Blog

Gifts for Her

24 November 2018 by Lisa

With only one week left to go we hope you are as excited as we are about Etsy Made Local: Sheffield 2018!

To help get you in the spirit for a bit of Christmas shopping, take a look at our gallery full of lovely gifts perfect for that special lady in your life, all available from the sellers who will be at Etsy Made Local: Sheffield 2018 next Saturday and Sunday at Cutler’s Hall in Sheffield.

Jewellery, accessories, clothing, chocolate, art… we have it all!

Etsy Made Local Sheffield 2018 - Gifts for Her

Red Wool Felt Beret Hat with Red Sequin Bow

(From Left to Right, Whylder Mills, Imogens Imagination, Maxwell Harrison Jewellery, Shadow Crafts, Boho Kimono)

Why not take a look at lots of other lovely products from our sellers over on Pinterest.

Martha and Hepsie: Gift Wrap That Gives

16 October 2018 by Lisa

Giving is good!

That is the message that team members Martha and Hepsie are shouting about, and giving is good! This month they have launched a fabulous new campaign in which they are giving a percentage of their profits from gift wrap designs to nominated charities.

The first design in this new campaign is their Brussel Sprouts gift wrap in which they will be donating 10% of profits to the Trussell Trust Foodbanks in Sheffield and North Devon.

Martha and Hepsie say:

Running our own business isn’t just been about making money for us, it’s about being able to give back. We’ve always wanted to be part of the ‘paying it forward’ culture using our brand to support and collaborate with charitable organisations close to our roots of family & home. We love the idea that our gift wrap will make people smile twice.

As well as this lovely Brussel Sprout gift wrap, perfect for Christmas, Martha and Hepsie will also be launching other gift wrap designs in early 2019 to raise money for other charities.

The gift wrap is available in folded and rolled sheets in their Etsy shop here.

Martha and Hepsie will also be found at this year’s Etsy Made Local: Sheffield 2018.

Bangers and Cash

19 August 2018 by Lisa

Bangers and Cash is a free art exhibition currently exhibiting at the Winter Gardens in Sheffield. 23 car bonnets are currently being displayed before they head off on their rally cars on an epic trip from Sheffield to Monte Carlo in September to raise money for the youth homeless charity Roundabout.

Roundabout provides mediation and drop-in advice services, which aims at reducing the number of young people declaring themselves homeless. They also deliver peer education about homelessness in schools, delivered by trained volunteers who have experienced homelessness themselves.

Team members, Neil Carribine from Neil Carribine Original, Kate Morgan from Illustrator Kate and Laura Grey from Doodle Monkey have all been involved in this fantastic cause.

Neil and Kate each submitted designs which were chosen to feature on one of the 23 bonnets which will take part in the rally.

We asked Neil for his inspiration behind his design:

My bonnet titled ‘Are we there yet?’ is inspired by the journey, the landscapes and the countries that the car will travel through. The over lapping colours and lines of the design represent the cars journey crossing borders and entering new and foreign countries. The Squiggles and curved lines reference navigational features like contour lines on maps. The patterns and the shapes on the car elude to the sun, the rain and to the clouds that pass over mountains. I wanted my design to be bright and bold so that it would stand out as the car travels along its journey.

Kate’s bonnet features a fun roundabout design, she said:

I’ve wanted to paint something larger scale for ages so I made sure that my designs were something that I felt confident (well relatively!) in replicating larger scale. The design that got chosen was my round and about design which illustrates the story of the cars leaving Sheffield and driving to Monaco via a big roundabout. I would say that my inspiration came from just the story behind the project and the colour scheme of the charity. I used pinks, blues and greens and wanted to create a busy and fun scene that has a lot of movement within it. A lot of people say my work reminds them of children stories and I think that comes through in this painting too. I love the art of Christopher Corr and his detailed and loose painting style so I think I often feel inspired by him when I paint

I used acrylic for mine which is my favourite medium. The scariest part was the sanding and priming as it was well out of my comfort zone. If anyone knows me and the car I drive, it’s clear that I am not a car person. But then when I started brushing on the acrylic, it felt great and made me remember that I actually love to paint.

Laura was asked by the Bangers and Cash team if she could paint the Radio Sheffield’s competition winner’s design on to their car bonnet.

The exhibition is on until the end of August in the Sheffield Winter Gardens after which time the bonnets will be auctioned.

You can find out more information about Bangers and Cash and how you can donate on their website at www.bangersandcash.co.uk.

Neil Carribine's Bangers and Cash Bonnet

Radio Sheffield's Banger and Cash Bonnet Painted by Laura Gray

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Etsy Made Local – Sheffield 2016: Popeye & Daisy Jewellery’s First Market

3 July 2017 by admin

We asked first time seller at Etsy Made Local – Sheffield 2016, Ayla from Popeye & Daisy to tell us about applying for and trading at her very first market last December at Sheffield Town Hall:

My road to Etsy was quite a long one – I attended a Silversmith & Metal Jewellery course at Sheffield College for a few years and absolutely loved it. However, as you can imagine, making silver jewellery starts to become an expensive hobby! As I was not able to wear everything I was making myself and after friends and family had received plenty as gifts, I had to start looking for ways to sell my jewellery and reach out to a new audience.

It was early in 2016 that I was at that point, and I set up my own online Etsy shop.

I put my first pieces on sale in April and had my first purchase in June, around the time I joined the Etsy Sheffield Team. The team are great bunch of creatives who are very welcoming and were only to pleased to offer support and guidance from the outset.

Shortly after joining the team, the application process for Etsy Made Local 2016 opened and I applied immediately. At the time, I didn’t have much stock, but I knew I would have the next few months to design and create pieces to sell at the event. The application process was straightforward and involved filling in a simple online form with information on your shop and items for sale, along with links to your Etsy shop and social media sites.

In the run up to the event, the team leaders kept everyone up to date with news at our regular meetings and via social media – this made the final few weeks leading up to it a lot less stressful. They also sent out helpful tips and advice for anyone who was new to selling which definitely helped settle my first-time nerves.

The few days before the event, I started to get apprehensive – what if I didn’t sell anything? What if no one liked my jewellery?

It felt like a very big leap to step out from behind my online Etsy shop in to the real world of selling, but I had spent the prior months creating pieces and planning my display, I knew, at the very least, I had done everything I could to make it a personal success.

The market weekend was fantastic, from the preview evening on the Friday Night, to the last hour of Sunday afternoon. The rooms were packed from start to finish, and knowing there was a one-in-one-out queue at one point was really exciting for all involved. This was testament to the hard work of the team in run up, especially on the media campaigns to promote the event.

Etsy Made Local was a great success for Popeye & Daisy and I am continuing to build on what I learnt at my first fair to grow my little business further. I have sold at several other fairs and markets since, including several Peddler Night Markets – a personal favourite! I am also building up my product ranges and hope to release my first cohesive collection very soon.

I cannot wait to apply for Etsy Made Local 2017 and hope I can be a part of what I am sure will be even bigger and better than 2016!

[Etsy Made Local – Sheffield in 2017 will take place at Sheffield’s Cutlers’ Hall on Saturday 2 December and Sunday 3 December 2017]

TOP TIPS

Do a trial run of your display stand before the event so you know how it will look and how long it will take to set up (and take down).
Stand your ground – I had a few customers who tried to barter and get a better price. You are not at a car boot sale – you are selling unique items and you need to price accordingly. If you reduce prices because someone asks you are only underselling yourself and under-mining other customers who might overhear. Yes, it meant I lost a sale, but I could have lost many more if I have agreed.
Make wrapping and packing as quick and easy as possible. All my jewellery was displayed on wooden blocks or in dishes so I needed to individually wrap each item. I set up a little packing station behind my shop sign (so no one could see) and had everything to hand (i.e paper cut to size and bags opened and ready) this made things much quicker, especially when there was a few people waiting to pay.
Offer card payments – I was surprised at just how many people wanted to pay by card rather than cash. On the recommendation of other Sheffield Etsy sellers, I purchased an iZettle card reader to take card payments. Make sure you factor in the additional fees into your pricing though. *Use code RLQRY4 to get £10 credit if purchase an iZettle reader and you use your new card machine within 30 days*
Be friendly with your neighbours – days can be long and if you are alone you may need them to watch your stall whilst you grab a coffee.

Ayla x

Popeye & Daisy Jewellery

You can find Popeye & Daisy on Etsy and on social media at:

Etsy Shop: www.popeyeanddaisy.etsy.com

Twitter: @popeyeanddaisy

Instagram: @popeyeanddaisy

Facebook: Popeye & Daisy Jewellery

#EtsySheffTile: an Art Installation

17 November 2016 by admin

If you visit our Etsy Made Local 2016 Sheffield Market this December at the Sheffield Town Hall, you’ll have the added bonus of viewing our team’s art installation. The art installation takes the form of individual tiles and is based on personal representations of Sheffield.

What does ‘Sheffield’ mean to you?

josephinedellow-without-border — #EtsySheffTile ‘Sheffield Town Hall’ by Josephine Dellow

maxwellharrison-work-in-progress — Jayne Maxwell Harrison’s jewellery craft (MaxwellHarrison) features in her #EtsySheffTile.

Created by our team members, the makers were asked to create a tile in either abstract or true representation form of what Sheffield means to them – each message being unique. The main challenge was: How much detail could be fitted onto a 10 x 10cm tile?

The makers were encouraged to give thought to the environment by upcycling materials where possible, drawing on Etsy’s Mission & Values of creating a lasting world. The end result is an interesting collection of 2D and 3D pieces of art with each tile revealing its maker’s connection to Sheffield and the materials used in their craft.

creating-etsyshefftile-at-etsycraftparty — Cora Fung of Takaracrafts (left) at the Etsy Craft Party, working in fine detail on her tile.

Back in June, one of the team leaders held an Etsy Craft Party. This global event is an Etsy initiative providing the opportunity for local makers to connect and create. The party was a small affair, but a great excuse for fellow team members to link the making of their tiles with a social gathering. The day was shared through our social media channels using the hashtags #EtsyCraftParty and #EtsySheffTile.

The art installation was open not only to our team members, but the general public and we were honoured to have the involvement of two local schools. Pupils from Year 1 through to Year 6 at Oasis Academy Watermead and pupils who attend the after school club Dragon’s Den at Marlcliffe Primary School all joined in by creating a tile based on what Sheffield means to them. Three tiles were jointly chosen and the lucky winners, along with their adults, have been invited to attend our exclusive preview evening on the eve of the market opening where they will have the opportunity to meet with the Lord Mayor of Sheffield.

dragons-den-after-school-club-work-in-action — A tile being created by a pupil at the ‘Dragon’s Den’ after school club, Marlcliffe Primary School.

The adult-child collaboration provided a wonderful connection with the ‘Year of Making Sheffield 2016’ by linking our team members – Sheffield’s current makers – with local children – Sheffield’s future makers.

The children certainly outnumbered our team in the number of submissions and for this, their enthusiasm and the school’s participation must be congratulated. All-in-all, we have been amazed by the quality of the tiles which adults and children alike have taken their time to create. Truly, this has been a celebration of community, connection and creation.

The art installation will be unveiled at the preview evening on Friday 2nd December where it will remain on display throughout the weekend for the duration of the market.

We invite you to come along to the market where you will not only be able to start and finish your Christmas shopping in one weekend, but where we hope you will take a little breather out of your busy shopping schedule to view the art installation.

We challenge you to find the meanings of what ‘Sheffield’ means to its community!

#EtsySheffTile ‘Team Logo’ made using upcycled fabric by Barbara Rose of BarMadeBags.

Martha and Hepsie: Now Available in John Lewis Leeds!

20 October 2016 by Sophie

Our team members Martha and Hepsie are celebrating a very exciting new stockist this week. You can now find them in the new John Lewis flagship store in Leeds! We had a little chat with them to find out more…

Who are Martha and Hepsie?
We’re a sister team based in Sheffield and Devon designing and selling our own collection of homeware, stationery and gifts.

Martha (the northern one!): With a degree in Textile design from Nottingham Trent, Martha moved to London to develop her career in design and production working for designers Lisa Stickley and Gisela Graham. With experience under her belt Martha returned to her Northern roots relocating to the steel city of Sheffield to focus on Martha & Hepsie, where she designs all the whole product range.

Hepsie (the not so soft southerner!): Gaining experience from placements at Mathew Williamson, Copperwheat Blundell and trends agency The Bureaux during her Fashion and Business Studies degree at Brighton, Hepsie returned to Devon and progressed a career with jewellery brand Kit Heath. Now she is ploughing everything she knows into Martha and Hepsie.
What is the Martha and Hepsie ‘story’?
We both craved autonomy whilst working for other people and whilst Hepsie was on maternity leave we decided to set up the business initially as a 5-9 hobby with the dream to make it full time, then a couple of years later the businesses we were both working for were affected by the recession and we were both made redundant within 6 months of each other – this was our sink or swim moment and we decided to put on our armbands and dive in at the deep end with ‘Martha and Hepsie’!

Despite living in two opposite ends of the country we’ve embraced technology and don’t need to physically be in the same room as we share all our business documents online, we both have samples and we phone each other a lot!
Our brand strapline is – designs inspired by life, who we are and a little bit of laughter…! We’re both quite confident, a little cheeky and love to laugh! So our designs are bold in pattern and colour and have characterful narratives to go with them.

All our designs are illustrated by hand in Martha’s snug Sheffield studio and made in Great Britain.

Where else are you stocked?
We sell to a selection of independent retailers across the UK and as far afield as The Falkland Islands, as well as on our own website, Etsy and Not On The High Street.

What does it mean to be stocked in John Lewis Leeds – at a shop on home-turf in Yorkshire? Both personally and for the business?
To be acknowledged by a store such as John Lewis is a real milestone for our business which makes all the hard work we’ve put into growing Martha and Hepsie so worth it. We’re both very proud of our local roots and to launch in a brand new John Lewis in Martha’s home county is the icing on the cake.

You can see more of Martha and Hepsie’s products in their Etsy shop or follow the on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.