Wednesday, May 19, 2010

EAOC's Wednesday Spotlight

Meet EAOC Artist:  Julia Akpan



Extra Long Crocheted Spiral Earrings


Tell us about yourself.  
My name is Julia.  I am a wife to a wonderful man, mother to an amazing toddler.  My husband and I were both born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we still live. Our son is so lucky to be growing up only 20min away from both sets of grandparents.  We just bought our first home with a huge yard and I’m starting to prepare a large area for our garden. I’m very much looking forward to cooking with foods that come from our own land. I also love exercising, traveling, and learning about other cultures.

My mom taught me to crochet when I was about 9 as a way to keep me busy on a trip to Chicago to visit family.  I also sew and in general love ‘craft time’ but, as a woman with very little down time, I love to portability of crochet and knitting; so much of my work is done in carpool or late at night.

What are you currently doing besides your creative craft?
 
I work full time as a development editor on health and human performance text books. 

What is the address for your Etsy shop? 

What do you offer in your Etsy shop? 
Simpletruths is all about knit and crochet accessories for yourself and your home. Everything is designed to simple, beautiful, elegant and fun.

Where do you create? 
Everywhere! Mostly in carpool and late at night on the couch.

Where do you find your inspiration? 
I love looking through vintage photos but I also find a lot of inspiration from different cultures’ current fashions - Japanese craft books are beautiful.  I also get a lot of inspiration from nature.

How did you get started in your line of business? 
Initially I was crocheting more things than I could possible wear myself or even give as gifts. I love the act of creating and my husband is actually the one who urged me to look into starting a business.

How do you promote your business? 
Mostly by word-of-mouth and wearing my designs.  I also have a blog, and accounts on Twitter, Flickr.  My mom and sister are truly my biggest promoters.  My mom walks around with my business cards in her purse at all times!  I’m hoping to do a craft show this year.

What is one of your most important lessons you've learned since starting your business? 
There’s so much still for me to learn but organization is key!

What advice would you give someone just starting out? 
Since I am just starting out I’m constantly looking for advice.  But I’m making sure to maintain  the Three P's: Patience, Perseverance, and Professionalism.  Also – take good pictures!

What are some of your favorite online shops on and off Etsy? 
http://emersonmade.myshopify.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pomadour24
http://www.etsy.com/shop/mamaiwawaki

What are your other sites (i.e. Blogger, Wordpress, Facebook, Twitter)?
http://www.simpletruths.typepad.com
http://twitter.com/mysimpletruths

3 comments:

Patrice-The Soap Seduction said...

Great feature!!! We are certainly a talented bunch:)

Sharon A. Keyser-Jackson said...

Very cute and creative!

~L~ said...

I love those earrings. go girl.

im having my Etsy Grand Opening Soon (Tuesday June 1) and will surely keep this team in mind.

~L~
fashion DIY @ avidaccents.blogspot.com

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