Saturday, December 19, 2009

Friday, December 18, 2009

Funky with A Touch of Classic

Red, grey, and black can be considered as a classic color combination, but with the right attitude, they can look funky too :D Look at these awesome handmade items. Very cool, right?

Click on the title below the picture to get the complete list of stuffs shown here.



Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Gift Ideas for Her

What a girl wants, what a girl needs? Everything! Right, girls? ;) Spiritually, it's probably an undying love from a significant other. Materially, here are some ideas what to give to her, to a woman on her special day and/or Christmas.

Gift ideas for women.
  • Vegan Blush Beautiful Mineral Blush
  • Mini Pirate Hat
  • Coco Jasper Bracelet
  • Blue Floral Concho Leather Bracelet
  • White butterfly fine art print
  • Hot pink long skirt with Black victorian lace
  • Leather shoulder bag
  • Leather Art Journal
  • Bridal Shoe Accessories



Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on the next featuring.

All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!



Other Handmade Christmas gifts

Gift Ideas for Baby Girls and Teens

Cute items for babies and girls. These are some ideas for newborn baby gifts and for girls.

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.

All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!

 




Other Handmade Christmas gifts

Friday, December 4, 2009

Gift Ideas for Men

Looking for presents for the men in your life is probably not an easy task. Here's several gift ideas for him that i compiled. These are extra special because they are handmade. I hope you like them!

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.

All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!



Other Handmade Christmas gifts

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Google Base Disallowed Words

In order to appear in Google Base, our listings must follow Google Base rules or else they will be removed from Google Base sooner or later. To make sure your ArtFire listings are submitted to Google Base, activate it in My Gbase Feed.

WARNING: Attempts to cheat the Google system using misspellings or asterisks or other tricks are considered abuse, and could get the entire Artfire feed blocked!


So what are the forbidden words for Google Base? Here's a sum up from this and this forum threads.

PROMOTIONAL WORDS:
- free (including hyphenated words such as pet-free, smoke-free, hands-free, etc-free)
- sale
- vacation
- travel
- travels

ANYTHING ALCOHOL  / TOBACCO / DRUG RELATED WORDS
- smoke, smoked
- champagne
- whiskey
- beer
- tobacco
- cigar
- cigarette
- rum
- rummo
- wine
- vine (supposedly because vine = wine in another language)
- vineyard
- camel (for it being a cig brand)
- brandy
- gin
- bordeaux 
- burgundy
- ale
- hemp (?)
- absinthe 

ADULT / MATURE / EXPLICIT / NAUGHTY / VIOLENCE RELATED WORDS:
- anime ( however "manga" is allowed)
- strip
- stripper
- adult; including hyphenated words such as adult-size
- sexy
- butt
- sex
- affair
- chick
- sensual
- gun
- offensive language
- knife/knives
- nude

MISCELLANEOUS WORDS: 
- postage (or postage stamp)
- collecting (collectible and collect are okay)
- thorny
- precious metal 
- muse 
- corsage
- Z (as a stand alone letter)
- double @ (i.e: L@@K, B@@BS)
- fireworks
- bank
- FDA


PRICE RESTRICTION: Google Base will not take items under US $1.

Now we know all of this, what to do to get our listings passing through Google Base?
1. By replacing those words with other words; such as:
Free shipping = complimentary shipping, shipping is on me, no price charges on shipping, etc.
** I'm not too positive about this but I vaguely remember that having the word SOLD will make your listing go at the bottom of Google's list. So try to avoid this word. You can replace it with "you will receive a similar item", "made to order", etc. **

2. OR put those forbidden/disallowed words in the Promo Box if you're an ArtFire seller. Promo Box is not gonna get indexed by Google Base.

3. Be creative and open thesaurus! Ha! (but limit only at common words) Need help? Use this Google AdWords: Keyword Tool


CAPITALIZATION KILLS!! (update per  June 16, 2010)

This just in that Google Base now inactivate listings with excessive capitalization. Google requires items to be grammatically correct with proper title capitalization. Read this link below for more details.

Why No One Should Try to "Fool" Google Base.



***** If you know other words that are not on the list, please leave it in the comment section and I'll add them on my list :) *****



* Google and Google Base are two different search engines. Rejected listings in Google Base (Google Product Search/Google Shopping) may still appear in Google.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Top 9 Angel Keepsakes

Angels, angels, and angels! I love Angels! I even have a whole studio section dedicated for my angels.

Here are a select 9 angels that would be some nice keepsakes! Angels are perfect gifts for Christmas or any other occasion. I mean, who doesn't like angels, right?

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.

All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!




Other Handmade Christmas gifts

Friday, November 6, 2009

Top 9 Handmade Whimsical Gifts

Blue, Red, Orange, Purple, colors are everywhere! Witch Hat, Monsters, Jewelry, Flowers, Mirror, what's not to like? I love these unique finds in ArtFire :D

Here are a select 9 of whimsical items that would brighten your day!

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.

All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!



Other Handmade Christmas gifts

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Top 9 Handmade Orange Gifts

I love orange! Orange is happy, cheerful, and warm. Orange is perfect for Fall, to warm your days when it's getting chilly. An orange is also delicious.. Mmmmm...

Here are a select 9 of orange items that would brighten your day!

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.

All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!



Other Handmade Christmas gifts

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

A Wish Comes True - Artfire & Amazon Wish List


Artfire never ceased to amazed me! Now you can easily compile a Wish List using Amazon Wish List. Artfire has implemented the Wish List button in every listing :D Read the official announcement below.

Amazon Wish List Option
Members can now add favorite items from ArtFire to an Amazon Wish List with our Universal Wish List button, found on the left of listings (excluding mature items, which are against Amazon’s TOS). This feature puts together a linked list of items from ArtFire that can be emailed to friends and family members. Members should note that there is a minor bug with Amazon regarding the URL, so if you click the Add to Universal Wish List link without being logged in, you will not be redirected to the wish list option on Amazon. We’ve already contacted Amazon about this error, but for now, make sure you’re logged in to Amazon before clicking the link. Wish lists are fun and super easy to make, but in case you need a little help, we’re working on putting together a help guide, which should be posted on the site shortly, so stay tuned!


To use this Wish List button, first you need to have an account in Amazon.com. Sign up or sign in to your account so your wishes will be recorded. Go to your favorite store in ArtFire and start wish listing and let the world know what you've wished for! :D Once you're done, simply send your Wish List through e-mail to your friends and family using the Share button in your Wish List page. Maybe a Wish List for this Christmas or an upcoming baby shower or a wedding! Get only gifts that YOU like.

This is my Wish List, mind you that I'm not done yet ;)


How to Wish List in ArtFire:

1. Find that button in a listing. It's on the left side of every listing picture. Click that button when you found a favorite.

2. After you click that, a pop up window will appear within the listing page (See image below. Click to expand). Enter the price of the item, and hit Add To List button.



3. If you still want to browse for something else, close the Wish List window by hitting the X button on upper right corner.

4. Find the Wish List in your Amazon and share the list to friends and family through e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Click image to expand.


If you have any questions, ask away :)

Monday, October 12, 2009

My Kiosk was Featured in Auction Bytes


Oh, happy day!!

I found out that one of my Facebook Kiosks was featured in Auction Bytes website!

Read the complete article »»  Ecommerce Kiosks Come to Facebook via Artfire

A very nice article!


I have Facebook Kiosks, do you? ;)

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Top 9 Handmade Reusable Gift Bags

What would be better than giving gifts in reusable bags? Environment friendly, instant beauty with less effort!

A select few of reusable handmade bags/pouches. 

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.

All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!




Handmade Christmas gifts to go with the bags

Saturday, September 26, 2009

ArtFire is Now Free for All!


Yes you heard it right. ArtFire now offers unlimited listings for Basic Accounts. As Basic Account holders, you can list everything you have for free, no listing fee, no final sales fee. This promotion is good since today, September 26, 2009 although the promotion is for the month of October.

Here is the sign up page.




ArtFire Gives Away Free Unlimited Listings for the Shopping Season


Everyone gets free unlimited listings for the holidays on ArtFire.com


Tucson, AZ – ArtFire has just announced that they will be giving away unlimited listings completely free for all sellers during the holiday season. This means that everyone can sell and list as many items as they wish for absolutely no cost or fees.

When they first launched, ArtFire revolutionized the handmade marketplace by making it completely free for users to sell online. Site members were able to list and sell up to 12 items at any point on the site, and could have unlimited listings with customizable features for the flat rate of $12/month. However, due to the current economic situation and the upcoming holiday season, ArtFire has decided to remove this 12 item limit for the shopping season, giving everyone on the site the option to list unlimited items for sale.

To make things even easier for sellers, ArtFire has also launched the Etsy Importer, allowing members to import all of their Etsy listings onto ArtFire quickly and easily. To help manage these imported listings, ArtFire is allowing free access for the month of October to their Global Product Editor, which gives sellers the chance to make batch edits to hundreds of products in their inventory at once.

“Regardless of marketplace or venue we’ve found that sellers who list more items have a much greater success online,” said Tony Ford, COO of ArtFire. “We want to give everyone the chance to be successful, and free unlimited listing will help our artisans obtain more sales during the fourth quarter.”

“Many of our sellers are concerned about the shopping season due to economic issues, and cannot afford to promote and advertise as they had last year,” said John Jacobs, CEO of ArtFire. “This Holiday Free for All will allow them to sell more items than ever before completely free.”

This Holiday Free for All Promotion is the first ever of its kind, and expected to completely change the craft marketplace.

For more information, please contact:

Tony Ford, COO
ArtFire Inc.
1-877-688-2323
http://www.artfire.com
This is the greatest thing since the internet! Don't miss your train, sign up now!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why bother with verified anymore if I can list unlimited items as a basic member?


If you like what you get in ArtFire and thinking of getting more benefits, you can pay the membership's flat rate fee for $12/month, also no listing and final sales fee. With Pro (formerly known as Verified) Accounts , you will get the following:
  1. +1 search weighting (verified members always win a relevancy contest where the tie is with a basic member)
  2. The Facebook Kiosk (worth $12/month all by itself by monetizing your fan page)
  3. Coupon codes and gift certificates
  4. Free featured spots for every verified member on the category, trend and gift guide pages (randomly selected)
  5. Artisan Guilds
  6. Artifacts
  7. Sticky Cart
  8. Global Product Editor
  9. Multiple quantity listings (which is great. every time a product of multiple quantities sold, it will get relisted to the front page! Less work for sellers :) )
  10. Fully customizable colors and layouts for the Fusion Studio
  11. The Gallery on your Fusion Studio
  12. Larger Super banner
  13. Advanced Artisan Bio with multiple pictures and links
  14. Studio widgets capability for ads, video, or other html and flash widgets
  15. 10 pictures instead of 4 on items.
  16. No advertising in your studio or items.
  17. No promotion of other (verified) sellers items on your item listings.
  18. Up to 99 studio categories

Those mentioned above are Pro only benefits. If you're interested of becoming a Pro Member, please kindly mention popnicutesupplies as your referral :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A little more Q&A: 

How can ArtFire offer free unlimited listings to everyone?

Charging for a listing has been a staple of e-commerce since the late 90's. However the model is out of date, its costs next to nothing to host a listing. Why should a website charge you to put unique advertising content on their website?

Why would ArtFire do this?

ArtFire believes in artisans in the community. Time and time again they've seen that the single most common factor in a successful online businesses is that they list a lot of items. They want to remove barriers to your success, even if that means free unlimited listings for everyone. They believe that the real benefits of being a pro member go beyond unlimited listing. With the time saving promotional and management tools, tie breakers, benefits and more, why shouldn't they give new sellers the best chance of being successful.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Top 9 Handmade Christmas Gifts

A gift Guide for Christmas! Looking for Christmas gifts or something to wear for Christmas parties you're going to attend? Looking for handmade Christmas decorations? Send lovely handmade Christmas cards to your loved ones! Better shop now to secure your items before the crazy season takes over the post office!

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.


All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!




Check out these cool Handmade Christmas gifts

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Global Bulk Editor is coming to ArtFire


Finally! Something we've been waiting for months is finally [almost] here!! The Bulk Editor for our product listings in ArtFire :)

See the full view screenshot here! Exciting isn't it? :D

09/24/2009
Global Product Editor is LIVE
We are happy to announce the release of our newest feature at ArtFire, the Global Product Editor This timesaving tool allows you to batch edit many of the fields to a product including: prices, shipping, categories, promotion text, and more.  This means members can quickly make changes to 100s or thousands of products in their inventory with just a few simple clicks. The Global Product Editor has been one of the most requested features from our artisans since ArtFire began.  We are excited to be the first handmade venue to offer this robust selling tool.  You can find a full help guide detailing the features of the Global Product Editor by clicking here.
Progress Bar is HERE
This week we have also implemented new requirements for our basic members to list items for sale on ArtFire.  All basic members are now required to upload an avatar and studio banner, choose a payment method, provide an address, and fill out their artisan bio and studio policies before listings can go live.  This change helps our new basic members open a more professional looking studio and relieve shopper uncertainty before listing products for sale.  To help guide members though the process, a new progress bar has been added to your "My ArtFire" control panel that shows the status of each requirement.  All members will see this status bar until each step is complete.
Facebook Contest is Almost OVER
This month on Facebook we will be awarding two sellers with FREE VERIFIED ACCOUNTS FOR LIFE There is only one week left to enter, so don’t miss your chance.  To enter just post a link to your ArtFire Facebook Kiosk on the ArtFire.com fan page wall If you are new to Facebook, or having trouble setting up a business page, answers to most of your questions can be found in our Kiosk help guide. Contest entries will be accepted up until 11:59:59 EST on September the 30th.   Don’t miss your chance at a free verified account for life!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Are you ready for Handmade Christmas Shopping?

Christmas is around the corner. I know! How fast this year go by? Here I select three items from my studio that would be perfect to accompany you to go to any Christmas Party or as stocking stuffers!










What could be a better gift than a personalized painting of your beloved? Send me a clear picture of the person you wish to be painted and receive the digital art within a week in your e-mail.






Visit Popnicute Studio and Popnicute Supplies for more awesome gift selections :)

Top 9 Featured Friday 09/18/09

What is adorable and shiny?

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.


All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!




Are you ready shopping for Handmade Christmas?

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

And the Winner is...

Jonathan Darrell Davis!!



CONGRATS FOR THE WINNER!



This has been a fun contest. Thank you all who entered WIN A FREE CUSTOM DIGITAL PORTRAIT PAINTING GIVEAWAY. Keep an eye open for my next Giveaway :D



<3

-K-

Friday, September 11, 2009

Top 9 Featured Friday 09/11/09

And I'm feeling blue....

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.


All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!




Other unique gifts at ArtFire..

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

ArtFire Now Accepts Amazon Payments


Today's good news for ArtFire sellers! ArtFire has integrated Amazon Payments as one of the payment options. The bad news is that Amazon Payments currently only accepts US residents as members but we heard that they're working on opening their market for international members as well. So let's wait and see! :D

Read the news below as quoted from ArtFire community letter.

09/08/2009

Today we completed the integration of Amazon Payments, ArtFire’s newest payment option. Every U.S. based artisan can now set up and accept Amazon Payments along with PayPal, Google Checkout, Revolution Money Exchange, and of course check and money order.

Over 88 million people are currently registered with Amazon Payments and are familiar and comfortable with their payment process. With this integration all of those 88 million members familiar with Amazon Payments become your potential customers. Our goal at ArtFire is to give you and your customers as many options as possible so that each artisan has the tools to make their business successful.

This new payment option comes on the heels of the release of the breakthrough Facebook Kiosk and our Coupon Code system. After these two releases we have watched the average daily sales on ArtFire double. Kiosks and Coupons partner perfectly as seller tools. We have been very excited now to witness the incredible results for our artisans first hand. These features come in time for the busy holiday season ahead. If you haven’t tried out our Facebook Kiosk application or coupon codes there’s no time like the present. With help guides full of pictures and rapid response customer support, we’re ready to help you launch your business into the fourth quarter and beyond.

We have a lot more on the horizon for our artisans. Rest assured that if a feature or function will help you sell, open up new markets or give you access to new customer bases we will be working on making that feature or function a part of the Artfire platform.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Top 9 Featured Friday 09/04/09

I'm feeling like featuring Halloween unique gifts and artwork found in Artfire. These items can be found under "Ghost" keyword.

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.


All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!




Other unique gifts at ArtFire..

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

WIN A FREE CUSTOM DIGITAL PORTRAIT PAINTING!

Get your picture or your beloved digitally painted by me, Kharisma R. Sommers for FREE!

SAMPLE:


HOW TO ENTER THIS CONTEST:
1. You must be a fan of Popnicute to enter.
2. GO to Popnicute Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/popnicute and Leave a single comment there who would you want to be painted and why.
3. Invite your friends to join the contest too.
4. The Winner will be chosen using random.org.


CONTEST PERIOD:
Contest will be OFFICIALLY started on September 1, 2009 until September 15, 2009.


GRAND PRIZE:
a Digital Portrait Speed Painting done by Kharisma R. Sommers. Retail Value of $45.


RULES:
1. One entry per person.
2. IMPORTANT: Do NOT leave other messages aside than what was requested or you will be disqualified.
3. The winner will have to provide a clear picture of the person that will be painted and send it to my e-mail.


WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT:
September 17, 2009.
The winner will be announced publicly and contacted personally.


READ THE PRIVACY POLICY HERE:
http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=12496&op=new&body=3


Enjoy the contest and have fun! :D

-K-
http://popnicute.com
http://popnicutesupplies.artfire.com

ARTFIRE COUPON CODE


After the glamorous ArtFire Kiosk launching, now ArtFire has launched a new feature just for Verified Members. Coupon Code is another great addition to follow the success of ArtFire Kiosk!

Here's the quote of the official newsletter or Coupon Code release.

08/31/2009

ArtFire is proud to announce the release of our new Coupon Code system. This innovative system gives verified members the ability to create customized coupon codes with dozens of configurations and distribute via multiple channels with just the click of a mouse. The new system allows you to create coupons with incentives like percentage off, dollar amount off, free shipping and or free gifts. You can choose to apply these incentives over the entire range of your offerings, from your entire studio right down to the individual item level.

No more refunding your buyers after checkout when running a sale, with the new ArtFire Coupon Codes offering a sale is quick and easy! Along with the new coupon codes we also added the ability to offer Gift Certificates. You can now create gift certificates for exclusive use in your shop and email them right to the recipient. This means you can also list and sell gift certificates during the holiday season and beyond.

The coupon code launch comes right on the heels of the new ArtFire Facebook Kiosk. This new application allows verified sellers on ArtFire to add your customized fusion studio as a tab on your personal Profile and business Fan page(s). Sellers can now easily pair some of the best features at ArtFire.com. For example you might offer a "Facebook exclusive coupon" that can be used during a no account required checkout through your ArtFire Kiosk, to create leading edge promotion and exposure opportunities.

In the First week of rolling out the new Facebook Kiosk there have been over 3,000 Kiosks put up and reports of member sales increasing! We hope to see similar results with the Coupon Codes and will say that of all the features we have released none have been in higher demand than Coupon Codes. With unique new features we continue to grow the ArtFire community and our member's sales continue to grow as well. In August we saw record site traffic of over 1.7 million unique visitors and major advancements in SEO indexing on search engines!

At ArtFire we believe that innovation is the key to long term success. We strive everyday to keep our sellers on the cutting edge of what is possible in the age of e-commerce.

ArtFire’s focus on innovation and powerful management tools allows you to focus more of your time on running your business and building your brand. Thank you for allowing us to work with you, we look forward to many more successes with you.
I have personally used this feature and my buyer was able to use the coupon code smoothly! No more delayed paypal refunds!

Click here to read all about creating and managing your coupons

You can get to your coupon management screen here

You can get to the coupon creation screen here


Just want to say I'm glad i choose the right venue to sell! :D
If you're seeking to upgrade your account, click here. Kindly mentioned "popnicutesupplies" as your referral member.

Friday, August 28, 2009

ArtFire Kiosk for Facebook

After the great Rapid Cart, now ArtFire has come with another ground breaking marketing tools!

Introducing: ArtFire Kiosk.

What is ArtFire Kiosk?
Shop for items and checkout through ArtFire.com without ever leaving Facebook. | No Account Needed | Encrypted Secure Checkout.



Sounds awesome huh?

As described above, ArtFire Kiosk is an application for Facebook, like Etsy Mini only WAY much better! The application can be installed in BOTH of your personal AND fan pages! It's like having another outlets without having to manage yet another accounts! ArtFire Kiosk will show all of your items and buyers can buy straight from Fracebook. They do not need to register to purchase anything as long as they have Paypal or major credit cards, they're good to go. I know several people already got sales from it so it's definitely working!

This is another reason to join ArtFire and/or Facebook if you haven't yet! This awesome feature is exclusively for Verified Members of ArtFire. If you're seeking to upgrade your account, click here. Kindly mentioned "popnicutesupplies" as your referral member.

Install ArtFire Kiosk Now

How to Install ArtFire Kiosk on Facebook

See It on My Fan Page


UPDATE!
As of September 9, 2009 ArtFire has tied the facebook kiosk into Google Analytics. You should be able to see some indication of traffic there now via your existing GA account. They are working on a tie in with the Artfire server side stats as well.

Sounds great to me!

-K-
~ popnicute - imaginative handcrafted jewelry
~ popnicutesupplies - quality jewelry supplies and cocoon beads original

ART THEFT ON ETSY

ATTENTION SCRABBLE TILE PENDANT ARTISTS!

DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THIS ART THIEF!

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=18788481

www.eettssyy.etsy.com

EETTSSYY'S NEW SHOP IS DOWNLOADANDPRINT!

www.downloadandprint.etsy.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7970688

EETTSSYY or alias Aleksandra Kinshina alias Alex, SOLD MY IMAGE AND OTHERS WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION! AND ONE CAN ONLY SUSPECT THE OTHER IMAGES ARE STOLEN AS WELL. Eettssyy claimed that the artworks in the store are made by her. So please take a look to see if your artworks and photos are being sold without your permission! And now she comes back as DOWNLOADANDPRINT !

ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY ME Sara Sixblades

As you can see she carefully cropped out my signature!! I will have to use offensive watermark on all of my artworks from now on!


EETTSSYY profiles:

Her Flickr Account
E-mail: alex_florenc@yahoo.com
This is her website My Etsy Treasure.
If you do not want to be associated with an Art Thief,
kindly ask your Etsy Minis to be deleted from the site.
Eettssyy Blog
Twitter: GraphicForCraft


Grab My Button



Copy the code



UPDATE: As of Friday, August 28, 2009, this fraudulent shop has been put in a VACATION MODE by the seller. You can watch when she's coming back and see if she's back for a fair business or not. Thanks to everyone who has helped spreading the words!


This matter was kindly brought to my attention by a fellow deviant who pointed me out to this journal post. A quote from the original journal post can be read below

>>>original post:
It was just brought to my attention that this person:
[link] is selling images of stolen artwork in "high-resolution" printable packs over Etsy. She claims the artwork as her own, and gives all purchasers rights to use and reproduce the images for their arts and crafts. I have recognized work from several artists in her listings, as well as my own.
This is a good example of something that has already been sold, containing artwork from myself and many other artists. [link] If you recognize any of these artists, please contact them so we can get this collectively reported and stopped immediately.


This is where the seller claimed that these pictures are original artwork by her/he. Which actually were a compilation of stolen arts many of them are popular artworks in deviantArt.


And according to the same journal. Etsy only removed the listing and didn't ban the seller! Well, isn't that upsetting! I hope ArtFire will do better than Etsy regarding this matter if it ever occurred.


She sells/sold Klimt, Twilight, Disney images as well as from other independent artists.

This is the list of Independent Artists whose works had been stolen and discovered. So if you happened to have bought or about to buy some of the digital collage sheets that didn't come from the original sources, please contact these artists to gain their permission before you sell or make any products out of them!

• Kry1 » Website | deviantArt | Online Supply Store
• Saimain » Website | deviantArt
• Faboarts » deviantArt
• Twosilverstars » Website | deviantArt
• Anathematics » deviantArt
• Messtor » Website | deviantArt
• Magnusti178 » Website | deviantArt
• Vyrl » Website | deviantArt
• Genzoman » deviantArt
• Daekazu » deviantArt
• Begoth » Website (mermaid paintings, various artists)
• Runswithwind » Website

Please inform me if you have more information about the original creators of the images eettssyy has stolen. I will add them on this list!!

Irony at best; quoted from her listings: like she had the rights to do it in the first place! This disclaimer shows that the seller was fully aware that she was infringing copyrights by selling other people's images!

"Purchase of this collage sheet entitles you to use the images for crafts and artwork, but does not entitle you to reproduce the images in original form for resale or redistribution to others."


In this digital collage sheet she had the nerve to say that these are her original artwork. I recognized the first painting was by this artist and several others are popular deviations in deviantart.

Click on the images to see the real size. They will open in a new window.


You will see the highlighted parts where she claimed that these paintings were her original artwork!


+++ an active listing

art theft



+++ sold items

art theft


art theft

... yeah right.



Imagine the damage she'd caused for these artists as to this date she has sold 998 digital collage images! Update, She ended up with 1,011 sales before she put her store in vacation mode.

Help the true artisans and spread the words. Please contact the original creators of the images you see at eettssyy's store and report the images to abuse@etsy.com

-K-

Last updated: Sept 3, 2009.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Spun Sister Designs


SpunSisterDesigns is having a summer end sale! Everything is marked down 20% until the end of August plus free shipping to US and Canada. Get these elegant handcrafted jewelry at a fraction of the original price while they last! :D


More handcrafted jewelry from SpunSisterDesigns..
Other unique gifts at Artfire..

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

How to Get A Sale

As we all struggle to make a living, we can't help noticing that some people do really good in their businesses. We all wonder [and so jealous we want to kill them to steal their customers] what their secrets are.
• Why didn't they buy from me?
• Their items are not better than mine but what made buyers chose them and not me?


What do they do that you don't? They must be doing something different, right?

These are a few naive thoughts why do they succeed:

- They've been around longer than you.
Even though their ArtFire or Etsy shops are new, doesn't mean they hadn't been around way before that. Once I contacted an artisan friend to ask what was her secret. How could she generate so many sales in such a short time being new at Etsy. She told me that she'd had an established customer base already before she joined Etsy and only redirected them to purchase her creations from her brand new shop.

- They advertise a lot.
We all hate people with more money than us, right? But truth be told, you can't make money out of nothing! You need money to make money. Being a home crafter like me with no real budget to spoil, I used a part of my deposit to get a kick start in my jewelry business. First I bought cheap materials to practice, after I was confident enough, I moved onto better materials and start selling them. The money I earned, some are used to buy new materials and so on. Same with advertising. I always in the look out for free advertising opportunities. There are a lot of handmade shopping directories that you can find all over the internet. Google it! Once I had enough money, I purchased cheap advertising spots I could afford. That's much better than not having one at all.

The point is to get seen often and a lot. More often you're seen, the better chance someone would buy from you. Word of mouth is also good advertising. Give really good service to your customers and words shall spread. :D How to get seen more? One of the many ways is to list a lot.


Here are a few things i could think of as of to get sales online:

1. Passing out business cards / postcards / fliers (or a combination of all) is always a good idea.
Don't be a stranger. Pass these advertising tools in your local stores, friends, family, previous customers, on the streets if you have to. Promotion is very important!Don't forget to include your business cards in every order.

2. Offering discount and other specials help your business going.
Take Victoria's Secret online for an example. Once you're subscribed to their store, you will always get different discount codes all the time and daily reminders to the subscribers sent via e-mails. I think that's a good business practice. Something is always happening in VS and they'e not shy letting people know. That will keep you in mind of many readers. I have found myself several times falling to their "trap" ;) Guilty as charged!

REMEMBER:
When offering specials, make sure your sale price wouldn't get you broke. There's absolutely no point in getting sales if you wouldn't get something from it. Value your own time and talent!

The malls over here always have something for sale. So rotating your items for a discount could be a good idea.

Hosting giveaways also worked for some sellers.

3. To make profit online or offline, you need to set a realistic goal.
Here's a good software for pricing Jewelry Pricing Calculator Software | Jewelry Software . I love it because it covers everything including annual profit, overheads to subscription, and postage. Everything!

4. Take a peek at several articles that I have written in the past.
A collective ideas, thoughts and tips that I gathered, that I learned online and offline. They might help you get around ArtFire specifically.

Tips on Tagging - Tag like crazy, seriously. ArtFire kindly gives you 10,000 words for tags. So use it!

Tips on Creating Ads

All About ArtFire That We Love

Successful Referral Tips - Get verified and invite people to get verified too for a free ride!

Jewelry Photography Tutorial - Good photography always help boost sales. Use attractive models and set up. If you're selling shawls or fashion products, show your buyers that your shawls will look good with what wardrobe. You don't need to be a fashion guru for that but just dress yourself or your mannequin/models for the occasion before you take photos. Don't wear ugly faded t-shirt that look more like a floor rug under your beautiful handmade shawls. That will surely turn buyers off. We all love to see eye candy not sore to the eyes. Freshen yourself up before taking pictures. Put on a little make up if needed. Don't look depressive. Be happy on camera as you're promoting your great handmade [with love] products!

••• This is a good listing example and more than 4.500 buyers agrees with me. The target market is obvious by the way the model dressed up. This product is for the young, the hip and funky individuals. Also gives you idea what outfit would look good to be worn under the shawl.

••• This photo below makes you wonder about the product's hygiene and ...smell. Sure old and worn out mannequin can look awesome in the hands of the right photographers but certainly not this one.

••• If you can't find a good model, get yourself a good mannequin to represent your store like this one below.

Bright and clear photographs are very inviting. If you want to make money online, invest a bit of your time to learn how to use your camera and photo editing programs as the weather and camera sometimes wouldn't cooperate. Gimp is a good software and free to download. Always try to photograph your items under natural light when the sky is bright and clear. Find a good shaded place to take your pictures, like in your porch or next to a window as direct sunlight can be distracting too. Read your camera's manual to get the appropriate settings specified to your needs.

Uploading Image to ArtFire Forum Posts

BHR Artisan Shop Directory for low fee advertising! Always in the look out for advertising that you can afford. Make a budget for advertising and place your ads where you think your market is flocking. Join the forums, or other social media to advertise yourself for free and be a part of the community. Join challenges, guilds, teams, etc. Interaction is important. Also there are a lot of places that offers free plugs. Like shopping directories and such. Just Google them! There are quite a handful out there.

Let me ask you this question:
When you Google yourself and your store, how many pages of results do you have? If you only got one page with 2-3 results, then no wonder no one buys from you. You're not really OUT there. your products maybe buried in the bottomless pit of Google searches. Make yourself heard! Create a blog and/or posting a lot in the forums will help boosting your page count. Make sure to create quality posts too among the chit chats.



Last but not least, sign up to my latest Top 9 Featured Friday post to get extra exposure next Friday. I have weekly spotlights exclusively for ArtFire artisans.



Internet is an amazing place. We learn something new everyday! Google is your friend ;)


<3


~ popnicute - imaginative handcrafted jewelry

~ popnicutesupplies - quality jewelry supplies and cocoon beads original.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Faye Farms Soap


Every bar of Faye Farms soaps is made with wholesome milk from their dairy herd of Ayrshire cows as well as lard or tallow from their naturally raised livestock. All of Faye Farms soaps are made from scratch using only the highest quality ingredients. A variety of vegetable oils and butters are also used to make a beautifully balanced bar of soap with lots of lather. If you would like to learn more about Faye Farms, please visit their website at www.fayefarms.com

More handmade soaps from Faye Farms..
Other unique gifts at Artfire..

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Woods N Goods


WoodsNGoods is a very talented wood carving artisan who resides in Michigan, USA. Many of their items have no coloring added, just the grain and natural color of the wood species. At times leather dyes are used along with the shaping of the wood to provide depth and interest. I love this studio! The prices are very attractive too. Are you looking for Christmas or Halloween ornaments? Want to decorate your house with amazing hand carved wood art? Make sure to visit WoodsNGoods studio!

More from this talented artisan..
More unique gifts at ArtFire..

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Top 9 Featured Friday 08/21/09

Wonderful collection of teal and orange unique gifts found around Artfire.

Pick a favorite and leave a comment with link to your Artfire Studio to be included on next Friday's featuring.


All items have been submitted to Vote Handmade and Twitter as well :) Vote please!




Other unique gifts at ArtFire..

Broken Hallelujah


Broken Hallelujah specializes in cute, one-of-a-kind crochet items handmade with love. I love her items! They're so cute, colorful and useful too :D Check her store out. You will find a variation of crochet items like crocheted slippers, coin purses, shawls, hairbands, bookmarks, and other cute accessories!

More crocheted items..
Other unique gifts at ArtFire..

Monday, August 17, 2009

Noveenna


Noveenna specializes in handwoven seed beads jewelry. I admire her patience and dedication. She loves colors and that shows very well in her creations. She has a ton of jewelry listed in her ArtFire studio I dare you to not find something you love. I already found a few favorites myself :) Missed an issue of Bead & Button magazine? Try browsing Noveenna's gallery as she's also selling the previous issues of Bead & Button.

More handwoven seed beads jewelry..
More unique gifts at ArtFire..

Sunday, August 16, 2009

A Jewel Gift


Aa a dog lover, A Jewel Gift may have an over-representation of dogs in her creations but that doesn't stop her from having a wide variety of stuffs in her studio at ArtFire. You can find various hair barrettes, cute earrings with dog paws on them, candle holders and dishes, they are all unique and handmade by her. Her style is eclectic, from the whimsical to elegant. Take a peek and you won't be disappointed :)

More from the eclectic A Jewel Gift..
More unique gifts at ArtFire..

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Peruvian Thread Earrings Tutorial String Art Jewelry

I have another tutorial waiting to launch! It's still in the making. I have finished taking the pictures about a month ago but life kind of gets in a way. Two of our beloved dogs died within weeks, a very saddening experience for me and family. Also I was a bit stressed out about my fiance was getting back to America. It was all a bit of emotional wreck.

Enough about me and let's talk about this exciting new tutorial.

What can you expect from this Peruvian Thread Earrings Tutorial?
- Learn how to make traditional Peruvian Thread Jewelry.
- Learn the perfected technique how to hide the end of the threads.
- Learn how to create a cute bail for it.
- There is no such thing as a shameful back part and/or sides after you learn from this new tutorial.
- Neat outcome is bound to happen.
- Learn how to keep the tension equal.
- Learn how to make your own coiling gizmo using cheap tools and materials.
- Easy scaling up and down your jewelry.
- Get everyone confounded and in awe with your newly obtained skill.
- Overall, this tutorial will be filled with great pictures and diagrams to make it easy to follow!

Use it as a pendant or make a pair for earrings. This kind of jewelry will certainly draw attention! Especially with the unlimited color combination you can choose from!! Make them bold, make them subtle, make them big, make them small, anything you want! Did I mention that this would be great [affordable] Christmas gifts for your friends and family? I know my friends loved them :D

˚˚˚ Save the date! AUGUST 22, 2009 ˚˚˚
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Peruvian Thread Earrings Tutorial now available in Popnicute Supplies