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.

AglaeaDesigns

Friday Finds... AglaeaDesigns


This is my 21st interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy!

Hi everyone and Happy Friday!
A bit later than usual today but that would be my fault as I was very last minute asking todays seller for an interview (being as my memory is rubbish and I've spent most of this week being preoccupied with other things as you know!), and I am so grateful to her for managing to get me the interview along in time for today considering she herself has recently had a baby and I can only imagine how tight time is probably right now!
Kelly of AglaeaDesigns is a very talented photographer that I stumbled across a while ago and found myself falling in love with each and every photo I looked at whilst browsing her shop. there are some really inspiring talents emerging in the photography world and I think Kelly has this incredible way of handling her final result for each picture. The images are so dream like and soft, and the fact that she offers gocco prints, and jewelry with her work printed on makes browsing so much more of an experience on each page :)
I'll be quiet now and let you enjoy her interview! Congratulations on your little baby Kelly and thankyou again for taking part today!


(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.) Kelly Preusser, 31, Garrison, NY
random fact: I just had my first child 6 weeks ago, a daughter, Aurora Faye and I am loving not working and spending time with her!


-- What is your business about then? My business is mostly photography prints but have started to include photo pendents and handmade cards.


-- How did Etsy come into your life? I just stumbled upon Etsy one day while cruising the web and fell in love with. After a little while of browsing and purchasing some fabulous items from other members I thought, 'hey, I should do this too!'


-- Are you working a day job too? I do have day job, although I am on maternity leave right now. I am a graphic designer and currently working at a printing company where I am the production manager.



-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? I guess I have been an artist my whole life. I always was more interested in taking art classes rather then academics while in school. When I was a teenager my uncle gave me my first SLR film camera, which I still have and use. He was a photographer himself and taught me a lot and really sparked my interest in the field. In college I took tons of different kinds of art classes and my interest grew more and more. I just love all forms of art!

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? My inspiration comes from my life - all that is around me. I live in a beautiful area, have great friends and now a gorgeous daughter who inspires me everyday.


-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? pretty, life, color

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? Well when I was working I worked my day job from 8 to 4, during the day I would check up on my Etsy shop, renew items, check in on forums quickly. When I got home I would continue to do the same, along with listing new items if I had them or working on editing photos until my husband came home from work. Then we'd hang out, eat dinner, watch LOST when it's on!! Then I might hop on the forums again or browse what other sellers are listing before bed.


-- What's your favorite material and techniques to work with? Cameras of course! I have a Canon digital SLR but also use my film cameras still, along with a Holga and a Minolta SLR. I have started a collection of vintage cameras in various stages of working order. I then use Photoshop and Lightroom for editing the photos. I like playing around with different editing techniques and textures on my photos, just trying different things until I get a result I like.


-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I'd love to just be able to continue to do what I enjoy. My Etsy shop isn't that successful right now so I'd love for that to take off and maybe do some street fairs, art galleries, and whatever comes my way.

-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? Right now I just love hanging out with my daughter, getting to know her and her getting to know me - it's just fantastic!

-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? I love looking at other photographers work, there are so many great artists here! I usually search using pounce - it's a great way to find new work, I can get lost in it!

-- Any last words? I hope everyone enjoys my shop and finds something they love!

ellyolsen

Friday Finds... EllyOlsen


This is my 20th interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy!

It's Friday! So that means a lovely interview for today!
It's not often I find new artists to Etsy that happen to be photographers. The hot topic in terms of catagory always seems to fall within jewelry making and crafts! As much as it's wonderful to find talents in all faucets of one's field of speciality, I always hope to find the odd new painter, illustrator or photographer because I think these are the catagories that probably struggle to gain a voice on Etsy the most with it being such a vastly craftbased scene. It's just always so nice to find something that you yourself take pride in as your own primary talent because of the familiarity when it comes to talking about it with eachother. I guess it's the same kind of feeling when talking to anyone that specialises in the same thing you do yourself, and not wholly restricted to the new talents! Yet as you know it's the new talents I like to give a heads up, mainly because we all have to fight that battle starting out on Etsy, and most of the time we don't even realise that promotion is the key to getting noticed!
So today I want to focus on the photographic talents of seller EllyOlsen a nature photographer and what I'd have to describe as a fine art photographer, as her work is absolutely stunning! Visiting her store is like entering a virtual botanical gardensm, everything looking so crisp, bright, fragrant and colorful. Even some of her more abstract pieces take you into another world full of texture, surrealism and absolute beauty. Definitely check out her store... and read on for her interview :)


(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.) Elly Olson, 26, New Berlin, WI. Random fact: I'm super short standing at only 5 ft tall. This past summer I started embracing my height and wore flats for the first time :) Now I am constantly wearing sneakers and all kinds of shoes and sandals with no extra height!


-- What is your business about then? My business is about photography prints and I'm going to be adding handmade magnets, keychains and necklaces as well.


-- How did Etsy come into your life? A coworker and his wife have an Etsy shop and their stuff is amazing. I don't care about making a profit on Etsy, I just figure that maybe someone else will like my photos as much as I do and will want to put it up in their home :)


-- Are you working a day job too? Yes, I work full time at the corporate office for a large department store chain. I work in their marketing department.


-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? I'd say I have always been an "artist". As a young girl we didn't have much money, but my dad said if ever I wanted something that was art-related, he'd purchase it for me. My dad is very artistic and I think that's where I get it from. I've always been into photography from the time I had my first camera. I think when I started taking more trips is when I really 'unleashed' because I wanted to make sure I was capturing our travels as much as possible so when I returned home I would always have those photos to remember our time away.

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? Just seeing beautiful things in nature. I really take in my surroundings and embrace all that there is to see wherever I go. I remember being in Lake Tahoe and along a hiking trail me and my husband climbed these huge boulders to look over the lake and it was just nice to take all the beauty in with him. You realize how much there is in life to explore.


-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Photography, Nature, Colorful

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? I get up at 6am to start my work day and arrive home around 4:30pm. I check my Etsy throughout my workday and also when I get home. I find things to 'heart' and also play around in the forums. I make dinner for my husband and myself and we catch up on tv shows we like to watch together. I'm usually on my laptop off and on throughout the night messing with my photographs. I really like enhancing them in post-processing software by adding textures and adding filters.

-- What's your favorite material and techniques to work with? Of course my Nikon DSLR camera :) I currently have 2 lenses that I switch out, but am pondering getting myself a true macro lens. I also love developing my pictures using Lightroom and a little bit of Photoshop if need be.

-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I would love to build up my library of images and in a couple of years do some street fairs. I also have my photographs displayed at an Art Gallery shop and am curious to see how that goes for me. Other than that, I will continue taking pictures because that is what I love to do!

-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I love being outdoors no matter what I'm doing. I enjoy going out on our boat during the summer months and our snowmobiles during winter months :) We also try and plan a couple trips throughout the year and check out some place different each time.

-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? I really only search for supplies. I find most of my favorites though by using the pounce feature.

-- Any last words? I hope everyone fancies my shop and finds something beautiful there that they could see hung in their own homes :)