Wednesday, December 5

Now that I've slept enough to feel normal again, I'll explain a bit about what the whole Collage thing is all about.

Angel of Virtue

I'll start off by saying I'll still have my etsy shop. The two shops serve different purposes and so I think there's a place for both.

To put it simply, the purpose of my etsy shop is to bring is a little extra to supplement my husband's income. While I enjoy creating things for that shop, I do aim for making things I that I think will sell. There are things I don't make because I fear they'd end up being priced beyond what someone would be willing to pay due to the time it would take to make that item. There are things I don't make because I think they'd only appeal to a select audience. And I don't think I have put the effort into finding that audience.

Angel of Virtue

Collage is an interesting opportunity for me. By joining with other creative souls I'll be increasing the exposure of my offerings greatly. We all plan to offer *special* things at Collage. And I plan to offer things that I might normal not make with the intent to sell.

angelback

I'm going to allow myself to get as creative as I want. Oftentimes I hold back on some of the detail I'd like to put into something because I want to keep it's price down. I'm not going to worry about that sort of thing here.

Rather I'm going to create what I feel inspired to create. I'm going to work on things until I feel they're perfectly finished. And I'm going to create them as I see them in my mind's eye, without concern over whether something may seem odd or weird to some. Hopefully I'll find an audience that appreciates my art odd, weird stuff.

AngelFrontChair

This angel, the "Angel of Virtue", is my first offering at Collage. When my husband first saw her he sighed and rolled his eyes a teensy bit. He does not appreciate the aged/stained look. He could not understand why I ruined what could have been a pretty doll with stains. He thinks I am insane to spend hours embroidering her dress only to scorch it in the oven. I know that many reading this are agreeing with him. That's ok.

AngelEmbroideryClose

I can't explain why she needs to be this way, but to me this is how she had to be. To me, she is perfect this way. I see personality is her that would not be there had she been all bright and pristine. The stains give her a sense of wisdom and a gentleness that would not be there otherwise.

I know this doesn't make sense to a lot of people. The upside is that I'm ok with knowing there's a chance that she may never sell. She's perfectly welcome to live here forever because I love her. To me, she's perfect.

And I'll pretend it doesn't bother me in the least if everyone doesn't see what I see. In truth, I do feel a little vunerable about this. But I know that it's my own insecurity showing and I'm trying hard to not let it factor in.

On another note, I've completely recovered from my night of no sleep and my house has recovered from my crazy weekend of crafting. So now I'm back to it. I am working on bendy dolls at the moment. Some for an order, some for the shop. So look for them soon, probably tomorrow.

allneedlebooksfinished

And then I'm actually thinking of making some needlebooks to sell. I've been planning to create a tutorial but I've been asked about them so much lately that I think I may just make a few to sell as well. My arm has been sufficiently twisted. :-)

0717needlebookfinishedopen

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think this is a wonderful opportunity for you. Over the years I've had so many people say "You should make X and sell it!" but for me, having to produce something en masse for sale has no appeal at all. I think it is wonderful that you can make something exactly the way you want and the heck with everyone else!! LOL. I think your doll is beautiful, I really do. I am not really a doll person, I mean I love dolls but I don't have any around the house and I just love yours. FWIW, my husband loves when I age fabric in the oven, he would think your doll was beautiful too! Best of luck.

Anonymous said...

Your doll is beautiful!! And yes I think you are brave! I like this style, but dont dare to make it, because I feel confused. You have to find the right doll, dress etc to age it. (Mine was not a good decision)
This new `shop` is a great idea, because it is obvious you have plenty ideas. And yes, sometimes you want to spend hours on embroidery because it makes YOU happy. My last angel has a dress took me 4 hours to sew:-)
Best, Kriszta

Anonymous said...

just wanted to wish you all the luck and feel free to be as creative as possible!!!

Has there been much activity at the site since it opened?

Little Acorn Learning said...

Beautiful as always!

p.s.. I hope you dont mind that I tagged you! All in good fun - details on my blog.
xoxo
eileen

Jenny said...

Dannielle she is beautiful and I'm glad you don't care whether she sells or not. I have made things on a whim because the whim wouldn't let me do anything else until the thing was made. Some have sold , some have been given as special gifts and some stay happily with me. Enjoy it.

Anonymous said...

The Angel of Virtue doll is simply beaufiful. Breathtaking. I love her too.

Julie said...

Oh she is beautiful! I totally understand the staining and burning thing! She has so much more wisdom/character to her this way!

Anonymous said...

beautiful doll.. the aging adds to her character and beauty! You are so creative, I am glad I have stumbled upon you at Etsy.. My daughter will adore the doll you are making her. It will be her new "doddie" - thats what she calls her rag dolls that she sleeps with, when she was a baby, doddie went everywhere with her, as long as she had her thumb to suck and her doddie, life was good!