Feature Friday - somavenus

Today's great Friday Feature shop is somavenus!

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

I'm a rad dorky eccentric introverted crafty crazy cat lady (you can read more in my Etsy profile!) My shop is filled with things I've put so much love into. I usually make my sketchbooks outside overlooking the pacific ocean, or deep in the woods closer to home. Love and magic from the pacific northwest is sewn into each book. My jewelry is made from my original artwork, and I have some limited edition zines and clocks and other neat things. :)

I joined the Etsy community when it first started up back in 2005! I didn't really take listing seriously until a few years ago, and wish I was this active back from the very beginning!

2. Besides creating beautiful things for your shop, what do you spend your days doing?

I work a 9-5'er that I'm hoping I'll soon be able to trade in for full time artist! When I'm not there or working on Etsy, I'm probably on the road headed to the ocean or the woods. I love cloud watching, photo adventures, listening to birds, and being alone in nature. It's where I get my best ideas and recharge and get inspired.

3. What sources do you draw your inspiration from and what is your creative process(es)?

Inspiration for me comes from everything I encounter. It comes from the clouds and blue sky, the rain, the wind. the birds. the ocean. the trees. things left behind. things forgotten. junk stores. sitting in traffic.

my creative process is simple. i just go. i don't really think or plan it out. just an roll with it. make it work!

4. What market (group of people) do you see your items being for?

I am still trying to find my market. I've been surprised to hear where my sketchbooks have gone. One BINGO sketchbook was used as a wedding guest book! They seem to appeal to all ages in person - but I see my work appealing most to the 20-30 something crowd. zinesters. artists. craftsters. rad people!

5. Name your top three:

- Books

Introvert Power
King Cat
Invincible Summer

- Music (song or artist)

the microphones
cat power
the books

- Movies or Television Shows

office space
how to draw a bunny
high art

- Websites

etsy!
sendsomething.net
somavenus.com

6. What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see added?

I'm excited about the new rearrange your shop feature! I would LOVE to see a batch edit listing tool - especially an easy way to change the price of multiple items at once (similar to the batch shipping tool).

7. How do you market your work? What has or hasn't worked for you in the past?

I market through facebook/twitter/myspace - the usuals. I don't know if I get much traffic from it. What works the best for me is trying to renew at least a few times a day. What hasn't worked for me (yet) is doing shows! I've done a few now (small free art walk in town) and I'm soooo painfully shy sometimes - it was really difficult to open up and talk to anyone looking at my work. I was lucky to have a friend do the talking for me (how embarrassing!) - but it WAS a lot of fun to see how well people responded to my work. I feel like I'm so much cooler on the internet ;)

8. What do you like most about the Virtual Labs?

the friendly helpful supportive community!

9. What topics or events would you like to see added to the Virtual Lab offerings?

more quit your day job labs - labs on promoting and being seen!