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Since I have been spending so much time online meeting lots of new people, so in my super coffe filled day today I decided that it would be fun to have a Wacky Wednesday Question ( name subject to change if it seems to be really lame).
What better way to get to know me more and have fun promoting other wonderful blogs and Etsy shops then have you ask me whatever is on your mind. I thought as long as it was appropriate and fun I would do this every week.
Questions do not have to be stationery or business related, and unless it is completely inapproiate, I am open to answering them.
Got some great questions to start with so here I go.........
First question is from Bitter Sweet Design Studio bittersweetdesign.etsy.com
1. "Why stationery - have you always loved paper - or writing or both?"
My answer is surprising to me. I have never really thought of myself as huge paper person. I am not a collector of stationery, never scrapbooked. However, as a kid I loved going into stationery stores and picking out the stationery that I would have to use all summer long at camp to write letters. Letters to home and friends was the only form of communication for me for 8 weeks while I was at camp. New stationery, pens, and crayons was always so exciting to me. As an adult I lost that somewhere, but have found it again :)
Maybe it is the child in me that lead me to start my own line of stationery. Also, as an adult and as a mother I had things I wanted to say and share with loved ones. With a strong desire to create something, and loving all my fabrics, I made my first card.
Second question was the same from 2 different shops
Elevenish elevenish.etsy.com & elevenishshop.blogspot.com
Be Jeweled by Candi BeJeweledByCandi.etsy.com
2. How did I come up with my name?
Anytime I have requested any type of graphic work done the very first thing that has been designed into my logo are pears. As you can tell by looking at all of my graphics, I have no pears anywhere.
So, why Pretty Pear Designs? I wanted the word pretty because the one element of all my stationery that I wanted to be consistent was the feeling of pretty. If even for a quick glance I wanted the first reaction to be - oh that's pretty. Pear - hear is the exciting truth behind that. While trying to brainstorm one night with my husband beyond the word Pretty, I realized that if you mixed up the names in our family it spells out Pear.
Peter - husband, Emily - daughter, Amy - me, Rebecca - daughter :)
I added the Designs because I wanted to give myself room for growth and creative developement.
Third question is from Monkey Baby Creations avidhunter3.etsy.com
3. You know the expression "I am still half asleep"?
Why do we not say " I am only half awake"? Most of the time when we say that, we are trying to wake up, not go to sleep right?
Ok here I go on this one....I think that we say "I am still half asleep" so that when we spontaneously drop our head in our bowl of cereal,start to drool a bit of our coffee, and make horrible typo's when chatting in Etsy forums we are secretly shouting out to the world that we desperately want to crawl back under the covers, pull our comfy blankets over our heads and return back to the dream where the one who crushed your heart in high school, returns begging for your forgiveness in a tropical resort, while serving you a refreshing margarita!
Hope I answered that correctly :)
Fourth questions was asked from a few of you so I will link to all your shops and blogs.
Robyn's Art robynsart.etsy.com & robynsart.blogspot.com
Betty Mae Artistry bmae514.etsy.com & bettymaeartistry.blogspot.com
Bright brightshop.etsy.com & brightcaroline.blogspot.com
4. What is my style and inspiration?
Alright....Inspiration started with my mom. After the birth of my first daughter, my mom would send me little gifts. She would always say just a little something to make you feel pretty, because honestly feeling pretty was a very far removed feeling for me then. I also made my very first card to her. I found fabric that I had that I knew she would think was pretty and I wrote in the card my thanks and love that I had for her.
Also for inspiration I am constantly in awe of different fabrics. The tactile quality of them but most all I am inspired by what makes my eyes happy. When I see a fabric that I love I am itching to make a card with it.
I am also inspired by the mistakes that I make. So many times I am playing around and my intention is one thing, then something goes wrong and it sets off a chain of events in a whole other direction.
My style I think is tied into my inspiration. I love flowers and gardens. I love being outdoors, and I love soft colors ( although secretly boldness is starting to come out ). I am more cottage chic then modern. My favorite things have a history to it, so I am inspired by weathered and worn, country and elegant.
Fifth and last question is from is from Wirefox wirefox.etsy.com & joltdelmorte.blogspot.com
5.What is your forecast for the economy after the inauguration and what effects might this have on etsy sales?
Big deep breath......My forecast for the economy after the inauguration is that for the most part I think things are going to stay the same or get worse for a while. There maybe a slight boost because times they are a changing, but the excitement of the inauguration will pass ( sad to say). I think that there is hope for the future, but I think in some regards our economic wounds are very deep and it will take a long time to heal.
The effects on Etsy I think will not however change all that much from where we are at now. I think that people will still be selling away and that is a good thing. We need to be prudent with our $$$ but must also spend our $ to begin to get out of this. Sort of a double edged sword that we have not figured out how to balance. I know that for me I have adjusted to the slow down in the economy by very happily diversifying my work and creating at different price points.
I did receive more questions and if I did not answer your question tonight, please stay tuned. I will answer them. I would love to know what you think of this type of post and if your all are interested in me continuing this.
Thanks for including my question! That is such a memorable experience and worth sharing over and over again! It was fun getting to know a little bit about you!
Cheers,
Carolyne
www.elevenish.etsy.com
Posted by: Carolyne | January 15, 2009 at 01:35 AM
That was an awesome post Amy, I will look forward to finding out more each Wednesday. I think the story behind Pear is awesome, that is very cool! You have an amazing shop, your work is gorgeous and I LOVE your banner!
Candi
Posted by: Candi | January 15, 2009 at 03:54 AM
Amy - this was a great idea! Thanks for including me - I enjoyed getting to know a little about you and loved the wide variety of questions! Thanks, Liz
www.bittersweetdesign.etsy.com
Posted by: Liz | January 15, 2009 at 07:56 AM