Happenings 082908

This team is small but oh, so mighty!  It is hard to keep up with all we are doing!  Here's the latest for the last two weeks.

Of course, the big news for the team is the Launch of SHH, Sharing Hearts and Hands, our project to support small businesses through Kiva.  For more info, read through the post published here.  We made our first loan to Melita, a clothing seller in Peru.  What we make through our hands, we give with our hearts.

Morgan of karma711 was featured on Sweet Figments blog in an awesome selection in the color of cherry tomatoes.  Check it out here.

She was also featured on Nora's blog.  Click here to read more.

We love reading more about our team members!

Barbara of mylittleaura was featured in a fun post for the upcoming Halloween season on Aileenfairycat's blog.  Check it out here.

Becca of happiknits was featured on the EtsyNJ blog.  What a great interview!  Read more.

The beautiful scarf pictured above was also featured on the b-line's blog.  For more, check this out!

On top of that, this scarf was also featured in the Etsy Gift Guides!!

Margarida of eikumpel was featured on the absolutely delish blog.  Check out her cutie here:

The Fashion Design and Lifestyle Team had two members featured on the Front Page of Etsy!  It was quite an exciting day for both Becca, of happiknits, and myself, of thirdfloor.  To set an all time record, Becca was featured on two FP's in the same day.  Becca is now referred to as "The FP Goddess" on the team because she is featured so often!  You go girl!

Another awesome week for a very talented team!

Beth

Shops featured here (click on the name to link to the shop):

Morgan of karma711

Barbara of mylittleaura

Becca of happiknits

Margarida of eikumpel

Beth of thirdfloor

Also check out the team shop here.

Our First EtsyBloggers Post - TulipsTreasureBox

The FDL Team is excited to have join the very active EtsyBloggers Team!  Our combined heads are spinning after reading through all that they do!  And to top it off, they were the Featured Team on Etsy.  You go team!

The featured member of the month is TulipsTreasureBox.  What fun to tool around her blog and shop on Etsy.  Her posts are wonderful.  I felt like I could hear her voice coming through her writing.  Check out her blog to learn more about her:  

http://tulipstalking.blogspot.com.

Her shop is full of beautiful items!  I loved the necklace featured above.  Look at that gemstone sparkle.  I wish summer were not ending here in the Northeast US .  What a perfect summer necklace!

And I really love these upcycled totes.  We are committed to the "no bag, please" concept, even if it means carrying our groceries home in our hands!  These totes would make that job so much easier!  Check out all her fabulous stuff at:

http://tulipstreasurebox.etsy.com

It was great fun to meet a member of this team.  Thanks for letting us share you with our blog world!

Beth 

Our First Kiva Business

Yay!!  We did it!  Through personal team donations, we were able to loan to our first business on Kiva!

We chose a woman in Peru named Melita.  She sells clothing to support herself and her children.  Here's just a little bit about her:  

"Melita belongs to the communal Bank "El Arenal".  She is 52 years old, separated from her husband, had 3 children but one died so now she has 2.  

Melita continues selling clothing which she buys in Lima.  Then she travels by river to sell her merchandise or she doesn't sell, she trades for other products.  She is very pleased with how her business is going.  

Everyday for Melita is a challenge.  Therefore she is very happy for the oppurtunity that Manuela Ramos provides her to receive a loan to invest in her business."

Sharing hearts and hands.  From our hands we give to Melita with our hearts!

Keep reading to see how you can help the FDL Team to continue to support other small businesses!

Check out our team on Kiva at: http://kiva.org/lender/fdlteam9642

xoxo

Beth

Link of the week! II

Today I bring you a geeky link! Follow this link and you can find a lot of free business software. You can grab some PDF utilities, calculators, fonts and many other free applications.

Maybe you already have most of it, but maybe not. And of course, remember that using free applications can save you some money!

enjoy!

x margarida

Ei! Kumpel

Shh ... Sharing Hearts and Hands

The Fashion, Design and Lifestyle team on Etsy is proud and excited to announce their new lending project with Kiva (www.kiva.org), a charitable organization who lends money, donated from individuals and groups, to small businesses throughout the world.  The fantastic thing about Kiva is that, once the loan is repaid, the lender can allocate the money to another small business.  It is the gift that keeps on giving!

We decided to invest in Kiva because it helps small businesses like ours and it is international, just like our team.  It is our way of reaching out to the larger world.

We are calling our project "Sharing Hearts and Hands", or Shh for short.  What we make with our hands we give from our hearts.

Sellers on the Fashion, Design and Lifestyle Team, lovingly referred to as FDL, have decided to contribute 10% of the sales price on items marked "fdlkiva" in the tags.  Once the fund reaches $25, we will allocate these proceeds to help support an international small business whose market and products are similar to ours.  For every $25 that we collect, we will continue to contribute towards as many businesses on Kiva that we can.  Once loans are repaid, we will reinvest in another Kiva business.

To help us achieve our goals and help the world, please search www.etsy.com for keyword "fdlkiva".  Remember, 10% of the sales price will go towards our Kiva fund!

Watch here for progress towards our goals, as well as information on the businesses that we invest in.

For more information about Kiva, please click on the link in the left side bar.

For more information about the FDL team on Etsy, visit us at:

Blog:  www.fashiondesignandlifestyle.blogspot.com

Etsy Team page:  http://team.etsy.com/profilest/fashion.shtml

Team shop:  http://fdlteam.etsy.com

Flickr Group:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/etsyfashiondesignandlifestyle

Thanks for helping us help others,

Beth

Link of the week!

This week we are starting a new section: every Monday I will share an interesting link with all of you. Can be something to help our businesses, a supply shop, a cool blog, a tutorial...

Here is the link for this week. The blog itself is fantastic but this tutorial is way too wonderful! We all have so many supplies and supplies need to be stored. Properly! I think this is a lovely way to keep your supplies tidy and in place.

Enjoy and let me know if you follow the tutorial.

x margarida

Ei! Kumpel

Happenings 8/15/08

Another wonderfully busy week on the FDL Team!

Morgan of karma711 was featured on a fellow Etsian's website, nakpunar.blogspot.com. Check out this great interview with Morgan:

http://www.nakpunar.blogspot.com/

We love to learn more about all of our fabulous designers! Check out more of Morgan's jewelry designs at http://karma711.etsy.com/. The photo is one of her new rings she has designed - and my personal favorite!


Laura of laurabailliedesigns has begun creating beautiful prints from her original art. This one is from her new "Dancer" series and was featured on Sharon Shubert's daily Etsy picks on 8/13/2008. We hope to see more of this wonderful "Dancer" series and much more of Laura's beautiful art!

For more from Laura, check out her shop at http://laurabailliedesigns.etsy.com/

The team Duets seem to be popular. Two pieces from these collaborative efforts have recently sold. The first is a necklace by Aly (daintycrochetbyaly) and Nora (norakaren), with each artist contributing a part of the materials or work that went into this stunning piece. The second was a cowl, created by Becca (happiknits) as a collaborative effort between her and I where we each designed pieces that could be worn together. Watch for more of these fun collaborations!

For more from all four of these artists, check out:

http://daintycrochetbyaly/
http://norakaren.etsy.com/
http://happiknits.etsy.com/
http://thirdfloor.etsy.com/

In addition, Becca was again was an Etsy favorite, appearing on the Front Page treasury two more times! Way to go Becca!

Stay tuned for more news this week about a wonderful charitable partnership that is in the works from this tremendously talented team!

Beth
http://thirdfloor.etsy.com/

Team Happenings 08/08/08

You have to love all those lucky number eights in this date!!!!

This week, our own lovely Becca (happiknits) hit the front page once again. This Shanti Scarf is beautiful and much in demand for Etsy treasuries. It is a perfect set of colors for the fall, as noted in Margarida's color trend blog.

Check out Becca's other great knits at http://happiknits.etsy.com/.

One of our newer members, Jenn and Peter from OctopedalArts, were featured in IndieFixx. Check out the article here:

http://indiefixx.com/category/fresh-etsy-pixx/

It is always cool to see the faces and hear the stories behind our members. We are so glad you are a part of our team!

Check out Jenn and Peter's other great clothing at http://octopedalarts.etsy.com/!

Have a great week everyone!

Beth
http://thirdfloor.etsy.com/

2008 Fall Colour Forecast

by margarida - Ei! Kumpel

Because Pantone is such an authority when it comes to colour, everytime I create a new season's collection, I always make my colours choices based on Pantone's forecast. Pantone never disappoints and if great designers use this palette, why shouldn't we?

Almost everyone expects that Fall colours would be cozy, quiet and very serious. However, this season's Pantone Colour Palette brings us so much more than that. It's a season of change, althought not a radical one. Some traditionally Fall colours are still present, like chocolate brown, gray and other autumn shades.

Blues, greens and purples will be much seen next season but, as for spring / summer, reds continue to be strong and present. The palette is rich, sophisticated and elegant and colours are bright and beautiful. The featured colours are exciting and they add a splash of energy to the sometimes boring fall's colours.

Artists and creators have a great solid base to work, using these wonderful and beautiful colours. Potential combinations could be green and grey, red and black and mustard and blue.

Remember that colour trends are not everything, they are just guidelines, not rules... Push yourself forward, open your mind to new colour combos and start playing with colour. It can be so much fun!

margarida

August Challenge and Contest

The Fashion, Design and Lifestyle team is planning a fun contest to coincide with our August team challenge! Check back here over the coming weeks to find out more information!