This weekend is San Francisco Gay Pride - how are you celebrating?

Check out some amazing Pride-themed goods from our local SF artists, and be Prideful all year long!

We'll be back at the San Francisco Civic Commons' Center Sunday November 4th for our last Block Party of the Season!! Shop Early and Local for your Holiday Gifts and meet the makers and the SF Etsy team at the Civic Center Commons Block Party - Fall Edition!

November features Etsy sellers showcasing jewelry, art, home goods and gifts for all ages.

Our Etsy-sponsored DIY station will let you become the maker! Join us and learn how to make
Pom Pom and Tassels with GoGo Craft.  Learn how to make the perfect pom poms and tassels in a variety of sizes and beautiful yarns with mobile crafting workshop, GoGo Craft. Then string them together to make a stylish pom pom bag charm. All materials and tools provided.  

Find out more information on our Facebook event page

See our participating vendors below:

Join us on the last block party of 2018, on Fulton Street at Larkin in San Francisco. 

This FREE family-friendly event features recreational activities for all ages, a selection of bar drinks and street food curated by Off the Grid, music and promotional appearances by Bonneville San Francisco KMVQ 99.7 FM, an open-air bazaar with one-of-a-kind goods created by local artisans from SF Etsy: San Francisco Bay Area Etsy Team, and DIY arts and crafts activities.

We hope you’ll join us and spend your Sunday enjoying the event and other attractions in the Commons: Grab fresh produce at the nearby Heart of the City Farmers' Market, grab a coffee from the new Bi-Rite Cafe, play on the new Helen Diller Civic Center playgrounds, or check out the Asian Art Museum's FREE 1st Sundays. You can also skate with the infamous Church of 8 Wheels, San Francisco's first church-turned-roller-rink, in the designated public skating area.  

And don't forget to see the Common's newest attraction: a major public art installation in Civic Center Plaza by Zak Ové Artist brought to you by the San Francisco Arts Commission. 

I was first introduced to MorninGloria's beaded flower jewelry when we were both vendors at a craft fair in SF. I was immediately struck by all of the color in her display - vibrant blues, rich reds, warm amber - just a gorgeous array of hues that catch the eye. Upon closer inspection, I saw that each piece was intricately beaded, hundreds of tiny glass beads strung and wired together to create MorninGloria's hair accessories, wine glass charms, earrings and necklaces.

Gloria E. Rubio-Verduzco, owner and designer of MorninGloria's, first started making her beaded artwork in 2005. "I've been excited by beads and jewelry making since I was a little girl, but when I discovered French beaded flowers, I was immediately in love!" Gloria said. " I always loved wearing flowers in my hair, so I began creating beaded flowers to wear to dance classes and special events. Immediately, I began receiving requests from friends and family to make items for them...and so began MorninGloria's."

The technique Gloria uses to create her beaded flowers and leaves was first developed in the 1500s, and remained a popular folk art form through the Victorian era. Examples of beaded flower bouquets, called Immortelles, as well as decorative brooches, earrings and pendants can be seen in private and museum collections all over the world.

We are excited to have MorninGloria's present her exquisite line of beaded accessories at our first ever Sonoma County Pop Up, at Viansa Winery, 25200 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, CA  Sunday July 29 noon - 5pm. 

Welcome to another edition of the Friday Feature. This week we are featuring MorninGloria's.  Owner Gloria E. Rubio-Verduzco is an administrator for an arts non-profit during the day and devotes her evenings to her shop and business.  She makes some amazing French Beaded Flower jewelry  as part of her beaded jewelry line.

SFEtsy: Please tell us about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?
Gloria​: I make French Beaded Flowers. The reason they are called this is because the beading technique comes from the Victorian Era where peasants would use the leftover beads from the fabulous Victorian dresses, and string them onto wire to shape into flowers, which then they'd place on wreaths or other centerpieces for weddings, funerals, and other special events.

I fell in love with beaded flowers while stumbling upon one in a gift shop while on vacation. I used to dance ballet, and would often put silk flowers in my ballet bun, and when I happened upon this beaded flower, I was obsessed and began making them for dance classes and performances. When people saw me wearing them, they began asking me to make flowers for them...and so MorninGloria's began. :)

SFEtsy: What's your work schedule / routine like?
Gloria​: By day, I work full-time as an administrator for an arts non-profit, and my schedule usually consists of coming home, having dinner, and working on my jewelry items or online work (updating listings, promoting, social media) for a few hours each night. This fluctuates on my mood, and sometimes I'll be on a creative bender and itching to make items, and sometimes I'll be creativity spent, and I focus my energy on the business side. No rest for the weary!

SFEtsy: ​Tell us about your work space - where do you create?
Gloria​: I recently moved into a new home where I have a studio sized (if not bigger) bedroom, and my creative space is a large section where there are floor to ceiling bay windows. I moved there specifically for that so that I could have as much natural light as possible. I am still organizing the area, but it feels good to have a spacious area for making! 

   
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 SFEtsy: What tools do you use that are absolutely essential and makes a huge difference in your day today process?
Gloria​: I could not function without my jewelry pliers and bead spinner. If you don't know what a bead spinner is, it's a contraption that looks like a small bowl with a vertical stick in the center which is used to place my beads on the wire to make my beaded flowers. You put the beads inside the bowl, hold the end of a wire inside the bowl, and use the stick in the center to spin the bowl and the beads climb the wire. It looks like magic...but really it's physics! 
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SFEtsy: How did you get involved with Etsy?
Gloria​: I've been on Etsy since 2009, right after it began. I began selling my beaded flowers to my dancer friends, and turned online because I've always had a dream to have my own business. I was immediately drawn to the fact that it promoted the handmade community, and created a network for artisans all over the world. It's been a big part of my identity as an artist!

​SFEtsy: What is your biggest challenge related to your Etsy shop?
Gloria​: Time. I have just enough time to create, but it takes 4 times more amount of time to photograph, edit, list, promote, (etc....etc...etc.), and I seem to never have enough hours of the day! We all dream that we could "quit our day job" and do Etsy full-time, but I have so much that I want to do in all facets of my creative and vocational self. 

  
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SFEtsy:  What has been your biggest success and/or proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop? 
Gloria​: There are two events that come to mind. One was last Fall at the enormously attended Etsy Holiday Emporium at Pier 35. A pair of customers spent so much time at my booth ooing and ahhing over each of my items, telling me the sweetest compliments about my jewelry and hair accessories. They later came back and told me that my booth was their favorite of the show (which was a HUGE compliment given the caliber of artists that were present!), and they bought more items. I came home that night exhausted as can be to an email from one of them saying that they wanted to thank me for my work and for being so kind to them. 

The second was very recent, as I had my first meeting with a store buyer, and they LOVED my items and wanted my pieces in their shop as soon as possible. This was equally special as this store was one that I was a constant shopper of and respected for their high end items, so it felt so validating that they felt my items fit in with their aesthetic.  

SFEtsy: ​What are your favorite tools or apps that help you with your business?
Gloria​: My favorite photo editing app is picsart on my cell phone to create memes or promotional images for instagram, and my favorite Etsy tool is Etsy Rank to let me know if my listings are completely filled with tags, and help me with keywords. ​

SFEtsy: ​Share with us one lesson you have learned as an online seller. 
Gloria​: I have learned to adapt my expectations! I sometimes will put a lot of time and effort into my Etsy store, and not necessarily get sales, and then I might leave my shop online, and get a flurry of sales...you just never know!

You  can we find out more about MorninGloria's at the following sites:
https://www.facebook.com/morninglorias
https://www.pinterest.com/morninglorias
http://instagram.com/morninglorias/
https://twitter.com/morninglorias
http://www.morninglorias.com/

 Gloria is offering a 15% discount this month with the code APRILSHOWERS. 

Friday Features are run by Raji of Red Kerria Designs. To see your own shop featured, please contact her.

Welcome to this years last Friday Feature. This week we are featuring the shop Beautiful Jean.  Bonnie Jean makes beautiful feather acessories which include hair clips, headdresses, earrings and shoes.

1. What is your Shop Name and URL ?
www.beautifuljean.etsy.com

2. To which Etsy Teams do you belong?
SFetsy

3. Please tell us about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?
I have been creating feather hair accessories, feather earrings, hat clips and headdresses since 2008.  I started making hair accessories one fateful night of crafting with my girlfriends.  It must have been a hidden talent waiting to be born because once I started using feathers to create a hairpiece I just got really into the creative process.  I created three pieces for myself to wear at a festival for my birthday.  After all the compliments and seeing other talented artists work as inspiration, a lightbulb went off and I started making more with the intention to sell at my local farmers market.  I rest is history.  My process is mostly about preparation.  For me it's all about having the materials ready, organized and a chunk of time in my day to work with ease.  Once my work station is prepped, and I typically start each piece with an idea for a color scheme, or size or concept to incorporate a particular type of feather.  It's all about working with a "mistake", going with flow and making each piece work and look beautiful!  For the past few years my main focus for sourcing feathers has been mostly from bird owners.  I have access to naturally molted, "cruelty free" and incredibly vibrant colored feathers.   

4. Tell us two (or more) other interesting things about you.
I am a dancer, yoga practitioner and teacher, and currently in the process of completely a hula hoop teacher training program, so my breaks from making pieces and jewelry typically consist of a hula hoop dance session.  Movement is important after sitting for hours and focusing on intricate work.
My most awesome achievement was when I was in NY selling at a show in Brooklyn a few years back, and a young women by the name of Trixie Whitley, singer/songwriter had bought a hairpiece to wear at the Juno Awards in which she was nominated for an award.  One of my pieces walked the red carpet, which was by far a huge highlight in my design career.

5. Where else can we find out more about you and/or your creations?
www.facebook.com/lvbeautifuljean
I have tried to photography every piece I've ever made, so my facebook album is kind of like a timeline of my progress.

6. What inspires your creations?
Flowers and colors of nature are my inspiration.


   

7. What crafting skill(s) do you wish you had or hope to learn someday?
I wish to learn new skills and be more comfortable using a sewing machine.  I would like to dabble in millinery, and see what comes through and if I take to it.  I tend to pay close attention while creating and trying new creative skills because it's important to notice what "turns on" my creative fire.   
If you had a gift certificate to Etsy for any one item you wanted, what would you buy?


8. What has been your biggest success and/or proudest moment since opening your Etsy shop?
Every sale on my etsy feels like a success, and makes all the time and energy to get a listing up so worth it.  I particularly feel so proud when someone from out of country purchases a piece.  Etsy has connected me to wide world audience and clientele. 


9. If you had to be an animal for one week, which animal would you choose to be? And what would you do?
A mermaid fairy, or as I like to call them a "Merairy".  The would like to have the ability to be both in the underworld community and sky community. I like the idea of being multicultural in the realm of fantasy and magic.

10. What does buying and selling local handmade mean to you, and how has it affected your life?
Buying local handmade goods is how I vote and place my values.  I love to know the story, and where my clothes, beauty products, etc..., came from.  I love feeling the energy of the person that made it.  The quality of touch, attention to detail and artistry is something that can be sensed and transferred from one to another.  Selling locally has helped me develop and be part of community.  The community I'm in because of contributing and caring for local handmade has brought in an abundance of resources, support to do what I do, and I get to also be a mentor and assist others in the field of DIY.  I vision a world of trade, where everyone is living a life of quality products, food and resources.  Where everyone is in touch with their true gifts, talents and abilities and giving back to their communities what they were designed and love to do.  

11. What's next for you?
My efforts with materials are higher quality metal and gems and being totally 100% cruelty free feathers.  My favorite show, this being my 5th year of vending, is the Edwardian Ball in SF.  I have lined up a couple local holiday shows, but the Edwardian Ball is my favorite.  I feel I get to create with 100% creative freedom, and people totally get my work with no explanation.  
My dream is to break into the market in Europe, especially the London fashion hair fascinator scene.     

Welcome to another edition of the Friday Feature. The Holiday season is right around the corner and Amy Cole owners of The Pink Camellia has some new goodies for her customers. She will be participating in the SF Etsy Indie Holiday Emporium 11/28 & 11/29 and her new products are going to debut there. She will also have treats for your K9 friends, so stop by and say hello!!!

1. What is your Shop Name and URL ?
www.thepinkcamellia.etsy.com

2. To which Etsy Teams do you belong?
SF Etsy Team, CCCOE Team, Etsians of Facebook

3. Please tell us about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?
I primarily make one of a kind special occasion Swarovski hair pins & combs, as well as semi precious jewelry using both new gold/silver, semi precious gemstones, and upcycled vintage brooches.  I am self taught, and actually started on Etsy in 2009 by selling handmade baby gifts.  While I still incorporate some of these items, such as boutique style night lights and baby wipes cases into my shop, I have moved away from the other gifts to focus on my true passion; jewelry and accessories! 

I look for inspiration for my pieces at a few local suppliers, and it usually begins with an interesting finding or  stone, and blossoms from there. I prefer making mostly one of a kind pieces, but even those that I make more than one of are original, because each stone is different and unique!   I find the whole process really therapeutic, actually.