Monday, April 4, 2011

Giveaway #1: Hair Clips

I am pleased to introduce you to Elizabeth, one of my newest favorite online Etsy sellers. I have a difficult time, like many of my readers, finding African American inspired items for my daughter. When I found these hair clips, I fell head-over-heels.

Q: Tell me about yourself, Elizabeth.
A: I am a stay-at-home mom of two girls (ages 4 1/2 and 2). I'm married (9 years this summer!) to a wonderful husband who's a local OB/Gyn in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. By education and "profession," I'm actually a pharmacist, but after five years in the retail world I hung up my white coat last summer so that I could be home more with my girls. Somehow I found myself falling in love with making pretty things and soon made too many to keep for myself, so about a year ago I started a business selling them. It's been a really fun challenge to turn my hobby into a real business. When I have spare time (ha! what mom has much of that?!) I like to work out at the Y, read books while I'm jogging on the treadmill, blog on my family's blog, and just relax with my family. But somehow whenever I do have a few free moments... I always seem to find myself trying out some new technique or playing around with something fun and new in my little "secret lab" in our basement. :)

Q: Can you tell me about your Etsy shop?
A: My Etsy shop is called My Little Pixies. The link is mylittlepixies.etsy.com. I named the shop for my girls, who have always been just tiny little things- we joke that they are our "pixie" children- especially since their cousins are way on the other side of the growth chart! I sell many different types of hair clips and headbands. I've never been great at deciding which things to focus on because I love it all, so I have a pretty eclectic mix of bows, crocheted flower clips, posh satin and organza flowers, applique clips, butterfly bows, felt rosettes and posies, and a new fancy line that I'm currently developing for special occasions and photography sessions. One of the things I am looking to do as I develop and expand as a business is to incorporate a multicultural flair into my work and into my photos, so I am always looking for input from other ethnic communities as to how I could better meet the needs of all kinds of families.

Q: Why did you open your Etsy shop?
A: I started my Etsy shop as an outlet for excess creative energy. And I hoped when I started it that it would be a source of enough revenue to cover my growing appetite for craft supplies! But God has blessed this venture through many wonderful people who have come together to support me and to allow My Little Pixies to become a "real" business! Like all moms, I struggle with finding the balance between work and family and housekeeping and downtime- but I am learning a lot through it. I still love my work as much as I did when I first started playing around with ribbons! One of my favorite things about this business is connecting with clients- I LOVE custom orders because then I get to make exactly what someone wants! I have a Facebook group at www.facebook.com/mylittlepixies and a blog at mylittlepixiesblog.blogspot.com and every week I post a new giveaway, so this is a great, risk-free way to have a chance to try some of my favorite styles out for free!

Q: What makes your Etsy shop unique?
A: I like to think my Etsy shop is unique because of all the many different styles of products you can find there. Just about anybody can find something they'd like. I really like being able to offer a wide variety of items to people because I like a lot of choices myself :) I carry items all along the spectrum of price points as well, so it's not hard to find something that fits into the budget- though if you want something snazzy and posh, I can provide that as well! As I've grown on Etsy, another element I have really begun to value is the combination of creative processes. I love it when I find something out there, made by one of the many talented and creative people who work the "supply side" of this business, and I can add their products to my ideas to make something new. I use home-based and Etsy vendors for my materials whenever possible.

GIVEAWAY ITEM: 2 Princess Hair Clips

WAYS TO ENTER: 1: Becoming a blog follower and leave a comment telling me you did so. 2: Post about the giveaway on Facebook and tell me you did so via a comment. 3: Post about the giveaway on your blog and leave me a comment telling me you did so. 4: Visit Elizabeth's Etsy shop and tell me what your favorite item is.

WHEN, WHERE, and HOW: Enter up to four times on this blog post from now until noon on April the 8th. A winner will be posted on April 8th. The winner is responsible for setting up an Etsy account and contacting Elizabeth to claim her prize. Special thanks to Elizabeth for supporting kids of all colors by making beautiful products!

12 comments:

  1. It was a hard choice, but I think it's the Bella felt flower clip. My DD is all about the pink and purple, and of course princesses!

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  2. I would love some of her headbands to use with newborns for shoots.

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  3. I am so VERY much a follower. :)

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  4. POSTED TO MY FACEBOOK PAGE

    WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MELODYSMAMAOFFICIALFANPAGE

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  5. I love those princess hair clips! We have 2 princesses in our house- one Caucasian and one African-American, and I love for them to coordinate- these are awesome!

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