Butterfly Chic Boutique Blog

My featured shop today is Adobe Sol Designs. I discovered her on Etsy as I was in the forums one day and fell in love with her shop! Her metal work is AMAZING!! I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do.

What is your name?
My name is Rebecca Bogan

What are your shop/site links?
Adobe Sol Designs:
http://www.AdobeSol.com
http://AdobeSol.etsy.com

How did you come up with your shop name/tag line or any unique product names?
Ohhhh good question! I really wanted a name that reflects my rustic and, sometimes, southwest style. I happen to live in an adobe house. Adobes are mud bricks. This style of mud house is unique to the southwest. Sol is the Spanish word for sun. We get lots of sunshine in these parts. Adobe Sol Designs just fit together for me.

What types of crafts do you make?
I design and make artisan jewelry using techniques such as wire wrapping, hand forging and coiling. I particularly like working with silver and copper metals along with artglass, gemstones, rocks and silk.

What is your favorite thing about making artisan jewelry?
I really enjoy designing and creating a piece of wearable art. It is my creative outlet and my sanity!

What is your least favorite thing about it?
Oh that’s easy.. the sore fingers I get after doing a lot of work with metal.

What is your favorite thing currently in your shop? Why?
My current favorite piece is the “Metal Music Bracelet”. This bracelet took a lot of time to make. I love the look of the oxidized sterling silver with the rock quartz. And the best thing.. the sound it makes when it is worn. Truly metal music!

What makes your products special?
Along with my rustic style, each piece is unique and handcrafted with meticulous attention to detail and construction.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years, in your business?
Lets see.. in 5 years my kids will be in college (hopefully). That will leave me with a lot more time to dedicate to my jewelry business! I plan to become more educated in metal working skills. Also I would like to learn the art of lampworking. “Growing” is the one word I would use to describe my business 5 years down the road.

What inspires you?
I am not inspired by any one thing. I am inspired by everything. I design while trying to sleep, watching TV, looking at pictures, the time of year, the weather… It is not a glamorous story but it is how my inspiration operates.

What advice would you give someone wanting to get into making artisan jewelry?
It is important to find your own niche. You need to develop your own unique style and not make items just because you think they will sell. Next be prepared to spend a LOT of time promoting and networking to get your name, style and personality “out there”. Set goals for yourself and “Plan” your business.

If you could work with anyone (person or company) who would it be?
To learn more about jewelry techniques I would love to just sit beside Eni Oken for a year or two. I really love her work. To learn ideas about wealth, investing and cash flow I would love to work with Robert Kiosaki (author of Rich Dad Poor Dad). I am currently learning by reading his books and tutoring with my husband who has mastered the art of “thinking”.

What are your current projects?
I have a necklace in the tumbler right now that I should finish tomorrow. It is made with a lampwork focal (made by Vonna Maslanka). I have added some wire wrapping, handmade charms, citrine and plenty of silver. I will start a special order Egyptian coil necklace tomorrow also.

Finish this sentence. “If I weren’t making artisan jewelry I would have
been a…”
Crazy lady with 100 cats!! LOL… I need a creative outlet!

What is your favorite Etsy shop?
Too many to list. Here are a few.
Ranch Wire:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5627965
Art wear Diva:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5290177
Art by TR:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=88704
Daisy Cakes Soaps:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=4894

Anything you’d like to share about your personal life?
On a very personal note… I am the mother of a 14 year old child recently diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes. I have a Charity Section set up on my website. 100% of the sales price of these items will be donated directly to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. JDRF does great work on finding a cure for this horrible disease. I am thrilled to be able to contribute.

What’s your favorite:
food?
The veggie deluxe sandwich at the local health food store.

number?
6

color?
Purple

website?
A new friend who takes FABULOUS pictures:
http://www.awolfsfancy.com/

blog?
http://jdmachope.blogspot.com/

scent?
After it rains

band?
Linkin Park - Going to see them tomorrow!

song?
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ - Judas Priest

movie?
Somewhere in Time

book?
Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer

ice cream flavor?
Pistachio nut

Starbucks drink?
Coffee - Straight up

restaurant?
Sadies - Mexican food

• 
• What is your name? Karina Gallo

• What are your shop/site links? http://kreatedbykarina.etsy.com http://kbyk.blogspot.com

• What types of crafts do you make? Handmade soaps and lip balms using quality ingredients, only the best oils and color pigments I can find, and insane passion for what I do mixed into every bar.

• How did you come up with your shop name/tag line or any unique product names? I held a contest on the Etsy forums–and someone had suggested “my soap makes sense”…so I twisted it a bit and did a play on words, coming up with Soap That Makes Scents

• How did you get into making bath and body products? I first learned to make soap a few years ago when my husband was sent on a business trip to England. The corporation paid for the wives to go as well as a “show of support” and, well, there was not really a whole lot to do and I didn’t want to sit in a hotel room in between business dinners and social events. I discovered a place nearby that offered a professional one-day course in soap making and arranged to have a class there. Later on, I took several soap-making courses in Oregon, and continuously read books, learned new techniques, etc. I then joined the Handcrafted Soap Maker’s Guild in 2003 which is a great way to network and learn new skills. Lip balms just followed naturally (I started making them last year) as I wanted to offer variety in my store as well. It can be a lot of work, but it’s also quite therapeutic

• What is your favorite thing about soap making? I love working with new scents. As soon as I get in a shipment of new fragrance oils I tear open the box and immediately open each one to get a full whiff of the essence of what I will be working with. And I write down what it reminds me of…how it makes me feel. It’s from there I can take the next step: using it properly to invoke those same feelings and memories in you. I want to capture a moment of life in every single bar.

• What is your least favorite thing about it? Probably waiting the 4-6 weeks curing time so the bars mellow properly…the longer they sit, the better they become–but it’s SOOO hard to smell all those luscious scents and see all those vibrant colors and not want to grab a bar and jump in the shower!

• What makes your products special? None of my soaps contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) which is known to irritate the skin. The sodium lauryl sulfate found in commercial soaps and some other soaps on Etsy (it’s claimed as a lathering agent) is exactly the same as you would find in a car wash or even a garage, where it is used to degrease car engines. In the same way as it dissolves the grease on car engines, sodium lauryl sulfate also dissolves the oils on your skin, which can cause a drying effect. It is also well documented that it denatures skin proteins, which causes not only irritation, but also allows environmental contaminants easier access to the lower, sensitive layers of the skin. Hence, NONE of my soaps contain either SLS or SLES.

• Where do you create? In my mind, in my workshop, in my office…even in the bakery! Oh, I have a workshop where I steadfastly create my soap loafs, bathsalts and lipbalms, but I’ve been known to sit in a bakery drinking a cup of coffee and wonder how I can incorporate one of their best-selling desserts into my next best-selling soap or lipbalm.

• Walk us through your typical day. I’m usually up at 4:30am and working on handwriting invoices, stamping coupons, and writing thank you cards for my customers. Usually, I’ll use these wee hours of the morning to work on my promotional packages/samples that I send out to media contacts and other people. Once my daughter is up, after breakfast we head over to my workshop, which is actually in the basement kitchen/working area of a local church that I rent out. It’s just perfect with a kitchen, small office, storage area and ample work space. Plus, the kitchen area is commercially regulated and government inspected, ensuring a sanitary work area. Since my daughter is still young, most of her day is spent sleeping, so I had a bassinet set up in one corner of the office, and a penned-off play area for her in the work space. We usually don’t head back home until 4pm or so, and the go through the “normal chores” of cooking, laundry, etc. After the little one’s put to bed, I work well into the night finishing paperwork, working on more promos, working on the computer, etc. It’s a full day, every day.

• What advice would you give someone wanting to get into making soap? Learn ALL you can about it. Soap making isn’t a business you can just start up one day and jump into. You have to be well-aware of the types of ingredients you will be working with, how to properly measure and handle lye and other fats, the laws regulating the labeling and selling of cosmetic items, the properties of essential oils and fragrance oils you will be working with, just to name a few. Take some classes, read up all you can on the saponification process (the chemical reaction that occurs when fats or oils come into contact with lye) and then read some more. Talk to people in the industry and join soap making forums

• What is your favorite Etsy shop? Oh wow…there’s SOOOO many out there that I frequent often…and admire greatly. Right now, one of my faves is schoollocker.etsy.com I have yet to purchase from her, but if I could, I’d buy out her entire store.

• Anything you’d like to share about your personal life? Sometimes…late at night…when no one’s looking…I’ve eaten an entire Sara Lee cake in one sitting.

• Would you rather be rich or famous? Why can’t I have both?

• 
• What’s your Favorite….
• food? Anything seafood or Italian

• number? 13, actually.

• color? Red—the color of passion
• website? Mine–lol http://kreatedbykarina.etsy.com
• blog? And another winner…http://kbyk.blogspot.com
• scent? Oh wow, that’s hard. Really hard to answer. I love my Red Currant & Thyme Tea right now, but my favorite scents change depending upon my mood and craving.
• song? “Hurt” (cover by Johnny Cash)
• movie? TAPS…an oldie, but a goodie.
• book? Anything true-crime or autobiographical.
• ice cream flavor? Chocolate Mint Chip…yes, I’ll be doing a soap and lip balm in that one soon
• Starbucks drink? White Chocolate Mocha.
• restaurant? I love dining in restaurants…I don’t have any favorites, but I really want to try one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants in NYC..I know he has a few.