Shop Spotlight: Jen's Dream Decor

I love taking photos and I almost never have them up on display because I never know where or how to display them. How do you put your treasured photographs up in an elegant and fashionable way? Well, with beautiful photo memory boards from Jen's Dream Decor. Jen also works very hard to create beautiful magnet boards, jewellery holders, and other decorative items for your home.

Oh Canada: Of all the things that you sell, which item or style is your favorite?

Jen: I really love making my Photo Memory Boards the best. I have introduced a gathering technique which I do over double ribbons which really looks lovely and romantic.

Oh Canada: Where did you learn your skills?

Jen: I took a 5 year long night school program in Interior decorating which has helped a lot in the design of products and in fabric choice. A lot of the upholstery and sewing skills I learned in my previous life as a collector bear designer and maker.

Oh Canada: Everyone has different motivations for making their unique wares. What drives you to create?

Jen: What I really love is the feeling of timelessness that comes when you create, where you look up at the clock and can’t believe how much time has passed. There is simply nothing like it.

Oh Canada: If you could learn to use any new technique or material, what would it be?

Jen: The art of upholstery is something I admire and love to do in my limited fashion in my shop. I would love to do more and larger projects like headboards.

Oh Canada: Any plans to incorporate a new product into your shop this year?

Jen: Yes, a lot of plans…I’ve become re-interested in decoupage and plan to make book ends and expand on my line of key racks and coat racks.

Oh Canada: What is your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?

Jen: I love having creative control and being part of this fabulous amazing group of talented artists.

Oh Canada: Do you have a number one tip for new sellers? 

Jen: Join this team (lol) seriously, joining a team to give you support and friendship is the best thing I ever did.

Oh Canada: What is your favorite thing to buy on Etsy?

Jen: Supplies, I can’t believe how fabulous the sources are on this site. It would take years to find all these products if I didn’t have Etsy. I also love to support the other members of my teams as much as possible.

Oh Canada: What is the number one best item in your shop right now?

Jen: I love this frame(see photo to the left), which was a rare and wonderful garage sale find.



Keep up with Jen and see what new discoveries she has made by visiting her Facebook Fan Page. You can also follow her on Twitter and drop by her shop to buy a beautiful, handmade treasure for your home.





Copyright 2011 Oh Canada Team

Shop Spotlight: Sadie Designs

If you're looking to wear one of a kind jewellery pieces made with raw crystals you'll be in heaven at Sadie Designs. Sarah's unique and feminine style is remarkable and her shop represents all that is original and natural. You'll also find some beautiful wooden jewellery pieces to dress up your look. Wear a Sadie Designs original and you will surely get noticed. Please take a moment to get to know Sarah a little more.

Oh Canada: Of all the things that you sell, which item or style is your favorite?

Sarah: My favourite piece is always changing. Right now I really love geometric stone pendants, like the pink and green pastel triangles that I use to make my Miriam necklaces and the amazing crystal quartz pendants that I use in my pendulum necklaces.

Oh Canada: Where did you learn your skills?

Sarah: When I have an idea for something that I'd like to make I generally teach myself how to do it through a lot of research and trial and error. I do find that the people who work at local supply shops are really helpful in pointing me in the direction of new materials or helping me learn new techniques. When I was learning to use the laser cutter to make my baltic birch pieces I spent a lot of time watching amazing YouTube videos about drawing in Illustrator (the computer program that I use). I love that people take the time to make tutorials for others just out of their own love of the subject matter.

Oh Canada: Everyone has different motivations for making their unique wares. What drives you to create?

Sarah: As a landscape architecture intern, a lot of my design work stays in the computer and is done on the screen. I started making jewelry as a way to work creatively with physical materials. I love experimenting, the tiny scale of jewelry pieces, and making something that is 100% unique. Making jewelry makes me happy after a long day drafting architecture projects on the computer.


Oh Canada: If you could learn to use any new technique or material, what would it be?

Sarah: While I was finishing up my degree I bought myself a steel bench block as a promise that I would teach myself more involved metalsmithing techniques this summer. I really want to start working with copper and repurposing some of the metal plates that I used to make etchings in my fine arts degree.

Oh Canada: Any plans to incorporate a new product into your shop this year?

Sarah: I really do dream of adding photographs to Sadie Designs. I love taking pictures and have a bunch of really fun cameras. For now, my blog is where I share my photos, but I do hope to be able to offer some prints in the future in the Sadie shop. Perhaps even some large scale photographic posters.

Oh Canada: What is your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?

Sarah: Etsy has been a great place to connect with other sellers. I love being part of national and regional teams and meeting like-minded creative types. Ultimately, though, I most appreciate Etsy for giving me a fun venue to connect with potential customers from all over the world. This week I shipped orders to Sweden, Germany, Australia and Winnipeg. I love writing out those addresses, it's exciting to think of people half the world away wearing a piece of jewelry that I made.

 Oh Canada: Do you have a number one tip for new sellers?

Sarah: Just keep going! It takes a while for people to learn about your shop and in the meantime you can spend your time perfecting your techniques and improving the appearance of your shop. Concentrating on making the best possible product you can will get you far, so stick with it!


Oh Canada: What is your favorite thing to buy on Etsy?


Sarah: I love shopping on Etsy! I buy a lot of jewelry and supplies, but I also love buying paper goods and accessories. I'm planning my wedding for the fall and I know I'll be buying things from a lot of fabulous Canadian Etsy shops as we get ready.

Oh Canada: What is the number one best item in your shop right now?

Sarah: The best-selling items in my shop are definitely the dipped crystal pendant necklaces. Right now amethyst is the most popular, but around the holidays it was the citrine points. I've been making these necklaces almost since I opened my shop and I really can't see myself stopping any time soon.

Here's a special message from Sarah:
Thanks so much for featuring me on the team blog. As a special thanks to my Oh Canada teammates you can always use the coupon code "FRIENDS" in the Sadie shop for 10% off your order. Happy spring, everyone!

So drop by the Sadie Designs shop and buy yourself something special. You can also keep up with Sarah through her Blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

Copyright 2011 Oh Canada Team

Shop Spotlight: My Victorian Cottage

In the spotlight this month is My Victorian Cottage. I am pleased to feature a vintage shop for the very first time in the Shop Spotlight segment. Dianne, the shop owner runs her shop out of beautiful Ontario. Her shop specializes in vintage housewares, fabric, buttons, linens, notions, and clothing sourced from local estates.

I fell in love with all of her vintage treasures and I know you will too. Vintage has a very huge place on Etsy and I am proud to bring a part of all that vintage goodness to the Shop Spotlight.

Oh Canada: Of all the things that you sell, which item or style is your favorite?

Dianne: Vintage fabrics and textiles are my favourite. I think it's genetic. I learned to sew when I was very young and I remember my father feeling all the fabrics in stores. When I got involved with vintage I just gravitated to that.

Oh Canada: When did you develop an interest in vintage items?

Dianne: I went to an auction over 20 years ago and got hooked right away. Then like many dealers I started selling so I could keep buying. The buying is the best part. 

Oh Canada: Why do you have such a love for vintage wares? 

Dianne: I rarely buy anything retail, even then it has to be some kind of deal. I love that vintage is different. It's not what everybody else has. It's very inexpensive compared to new. It's my lifestyle now.

Oh Canada: How do you select which vintage items to add to your shop? Where do you find your vintage treasures?

Dianne: I select a lot of my items to sell because they fit through "the slot". Postage is the bane of my internet selling existence. That said, I also list things that I really don't expect to sell. I buy for shows and rather than have things just waiting I list them for the exposure, like vintage metal tackle boxes. Anything metal is so current and whenever I list or renew a tackle box they get immediate hearts and are chosen for treasuries. I have sold a few on etsy but they are more for the exposure value.

I shop at auctions, thrift stores, the outdoor antique markets. Aberfoyle is the best locally, and twice a year I go to Brimfield, Massachusettes for the biggest outdoor shows ever. First show is in May and I absolutely can't wait. When the team was talking about vacations on beaches I was thinking about my upcoming road trip. For me, that's the best vacation.

Oh Canada: Any plans to incorporate a new product into your shop this year?

Dianne: This business is a lot about reinventing yourself to stay current, always trying new things. I did recently start selling the pillows and bags I sew in a new etsy shop.

Oh Canada: What is your favorite thing about selling on Etsy?

Dianne: I still love that total surprise when I check in and I have a sale. I love the new Activity Feed. I also love that buyers aren't afraid to spend money here because they recognize the value of Etsy.

Oh Canada: Do you have a number one tip for new sellers?

Dianne: Of course, you need good pictures. I think you need to be offering something that people want to buy. I don't know exactly. Etsy is still a lot of mystery to me, why some people get so popular and others don't. I like being on the Oh Canada Team. Etsy is a huge place and this makes for some sense of community. List and relist too for exposure in the searches. I know not everybody agrees with the relist thing. 

Oh Canada: What is your favorite thing to buy on Etsy? 

Dianne: I'm too practical. I think the best things to buy are supplies, zippers, findings, fabric, etc. So much choice and really good prices. 

Oh Canada: What is the number one best item in your shop right now? 

Dianne: The buttons are my best sellers. I just have to keep focused and list more.


Visit My Victorian Cottage to see her lovely selection of vintage wares. You can also keep up with Dianne in her two other shops. In From The Workroom you will find beautiful sewn items from mostly vintage fabrics, linens, lace, and trims. In Button Lane you will discover unique vintage button charm bracelets. So head on over and have a look. Dianne will be glad to have you stop by.

Copyright 2011 Oh Canada Team