Feature Friday

Let's give a warm LabRats welcome to our Feature Friday artist this week...Rita & Michael Squier!

Where can we find you on the web?

My Website: http://rasquier.com
My Etsy Shop: http://squier.etsy.com
My Blog: http://ritasquier.blogspot.com
My Twitter: http://twitter.com/therita
My Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/rasquier
Our Business Site: http://squierdesign.com

I would love to friend fellow Lab Rat members & Etsy friends on Facebook through my new Facebook account: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001795591325

1. Tell us about yourself, your shop, and what brought you to the Etsy community.

I am a professional artist and graphic designer. I paint in watercolors and dabble in a few other mediums as well. I also teach watercolor painting classes. The summer of 2008, my husband gave me an art magazine which had an article about a lady who sells some of her art on Etsy. I did a little research and found out what Etsy was all about. I liked it and thought I would give it a try.

2. Walk us through a typical day in your life.

My typical day has recently changed. I get up, cook food for my dog Chloe, who has been diagnosed with TCC cancer, stress over getting her to eat and make sure she gets her morning meds. Then I have my own breakfast while checking emails and checking on my Etsy shop. At that point I try to schedule and organize my day according to what needs to be done. Sometimes I'm designing graphics for race cars or commercial vehicles (our regular business). Other times I'm working on updating and adding to my Etsy shop. I plan to paint and do chores. Occasionally, I try to squeeze in time for my blog & social networking. My schedule often changes at the drop of a hat, things pop up that just have to get done. The chores are the first to get bumped off the list. Running your own business and running an Etsy shop on the side can be crazy at times. We do everything ourselves, it is all done in house, from top to bottom: managing the business, bookkeeping, invoicing, advertising, web design, our own graphics, business cards, stickers, production of goods, such as vinyl graphics, magnets, banners, static cling, packing and shipping it off through the post office or FedEx. Plus I squeeze in time to watercolor paint everyday. On February 1, 2010 I began a Painting A Day Challenge for myself. I create at least one ACEO sized watercolor painting each day.

3. Name your top 3...

• Books - Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum Series
• Music - John Cougar Mellencamp, Bryan Adams ... Rock 'n Roll & some pop ... actually I like a huge variety of music.
• Movies - I love romantic comedies, too many to choose from.
• TV Shows - NCIS, Amazing Race, the English comedies on PBS.
  

4. What are your top 3 favorite shops on Etsy?

Top 3 favorite Etsy shops? Pick 3? That's too hard.

5. Where do you hope your shop will be in one year?

In one year, I hope my Etsy shop is having regular daily sales.

6. What projects are you currently working on ?

My Painting A Day Challenge is the project I work on everyday. I am in the process of getting my own website for my artwork up to date. Once a week, I do a Tuesday's Tips & Techniques for Watercolor Painting on my blog.

7. What suggestions/tips would you offer to someone new to Etsy?

I would suggest those who are new to Etsy to read through the Help section, the link is at the top of every Etsy page. There is so much information there. There is a wealth of information on the Etsy blog also known as The Storque, in the left column under Featured Series is a section called Selling and it has excellent links to good info.