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| Rocket Kiddie Ride ©Feltmates, on Etsy |
Independent creatives from around the world have found Etsy.com to be a beneficial business tool on many different levels. Today I am pleased to interview a talented and successful artist who has made her shop on Etsy, Feltmates, an important part of her success as a felt artist. Yoko Nomura opened Feltmates from Wisconsin in May of 2008. She creates absolutely charming characters from felt using 3D sewing construction techniques and felting, with brooches and pincushions being her largest shop sections. With over 700 sales and gallery exhibitions around the United States, Yoko has wonderful insights to share. She's given us all thoughtful insights that are good to know.
Georgianne Holland: In your profile on Etsy, you talk about blending traditional craftsmanship
and a contemporary style. Can you please talk to us about how you define your
traditional skills, where/how you learned them, and how art involving
needlework fits into your professional goals? To stir up your thought
process: the traditional needle arts used to be considered homemaking
skills, not art. Also, many needle-crafted items are imported to the U.S.
How do you want the consumer to think about you being a maker of American
handmade, in that reality?
Yoko Nomura: I
studied ceramics in college. After graduation, I worked as a designer for
a company which produced handbag lines in collaboration with well-known designers.
I learned many important skills from this experience. I was involved in
the entire process, from concept and design to making the patterns and the sample
handbags.
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| Lion Measuring Tape ©Feltmates, on Etsy |
In
the late 1990’s, I became acquainted with some felt artists. I was
inspired by the idea of making your own material in which to work with. I
started to design my own work with my own material, felt. Felt was first
made more than 8,000 years ago. This ancient handmade fabric was the
perfect medium for me to work with. It merged the skills I had learned
from working in ceramics and in fashion design. I am still fascinated by the
way the felt can be made into almost any shape. In this way, felt can blur
the disparity between craft and art. I am happy having my work defined as
either and do enjoy making both functional homemaking supplies and sculptural
pieces.
G.H.: Is Etsy your primary avenue for merchandising your art? If not, what other
avenues do you use? Your sculptural pieces, like Knitting Chicken and Rocket
Kiddie Ride, would be ideal in a gallery setting! I'd certainly want to see
them in person...
Y.N.: I
am very grateful for the success I’ve had on Etsy. In addition to
Etsy, I have also shown my work in group exhibition in galleries around America. Also,
I do some craft shows around the Midwest during
the holiday season. I usually preview my work and announce my schedule on
my Flickr site ( flickr.com/photos/feltmates ) and also by sending out
emails to my mailing list. Flickr helps me judge how people will react to
my new ideas when I receive their comments and feedback.
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| Knitting Chicken ©Feltmates, on Etsy |
G.H.: What advice do you have for using Etsy as a marketing tool? If you could
turn back time, would you do anything differently? As you have been shopkeeping
there since May, 2008, I'll bet you have insights to share :)
Y.N.: I
have had galleries and magazines which have contacted me because they saw my
work on Etsy. I think a lot of people search for new artists on Etsy
because there are so many amazing artists that have shops on their site. Like
everyone mentions, your photographs are so important. Customers are not
able to touch or see your artwork in person until they purchase and receive it.
I try to take pictures that look nice and have little difference between
the photographic image and the real items, different view points and angles
help. Also, try to keep your shop looking fresh. This is good for
both new and returning customers. Try new ideas and different colors
choices to give customers more choices. The most important thing is to continue
to enjoy making your work! I believe that this feeling of enjoyment comes
across to your customers.
I hope you will take a moment to visit Feltmates to see Yoko's terrific artistry, her bright and inspiring photos of her items, and the fun selection she has to offer at this time. When you do, it will be easy to see why so many consider her Etsy shop to be a favorite!
Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne
