Featured Etsy Artisan: LucindaChips

I found this lovely shop, LucindaChips, while I was browsing Etsy's gift guides. Being a lover of white china, these lucindachips plates caught my eye and I took a tour of her shop. Beautiful things!

Lucinda graciously agreed to be interview on my blog - I'm delighted to feature her. Enjoy meeting Lucinda, and be sure to visit LucindaChips on Etsy.

Tell us a little about yourself – your name, where you live, your work.
I'm Lucinda Mudge. I'm a photographer living in London with my husband, various house guests and unfortunately not one dog. We Live next to the Battersea Dogs home, and on the river and we are very happy.

• Tell us about your Etsy shop and products.
I have a lot of fun with my pottery and don't take it at all seriously. I enjoy making loads of different things, and they all seem to look similar. My brother gave me a set of pattern stamps from a brocante in France, they are 'stamp rollers' and you can see them stamped around the borders of my work. I love them and they are currently a huge inspiration in my pottery. I've been making a lot of press moulded work and enjoy it for its immediate results.

• Do you have a favorite item you’ve made? Tell us the story.
I would have to say that my favourite is this dog. His name is Albert. He's a good sort of dog, and is a loving and considerate pet.


• What advice would you give a creative entrepreneur on starting a small artistic business?
I don't really go in for creative business. I think it can often sap the spirit out of your creativity. My advice is to make your money some other way, and preserve your creativity for non money making purposes.

• Do you have a person that inspires you (living or historical)? Tell us about her or him!
Since I moved to London I have suffered information overload. I like very much the work by the potters Grayson Perry and Hilton Nel.

• Do you have a book or movie that makes you feel creative? Tell us about it!
I do. I have a wonderful book called 'French Design and Decoration' it is filled with colour plates and has lots of patterns in it.

• What is your favorite handmade treasure?
My husband made a small dog out of clay and the proportions are hilarious. I fired it and glazed it in white. I love it, it is so sweet.

Featured Etsy Artisan: eikcam

I love this Etsy shop! Eikcam does ceramics, jewelry, and GORGEOUS pottery. Her pieces are beautifully photographed - visit eikcam for some eye candy. Grace kindly agreed to be interviewed - I'm so glad you readers can enjoy her inspirations. Thanks, Grace!

I especially like the lovely palette for the pottery. This White Dasik Tea Tumbler is GORGEOUS... I want it! And this Tomato Red Organic Shaped Side Dish? Lovely. Actually - I want all of it. :-)

Keep up the lovely work, Grace of eikcam! Thanks for joining us here at Paper and Pearls as our Featured Etsy Artisan!

Tell us a little about yourself – your name, where you live, your work.
Hi, I'm Grace from eikcam design in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I work from my tiny, little studio on the East side of Vancouver among some other great artists in our building. The part of Vancouver my studio is located is an area where there are many local artists working as full time artisans and where there is a lot of local culture and markets that support the arts scene.

Tell us about your Etsy shop and products.
My etsy shop is a collection of my ceramic work which ranges from jewelry to tableware. I also shoot vintage photography with my old Duaflex camera and have a small collection of BC inspired imagery. Most of my work has an aged or antiqued feel to it and I do use old antique molds for my ceramic ware. I love being on Etsy and being a part of this handmade community. I hope to have a more complete list of products up very soon. www.eikcam.etsy.com

How did you get into your creating? Do you have a favorite item you’ve made? Tell us the story.
Well, I am grateful for my parents and grandmother who encouraged my creative interests at a very early age. I've been painting, drawing, sculpting, printing my whole life and eventually majored in product design at art school. My favorite item so far are my tea tumblers. They are made from clay slabs but I've incorporated many elements into the design. I use an antique mold from the early 1900's from Korea married with a Provence styled texture on the base. Then I form ergonomic 'grips' for ease and comfort while drinking. They also work great for wine or even a cappuccino.

What advice would you give a creative entrepreneur on starting a small artistic business?
Having confidence in your work is really important. But, also being open to comments and feedback will help you decide where you might have some weak points and where your strong point are. Mostly, if you don't enjoy every second of what you're creating, then you might not be doing it for the right reasons.

Do you have a person that inspires you (living or historical)? Tell us about her or him!
I actually have two! The two Martha's: Martha Stewart and Martha Sturdy. Of course, Martha Stewart for her amazing talents and business sense. And, Martha Sturdy who is a Vancouver artist who attended my alma mater, Emily Carr and started with a small jewelry collection and now makes huge architectural art pieces for the home. Both had vision and the smarts and stuck to their ideas and goals.

Do you have a book or movie that makes you feel creative? Tell us about it!
There are too many films to list. But, in general, many foreign films inspire me. Whether they show the Dutch light on the landscape or the gritty underground in Budapest, these small independent films show me an interpretation of another part of the world that I wouldn't have otherwise seen. Colors, imagery and cinematography are all inspiring to me.

What is your favorite handmade treasure?
My last trip to Paris I found a tiny shop of just felted finger puppets. All four walls covered in hand stitched creations. It was so lovely! I have a lion, piglet and some darling unknown creature.