment to read through the whole interview and get to know more about the talented artist behind this handmade shop.

Let's get to know the Entrepreneur:
 
Why the shop name? 
My shop's name, Serejkin Dom, in Russian means House of Earrings.

How old is your shop?
I've started it in 2008 and since then, my shop has been growing and developing.

What inspired you to start your own home business? 

I don't remember properly how it began. It was summer and I was bored and so I made my first super simple beaded earrings. But it wasn't something surprising: I have a very creative family, who taught me to sew, paint, etc. from childhood.

What was the toughest challenge you faced so far and how did you get over it?

The toughest challenge I faced was me and my fear. Fear to try, to start. When I was creating my etsy shop I didn't know, how it would be and if it will work or not. 

What tips would you want to share for aspiring home based entrepreneurs like you? 

Well, never give up! We have great opportunity to see everything around the world through Internet. Just look around, find your muse and create!

Where can we find you online? 
You can find my shop page on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, tumblr, Instagram and Etsy. Am I a geek? :)   We have a Russian language on-line shop and blog as well.

Let's get to know the Artist:

What are your inspirations?

I find my inspiration in things around me: flowers, music, birds songs, nature, buildings. I really like buildings and think all of them have soul. Especially old ones.

Can you give us a peek on the creative process involved in your craft?

Recently I work in the morning, because of the day light. All process of making earrings or necklace can last for a 1-2 days. Everything starts from a sketch. And if I see in my mind something that I couldn't embody right now, then I start searching of supplies, gemstones etc.

What are your personal picks from your shop?

Oh, I'm in love with our new spring collection: it's so fresh and delicate like morning air and dew on grass.

Let's get a bit personal:)

What do you do when you're not busy in your shop? 

On my free time I like to travel and photograph. And I like to drink coffee with macaroons in a little cafe in an old town.

What are your favorite shops? 

I can't pass by shops with all that cute interior stuff! It's obsession! Speaking about etsy shops I can stand out Coriumi, KaroArt and For Strange Women.

What's inside your bag? 

I'm a girl, so in my bag you can find 5 or 6 red lipstick :) Than there are cardholder, documents, wallet, touch phone (I can't live without it) and my notebook for sketches and plans.

What makes you smile? 

I try to smile for everything, every little moment or pretty thing. I smile at morning, when the sun wakes me up. It gives me energy for the whole day. 

What is your message to customers and the people who support you? 
Just notice beauty of the world and give some love to each other.

~*~*~*~

BIG THANKS & HUGS:

 Serejkin Dom

Featured Handmade Shop: Plexida & A Giveaway

Goodmorning!  Today is extra wonderful because I am featuring a new handmade shop and hosting the first giveaway on this blog.  When I came across this photo in Pinterest, my heart popped! Upon checking out the shop, I instantly fell in-love with all the pretty bows, and I knew I just had to feature Plexida on my blog.   

I'm so delighted that Vasiliki has agreed to do this interview.  She lives all the way from Greece! I can imagine her knitting and crocheting these goodies and it's nice to think that we were able to have this correspondence.  She even generously offered to give away this adorable bow necklace to one of my readers.  Do you remember this? I featured it in Lovely, Little Things just the other day and now one of you would win it! 

 

I'm so excited! But before the giveaway, let's get to know a little bit more about this handmade shop, Plexida and the lovely lady behind it. 

What’s the inspiration behind your shop’s name?
'Plexida' means braid in my language and 'Plexi' means a knit stitch, so it sounded like a cute idea to name my shop Plexida.

How old is your shop and what inspired you to start it?My shop is only 2 months old, so I'm freshly new to etsy and selling my creations online, but so far it's been a great experience. I've been knitting for many years, since I was a kid actually, and I've always enjoyed creating clothes and accessories for my loved ones. Some time last year the idea of sharing them online started playing in my head and, with the encouragement of my family, I decided to do it. I'm really glad I took that decision, because the feedback I'm getting is very positive and I really enjoy every part of the process.

Can you give us a peek on the creative process involved in your craft?

I work at a local yarn store, so I'm surrounded by yarns and colours all day. This gives me constant inspiration, as well as the chance to pick the best and most suitable yarns for my own creations. Once I get home, I make a hot cup of tea and I start knitting my orders. When I finish them, I may start creating new designs for my shop. This step sometimes involves a lot of trials until I have the perfect new design I want to share in my shop. Then, when I have some new pieces finished, my daughters help me style and photograph them.

What do you do when you're not knitting? 

Well, I'm an avid knitter and I'm occupied with needles and yarn the most hours of the day, but when I'm not knitting, I mostly enjoy baking, cooking, taking care of my garden, riding bikes and hiking with my husband.

your top 3 favorite picks from your shop. . .

I really like the colours and texture of this cowl.

I'm fond of all the hair bows, I think they are extra cute.

Also, I'm loving this beanie.

Where else can we find you online?

You can find me on Facebook, where I've just set up a page for my shop and you can also find me on Pinterest where I collect the things that most inspire me.

Now for the giveaway, the winner can have the bow in her favorite color.  How sweet!  How I wish I could win it! I love it in blue-green but I can also imagine having it in mustard!  Oh, and yes, it's open for international readers so everyone is welcome to join.

What about you? What are your favorites?  Let us know and you could be the winner!  And if  you found something that you absolutely love, you can buy it at a 15% discount.  This is an exclusive offer so don't forget to use the coupon code RACHEPLEXIDA15 on your checkout.  The code is valid for any order until the midnight of Monday, February 11th, GMT.

GIVEAWAY RULES:

This giveaway is open to all Beautiful Rache followers. Entries will be accepted until Thursday, February 14th, 12:00 AM HKT  Open for international readers.  Don't forget to check back on Friday for the announcement of the winner.  Or add me on Twitter to keep posted.

~*~*~*~

BIG THANKS & HUGS:

Plexida!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Linked up with: Friday Fancies ; That Friday Blog Hop

Featured Handmade Shop: Mila Rose Designs

Our featured Shop is Mila Rose Designs.  Melissa is the owner/designer of these pretty and fabulous hair ornaments. She also blogs here. Please read my interview with Melis to find out how she started business, the challenges she faced, plus a few personal messages for fellow entrepreneurs, customers, and friends.  (This interview first appeared here)

What’s the inspiration behind your shop’s name?

When thinking of a shop name I wanted to make sure it that it sounded pretty and also wasn’t something completely random. Mila is the first initials of myself and my siblings (Melissa, Ian, Laura, Austin), and then I picked rose because a lot of my designs are inspired by flowers…plus it sounded lovely together:)

How old is your shop?

The shop opened in Dec ’09, so a little over a year now.

What inspired you to start your own home business?

I think I’ve always known that I wanted my own business, but I just wasn’t sure what I wanted it to be. Before I started on etsy I was a buyer for shoe/accessory boutique. I would always see accessories at the trade shows I would go to, but never saw any hair accessories that really caught my eye. Then I ended up making a headband for myself to wear for a friends wedding.

All the headbands I liked were $200 and I thought why don’t I try and make something myself. Everyone loved it and I started making bands for friends and to give as gifts. The feedback I would get from people was great, so I started selling my bands at the shoe boutique. Everyone kept telling me to sell on etsy, and I kept putting it off until the boutique ended up closing. That gave me the little push I needed to start getting more serious about the possibility that this could be something more. Now my little hobby is turning into a real business, and I think that’s amazing.

Can you give us a peek on the creative process involved in your craft?

Well I pretty much live surrounded by fabrics, ribbons, and sparkly things:) Lately I’ve been creating in steps…one day I’ll cut all the shapes I need to make flowers, the next day I’ll singed the edges and put together the flowers, and then the next attach to the bands and finish. Then there are times where I visualize what I think I want to make and it ends up a totally different way by mistake. Those are usually the times that I get the best results…which I love!

What was the toughest challenge you faced so far?

I think pricing has been the trickiest challenge so far. When you purchase something that is homemade it’s totally different that buying something that is mass produced. Everything that I make I put all of my love and energy into.

I not only want my products to look amazing, but be an amazing quality as well and sometimes that can cause prices to be a little higher than if you were to buy an accessory from somewhere else. I’m always afraid that my prices may either be too high or sometimes not high enough so I tend to always second guess myself.

How did you get over it?

This is something that I think will be a constant learning process. I think the best thing I’ve done for pricing right now is to just have a good price range. If you only have a small budget or have the freedom to purchase whatever your heart desires, you’ll be able to find a mila rose that’s right for you:)

Please Name:
the things you do when you’re not busy in your shop. . .
I love to bake (especially cupcakes), color hair, watch bravo (I’m kinda addicted), shop for shoes, and spend time with my boyfriend and my family.

stuff inside your bag you can’t leave home without. . .
A headband (of course), lipgloss, my phone, a little notepad (you never know when a great idea might pop in your head), my camera, and something sweet (I love sugar lol)

your favorite shops. . .
My fave etsy shops right now are:
The Caramel Jar …the most amazing caramels ever…again, I really love sugar;)
Nice …lots of fun vintage pieces as well as handmade goodies
La Marquise des Anges …sooo cute french chic fun

your top 3 favorite picks from your shop. . .

the dita …. give me over-the-top any day! I love how this is a total statement piece, yet is still classic with it’s black and white pattern print.

the harper …I’m a big fan of mustard yellow lately and I love that you can wear this hat all year round. Also the flower is detachable so you can keep it on the hat, or pin to a scarf or bag.

 the caden…… textured leather flower is so pretty and is a perfect neutral color so it will go with everything.

What tips would you want to share for aspiring home based entrepreneurs like you?

Don’t be afraid to take chances and make mistakes. I think sometimes when you’re starting something new it’s so easy to hold yourself back because you’re afraid of the unknown. If you really love what you’re doing and are passionate about it then you should share it with the world. I think if you believe in yourself and stay true to who you are then everything will fall into place.

Any message to your customers and the people who support you?

I love you!!! My friends, family, and fans are the best people in the world. I am constantly amazed at how lucky I am to have such positive people coming into my life. Thank you sooooo very much for your love and support and for spreading the pretty;)

~*~*~*~

Thanks so much Melissa!