Etsy Artist Spotlight – *rikrak* { kristal davis }

Today’s Etsy Artist Spotlight is on Kristal Davis, the crafty creator of rikrak!

I’m thrilled to have her tell us a bit about her experiences and share some tips she’s learned while growing her business on Etsy!

Etsy is a fabulous place to showcase your unique handmade creations…and it’s a great place to meet other creative folks that are so much fun.

Here’s Kristal…

Tell us a bit about yourself.

thanks so much for having me, kim. love all you do for handmade cheerleading!

i’m kristal davis of the design studio *rikrak.* my lovely days are filled with mommying, designing, writing, playing @ the park, and living-room dance parties! i love handcrafting re-purposed, vintage fabric accessories, with a retro modern styling, for folks of all ages, and i write a design & everyday-kinda-fun blog while i’m at it.

What inspires you?
oh so much! my fabulous family, kindness, joy, light, patterns in things, geometric shapes, simple lines, colour-play and blue skies are some of the goodies that inspire me daily!

What’s the best thing about where you live?
my beautiful, funny, creative family all around me.
it’s an amazing inspiration and joy.
gosh!

Is your shop a business or hobby to you? Did you start out that way?

i’m so lucky to say that my business has become my fulltime {&more!} career and i LOVE it! i’m of course mommy foremost, but now that our little one is at school during the day, my adored hobby has joyfully become my career! (my etsy quit your day job here. wow – i still can’t believe it most days!

How do you promote your shop?

i think there are a few key elements for me in growing and promoting my shop and that i would happily share with others!

1. make unique things.
2. take all the time you can to take the best photos you can!
as both a seller and a fulltime blogger, i know that when i’m curating a post, it’s the best product photos that get featured. it’s worth every minute. having trouble? look online for help! there are lots of great easy, inexpensive resources out there!
3. be an active part of the handmade community.
my own blog was born, in great part, as a way to thank all of the many folks who had so kindly featured my work. featuring others is a great way to build strong ties and start a conversation with others (just like building friendships!) my little business grew and grew {and grows & grows!} in such great part to the other handmakers of the world who kindly share my creations. being part of that is a great thing in my books!

What advice would you give to new Etsy sellers?

my advice to other fun Etsyans is: i think Etsy is a wonderful community- embrace it! have fun & make what you love! be kind to others & yourself. be a cheerleader for your own art form & others. take lots of pictures, be friendly, make the most-eco friendly version of your goodies that you can, and join Etsy teams to find like minded artists (I’m thrilled to have met fantastic, inspiring Etsyans through the Trans-Canada Etsy Team, team Trashion, Team EcoEtsy, EtsyMoms & Old Time Etsy!)

Could you share with us a couple Etsy shops that you love?

good golly. so many!
thought i’d share a few shops that i love that really model the great elements i touched on above:

i adore these shops for making unique eco friendly items, showcasing great photos & being wonderful active, inspiring members of the handmaking community:

vadjutka – http://www.etsy.com/shop/vadjutka

artmind – http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtMind

chakrapennywhistle – http://www.etsy.com/shop/chakrapennywhistle

oktak – http://www.etsy.com/shop/oktak

essimar – http://www.etsy.com/shop/essimar

to name a few!

Where can we find you?

i love the visit with folks!
my rikrak shop: http://www.rikrak.etsy.com
my blog: http://www.rikrakstudio.blogspot.com
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/therikrakshop

superthanks, nicey!
it’s a great honour!
k.

Isn’t Kristal great?! Now’s the time to start ordering her famous Christmas stockings! It was a pleasure getting to know a bit more about such a creative girl! I hope you found some inspiring information in her interview…I know I did!

Care to share a sweet comment for Kristal? Isn’t her work fabulous?!

~Kim