20 Questions: Femme Petal

This is the first in a series of interviews with Etsy artists. All will be roughly 20 questions, and they will be published once or twice a week. Stay tuned for more, and welcome our first contributor!


What is your name?
Erin Keys

What is the name of your business?
Femme Petal

Where in the world are you located?
Indianapolis, Indiana

What do you sell?
Vintage, fun, and just plain girly jewels

Who taught you your craft?
Myself!

How long have you been crafting?
Since November 2008

What part of your craft do you get excited about?
Everything! I love sitting down and creating! It is soothing, relaxing, and the accomplishment you feel when done is amazing!

What part of your crafting business do you dread?
Listing.

Do you usually craft solo or in a group?
I usually have both of my kids hovering over me, asking me for this and that, and showing me beads that they like.

What is one common misconception about your craft?
That it is easy. That is definitely what I thought when I started. Wrong! But when my creative juices start flowing - look out!

Is your craft business full-time or part-time?
I do this and sell Pink papaya full time.

Who is your crafting hero and why?
My crafting hero would have to be all the fabulous ladies that make up Unique Women in Business. They are so inspirational and so motivational.

Are there any other crafts you would like to learn?
Wire wrapping. UGH! That is not self taught!

Parting words?
Love what you do!You can see Erin's other web presences on the Unique Women in Business site, on myspace, and on her Yahoo! group.

Thanks, Erin! Stay tuned for more interviews coming soon.

Featured Seller: Zeba

I don't wear much jewelry, but I find it alluring nonetheless...maybe it's one of those "ooh, shiny..." raccoon-syndrome things. Whatever is behind it, this necklace is another of my favorites.



It's by Sholeh of the Etsy shop called Zeba, and the center part isn't metal set with stones as I first thought; it's actually a man made Bismuth hopper crystal. (I can't resist things that are pretty and science-y!)

Sholeh came to the US from Iran in 1977 to get a computer science degree and ended up staying here. When she's not working at her day job or her Etsy shop, Sholeh is helping her husband with their kitchen renovation; he's building new cabinets, and she is using her other talent to make some stained glass panels for the cabinet doors.

Featured Artist: HightowerBotanicals

This is another item I ran across using Etsy's Pounce feature. It grabbed me because when I was in gradeschool I walked to and from school most days and along my route were several trees that dropped piles of these seed pods.

Julee of Hightower Botanicals is the artist behind this pretty pendant. When asked about it she said, "This Maple tree seed pod is a favorite of mine because as a child I played with the seed pods by pulling them apart and sticking them on my nose! And also of course, throwing them off of high places so they'd spin down to the grown like a helicopter."

Julee grew up in Washington state before going to art school in Brooklyn, New York. She currently works as an artist's assistant and makes huge casted and fabricated sculptures in many materials. She sees her jewelry work as miniature sculpture and especially enjoys working with plants and herbs.

Featured Seller: xmissamyx

I've meant to start doing features on this blog for a while now, so here we go with number one!

I found this amethyst and peridot bracelet while Pouncing for undiscovered Etsy shops (meaning shops who have not yet made a sale).

It's from xmissamyx and is priced at $46. She's a recent graduate who has been making jewelry for three years now. When she's not making items for her Etsy shop, she works at a part-time job (which she loves), spends time with her pets (a ferret called Merlin and two gerbils called Flea & Squirrel), and teaches jewelry classes. She's also a fan of superheroes!

With beautiful jewelry and alluring photographs like these, she won't remain sale-less for long.