Etsy Front Page - I made it!

Etsy Front Page 12/2/08 papapots
Originally uploaded by Etsy Front Pagers

Whoo-hoo - my very first front page of Etsy! I'm so excited! The item featured was one of my limited edition recycled scrabble pendant Holiday sets. This particular set is a very pretty set with snowflakes in different shades of blue but I have lots of other great holiday sets avaialbe in my Etsy store as well. Thank you so much to papapots, a fantastic potter, who put this pretty blue treasury together. You certainly made my skies blue!

November Drawing Winner!

Last night at midnight we closed entry into our November drawing. In all there were a total of 135 entries. Thank you to everyone who purchased through my Etsy store this past month - this has been Squishy Sushi's biggest month ever.

This is my lovely assistant (or husband) John.

He mixes the bowl up good and draws a name out. And the winner is...

Free Shipping Sale!

That's right - it's Black Friday! Now through (Cyber) Monday I am offering free shipping on everything in my Etsy store. I am also offering a free postal tracking upgrade for all orders over $30.

And just for my blog readers - mention Squishy Sushi's blog in the notes to seller during checkout and receive a free 18" silver plated chain!

UPDATE: Only two more days to get entries into our November drawing. Every item purchased from now until the end of the month gets you an entry into the drawing for our cute kokeshi doll tee. So far we have 114 entries - hurry and get in this drawing! Visit: http://www.squishysushi.etsy.com/

Half Sugar, Half Nuts

I've been very busy recently and my studio shows it - Today I've decided to try and get it all organized before the next rush of Etsy customers and my upcoming fairs. I've got a really great space to work in down on our first level. It's even got it's own sink, a bathroom and a mini fridge (full of reisling wine and this cool new product bronzclay). Unfortunately, I've let it get a little messy - Okay, more than a little. My work desk is in even worse shape!

This is my adorable kitten, Marzipan. She's been a big help today as I clean up the office and studio and catch up on all that boring administrative stuff that goes along with having a business. The new shipment of supplies came and she quickly claimed the box as hers. The sign is to warn her brother, Koneko to stay away. Looks like she is serious about the no boys policy! Be sure to check out her blog Half Sugar, Half Nuts: A Day in the Life of Marzipan, the Kitten

November Special - Giveaway Drawing

For this month's special Squishy Sushi is holding a drawing for one of our super cute, organic cotton, vintage fit t-shirts! These t-shirts are printed by cafepress.com and were designed by me. You can check out more of our logo wear items here!

The t-shirt features our adorable kokeshi logo. The kokeshi is a japanese doll (mostly sold to tourists) carved from wood and handpainted with tradional designs. One of the biggest features of a kokeshi doll is it's lack and arms and legs.

How do you get one of these super cool shirts for free? Just visit my store (Squishy Sushi) and buy something - every item purchased gets one entry into my drawing for a FREE t-shirt. Anyone who mentions Squishy Sushi blog in the notes to seller will get two entries per item. The drawing will be held on December 1st and winner will be notified by e-mail. Thank you and goodluck!

Squishy Sushi's Upcoming Events

The holiday season is coming on full force now and Squishy Sushi is gearing up for it. We've already done several shows this season but we've still got more coming. The next up is the Sonoma Valley Holiday Artisan Fair on November 23rd. I am super excited about this one. It's being put on by a local crafter and Etsy seller Combustion Glass Works. They have attracted a ton of great talent from the bay area and wine country so it will be a fantastic show!

Squishy Sushi is also participating in an upcoming virtual craft show. It's put on by the American Craft Guide, which also has a great social networking site for crafters and an ever expanding free list of events. The I Heart Handmade Holiday fair will have "booths" with pics of items for sale and links to purchase along with a little bit of info from each artist. The best part about it is that most of the sellers offer special discount and free gifts to customers shopping through the virtual fair. The American Craft guide will also be offering diy tutorials and videos along with the fair so come check it out!

My Favorites for the Season

I decided that a list of some of the great seasonal merchandise in my Etsy shop would be a good idea. I've got some really cute pieces that are perfect for autumn and the holidays and wanted to share my favorites.

Autumn Beginnings: This is a vintage plastic bangle that has been wrapped with strips of an old decor magazine. The oranges vary in shade from bright to dark and dusky giving it a cool gradient effect. The leaf and vine pattern was handrawn by me in between coats of sealant. Very pretty and eco-friendly too! Check out my other recycled paper wrapped bangles here.

Dragon Empress: This necklace was made using art clay silver, a mixture of pure silver powder, binders and water. Before firing it can be shaped and molded just like any other clay. When fired the binders burn off and what is left is pure 99.9% silver. Silver Art clay is a recycled product and uses reclaimed silver from products like film negatives. It is manufactured by Aida in Japan. It has been molded after an antique button that reminds me of dragon scales. In the bail is a bezel set ruby colored cubic zirconium. Check out other great fine silver jewelry pieces here.

Falling Leaves: This pendant is a recycled domino covered with a bit of recycled magazine paper. The design is a deep chocolate colored background with pale cream leaves. It's great for the autumn months. The domino has been coated in a water and heat resistant 2-part epoxy resin (not diamond glaze) for a high gloss shine. A silver plated bail has been attached for hanging on a necklace. These pendants are one of my favorite things to make so there are always lots of different designs listed here.

Tokyo Rose: This 24" long necklace features an alternating pattern of recycled paper beads, green malachite chunks and gold enamelled cloisonne beads. The recycled paper beads are formed from old newspapers and junk mail that is soaked until the fibers break down and then reformed into beads. I paint lot of layers on them and sand it down to give it the unique look. The beads are then sealed for protection and luster. So even though they are large beads (biggest 1 1/4" across) they are very light weight. Recycling has never looked this good - check out some other pieces here.

Squishy Sushi Craft Booth Rock Make Festival '08

Squishy Sushi Craft Booth Rock Make Festival '08
Originally uploaded by Squishy Sushi

I recently participated in my very first craft show - Rock Make in San Francisco. Now, I don't have much experience (being my first show and all) but this show was awesome. It was put on by a new fabric store here in town, Whizbang Fabrics. They had two stages with about 12 bands and 50 artists and crafters. It was great to meet some of the people in the neighborhood and get to know my fellow crafters here in San Francisco. My booth neighbor was so nice and shared a few tips about craft fairs in general and let me know what it takes to accept credit cards. I am proud to announce that Squishy Sushi does now accept MasterCard and Visa.

The pic shows my set up for the booth. My mom sewed some great table clothes out of burlap (wanted something natural looking) the day before the show. She is just amazing and helped out the day of the show as well. I bought a whole bunch of velvet displays off of craigslist. So they are second hand but in great shape for the most part - and it helps out with our reuse - recycle philosophy . The black risers are actually a set of antique lacquer stacking boxes inherited from my husband's grandmother. They make a great side table in my living room when we aren't using them for craft fairs. I forgot about a sign so the tiny one on the side was all I had to use. About halfway though the day, I decided the booth looked plain so my mom cut up some plastic tables clothes I had brought as back-up. She made some great little flags to hang from the top and a runner for each of the tables in bright orange.

Squishy Sushi's very first blog!

I finally broke down and did it - Squishy Sushi now has it's very own blog! So here's a little bit about us to get started.

To begin with, Squishy Sushi has really nothing to do with Sushi or even squishy things. At a craft fair last weekend a neighboring booth confided that they were thrilled not to be next to a sushi stall. They sold baby blankets and I bet the smell of fish wouldn't have helped sales. Squishy Sushi is actually just a memorable name for my jewelry design business. Don't try to say it three times fast, though.

I've got a thing for Asia. I was married in Thailand and spent some time traveling through Japan and China as well. I love eastern art and have done a lot of research on Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. So most of my work has a bit of an Asian influence to it.

I'm also striving to use as many recycled and eco-friendly materials in my work as well. I was originally a graphic designer so I have tons of pretty papers and magazines that I cut up and use with resin and old game pieces. I still do a little graphic design here and there but it's mostly for myself now. Check out the cute little kokeishi doll logo I designed for Squishy Sushi. I've got t-shirts, hats and even a thong with the logo for sale at cafepress.

I also really enjoy working with Art Clay Silver, an innovative new product made from reclaimed silver. It's made of small silver particles mixed with an organic binder. The clay can be formed like any other clay but when it fires the binders burn off and all that is left is pure silver. Very fun to work with and makes beautiful jewelry pieces.

I'll be posting more about myself, my jewelry and Squishy soon. In the meantime please feel free to check out my Etsy shop: www.squishysushi.etsy.com

Nicole