October's Featured EtsyMom Shop: andreabaker

This month's featured shop is Handmade by Andrea Baker (andreabaker.etsy.com). Handmade by Andrea Baker specializes in sewn items. In this shop you will find aprons, handbags, business card cozies, hand sewn pins, and the like. Andrea is a stay at home mom who, with time on her hands, felt the need to fill those idle moments with a hobby. Her hobby turned into a business. AndreaBaker has been open since November 6, 2006.
Andrea learned the basics of her craft from her mom and grandma when she was younger. However, she didn't begin to put that knowledge to use until much later in life when she refined those skills and taught herself the techniques require to create the things she makes today. Andrea's favorite part of crafting is "taking materials and creating something beautiful." She loves seeing the huge transformation that finished product has undergone from being materials to being a useful item. Hand sewn pins are her favorite thing to make. Andrea draws inspiration from the worl around her...everyday moments. "I do what I do because ultimately it makes me happy."
At this point in time, Etsy is the only venue where Andrea sells her items with the exception of some handmade pins being sold in a shop in Virigina and a few select items for sale in a local shop.
Andrea is married to a wonderful Professional Local Magician; together they have two beautiful girls nine years apart in age. Home is Columbus, Ohio and has been for the last 10 years. Andrea's family is very supportive of her business. Photography is her second hobby and she loves taking photos of everyday life. "The world around me is so beautiful and I love to share that with the rest of the world."
You can find Andrea online at :
www.facebook.com/AndreaBaker
www.andreabakerdesigns.com
www.plurk.com/AndreaBake
www.twitter.com/andreabaker816

June's Featured Shop: SewFierce

This month's EtsyMom Street Team featured shop is SewFierce.etsy.com SewFierce offers fun and affordable creations for your little one. Sewing began as a hobby for Steph, but since opening her online shop, www.sewfierce.com, about a year ago, she has been doing it full time. She opened her Etsy shop, www.sewfierce.etsy.com, this spring and has been having fun meeting other Etsians, joining groups and networking, and chatting in the forums. Steph is a stay at home mom to two amazing little girls. She has been fortunate to be able to develop give and take schedule with her girls that allows her to work from home. During the day they let mommy work a few hours and then they all go do something fun and then daddy comes home and takes over so mommy can "go to work".
Steph finds the most challenging aspect of her craft would be when she is so tired that she makes simple mistakes again and again. But she is rewarded when someone sends pictures of "their little princess in one of" the outfits she has made. Steph's goal has been to offer "well made, adorable boutique-style clothing and infant accessories any mommy on any budget could afford." She is working hard to get the Sew Fierce name out there and let people see what she is all about.
Steph is military wife, with a Marine Corp family living in sunny San Diego, California. Her daughters are 4 and 2 years old and are Daddy's little girls. She maintains a blog where she offers frequent giveaways of her products and general posts about what interests her. Steph was an Equestrian in her young years. "I have tattoos and love them, I adore peanut butter and fluff sandwiches and am a Dallas Cowboys fan."

April's Featured Shop: JaimeSews

This month's featured EtsyMom shop is JaimeSews.etsy.com. Shop owner, Jaime Johnson, opened shop on Etsy just over a year ago....expecting a new baby, she was looking for a way to stay home with her new baby boy, when a friend introduced her to the world of Etsy (which she admittedly didn't enter until a few months later...she fell in love instantly!). Since joining Etsy, Jaime has been able to connect with other crafters who are also moms and "speak" her language.


JaimeSews offers a variety of handmade baby items...clothing, burpers, bibs, quilts, and more. When asked her specialty, Jaime replied she feels as though she has "sewing ADD - I love bridal sewing and alterations, clothing construction, quilting, and making various baby items." She brings a Bachelor's of Science in Home Economics to the table and has been sewing since the summer between her sophomore and junior years of high school. She worked for Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machines during college and then taught machine classes, children's summer classes and clothing classes at a quilt shop for a few years after that. She also managed the alterations department of David's Bridal for about a year before coming to her current job as a full time church secretary.

Jaime initially found it difficult to balance her Etsy shop with her home life. Like many before her, she became addicted to Etsy and had to pull herself away from the online world of arts and crafts. After a less than expected craft show experience, she has decided to keep Etsy in the "hobby" mode until she is able to bring more focus to a single product line.

"Right now I feel really unfocused and unsure of my product, so someday I hope I can gain that needed focus and make it a full time gig. I think that in order to achieve that, I need to find a product that I am passionate bout creating. I believe that is the key to making this my full time job."

In the meantime, she was approached by someone locally with whom she has established an independent contractor's relationship where she converts designer jeans into into maternity jeans. This arrangement allows her to get in her sewing outlet without worrying about the business end of it. She plans to work on increasing her Etsy inventory in between orders from her current arrangement.

Jaime finds the variety, the creative outlet, and the community of crafters to be the most satisfying aspect of her craft. She has been married 6 1/2 years to her husband, Andy and together they have a 14 month old little boy. She is starting her first garden and enjoys sewing, politics and learning just about anything she can. A lot of people are surprised to know she was a skateboarder in junior high and high school. She also loves to go target shooting with her husband whenever they can get to it.