An Interview with Hanoush & Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed.

Meet Hana, the shop owner of Hanoush. She has such a wonderful shop full of great jewelry!

You can enter below to win this lovely 

"Mom, I love you more than a million fields of rice necklace"

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Hana Kae Almaoui. Born to a Lebanese father and Irish mother. I had the wonderful privilege to be born in America, California to be specific and then at the age of 8years move to Lebanon for 9 years. Living in Lebanon was special in a way I cannot describe. I learned to speak Arabic and grew to love the culture, and the best part: to cook Lebanese food, yum! After graduating high school there I moved back to USA, Arizona to be specific ;D and 11 years later I have accomplished marrying an amazing companion, given birth to two extremely cherished boys, worked as a skin care therapist, working as a medical biller now, crafting for fun and relaxation when I get the chance to, and plan to travel a few places here and there, raise my boys to be good men and pray that a childhood dream to live on acreage with horses and lots of animals will come true in the end! Oh, I plan to visit Lebanon too after 11 looong years, hoping my boys will love it as much as I do.

What made you want to become an artist?

I think I was born with art in my blood! As an only child, art was my only friend. Drawing and painting came first, then clay sculpting, my favorite. I love making art work for my kids, hoping that they can love art as much as I do. 

What is your favorite item to create?

My favorite item to create would be anything customized, to where it matches that person's personality. Something, that is meant for you and only you.

What advice would you give to new artists on Etsy?
I am so glad I stumbled upon Etsy. I am truly addicted to this site and love browsing the hundreds of unique and special items available that you may not find in stores. When I opened my shop, I wasn't experienced with taking the right picture to make my item look its best, so I invested in a light box, some cool scrapbook papers (for background appeal) and a good digital camera. Presentation is what matters most, if it looks good, it sells. 

How do you promote your work?
My work is promoted from word of mouth mostly, by friends and family. I also made sure I added my Etsy shop home page to my husband's iPad! That way he can just click the icon and voila! my shop is open for his clients to browse. Lol! I also did a Facebook page so my friends from out of state can see what I do too. Oh, not to mention joining teams through Etsy has helped a lot ;D

Do you have any websites connected to your shop?
Yes, if you search Art De Mon Coeur on Facebook, you can find me there.

What is the inspiration for your work?

Inspiration is everywhere. The other day I was driving and saw a license plate that said "2 pnuts" or something like that and I came up with the idea to make some peanuts shaped from clay as pendants for mother's day. I find inspiration through nature and animals too. 

Do any of your items go toward a special cause?

Yes, I have one item in my shop that is a multi-use clip, it says "Save our planet" and all proceeds go towards DirectRelief.org, mainly for Japan Disaster. I will also be making some dolphins to help bluevoice.org, this site is dedicated to protecting whales and dolphins. 

Do you have a job outside of Etsy? How do you handle both?

I do have a job other than Etsy. Etsy is my hobby, the money I make from my products goes back to buying more supplies and goodies for crafting my items! Joann's, Michael's and Hobby Lobby profit from my sales more than anything :D But my at home job is medical billing/scanning. The only time I can do the scanning is when my 1yo is napping or sleeping at night. I look forward to the day when he is like my 4yo who can sit and watch tv or play games on the computer without my full on attention...sigh.

Where do you create?

I create at the kitchen table! The living room is open to the kitchen. The living room is blocked off too so, baby goes in there to play and I sit peacefully at the kitchen table crafting away while I keep a keen eye on him. 

What are your goals for your shop?

The main goal for my shop is to be the shop that people come back to for items that are unique as the person who shops there. I truly enjoy making my items and I want people to adore them and wear or display them with pride.

Here's how to win:

(please read all instructions before entering)

Mandatory Entry:
{You must complete this entry first before doing any bonus entries}

 Visit Hanoush's Etsy shop and tell me your favorite item!

Bonus Entries:

Each one of these is a contest entry. 

Please post a separate comment for each that you do with your email address. 

Heart Hanoush's Etsy shop.

 Subscribe to Hanoush's shop RSS feed.

Become Hanoush's Facebook fan and leave the name you are a fan under. 

Blog, tweet, or post on Facebook about this giveaway and include the link where we can find it.

(one entry for each)

Become a follower of my blog.

Enter in another giveaway on this blog & let me know what giveaway you entered.


Purchase the Save Our Planet clip (just $5) for Japan relief and get 3 bonus entries (leave your invoice number & link with each comment)

Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 3, 2011. 

Sunday, June 5, 2011 a winner will be randomly drawn from eligible entrants 

and notified by e-mail, and the winner's name will also be posted here. If no email is listed I will choose another winner. Winner has one week to respond to my email to claim his/her prize after initial contact.  I am not responsible for the shipping of this prize.

Contest open to U.S. & Canada residents only.