Feature - eebits

Names: Will and Elizabeth O’Connor
Shop Name: ebits eco-friendly handmade jewelry
Brief Product Description: eco-friendly jewelry and more

What is unique about your product? We use eco-friendly materials, packaging, and keep a green shop. Our products are very affordable for everyday wear, and nothing is off limits. Right now, we’re making jewelry with recycled guitar picks, and we’ve been known to make jewelry from leftover Lego blocks, recycled bottle glass, and anything else that we can think of.

How did you get started? Elizabeth was in a car accident in July 2009, which resulted in losing her job. Since she was unable to work and stuck at home, she began creating jewelry to keep busy and feel productive. Friends and strangers commented on how we should sell our jewelry, so that’s what we’ve been doing. Since our main objective is not to make money, but to have fun and to have others enjoy our products, we keep our prices as affordable as possible.

Where do you get your inspiration? From our kids, from nature, from other crafters, and mostly out of thin air.

What excites you most about your work/shop? It’s great to be able to make jewelry in our house while the kids are playing, sleeping, or making a mess.

Describe your workspace/workroom. We do not have a designated workspace, which makes life interesting. Usually, there are various trays of beads and findings on out-of-reach counter tops. We use ice-cube trays, cleaned egg cartons, or any other containers we can find around the house to work with. We also use all recycled packing materials.

Which do you prefer: online sales/marketing or face-to-face sales/marketing? Why? Face-to-face sales are preferable. Certainly it’s less work to bring your products and allow people to see them in person than to try and portray their value in photographs and online descriptions. But since we have two small children and “day jobs,” it’s not always practical to make it to live shows. We are somewhat limited to online sales.

Where would you like to see yourselves in 5 years? Aside from healing from the accident, I think we would like things to stay pretty much the same. Obviously, our kids will be older, but perhaps we will have another child by then, and perhaps not. We’d like to keep the jewelry business because it is fun and we hope that people enjoy our products. We consider it “art therapy.” We’ve also thought about hosting Jewelry Parties, where our friends can select the beads and materials they like, and we will construct their jewelry for them.

What do you feel is the most important skill you use in your business every day? Sense of humor! Between the children and recovering from injuries, we are so thankful for all that we have. When things don’t go as planned, all we can do is be grateful that we have each other. When we make mistakes, we try to laugh and learn, and we hope that we’re teaching our children to do the same.

What do you like about EtsyAustin? If making jewelry is our Art Therapy, then EtsyAustin is our Support Group. As a newer member of the team (we joined last Fall), we didn’t know what to expect. But we have received invaluable advice and support from the team. Even folks who have never met us are willing to provide their support. This may include loaning us a table for a show, or suggesting helpful hints for our business, and everything in between. Despite the variety of people on our team, we are all committed to each other's success. We expected just a small amount of competition between team members, but it’s just not there. It’s the opposite. We all support and encourage each other. It’s an amazing environment that we’re lucky to be a part of.

What do you think makes EtsyAustin Street Team unique? The EtsyAustin Street Team is as Weird as Austin. The products and artisans that make up the team are so varied—from baby products to screen-printed items, to needlecrafts and jewelry. There are a lot of us who make jewelry, but we were surprised how unique each jeweler is from the others. The team has very experienced artists who create extremely valuable art pieces, and there are folks like us, who make everyday fun stuff. And Team EtsyAustin members make everything in between.

Describe something about yourself that may be a surprise to people on the team. Will is from California, and Elizabeth is from Michigan. We met in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2000. We have two young boys, Max (5) and Sean Henry (18 months). We live in Pflugerville (between a Rock and a Weird place).

Austin Fashion Week Continues!

Thursday proved to be the big day for AFW events as it had more events scheduled than any other day of the week, but I'm proud to say I was a good little AFW-er and made sure I was in the middle of all the excitement! Continuing the edge-of-your-seat excitement of Austin Fashion Week, I stopped by several Etsy Austinites' shops and salons yesterday to see if I could fulfill the need to have my AFW cake and eat it too. Did I succeed? You decide.


First stop was Malissa Long Wearables at Baldwin Beauty School on Lamar. Truth be told, I felt like a schmuck for only being able to make it at the very tail end. I had lost my directions that I printed up for everyone's locations and my Garmin wasn't cooperating in helping me find the Baldwin Beauty School. So, after driving around for more time than I'm proud to say, I arrived at BBS and took time to talk with Malissa about some of the pieces she'd made for AFW. Her entire line was super whimsical and definitely chocked with clothing that surpassed anything my imagination could muster up. She even had a vest made entirely of bottlecaps! Sounds like something that belongs in the Blanton if you ask me. The rest of her line was comprised of hand-dyed featherweight cotton dresses, Nicole Miller-inspired handkerchief gowns (absolutely beautiful and probably some of my faves!), vivid spacey polyester-silk dresses, and various coats and tops made with vintage fabric- mmm, that word is always music to my fashion-hungry ears. There was even a dress made entirely of men's ties! In addition to serving up this stellar line, Malissa mentioned she was in the works of making her dress for the red carpet awards show on Sunday. Personally, I'm super excited to see how it turns out after seeing all her duds at BBS. Don't worry, I'll be sure to get a few snaps in so that we can all revel in Malissa's mad sewing skills!

The next stop after Malissa Long Wearables was Urban Groove Salon where I was sure to find some fabulous *anne marie* purses. A few wrong turns and horn honks later, I arrived at my second stop- what can I say, I have a knack for getting myself lost. I was greeted instantly by the lovely and cool as a cucumber Anne Marie who made me feel right at home in the oh so chic and upscale UGS. Upon seeing all the bags she'd put on display, I felt like I didn't work nearly hard enough for Austin Fashion Week. The amount of stock she had up was nothing short of amazing. There must have been at least 50-60 bags and wallets there, all shapes and sizes. My personal favorites were the recycled vintage bags that were covered in flawless fabric. It's a mystery to me how you can find something that old that's in that great of shape. Another one of my faves is the one in the pic. If I had a job right now, I think I would have had to buy that bag right off Anne Marie's arm. In addition to getting some great purse eye candy time in, I was able to meet a few other fellow artists who were participating in Austin Fashion Week, whether it be by avid spectating or competing as a designer. One of the gals I met was Diane of Tasty Jewelry (she's at Sirens Salon for the week) and one of the others was Aimee Degroff ( I believe she makes clothing but can't seem to find her site!). They were super nice and had a few great tips for how to play good hostess in the AFW frenzy. I'll have to review my notes before Saturday so that I don't have a "well, here goes nothing" moment.

Of course, the quest for fabulous fashion didn't stop there. The pursuit of fashion is like the pursuit of knowledge- it's endless. I'm sure I could twist some Greek philosopher's arm to agree with me on this. Next stop you might ask? Only one of my favorite shops in Austin- Bettysport! Upon arriving, I definitely felt very calm and at ease- maybe it was just Kim rubbing off on me? Her display, which had been a big source of stress only days before for the lovely lady of Broken Ear Productions, looked flawless and fit in perfectly with the clean yet cute yet simple feel of the store. As for the display stress mess, you'll have to ask Kim for the story on that one! I think what impressed me the most (even more than the display woes) was all the jewelry Kim had basically made custom for Bettysport. The necklace on the mannequin immediately to Kim's right features five circular pendants on which Kim sawed the name, "Betty" (one letter on each circle. There were countless other pieces that were dedicated to the sporty-cute feel of Bettysport such as the triathalon necklaces, which had one necklace for each leg (of the triathalon, not to wear on your legs- I know, I'm silly). After chattin it up with a few of my favorite Etsy Austin gals, it was time for me to round out my night with one last stop at the grand re-opening party of Austin Handmade, which also showcased the lovely designs of Robie Dodson of Parsimony and the launch of soon-to-be (believe me, it's only a matter of time) craft craze, The Wonder Craft... TO BE CONTINUED

Action Jackson out!

March is National Craft Month!

The hard work and dedication put forth by many Team Etsy Austin members in order to showcase Team wares at SXSW 2009 seemingly makes 'National Craft Month' just that much more apropos for our group! The members of our group, and all Etsy-ites for that matter, are linked by a love of all things hand-made; indeed, I'm sure that we would all agree that there is an immense satisfaction in procuring and producing items rendered by hand.

People have been 'crafting' since the dawn of humanity, but the identification of an actual 'arts and crafts movement' began in Europe and America during the Industrial Revolution, around 1860-1910. This movement was fueled by artists and craftspeople reacting against the 'soulless' mass production of the machine age and the eccentric and antiquated styles of Victorianism. Followers of the movement sought to emphasize the personal satisfaction gained from crafting and the better quality of goods produced by individuals rather than machines, and to eliminate humanity's subservience to machinery, both as worker and consumer. The aesthetic and principles of the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th century still holds true in the 21st century marketplace, as evidenced by the prodigious popularity of arts and crafts websites such as Etsy.

Below, I have featured a sample of some of the many arts and crafts, from a variety of disciplines, produced by our talented Team Etsy Austin members. Whether you are a crocheter, knitter, jeweler, artist, etc., I wish you successful crafting/arting and a very happy National Craft Month!!! ;-) xoxo, Holly@BowerbirdDesign

Information Source: Wikipedia