Saturday: Snow Owl

We just saw a beautiful snow owl at the zoo the other day so when I saw this teeny tiny version, I just had to feature it! Measuring only 2" tall, he is sure to delight all who see him :) Find him at Blossom Hill Cottons.

Friday Fish Fry: Primitive earrings

I love the simplicity of these sterling silver primitive fish earrings. Find them at Silver Monk.

Thursday: Very cool notebooks

I love these notebooks! Gorgeous digitally manipulated photos are on the cover and inside are 20 assorted pages for all your doodling & writing goodness. Find them at modern printed matter.

Wednesday: Pumpkin earrings

I think these earrings look like little pumpkins. So it's the perfect time to wear them, right? Lovely marbled orange quartz combined with tiny Swarovski beads & brass findings. Yum! Find these darlings at k. deane designs.

Tuesday: Bike illustration

I love this illustration. An old gnarly tree and a bicycle drawn on a page from Huckleberry Finn. Fabulous! Find it at Pinky Brown.

Monday: Cute little coin pouch

This little pouch sure would be handy to have on your keychain to hold all those loose coins or maybe some mints or pills... It's just barely 2 inches square and SOOO adorable. Find it at Cotton & Cloud.

Sunday Brunch Special: Amber Fay

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your indie business.
My name is Amber Fay and I work full-time for a group of general surgeons. My life has come to a point where I need to make a change, although my job is very rewarding, it is now time for me to pursue my jewelry making business.

I create and sell photo tile pendants. They make unique and different gifts in the sense that they are handmade and use a special transfer process to create each piece. I use low fire clay and each image in resized and cropped and transferred to black and white where it is then baked onto the clay tile. The image actually becomes a part of the tile.

2. Where are you located?
Thousand Oaks, CA

3. How did you come up with your business name?
I could not think of a name, so everyone kept telling me to just use my own name, that it flowed rather nicely.

4. Where do you sell your products? www.amberfay.etsy.com.

5. Do you belong to any local and/or web groups or affiliations?
I belong to many jewelry making forums on Yahoo Groups.

6. What inspires you?
The desire to cut back working full-time and work part-time so that I can have a child and be the best mom I can be.

7. When you’re not making things, what do you do?
I work full-time for a group of general surgeons and when I come home, I spend time with my husband and 17 year old Papillion Gizmoe, my 2 Chihuahuas Cricket and Zoe, my black cat Gus and my Russian tortoise Max.

8. Do you ever get stumped for ideas? How do you work through it?
All the time, I usually have to take a break and walk away and then re- compose my thoughts and creative energy.

Ok, now these two are mandatory and I have to ask (this being a diner, after all)

1. What is your favorite meal? Vegetarian tacos

2. Do you prefer tea or coffee? Coffee

Saturday: Jungle Leaf pendant

Darling little polymer clay pendant featuring a leaf, set in a bamboo-edged setting. Find it at Green Leaf & Owl.

Friday Fish Fry: Head to the Ocean

Beautiful Thai Hill Tribe silver pendant stamped with fish & flowers is the focus of this necklace. Moonstone, new jade & amazonite add the gorgeous ocean colors. Find it at Spiral Stone.

Thursday: Neat-O cards

This set of four cards are a bit on the funky side. Created with baroque prints, photoshop and an imac, the end result is a fun montage of images. Find them at Enfin, La voila!.

Wednesday: Primrose Lime tote

I'm a big fan of Amy Butler fabrics. This bag was made with the new line called Nigella. It's a great size too, big enough to carry all you need but small enough so it doesn't become a bottomless pit. Find it at Julia Martinez Designs.

Tuesday: Eyeball pincushion

Ha! How funny is this? Now, Jen has some very lovely and pretty pincushions but I just HAD to feature this one as it cracked me up. Find it at Schmaltzy Craftsy.

Monday: Metallic Pink pouch

Wow! Is this ever cool! Shiny metallic pink pouch...perfect for cosmetics, credit cards or whatever. Find it at peep bags.

Sunday Brunch Special: Midnight Sky Fibers

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your indie business.
I started in January 2006 (when I was 19) as a natural progression of my love of knitting and crochet (I also weave, tat, and much more as well). My love of handspun lead me to want to share it- and my love of environmentalism- with other people. There aren't many other people out there making eco friendly yarn the way I do, using greywater, not many other people are naturally dying sock yarn either. So, my business is an extension of my lifestyle! It is vegetarian and eco friendly just like me.

2. Where are you located?
I am located in the lovely Pacific Northwest, which I am very lucky to live in- we are really green here, and I'm not just talking about the trees! I love that I can live in an area that has like-minded people, and a large knitting population!

3. How did you come up with your business name?
My business name was a screen name I have used since an early teen, so it seemed natural to incorporate it in to my business.

4. Where do you sell your products?
You can find my yarns and fibers at: www.MidnightskyFibers.com. You can also find a list of our wholesalers that carry our yarns there as well. You can also find us on etsy and eBay both as MidnightskyFibers. We also have a blog where we update our recent yarn as well as our crafty projects as Blog.MidnightskyFibers.com.

5. Do you belong to any local and/or web groups or affiliations?
A few, but college (just graduated with my BA after two years) has kept me busy.

6. What inspires you?
I absolutely love where I live! The pacific Northwest is so beautiful, full of wonderful, natural colors and so many different types of trees, fish, and so much more that that is probably where most of my inspiration comes from.

7. When you’re not making things, what do you do?
Does cooking count? My whole life revolves around making things, even if it isn't for my business. I make bread at least a couple times a week, and try to cook quite a bit from scratch. Most of my hobbies are also craft related as well- sewing, knitting, tatting, weaving, and the like.

8. Have any marketing or business tips you’d like to share?
I think the biggest thing people tend to forget is that they are not anonymous on the internet. Never forget that. You want to be able to say, "Yea I totally am [that person on the forum]", not, "O, you heard about that too?". It's really the 7-11 rule for businesses on the net- if you are nice to people and respectful people will tell people about how much they like your business (the 7 part), but if you are rude, don't follow through, or cause drama- well, that is the 11- they will tell many more people how hard it was to work with you then they would have told if you were nice. O, and play nice with the other businesses, especially in your niche.

9. What would be your dream job?
I am in my dream job! I love everything related to textiles and creating and dyeing yarn- well, except the bookkeeping and accounting. So maybe what I am doing now but with a bookkeeper!

Ok, now these two are mandatory and I have to ask (this being a diner, after all)

1. What is your favorite meal?
I really, really love waffles. Not the Belgian waffles you get when you go out to eat, but the waffles from the machines that make them in five little heart shapes, spread with real butter and lots of syrup! Maybe some peanut butter if I am really hungry or trying to be healthy. O, and coffee. Lots of coffee!

2. Do you prefer tea or coffee?
It really depends on the occasion and the time. In the morning, coffee for sure (or a chai), it is more filling to me. Tea is better at night or drinking idly while I am working, especially a yummy flavored rooibos.

Saturday: Autumn necklace

Time to think about getting some Autumn jewelry in rich, warm colors. I think this necklace fits the bill. Beautiful rondelles in jewel tone colors paired with a smoky quartz briolette. YUM! Find it at The Glimmer Repository.