Sale Ends Tomorrow!!

Whew! I've been a busy little beaver lately. Not with my Tefi line, but with this. I'm a little factory, and I have been exhausted most of these past few days.

In celebration of hitting 100 sales in my Etsy shop a few weeks ago, I waived all shipping and handling charges (domestic and jewelry only) for the month of May. So you've got 2 days left to take advantage of this offer as it ends tomorrow night. Just check out some of the goodies in my shop:

A Long Circuitous Path necklace: $22


Word Up! cameo bobby pin: $7.50


Let's Stick Together earrings: $14.50

FAME! I'm Gonna Live For...a Few Minutes

Making it on the front page of Etsy.com was bittersweet. Sweet, because I got some major face time on the premiere international online marketplace for all things handmade; bitter because I missed seeing it and reveling in the greatness.

Here's the item that was featured, my Dark Crystal bracelet - and it's still up for sale! It was featured alongside a fellow EDer's handmade item, a coffe cup cozy by Patricia of Karma Crochet:



This instant and fleeting fame of mine was due to my grant writing skillz. No, really! See, I wrote a grant request (with input and edits from my trusty leadership team), and we were accepted for some grant funds to help defray the costs of our big ol' rockin' indie craft event - the infamous Beer-B-Q.

Check out the Etsy article here!

Press for Tefi!

Tefi Designs got some major press today (okay, major for me...) in the DFW Quick, the Dallas Morning News' daily freebie. Not only is my Fruit Salad necklace featured, but the story runs along side articles about Neil Diamond and Radiohead. Too cool!! Thanks go to Lesley Tellez for picking up our story and representing Etsy Dallas so well. Lesley: You are my new favorite person!

Peptide Tefi

So I have this biochemist friend and fellow Etsy Dallas crafter, Carrie of Atom In, who recently discovered that TEFI is not only the nickname that my family calls me, nor the name of my jewelry design company, but also the name consisting of single-letter codes for a protein sequence of: threonine, glutamic acid, phenylalanine and isoleucine. I'm cool AND brainy! (if only by proxy...)

Shopping at the Beer-B-Q

The 1st Annual Etsy Dallas Beer-B-Q is a mere five days away. Are you ready?

When you come out to support your local artists and crafters, please bring plenty of CASH as many of our indie handmade vendors will not be able to accept credit cards. But remember: The food and drinks are FREE!!

Check out all of the great Etsy Dallas members who will be at the trunk show:

Alicia Colina-Ashby - cigar box home goods
Atom-In - resin jewelry, magnets, bags
B.liscious - bags, photography, journals
Bending Light Studio - photography, prints
Carol Vega - art print jewelry
Designing Diva - glass & metal jewelry
ebraunnagel - bags, purses
Freeforged - fine metal jewelry
HipHazel - ceramicware
Honeydew Baby - hair bows, kids' clothes
HOUNDMADE - dog accessories
Karma Crochet - crocheted housewares, blankets
Kathy D. Keith - art, prints, cards
Kessler Craftsman - glass art, lamps, votives
Lena Studio - fine metal jewelry
Little Cookie - kanzashi hair accessories, plushies, bags
Memopause - notebook necklaces
Menagerie - clay home art and accessories
Miamaria - purses, aprons
Modest Ambition - crocheted clothes and accessories
Pamela Michelle - art pendants, prints, paintings
Purple Toes - beaded jewelry
Sadie's Things - antiqued brass jewelry
Scribbles - beaded pens
SugarLoveHoney - blankets, tutus, baby clothes
Tefi Designs - felted jewelry, hair goods
The Carpenter Collection - beaded jewelry
The Plaid Mushroom - Lip balms & key chains
TP Design - paintings, home décor, cards
XY Factory - baby goods, maternity clothes

Originally I posted this on the Etsy Dallas blog. Check it out!

Olives update: 72 + 3 I already had made (Yeah, I cheated.)

Not Frazzled

I did my first art/craft show back in October 2006. I can't believe I've been at this for a year and a half now! It's gotten to where it feels like old hat, and I'm enjoying the "night befores" more and more.

In fact, I was done - I mean DONE done - by 10pm tonight. I started around 7:30pm, added a few last-minute items to my cache, packed everything up, and loaded my Element. (I didn't know I could love a car so much.)

The lesson I've learned: simplify. I cut out one gridwall from my set-up plan, managed to get all of my display items into one tub, and opted to bring only certain collections to sell tomorrow. For the first time I will not be putting out items that are also listed in my Etsy shop. I've never oversold anything, but the possibility always stressed me out.

I'll also be selling all sorts of things I've had for so long and never quite managed to put out there: eyeglasses chains, name badge necklaces, kitschy earrings, Escapularios, and a ton of red-lined SALE items. I'll have free gift wrap for anyone who wants it!

See you tomorrow at the Bazaar. If you don't come, I'll cry. That's how much I love you.

Olives update: 62

Paging Donna Reed

While I'm pretty sure you won't ever catch me wearing a hoop skirt and petticoat in public, you will see me wearing an apron at tomorrow's Urban Street Bazaar. Thanks to Miss Pamelita, the ED leadership team now has aprons with our official logo (which she designed back in October).

The original plan was to wear them at the BBQ, but it seems we will be debuting them en force this weekend. So look for the bright blue and orange colors and stop by our booths to show some crafty love. I mean, just look at how cute they are (that's Pam!):



Olives update: 56

Young Me :: New Me

This web site, with a few kinks mind you, is precious. The idea: Take an old childhood photo of yourself and try your best to recreate it today. Then put them side by side and enjoy the juxtaposition. Here are a couple of my favorites from the site: Olives update: 52

2008 Tefi Awards

As many of you know, I founded Etsy Dallas back in September 2007, and have been leading it since. But, my leadership wouldn't mean diddly-squat were it not for the help and support of the ED leadership team and supporters in the indie community. So, I'd like to take this time to shine the spotlight on a few who I have had the honor to work with to make Dallas a crafty-loving, artistically-inspired, magical little hamlet. My fabulous Etsy Dallas leadership team: Brenda of B.Liscious Photography - for keeping us in posters and flyers, and for managing our blog and keeping us all on track Carrie of Atom-In - for her countless hours planning and marketing, and for being our Crafty Queen (Look for Carrie at the free Make-&-Take craft booth at the BBQ!) Larry, The Kessler Craftsman - for his expertise and YES attitude, and for opening his beautiful home to the BBQ Pam of Pamela Michelle - for designing ED's promotional pieces and super-awesome logo, and all the marketing and planning she does Randi, The Designing Diva - for her brains, business aplomb, and keeper of our dough Mandi, Scribbles - for getting our goody bag promos together and bringing in Magic the Magician to our BBQ! And thanks to the following for making our upcoming 1st Annual Etsy Dallas Beer-B-Q the best FREE indie event in town: The House of Dang! - These boys were the first to jump on board with the 25 goody bag promos, and continue to be leaders in the indie handmade and vintage movement in Dallas. DJ Modchap - for spinning his jazzy lounge tunes at the BBQ from 11am-2pm for FREE! Josh of Bending Light Studio - for hooking us up with DJ Modchap in the first place Garrett Heinrichs Band - These downhome boys from Fort Worth will be playing their alt-country tunes from 2:30-5pm at the BBQ, also for FREE! Armhole - The guys at Armhole do it up right. Without hesitation, they offered to donate 25 BBQ trucker hats for the goody bags. I picked them up this morning and let me tell you - I WANT TO KEEP ONE FOR MYSELF!! whaaaaa..... James of One-Up Designs - One of these days you'll see his work in Architectural Digest, Dwell, and ReadyMade. But until then, James is donating his time and vinyl to making the coolest directional signs ED has ever seen- for FREE! And the most awesomest Tefi Award goes to: Mr. Dylan Dowdy, The Grillman - Dylan has been a huge asset to Etsy Dallas from the start; his contributions are too many to mention. Be sure to give him a big wet one at the BBQ! He'll be the one grillin' away and making sure you young'uns keep away from the keg. Thanks to everyone else I may have inadvertantly left off this list. Thanks especially to the great line-up of Etsy Dallas members participating in our 1st Annual Beer-B-Q. Look for a separate blog entry highlighting these great crafters coming soon...

Handmade in the OC

Join me and a handful of other Etsy Dallas members this Saturday at the Urban Street Bazaar in the hip, art-friendly Bishop Arts District in north Oak Cliff (a.k.a. Tefi's 'hood). I'll be sharing a tent with Brenda of B.Liscious. Brenda will being selling her beautiful nature photography as well as her signature patchwork reversible bags. Along with my ubiquitous gemstone jewelry, my Peapods will be large and in charge - the perfect Mother's Day gift. I'll also have a TON of new fabric bobbies and clips made with bright vintage fabric. Come pick up a pair or two! When: Saturday, May 10th Time: 11am - 8pm Where: Bishop Arts District, Oak Cliff, Dallas MAP Bonus: FREE gift wrap, because I love you! (But you already knew that.) Olives update: 40

Upcycled Rolodex

Who knew a Rolodex could be so cool? Just look at this one from Teen1's Etsy shop using magazine subscription inserts. Olives update: 32 I'm going to do this! The first thing I do when I get a new magazine is flip through and trash all of those annoying subscription inserts. Not anymore. Thanks Teen1 for the eco-friendly inspiration!

Tender Twig

I got this Google alert in my inbox this morning: History of the “Book of Tephi"

That led me to a Google search where I found this information:

Teia Tephi was the daughter ("Tender Twig") of the king of Jerusalem whom Jeremiah went forth to 'plant' in Ireland after the destruction of Zedekiah, king of Jerusalem in c. 588 B.C.

The Book of Tephi describes the journey Jeremiah took with Teia Tephi, The Lia Fail, and The Ark of The Covenant from Jerusalem to Ireland, via Tanis in Egypt (as in Raiders of The Lost Ark), then on to Gibraltar (where Tephi was proclaimed queen of the Gadite Israelites); Breogan in Spain; Cornwall and eventually landing at Howth, near Dublin, in Ireland on the 18th. of June 583 B.C.

And here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

The Irish, or Insular Celts, are descended from the Ten Lost Tribes. Proponents of this theory state that there is evidence that the prophet Jeremiah came to Ireland with Princess Tea Tephi, a member of the Israelite royal family. Proponents of this theory point to various parallels between Irish and ancient Hebrew culture. For example, they note that the harp, the symbol of Ireland, also plays a role in Jewish history, as the musical instrument of King David. Some maintain that the Tribe of Dan conducted sea voyages to Ireland and colonized it as early as the period of the Judges.

No wonder I've always loved trees and twigs and tiaras and Harp lager!

See also: Scota Tephi, descendant of Scota, Egyptian princess and founder of the Gaels

Olives update: 25

Swagland

It's a strange world when celebrities get all sorts of free goods, and us hoi polloi get to toil away and pay for the honor of them getting freebies. Funnily enough tho, I'm not even complaining! No, I'm actually pretty stoked. See, I've been selected to shuck up $100 bucks and 75 promo items to go into swag bags at the next MTV Gift Lounge. Now, I don't even know what the MTV Gift Lounge is yet - I will research, I promise! - but I do know that it's a place where 60 celebs, 10 press people, 3 charities, and 2 displays get these swag bags, which will include Tefi's needlefelted Shaken, Not Stirred olive hairsticks. Whoa nelly! the adorable Anne Heche wearing handmade swag at the 2006 MTV Style Lounge So thanks to Allison at The Sampler for selecting me, and pre-thanks to my mom and Jen who have enlisted themselves to help me package these little guys! Oh, and they're due in a couple weeks.... Do these celebs know what we crafters suffer? Why, hello there Detective Sandoval...

Nesting Instincts

Many, many thanks go to mother, blogger, and jewelry lover Courtney of Nesting Insticts. She was kind enough to feature my Peapod necklace, which sold a record number of times yesterday and today.

I'm making a ton of Peapods (with 2 and 3 peas, both large and small beads) to have on hand at the upcoming Urban Street Bazaar next Saturday, May 10th. Come by my tent and get one!

Welcome to the Boomtown

Today is a Good Etsy Day! I'm showcased today in Etsy's Mother's Day shopping guide - yippee! This is good only for today, so give it a quick clickety-click.

I've done the showcases twice before with zero sales. But today is a windfall boom of a day for me. In fact, I am up to 96 sales. Let's make it 100 by the end of today and I will have a MEGA SALE in my shop! Deal?

And check out my latest in the Peapod series - this one with 2 sweet little peas! Aw...