Tilly Designs

Do you like detailed illustrations or digital paper?  If you do you should check out BlackBumpkin‘s Etsy store!

Where are you from and tell us a bit about yourself

My name is Simona and I’m from Northern Italy. I’m fortythree, no children but a lovely husband and four wonderful cats.

I have a part-time job in a restaurant and I’m a big bookworm and “comicswom”. My house is filled with books and comics, even lined up in dangerous piles on furniture and chairs. I know I’m messy and my house reflects my mind. But I can find everything in my chaos, even my markers and pencils, that I usually have to search for half an hour every time I decide to draw.

I’m not a real artist and I havn’t had an artistic education at school (I studied Foreign Languages), but I like self-teaching and learning lots of things. I think curiosity is my worst fault and my best quality.

I started selling at fairs almost 20 years ago. I made silver and hard-stones jewelry. I even sold them in the shop where I’ve been working for 15 years. Then in Italy started the hobby mania and everybody went selling their art. There were lots of jewelry makers who bought from Chinese people and re-sold on fairs. Once in a fair there were 10 jewelry stands and they all were selling the same things!! I decided to stop. I didn’t want to get rich selling my jewelry, I just wanted to give someting unique to my buyers. But buyers went following fashion…

Not bad. Because I found a new obsession!! Drawing (hand and digital) and doodling!! I found out about Etsy and decided to give it a try. I started with digital sheets and this year I had the courage of selling my hand-drawn art.

What is a typical day for BlackPumpkin?

My typical day is that of an employee. I wake up early in the morning, take the underground to go to work, meet 200 – 300 people and telle the same things every day, take again the tube to go home and…….. start creating!!!!
Actually, I spend a big part of my day doing mechanical things, so my mind is free to wander. Sometimes, when we have less work, I even draw or take notes on the back of old menus! Some of my best drawings were made while working and then refined at home.

What do you enjoy the most about your craft?

You know, I’m a dark soul. I don’t like wearing colors and I always dress in black or dark purple. But while drawing I love making colorful sujects. It’s a kind of healing for me.

This year I started an online class because I wanted to improve drawing faces and eyes. My task was to put on paper all the “monsters” I had in my head. And I did it!! I’m really proud of my “Family Portraits” series.

I do also enjoy the fact that I never know what I’m going to draw until I start using my pencil. It’s always a surprise for me.

What is your favorite item you have crafted?

My Weird Family Portraits Bookmark: Bicefalos. I have a bunch of vintage Italian books and I was thing of what to do with them. In January I started drawing these “family portraits” for my nephews, so I thought “why not?”. I kept the original drawings (I’ll frame them and hang them on my walls) and decided to make some nice bookmars.

What advice would you share with a new shop or someone thinking about selling their crafts?

Don’t be shy about what you create. If you don’t show your art, people won’t know about it and appreciate it. There is no good art or bad art. Only the expression of each of us. People may or may not like it, but we are showing our souls to the wolrd and this must be respected.

Moreover, I learnt that you cannot make it by yourself. I started selling when I found some good friends and advice here on Etsy.

Start hearting other shops, chat, follow teams and make friends.
Star a blog, a Flickr account, a Facebook Page. Anything that will be useful to promote your shop.

When you’re not crafting what do you enjoy doing?

Reading. Did I already say that I loooove reading? Ehehehe. Watching movies. Peruse through fair shops, looking for something interesting to use. But, most of all, I need to enter and explore new worlds and leave my real life for a while. And I can do this only by reading.

Where else on the web can we find you?

Etsy: BlackPumpkin.etsy.com
Blog: timelessrituals.blogspot.com/ . Here you can find averything, from my Etsy items to my doodles.
Twitter: twitter.com/#!/timelessrituals
Facebook PAge: www.facebook.com/pages/BlackPumpkins-Messy-Studio/206194012727488
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/timelessrituals/

Craftheart’s shop is full of great, usable, practical gifts for others and treasures for yourself. She has everything from pot holders to caterpillar bookmarks, make up bags to pillow cases, fleece blankets to dish cloths and more! She is also the first lady I’ve met doing BNRs, and now I’m hooked

Where are you from and tell us a bit about yourself:

I am from Long Island NY. My parents were older. I had grown sisters when i was born. Dad retired when I was 10 years old and we moved to Florida (right down the block from the boy i would eventually marry). Married at 19 and my husband joined the air force shortly thereafter. We have two children, grown now. My 26 year old son is the light of my life STILL, and my almost 22 year old daughter is the wild child!!!! I worked for years on the air force base in the arts and crafts center, teaching classes, mostly to home schoolers. I then worked in human resources. Left there to work for a chiropractor. I was his office manager and friend for nearly 3 years until i had to quit last year to devote more time to taking care of my 87 year old mom. Hubby is now retired military and working in the “real world”, and we have a bit of empty nest syndrome except for when our daughter “keeps moving back in”.

What is a typical day for Craftheart?

I am normally up very very late, till the wee hours of the morning, usually trying to relax and craft and tv watch. That being said, i usually sleep in late……….but around 10am or so i am up and on the computer, checking etsy and facebook, starting bnrs and my bns treat yourself thread and promoting. I make phone calls (for moms care, always someone to call between insurance, phys therapy, case worker, etc). I then run my errands. Come home usually in time for Judge Judy. For some reason i love her! I do a lot of crafting and/or resting at this time and then always TRY to get a walk in around 6pm (drs orders). Head over to moms anytime after 7 to take care of her and then home for late dinner making and so forth.

What do you enjoy the most about your craft?

I enjoy fun and colors so the most fun is creating just “stuff i like”, stuff that makes me smile and stuff that is colorful. I also enjoy the relaxation in it. my life is quite stressful and crafting relaxes me, esp crocheting.

What is your favorite item you have crafted?

I made a wreath once for my mom when i was in high school……..thousands of curly ribbon curls pinned on to a styrofoam wreath frame. She still has it 30 years later. I was also pretty partial to a pink/green/white floral baby afghan i made when my daughter was born.

What advice would you share with a new shop or someone thinking about selling their crafts?

Promote promote promote, anywhere you can, anywhere you go. Try not to be shy. Its my own hardeset advice to follow.

When you’re not crafting what do you enjoy doing?

There’s something else to do??? lets see. I LOVE shopping, its sort of a hobby, especially bargain hunting. I am known for saying OMG, that’s worth that price even if i never use it. My husband hates that. Movies, reading, all kinda calm and boring things.

Where else on the web can we find you?

I am craftheart on facebook and have a personal page under Tina Alvira. i promote lots on twitter (also craftheart). I have a zibbet and artfire shop but havent really done much with it yet.

Etsy shop: Craftheart