Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Local Featured Seller: Prickly Paw Crafts

 My Name is Lisa van Heerden.  I am the owner and creator of PricklyPaw.
 

I am located in Cary, NC and have lived here for only about 2 years to date and LOVE it here.  Some of my favorite places to explore are the Raleigh flea market and various thrift shops around where I live.  I get inspired by found objects and the possibilities of using them in my art. I also love to see what others have created. Now that the weather is getting milder, many art fairs and craft shows will pop up (easier to take my kids along to fairs than to shops) so I am watching others closely for display ideas.  I have never done a craft show but am eager to try.
Fine Art Pencil Conte Crayon and Charcoal Drawing

I started creating when I was very little but have only just recently started “putting myself out there”.  Looking back I don’t know why I was so worried.  I thought people wouldn’t like my work, or it was a waste of time because who will buy my stuff?  But then I said to myself, you only miss out if you don’t try!  Around that time in October I started finding objects and just reselling them through eBay or Facebook.   I figured why not take some of my originals and see if I can sell those too?  That was when the light bulb went off.  It was not a total failure if I post something for free or .20 cents and it doesn’t sell.   And guess what, my items did start to sell!  


I realized on Etsy that I needed to make more items so people will want to shop through my stuff.  So I picked the most practical least obtrusive items I could use so as not to disrupt my family’s dinner table, living room coffee table and floors.  How many times can I tell my kids “don’t walk on that paper!”?  

I was already an avid Scrapbooker and so I started making paper stars/origami stars ornaments while hanging out at nights.  They truly are lovely and at first took some time but now I have perfected the process so they are quick and efficient to make.  I also started playing with clay.  I went to art school a long time ago and majored in Sculpting/Painting. It wasn’t such a leap that I started making cute little sculptures that my kids and their friends would love.

Little Easter Bunny Sculpture


My most cherished art works are my hand drawings.  What I consider my “fine art”.  They are not crafts, but real works of study and are less reproducible.  Because I drew them, they are 100% my voice.  I treasure the successful drawings because I don’t often get to dedicate the time to crank these out.  So when I do, they are worth something, well, to me at least.  


As you can see I have a wide variety of interests.  This really sums me up my Etsy Shop and as an Artist.  I am trained in many different mediums like painting, woodworking, sculpting, metal working, drawing, so I need to go where ideas take me.  My company name reflects this concept. PricklyPaw, was chosen because I need to follow my interests wherever they take me and stick with them until I am fully satisfied I have mastered whatever it is I am doing. 

Origami Stars




Now, as much as I enjoy my self-imposed creative license implied in my shop name, I am a goal setter, business woman and marketer too!  In the upcoming year, and because I am so new to the business side of selling my art, one of my goals is to set goals!  I want to learn how to be effective and profitable as an Artist rather than just creating whatever I feel like! As I mentioned earlier, I have my sights set on craft shows.  I have also started a blog.   I would love to work on getting some feature spots on magazines and securing coveted relationships with event planners too. And for more day to day goals, I need to master my packaging, my knowledge about shipping, and my shop branding.  Did I mention I was just one person? 




Come see more of my works at my blog which houses many pictures from PricklyPaw.  You can also find me on Facebook  and Twitter.






NCTriangle Team Members who'd like to be featured, please contact ShoreDebris.

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