Wednesday, April 21, 2010

BESTeam feature: Artesia

this week's BESTeam feature is on this awesome shop: Artesia. honestly, i don't even know where to begin. not only does this lovely lady make natural bath products, she also donates 10% of her proceeds to Water 1st International. umm, hello--i am all for this! "Water 1st grants funds to communities to establish sustainable safe water systems. Buying from Artesia allows you to pamper yourself while giving the gift of clean water to others. Share water. Drink Deep." amazing, right? to top it all off, her products are awesome and i kind of want them all [good thing josh took away the credit card...].

without further ado, here's introducing Artesia! (click on pictures to go to their listings)

What's your favorite color?
Hmmm… I don’t really have one, but I do favor purple more often than not. Mostly I am enthralled with the just right color that expresses a perfect energy for the appropriate situation.

What inspires you?
A good challenge. I get bored easily and would rather be moving on to master something new.


What do you love most about what you do?
I especially like that I don’t have to rent my brain out to another entity 8 hours a day. I get to decide what I spend my time on. Being a one-woman show means I have many different hats to wear and there is always something to work on that fits the mood of the day. I get to be creative when the mood strikes, and I get to fuss over details on bean counting days. This approach works in a holistic way for me that I am very satisfied with. I also get to decide when it’s time to pack the kids into the Jeep and head to the lake.

[i want 1 of each. they're all flavored...so i'd probably just eat them...]

Is Etsy part-time, full-time, or hobby for you? How do you balance it with everything else?
Etsy is a full time job with hobby wages right now. There is always more to do. Balance is something we are always striving for. When it is slow I am able to get most of my work done while the kids are in school or after they go to bed. Other days, my husband picks up the slack. He is wonderful! What more could you ask for than a partner who goes to work all day and then commutes home and is perfectly willing to cook supper and heard children so you can plug away at being creative and building an empire?

What are your top favorite blogs or websites?
I am a late comer to the whole blogosphere experience. I have just started following a few semi-regularly and there is another gaggle or so that I pop in on once in a while. As far as websites, I’m all over the place. It all depends on what I am researching at the time. I have to admit that after resisting Facebook forever, I now have both a personal page and a business page and I check in several times a day. I also lurk on the etsy forums quite a bit. I guess that helps make up for the reclusive times a self-employed artisan must endure.


What are your current projects?
Well, I don’t want to give away too much too soon, but I am really excited about a couple of bath product ideas I am working on! It’s a bit tricky but when I figure it all out I should have something totally new for the bathing beauties. I got the initial idea after listening to “Ripple” by the Grateful Dead over and over for a day and a half. I just couldn’t burn the song out of my skull until “poof!” this new product idea came to me. Stay tuned….

[with products like this, i can imagine any new products will be awesome. this turns your bath water colored (w/o coloring you or your tub!)]

How did you get started w/your Etsy shop (what made you open it)?
I found Etsy when I was doing research into starting Artesia. I like to do A LOT of research on whatever topic or project I am currently obsessed with. I happened across a blog post about a soap seller from San Francisco and the article mentioned etsy.com as a venue for handmade. I checked it out and added it to the list of things to try. In the end I chose to open a shop on Etsy because the price is right, the traffic is (was) good, there is a strong community aspect, and for me it was a good place to figure out the whole virtual marketplace concept.


AND guess what? she's having a giveaway on girlygirlgiveaways!

where you can find Artesia:
etsy
twitter
facebook
blog

7 comments:

Liv said...

Nice feature. My mom will love this. She's a sucker for giant and delicious soaps. We may have to browse the shop when she comes to visit in August.

yourstrulydear said...

yeah, i know my mom will be all over it too. too bad i already got her a mothers day present. when josh isn't looking maybe i'll just snag a couple items :]

Artesia said...

Aww.. Thanks so much for the feature, Jess! I really appretiate all the nice comments - makes me blush a little. *''*

Nina said...

I 100% agree, Artesia is such a cool shop!
Nina
http://youaremysunshine.etsy.com
http://mysunshinevintage.etsy.com
http://ninas-day.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mysunshine4etsy

Unknown said...

Can I give you the list? :)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Fantastic feature on an exceptional artisan! I'm trying to curb my lip balm obsession, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out!