Seller Spotlight

Every Wednesday I will be featuring a new independant seller. This is a great opportunity to get to know these wonderful artisans as well as maybe expose you to the wonderful range of art and craft that is available out there. I hope you'll join me each week to celebrate these lovely people. :)


Seller Spotlight: ArtAngel @ Etsy

* Tell me a little about yourself? I'm Angie, I live in Manchester with my partner and teenage son. I work 3 days a week in occupational health, and devote the rest of my time to art (and a bit of shopping!)

* What is your shop name and what do you sell? My shop on etsy is http://artangel.etsy.com, and I sell my original, affordable paintings and mixed media art.

* What inspires you to create? So many things! I've always loved playing with colour and texture, and re-cycled bits and pieces. I'm fascinated by collections, and things that already have a "history"; I love making something new from them.

* What is your favourite item from your shop? At the moment probably this one. I love the way it turned out, and it was great fun finding all the old bits of ephemera!


* How and where do you promote your shop? I have a blog, and I use Twitter, Flickr and have a Facebook fan page -
http://www.artangeloriginalart.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/artangelstudio
http://www.facebook.com/pages/artangel/72301959046
http://twitter.com/artangel11

* What do you find to be the biggest challenge of running your own shop? Being visable amongst the several trillion etsy shops out there, and finding the time to keep up with all the listing, photography, updating, marketing ... as well as the actual painting!

* What advice would you offer to new sellers? Never under estimate the importance of good photos (still working on this myself!) online, they're your most important tool. Take photos in natural light, and use all 5 slots to show your work from every angle.

Fun Questions -
* Favourite Colour? Deep deep red, and turquoise
* Favourite Book? Can't pick just one! I loved 1984, Lord of the Flies, A Prayer for Owen Meaney, We Need to Talk About Kevin.
* Favourite Music? Eclectic! Everything from Oasis to Aretha
* Favourite Season? Autumn for the colours
* Favourite independant sellers? Locally, I adore the Creative Re-cycling Gallery in Chorlton - they do an amazing job! Also the Manchester Craft Centre - lovely shops and the best muffins in Manchester! . On etsy, there are hundreds of sellers I could mention, but I'm a long time admirer of the work of ThisYearsGirl and ChristinaRomeo.