{Freebie Fridays} Win an Ouchie Pouch from Snuggly Monkey

This giveaway is now closed.

Happy Freebie Friday! Woo! It has been such a busy week for me here, and it is going to be an even busier weekend, but I am happy to see Friday! Today we have an adorable Ouchie Pouch that Claudia {from Snuggly Monkey} will send to one lucky winner. 

Lets learn a bit about Claudia first...

What made you want to become an artist?
I grew up as the black sheep in a very creative and artistic family :) My father is a painter, my brother a musician, my sister is a painter/crafter extraordinaire ... and so I've always had the desire to create but I felt like I lacked the talent and passion, until I found sewing and fabric. I absolutely love to sew and the creative process that comes along with creating something new.

What is your favorite item to create?
I think my favorite items to create are the fabric coil baskets. They are fun to make. I love how each one turns out a bit differently. But most of all, I love watching my daughters play with them for hours carrying their treasures in them all over the place and hearing from customers how much their children are enjoying their baskets.

What advice would you give to new artists on Etsy?
Be patient - it takes time and a lot of PR work to get yourself established on Etsy. I don't think I was prepared for that when I first got started here. I had my shop "open" for about 2.5 years before I actually got serious about it and started learning how to take better pictures, how to promote my shop, etc. I didn't realize how much of that "other stuff" is a part of success on Etsy. I thought that if I just had a good product and good customer service it would all just happen magically, but it didn't. I still think that it is SUPER important to have a good product and good customer service, but I now have a better understanding of how that is just one piece in the puzzle.

How do you promote your work?
This is something I am still very much learning how to do! Right now I am on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, and I use all 3 regularly to promote new listings, Treasury features, coupons/sales, etc. I maintain a blog, sporadically - on my to-do list to get better about that and use it as a better promotion tool. I participate in BNR (Buy-and-Replace) Treasuries here on Etsy. I curate Treasuries for Etsykids Team as well as just for fun. Participate in the HandmadeTop10 lists. Participate in FB Fan Contests and Blog giveaways.

I am still a pretty small shop, but if I ever find more time to devote to Snuggly Monkey and make this a bigger, more full time job, I would probably look into trying to get on Heartsy, possibly some FB ads, sponsoring my favorite Bloggers ... but I'm not ready for that kind of exposure :)

Do you have any websites connected to your shop?
Yes - perhaps too many!
Blog: http://www.snugglymonkey.com/
FB: www.facebook.com/SnugglyMonkey
Twitter: twitter.com/SnugglyMonkeyCo
Pinterest: pinterest.com/snugglymonkey/

What is the inspiration for your work?
My daughters. It is neat to see how my products & shop have changed over the years in accordance with how my girls have grown and the kinds of toys they like to play with :)

Do any of your items go toward a special cause?
I don't have specific items whose proceeds go to a special cause, but I do take part of my profits and donate to a variety of causes throughout the year. Most recently I've donated to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund, Doctors without Borders and the Epilepsy Foundation.

Do you have a job outside of Etsy? How do you handle both?
Yes, I work (very) part-time with Early Head Start. I don't sleep very much and we don't have a TV in our house, so I pretty much spend every spare moment I have in the day either sewing or working on my shop on Etsy.

Where do you create? 

My daughters and I share the playroom, which is very fitting since I would consider a "sewing studio" my personal playroom. I started out on just a little folding table in the corner, but my stuff takes up about 1/2 of the space now! My girls are good about sharing their space with me. I would share a picture but I don't want to admit to the world the disaster that we live in around here. I'll attach a photo of a portion of my fabric stash though :) You like my "fancy" fabric storage bins? I made them from some extra reusable grocery bags we had around - not exactly one of those gorgeous, meticulous, dream sewing studios I am always seeing on blogs and Pinterest!

What are your goals for your shop?
~ I would like to expand one day - offer more items and have more sales more regularly :)
~ I want Snuggly Monkey to remain true to my artistic vision. I think that sometimes I am tempted to make items not because I necessarily love to make them, but because I see that they sell well. I think that sometimes that is necessary because you need the financial rewards in order to be able to continue following your passion, but I don't want to JUST be making items like that. I want to continue making things just because I like doing it or want to whether or not it sells - it doesn't matter. I saw this great quote they other day that I think I am going to write above my workspace:
"I just want to make beautiful things even if nobody cares"

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Nope, just that I am grateful for this opportunity :) I think I've written you enough of a novel already (sorry about that!)

 Claudia is giving the winner their choice of her ready made Ouchie Pouches!

{this one is my fave}

Mandatory Entry:

{You must complete this first before submitting any other entries}

Visit  Snuggly Monkey on Etsy and comment your favorite item from Claudia's shop.

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Extra Entries:

{Leave a separate comment for each that you complete}

1.} Heart Snuggly Monkey on Etsy.

2.} "Like" Snuggly Monkey on Facebook.

3.} Follow Snuggly Monkey on Twitter. {please leave the name you follow under}

4.} Become a follower of Claudia's blog. 

5.} Become a follower of my blog.

6.} Enter in another giveaway on this blog and let me know which one you entered.
7.}  Blog, Tweet, and/or post on Facebook about this giveaway using the "Sharing is Caring" buttons below  & post the link where we can find it. {one entry for each you complete}

 

Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, August 12, 2011. Sunday, August 14, 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 US residents only.