September 30, 2011

TAFA treasury: Color Your World



Last year I returned from India with a load of beautiful hand made, hand woven fabrics. India is an absolute paradise for fabric shopping. You'll find some of these bags in my shop CocoBags.

Here's another treasury made from TAFA's Etsy member products. Beautiful colors, gorgeous items, all ready for your Holiday shopping list.


September 26, 2011

A Splash of Color

Vintage Embroidery from India, Coco Kulkarni

Our TAFA Team has a new treasury coordinator!  Once a week, Coco will post treasuries made by our team that feature TAFA products.  Coco has two shops on Etsy.  She sells vintage textiles from India in Threads of Old and gorgeous bags that she makes in Coco's Bags.

Coco is new to making treasuries.  Check out her first one!  Click on the items and they will take you to their listings on Etsy:




Explore all of our shops by clicking on the tabs at the top of this blog,  just below the header.  TAFA now has 180 members who have shops on Etsy.  The shops are beautiful and we hope that you will find some treasures there!

Bed Time... Sweet Dreams



Bed Time...  Sweet Dreams

Visit the treasury and share it with your friends!

Our TAFA members on Etsy create and sell beautiful functional and decorative work.  Surround yourself with their beauty and you will have sweet dreams all night long.

Click on the tabs underneath our header to visit all of our shops!



Here's an old Beatles favorite to go with it:

September 19, 2011

Namibian Elephant Stamps

"Out of the Dust" by Sue Gombus

Can you believe this is a drawing?  Artist Sue Gombus describes the scene:

"I was trying to sketch the wildlife around a water hole in Etosha National Park in Namibia when a dust devil came through, making visibility very poor. Suddenly, this Namibian giant came right out of the dust as though running away from or toward something. Namibian elephants are some of the largest in Africa, but because of the poor mineral content in the soil, also have some of the smallest tusks."

Visit her page on Artists for Conservation.
Our own Oshiwa Designs also capture the Namibian elephants through their carved wooden stamps:


These stamps can be used on fabric and paper or pressed into clay or soap.  Oshiwa has 162 wonderful stamps and sets listed, so go there and take a gander!  When not in use, these stamps are so beautiful that they are little pieces of art that you can display with pride.


September 15, 2011

Tafa Team Etsy Pick of the Week: Handmade Purple Pom-Pom Scarf

When I saw this pom-pom scarf by Berniolie this morning, I instantly fell in love with it.  Then, I read a little bit more about the maker and found out that her day job is costume design for the circus!  Now I love it even more! She has many other designs available in her  Etsy shop, and if you're the kind who likes to make it yourself, she has a very popular pattern shop

Pom Pom Scarf by Berniolie
You can read more about her and see more of her work by visiting her on the her Etsy site

*Etsy Pick of the Week feature by Stacey Sharman from Peppermint Pinwheels.  Every Thursday, we will post one item from a TAFA Team affiliated Etsy store. In choosing a Team member photo, we will be looking for beautiful, Etsy Front Page worthy photos.

September 14, 2011

For the Love of Art.

One of the things I love about being a seller of fine craft is the association with and exposure to other artists and their magnificent creations.  I truly enjoy seeing the work people create --  beautiful vessels containing their love, passion, energy, time and resources.  It never fails to humble me to walk the aisles of a really good show.

I think that's because no one 
(in their right mind) 
goes into art or craft to get rich.




People are much more likely to end up there because it is where their heart has taken them (which shows in their work).  And that's worth much more than money, really.  

And to those who understand the value of handmade and feel its pull, but approach it as appeciator rather than creator, we need you and we thank you.  From the bottom of our hearts.



















Susan M. Hinckley
Small Works in Wool

September 7, 2011

Keeping it Real.

When looking for ideas for one's art, it isn't necessary to look very far from wherever you happen to find yourself.


 Moon talk by a poet 
who has not been to the moon 
is likely to be dull.

-- Mark Twain


Having been educated as a writer, I've had it drilled into my head ad nauseum that good writers write about what they know.  As a young college student, I found it difficult to restrict myself to my own rather limited 18-20 years of life experience.  And now, as a ...*ahem...slightly older writer, it is clear to me that my youthful writing truly suffered as a result.

That's why my art is, by and large, the stuff of everyday.  Because I want it to be true.  If I can't make it true,  I can't expect it to resonate with the people who engage with it.  Keeping it real in some way offers  an easy-to-grab handle they can use to pull themselves into my creations, whether written or stitched.

It's a lesson I'm glad to have learned,  
and one I wish I'd understood the value of much sooner.















Susan M. Hinckley
Small Works in Wool