Mafe Maria: A Creative Playground by Maria Q. Stultz
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(47 entries)
Besides thanking all of my friends and relatives who are so supportive of my recent endeavours as an artisan — some commenting on this blog, others looking and commenting the photos of my ongoing collection of creations, and others who have gone to the extreme of even buying items at my Etsy shop — I [...]
Being faithful to my plans from last weekend, yesterday I used my day off to hand print some fabric in my kitchen. I only got four prints, which is a little disappointing considering all the time it took to prepare for the printing session, set up the work area, and then clean up everything. But [...]
As many of you may have noticed, production of playground entries on this site has slowed down considerably since Joaquin was born. While for several months the presence of a newborn was definitely a reason not to create artwork, I can’t blame it all on the poor bollito. Truth is, Joaquin’s birth brought my old [...]
Although the idea of selling prints of some of my artwork has hit me several times, it is only this weekend that I’ve started to really think seriously about it. Assuming that there’s a market for my stuff, I would like to offer a good quality product. That is, archival inks, heavyweight paper, a professional–looking [...]
While my poor fingers have started recovering from the recent rampage of my “piquitin” habit, the photo shoot of my latest wallet for the shop left something very clear: I need a manicure. AND. There’s no way in hell that I could ever list a product for online selling with such horrible fingers as models. [...]
Over the last few days I have been very pleased to find that those who fight hard are doing everything they can to bring public attention to the devastating consequences brought by an unaffected CPSIA. I have also met artisans who, unlike me, have no choice but to keep their shops open and stay on [...]
Apologies in advance to all the regular readers of this blog. I don’t have many ways to spread the word, so here it goes… Because of upcoming laws and regulations that will make it impossible for tiny artisans like me to legally sell any children’s products in the U.S., my Etsy shop will stop carrying [...]
New children’s product safety laws taking effect on February 10 are threatening to put a lot of businesses — big, small, and tiny — out of business. The Law is extremely complex and broad, and I won’t even attempt to explain it here, because I’m not even sure I understand it fully. So for clarity [...]
Tuesday, 7:58 pm. This is prime time. Along with me, some 1,253 people are browsing Etsy’s Treasury. My eyes stuck on the top list. It’s about to expire. I figure at least a thousand people are waiting for this moment… The second that list #333 expires, the Treasury will open and geeky curator wannabes like [...]
You may remember some time ago I was dreaming of decoration plans for my home, and I considered crafting certain fabric designs, or painting them, and using them to reupholster some of our furniture, but none of those handmade options sounded like they would produce a good quality product. And then, months later, when I [...]
Sunday evening Joey finds me making a onesie for Joaquin. I tell him that I’m going to bed early with him. I’m a little bummed. Nobody will buy my stuff at Etsy. Just a couple of people show interest in my hats, and nobody seems to care for the mini wallet. I’m never going to [...]
YES! YES! YES! I finally opened my tiny etsy shop. As I say in my shop’s announcement, I probably should have waited to have more items to sell, but come on!… making two vueltiao hats with the little time I get away from my bollito is no small feat. As the perfectionist business–background person that [...]
For ever since I can remember, my biggest passion has been to design and create products with my hands. I was very prolific as a child and young college student, and then I started working in the real world and my craft went to sleep. It took something as dramatic as becoming a stay at home mom for it to come back. And it really came back!… This time I want to make it a bigger part of my life. I want to make things not only as a hobby, but as a living. I think it’s a good plan. It’s a good time to try it…
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