Stroll the Shops for Christmas

Hello!


Has anyone been following Stroll the Shops for Christmas over on my friend Jan's blog? Have you heard about it? Jan is the owner and designer at Jan Tanis Designs and for the 3rd year in a row she's hosting her Stroll the Shops for Christmas Event on her blog at http://jt-jantom.blogspot.com/. The event runs from November 1st - 12th and she'll be introducing 2 artisans each day of the event. I was one of the featured artisans yesterday.


It's a really great event... makes you feel like the good 'ole days shopping in a quaint little village of shops back when Christmas wasn't so commercialized and what really mattered was family and meaningful presents (not things like iPods). She's got all the decorations up, even has Christmas music playing! She's created a fabulous atmosphere so grab a cuppa your favorite coffee or hot chocolate, put on your pj's and fuzzy socks and go on over. You'll love it ♥ 


I'll tell you a little about it but to really enjoy the full effect, you need to go over to her blog and experience it for yourself.

Day 1 of Stroll the Shops Showcased the work of

Kimberly Nicole and Jan Tanis

http://jt-jantom.blogspot.com/2011/11/welcome-to-3rd-annual-stroll-shops-for.html

Kimberly Nicole (aka: Nikki) is the owner and designer at Bastille Bleu Lampwork. She makes gorgeous lampwork beads and jewelry and she's a wonderful person. Here's a couple examples of her work... she made the jewelry AND the beautiful glass beads!

 

Jan is the owner and designer at Jan Tanis Designs and the hostess of this event. She makes gorgeous jewelry, rosaries and crocheted items and is also a wonderful person. Here's a couple things Jan has made...

  

Day 2 of Stroll the Shops Showcased the work of

Elizabeth Rintala and Debra Beach

http://jt-jantom.blogspot.com/2011/11/day-2-stroll-shops-for-christmas-beth.html

Beth is the owner and designer at Gemworks by Beth. She is a jewelry designer who makes all one-of-a-kind pieces primarily with gemstones. Here's a couple of her creations...

Debra is the owner and designer at String Bead Studio. She makes wonderfully creative, or as she calls them, eclectic and quirky, jewelry. She just opened up her shop on ArtFire and we wish her much success! Here are a couple of her designs...

Day 3 of Stroll the Shops Showcased the work of

Debi Auger (Me!) and Faye Metcalf

http://jt-jantom.blogspot.com/2011/11/day-3-stroll-shops-for-christmas-debi.html

Well, you already know me, so let me introduce you to Faye!

Faye and her daughter Lesli own Ye Olde Chandler where they make fabulous soy candles and soaps. I haven't tried them yet, but people who have say that Faye's candles are better than Yankee's.... and they come in over 80 scents!! Some samples of their work...

Day 4 of Stroll the Shops is today and is Showcasing the Work of

Sherri Stokey and Amy Kuczewski

Sherri is the owner and designer at Knot Just Macrame. She makes the most amazing, detailed jewelry using macrame technique. The intricacy of her designs absolutely blows me away. See for yourself...

Amy, the Flamekeeper, is the owner of Torch by Night Lampwork. She makes fabulous lampwork glass beads and some jewelry from time to time. Aren't her beads delicious?

Tomorow will be Day 5 of the Stroll. Can't wait to see what talented artisans Jan's going to introduce us to!! Go on over and take in the whole experience for yourself... you'll be glad you did! And most of the artisans are offering specials to visitors so be sure to go look ;)

Hope you enjoyed the re-cap of the first 4 days! I'll be back tomorrow with some exciting news for you :)

♥ Debi

Attention Fellow Artisans: Keep More Money for Yourself by Selling on ArtFire

Hello!

I want to share an important opportunity with other artisans today. Things are so tough for everyone in this economy, we need to make every penny count...and every penny does count.

So, I want to make sure that all you guys know about ArtFire. It's a marketplace for Hancrafted, Fine Art, Vintage, Design and Media items as well as Craft Supplies. It's like Etsy, actually a direct competitor. One of the reasons I chose ArtFire over Etsy was fees. For a low monthly fee you can sell an unlimited number of items on ArtFire. They don't charge you to list items, don't charge a fee when you sell items...they just don't nickel and dime you (hello eBay...hello Etsy).

I know that most artisans sell on Etsy. I have an account, but I just use it to buy from artists who only sell their products on Etsy...mostly lampwork glass artists (my addiction to lampwork glass beads is a whole huge topic for another day...lol).

Anyway, the buzz is that many people are unhappy with Etsy's fees and a host of other things. I can't verify the complaints because I don't sell there. However, I do want to let everyone know they have other options.

I've been happy with ArtFire and everything they offer. I have a Pro account with a "locked-in-for-life" rate (another great thing they do to save you money). I must say I've been very impressed with the ranking my items get at the search engines (another reason I chose them)...most of the time first page. And I get great exposure on TheFind thanks to ArtFire, too.

I know that it's not as well known as Etsy and eBay and most people may have never heard of ArtFire, but the more of us who sell there, the better it will get because the word will spread. Look into it, compare it to where you're selling now and maybe add it to the mix to try it out.

Right now they're having a promotion. You can Become an ArtFire Pro with this link and get your 3rd month free! If you use this link to sign up, I also get a free month AND until March 15th, whenever a new member referred by a current member (hence the tracking link) signs up for an account they're both entered in ArtFire's Share the Love contest to each win a Canon Rebel DSLR Camera!!!

So if you've been contemplating trying other selling venues, this would be a great time for you to try ArtFire.

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the various selling venues...and one I just recently heard about...Zibbet. If you have ideas or thoughts that you think would be helpful to others, please do share :) Thanx!

~ Debi