allaboutcats Cat Toys!

Tuesday - BESTeam Mosaic
weekly shoutout to the dedicated workers that like to help other handmade artists...

allaboutcats on Etsy... I love that there are so many animal lovers on Etsy that have shops dedicated to our little furry sidekicks! Allaboutcats as you can tell is a shop dedicated to our feline friends, offering a lovely handmade collection of cat toys and other accessories for owners that are sure to win over your heart. Linda, who owns 3 rescue cats herself, is the lady behind the work with a bit of help from her cats too :) I enjoyed reading her bio on her blog which briefly explained the goings on of her cats Brady, Maggie and Jerry whilst she makes and stuffs the toys! Sounds like they are very lucky that their mommy can make special toys for them! She also donates some of her cat toys to her local (no kill) animal shelter which I think is really sweet! The first thing that strikes me in the store is the COLOR. Bright cute little catnip toys everywhere! Not only are they special for being handmade but they are organic too so you can be certain that our cat is being given a beautiful considered gift that benefits all :) Linda has an awesome Halloween collection going at the moment. Check out some of the listings in the mosaic!

allaboutcats' Blog... to learn more about linda and to check out some adorable pictures of her cats, this is the place to go. Linda writes up some excellent articles on other artists too so besides her posts about her business, you'll find a nice mixture of handmade posts to browse through!


For those of you with a passion for handmade, and you have a blog that is in need of a consistant weekly post to drive your traffic and help fellow artisans by doing the same. Come and join the BESTeam!


All items are clickable and will take you directly to allaboutcats' listings...

BiancaHewson

Friday Finds... biancahewson


This is my 29th interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy!

during one of my Link Referral review sessions I came across this amazing Animal Art Etsy store owned by biancahewson. I just love her style and the striking monochrome images she creates, inspired by our hairy little friends! I think what makes her work so special is that it's easy to feel the love and affinity between Bianca and her subjects as each picture is of an incredible quality that can only come with time, devotion and heart. I hope you enjoy her interview and dont forget to stop by her store, leave a heart or two and maybe take one of her spectacular pieces home with a purchase :)


(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)

-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) Hi, my name is Bianca Hewson, born in Leeds, England. I am married and have a 3 year old monkey (sorry son) and 2 adopted dogs. I have been living in Almeria, Spain now for nearly 3 years and taking a break from teaching art. We previously lived in Bermuda for 5 years.


-- What is your business about then? I was missing the practical side and creativity of the classroom and I love creating pieces of art work, I was getting twitchy not doing anything. I also have a real passion for dogs, so I had time on my hands and started creating monoprint dog portraits. I started selling them at Saturday markets and did a few commissions, but the summer heat was a killer and standing on a stall for 6 hours in the scorching heat was just too much, so I set up my Etsy store. To be truthful I don’t consider it a “business”, because I would be creating the images anyway, I have to keep sane. Etsy is a way to show my current portfolio collection and hope there will be some purchases on the way. I know that’s the wrong philosophy but I don’t want to be stressed with the pressures of business………maybe that will and should change?


-- How did Etsy come into your life? I was browsing the internet for new gift ideas and stumbled upon it, I have been hooked ever since.


-- Are you working a day job too? No, After being a Head of the Arts and teaching art in the U.K and Bermuda in secondary schools, I was constantly buzzing with the timely commitment of the job. Although I love teaching, it took a near fatal illness to open my eyes and realize I needed to refocus my life. I had a 3 month old son and the horrors of being so ill really challenged my place in life. We decided to uproot ourselves again move closer to family, and spend quality time together. My husband went back to work in U.K after a year off, and now commutes to Spain!!!!!!! I do still trawl the internet looking for a new job, but it would have to be right for us all.


-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? Oh crikey, since I remember. I have always loved art, and believe it is passed down from my heritage, I still paint with a brush my great granddad used it must be over 100 years old, more of a stump really than a brush, and I use the letterpress set my Great Uncle gave me. I studied art getting my BA(Hons) in fine art in 1996 and then completing a P.G.C.E to be a secondary school art teacher. I think I always felt at home and safe in the art room at school, and wanted to provide that kind of experience to someone else.


-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? I adore dogs and love to try to capture their real character. I have always had Old English Sheepdogs in my life. After 2 died in 1 year, I adopted and now have 1 beautiful Old English Sheepdog and 1 “muy feo” Catalan sheepdog. I have a passion for print and love the spontaneity of monoprint, the feel and quality of the medium lends itself I think to capture the true soul and character of the dog. I have now started to look into other subject matter, including anatomy and teddy bears(my mums favourites). Oh and I also have a collection of beach glass and pottery that I found in Bermuda that I am slowly listing.

-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Soulful, spontaneous, heart-warming.


-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? Well, taking my little one to pre-school, and then picking him up, gives me a time frame to work around, some days I research for inspirational photos to base my art work on, if I have a creative head on I normally can complete 2 images in the day time. Also we are continuing to improve our house and the land, oh and I have to have a chat with both the Spanish farmers about what we are doing wrong!!!! However we do get fresh fruit and veg straight from the tree and ground for free, so I go along with their suggestions.


-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? I love printing, monoprinting, linoprinting, collagraph, etching. I also love photography and painting and need to devote more time to these.


-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? To keep creating, involve my son in the process along the way, start teaching again, inspire others.


-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? Creating a big arty mess with my son, going to the beach, snuggling my dogs, cooking, eating curry, traveling, music, driving, laughing at my husband breaking his back digging in the scorching sun like a crazy fool ..........I tell him not to, honestly!


-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? Prints, vintage kitchenware, kids stuff, dogs.


-- Any last words? All out of my own words so a quote:
"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts." - John Steinbeck

DeborahJulian

Friday Finds... DeborahJulian


This is my 22nd interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy!

Good day to all, and I hope you've had a great week so far!
I'm happy to be starting my blog today on a positive note having finally worked out a system that keeps me on track with these things I do on here and Etsy, whilst allowing me to do my mom-tasks and keep my hair :D Lol! It's a great day :)
Today I have brought to you a fab photographer/artist that works in a wonderful way with her surroundings in New York and my favourites, her lovely cats! I love that they are the focal point of a lot of her work! Absolutely adorable! And for me I have just found her style of photography intriguing as it delves into the realms of digital manipulation - which is where my own pieces derive from. The style is something that I feel totally suits the composition and fun of each artwork. She describes her pieces as being whimsical and colorful! Something I would have to agree with, you can't help but fall in love with her photos :)
I won't spoil the interview so I'll let her tell you more about herself. Introducing Deborah from DeborahJulian on Etsy!


(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)







-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) I’m Deborah Julian, age 53. My husband and I—and our cats-- live in New York City. I’ve been a photographer for over 30 years.


-- What is your business about then? My business combines my love of animals and my love of photography and art.
My cats are my favorite subjects. My skills in Photoshop allow me to create colorful, whimsical images of them- emphasizing their wonderful feline nature which I love so much. I also enjoy take street pictures in New York and other cities I have visited. I have exhibited these photos in galleries in New York and New Jersey and am considering adding some of them to my Etsy shop.


-- How did Etsy come into your life? I first heard about Etsy on television a few years ago. I kept it in the back of my mind as a way to sell my work. I finally decided I was ready to create my own Etsy shop.


-- Are you working a day job too? I have been an assistant to a private art dealer for the past ten years.


-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? When I was around 20 years old I took a photography class and fell in love with printing photographs in a black and white darkroom. Watching the latent image develop on photo paper was so exciting! I was hooked from that moment. I got a degree in photography and supported myself by taking commercial photography jobs and by selling a few photographs through local art galleries. But after ten years of working in darkrooms, I developed severe allergies to photo chemicals. This was prior to digital photography. I was shooting film and I knew from experience that if I couldn’t print my negatives myself, my work would not look the way I wanted it to look. So I gave up photography and decided to go back to school. My two loves were art and animals. It was a toss up whether to pursue a career working with animals or to stay in the arts. I chose to get a degree in art history. But I missed being a photographer! Fortunately, digital cameras and ink jet printers have allowed me to return to photography. And I get to work with animals after all as I photograph my cats.

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? I have a strong desire to create images and to share my work with other people. I am hoping that someday I will not have to work my “day job” and will be able to spend my time doing what I love to do.


-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Funny, colorful, cute

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? I usually get up around seven am and check my email and facebook fan page.
I then play with my cats and take pictures of them if they are doing something cute or funny (which they usually are!). Some days I go to my “day job” where I check my Etsy site and email several times a day. On days when I don’t have to go to my job, I create new images for cards and prints to put in my Etsy shop and check forums and blogs for ways to promote my shop.

-- What's your favorite material and techniques to work with? My digital camera—a Nikon D200 and Photoshop. I love being able to control and apply color through the Photoshop software.


-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I would love to be able to quit my day job and make a living creating and selling my images.


-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I love to travel, to go to art museums or to just wander around the city.


-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? I love looking at other artist’s photography.


-- Any last words? Thank you Naomi for the opportunity to share my work with others. I hope your readers will visit my Etsy shop and find something they love.