Etsy shop – last day !

I’ve had a few questions about why I’m closing my Etsy shop so I thought I’d just expand on that a bit. It is something that has been brewing for a little while, in fact , ever since I opened the shop at my main site over at www.rhiannonconnelly.com . It has just seemed a bit confusing to have two places selling work based on similar images. In order to make things a bit more streamlined I’ve decided to close my Etsy shop, review the range I was selling there, and add an edited collection to the Rhiannon Connelly site.

So a lot of the items currently available ( for one more day ! ) will be disappearing once I close the door.

I will admit to feeling a bit sad about the huge policy changes that Etsy have made in the last couple of months which has completely changed the feel of the site and it is no longer the resource for hand made products that it once was.

That said, I do still feel very attached to the Starrybluesky name, after all, I’ve been working under that name for quite a few years. So I may well revive it for another project in the next few months. I’ll need to wait and see how things evolve.

If you’d like to make sure you are kept informed about any changes or studio news you are welcome to subscribe to my studio newsletter.

January Colours

I’m joining in the latest of Stephanie Levy’s online courses – this one has a seasonal flavour. And this week she encouraged us to take a walk around our neighbourhood paying particular attention to colour. Well, I am always walking and snapping, looking at colour and pattern . But it is interesting that when you really focus on one element the subtle differences seem even more pronounced. I was surprised how many variations I could even find amongst the brown shades ( a colour that I have been known to call “not a colour” ). Luckily the day I picked for this was one of those crisp bright winter days. Others have been posting lovely snowy images but if it had been white here there is no way I would have managed this route as there is a steep hill at both ends of the town.

Also, wee reminder that there are only two more days to pick up a bargain at my Etsy shop before I close the doors. I will be discontinuing a lot of that range in their current format – although some images will find their way over to my other shop at www.rhiannonconnelly.com A few people have been asking me more about why I’ve decided to do that , so will address that in the next post.

January in Pictures

This is how South Queensferry looks on the first day of the year – the participants in the Loony Dook marching down the High Street , led by the town crier.

And Queensferry on a quieter day.

Looking back at the town from the harbour.

Wintery skies on the edge of the town.

Although I’ve taken this month quite slowly on the blogging front that doesn’t mean that there has been no picture taking going on. Here’s a little round up of the year so far – part two tomorrow.

And a wee reminder that my Etsy closing sale is running until Saturday.

Time for changes – Closing Etsy shop

Hello ! An unintended blogging break but one that just happened naturally with the change of the year. I hope 2014 will be kind to you.

I’ve had a less reflective start to the year than in the past, having opted for more of a review at the end of October. And that seems to suit me much better than examining things in the middle of winter.

Nonetheless some changes do bubble up to the surface if you take a bit of time to be still. And what emerged for me was that it was time to close my StarryBlueSky Etsy shop. I think its a little confusing to have similar photographic work in two places even though they are on paper and textiles. So the time has come to wave goodbye to this little shop in its current format. I do still feel very fond of the StarryBlueSky name so that may well re-emerge later on in another form. But for now, I’m having a sale until Saturday and the shop prices already reflect the new half price offers. When they’re gone they’re gone !

Sinterklaas bonus ..

A nice colourful vase of ranunculus as an antidote to the wild weather . Got completely drenched in the hail and driving rain. Glad to be toasty and dry again now .

If you’ve had your eye on something from my etsy shop then there is a 25% discount with the coupon code SINTERKLAAS . If you are a newsletter subscriber then check the email from today for a couple of other wee offers .

Instagram, Pinterest , and an Invitation.

After trying out Pinterest early on and being rather confused by their guidelines at the time , I’ve gone back to have another look. They have sorted out a lot of their earlier issues and people seem to have tightened up on making sure that images are correctly attributed. I did a spot check and only one image that I tried didn’t lead me back to the source.

As with Instagram, there is also rather a community building up on Pinterest and it is fun to use both for inspiration and sharing work. If you are researching a particular theme or designing a new room, for example, it really comes in handy.

One of the things I’ve recently discovered is that you can have a board that a group of people can contribute to. Inspired by that I’ve set up a “Today’s Favourite” board – and I plan to add a photo to that most days. I’ve made it a collective board , so if you would like to add a picture daily ( or when the whim strikes) just let me know and I’ll send you an invitation. I thought it would an interesting way to see daily favourites from different locations.

As most of my “day to day” images are shot with my phone and end up on Instagram I investigated whether it was possible to link between the two – and of course you can – enter www.gramfeed.com With this site, once you are logged in, you see your normal Instgram feed with “Pin it” buttons alongside. Easy !

All Roads Lead to Leiden

Oh the Internet is a funny and tangled place. A day or so ago Ama an Etsy friend from Leiden posted a picture that a local blogger, Louise, had taken of her market stand during one of Leiden’s many festive weekends. Of course, I had to pop over to the blog to read the review and reminisce over attending the same event last summer. On reading a bit further I discovered that the same blogger had just been featured by Tina,a London blogging friend who has a regular challenge post. And the challenge this time was for each of them to make a video about their respective towns, Leiden and London. So hop over here to see both of their videos.

In the meantime I have finally felt like piecing together this Ixxi that I designed with images from ” A Leiden Year”. I know it sounds a bit soppy, but I felt too sad about the end of the Dutch adventure to pin it up before now. It really felt that I was reconnecting to a part of my heritage again , only to see it come to a halt. Well, there are good sides to every change, of course, but I do plan to hang on to those strengthened Dutch ties with more regular visits – and with a bit of luck there will be another period over there in the future.

Day 27 – Monday Inspiration

I think Mondays are a good day for a bit of inspiration and one of the things that has come out of my 30 day blogging experiment is that I like to have a little vague structure to my blogging routine. That means that if I come across something during the week I can save it up for a particular topic, rather than just blogging in a very random way.

And for me , Mondays are about getting the week off to a good start. If I have a good and productive Monday then that sets the tone for the rest of the week.

This week I have a couple of videos for you , with the writer Menna van Praag. I have to confess I had only vaguely heard of her, but her latest book was recommended by someone and so I visited her website. She has an interesting story to tell about just keeping going and not giving up. Both interviews overlap in content a little, but I found both of them worth watching. Even if you are not a writer, the message is, make things happen yourself, don’t wait to be discovered.

Here she is interviewed by Lilou Mace and here is an earlier video that she made after her first book was published.

I am also having a 24hr little sale over at my Etsy shop – get 25% off with the code SUNNY. I’m planning some new projects and making a bit of space in my studio.

Also, if you’d like to be kept informed of new work and other behind the scenes snippets you can make sure you don’t miss any news by subscribing to my Studio Newsletter.

Day 7 – Evolving and Growing

( This fabulous lighthouse is at the maritime museum in Rotterdam.)

Although I have loved being on Etsy and have no plans to close my Etsy shop anytime soon, I have started to feel that I want to spread my wings beyond the site.

This is largely related to my new textile venture. In order for my work to be on Etsy I would have to be doing all the sewing up myself. And while I think it is important to know how to make all the components of a product, I really don’t want to be sewing all day. If I learned anything from my time as a silk painter it is that I don’t want to be doing all the making again.

So behind the scenes I am working away at a new site. Part of the site also incorporates a blog but I am undecided yet what to do about my blog. Should I close this one and just redirect traffic over there ? Should I repeat the content in both places ? Do you have any advice based on moving your own blog from one place or another ?

Giveaway winners and Kaffe Fassett Book Review.

Kaffe Fassett Book Review from RhiannonConnelly on Vimeo.

A big thank you to all of you who helped me to celebrate by joining in my giveaway – and without further ado, here are the winners.

Rachel Horne and Juliet Wilson have scooped up a $50 voucher each, to use in my Etsy shop. If you leave a comment with an email contact I will let you know what to do. ( I will not publish the comment , so your email won’t be public)

Cynthia H, Nancy Moon and Sherri Spaulding have each won a set of 5 postcards. If you let me know your mailing address for the postcards I will get them off to you – again , send me your info in a comment ( which will be kept private. )

Any prize that has not been claimed within 10 days will be reallocated.

I also know, after my recent post on Kaffe Fassett’s exhibition, that many people would like to visit but are unable, so I decided to do a video review of his recent book. If you can’t make it along to the exhibition then the book will give you a good flavour of how his career has developed.

Notes on video – I have discovered it is quite tricky to hold a book and a camera and turn the pages at the same time. I think I need to put some kind of little tripod on my shopping list. But I decided to upload this one anyway, rather than wait to get it all “perfect”.