There are patterns everywhere: Etsy Seller Tuesday

I have the pleasure of featuring another great Etsy seller today, Karen of Mysticwynd! Her shop is full of beautiful, colorful jewelry, and there's so much to choose from! Also, Karen featured my shop in her blog when I was first getting started on Etsy, so I really appreciate her willingness to support fellow Etsy sellers. I asked Karen a few questions, and I hope you enjoy getting to know this wonderful seller!

Empty Nest Necklace - $24

amefaust: You have a huge variety of colors, textures and styles represented in your jewelry. Where do you generally find your components, and how do you decide on each piece's personality?

mysticwynd: My components come from a variety of sources - wholesale suppliers, bead and gem shows and boutiques, private artisans, and I occassionally even find a piece or two at an estate or garage sale that is worthy of upcycling or repurposing.

As to deciding on a piece's "personality," I'll blame it on my overactive imagination combined with some outside inspiration (like a song, or looking through a photo album, or even a random thought). From there, it's just about finding the right components. Sometimes my brain works in reverse and I'll look through my stash of supplies, mixing and matching until something works for me!

Koi Pond Earrings - $10

amefaust: What made you decide to feature so many Etsy sellers on your blog, rather than just focusing on your own art?

mysticwynd: My blog is another artistic release for me. I love to write and find it very therapeutic for me, perhaps that's why I tend to do things a little differently on my blog. You'll find that most of my articles have a story line or theme - which I love to illustrate with some of the amazing finds on Etsy.

If I wasn't a member of the Etsy community, I'd be illustrating my blog posts with my own photos or public domain photos - promoting other Etsians helps me do a better job of illustrating, makes my posts more interesting, and gives them some free exposure! If I were limited to my own items, I think I'd probably find my articles too limited to enjoy.

I guess I'm also a believer in karma to a degree - so I try to help others as much as I can. Positive energy begets positive results in the long term. Besides, I actually do sneak my own pieces in from time to time and I have an Etsy mini of my own shop items on my blog, so I think I do a pretty good job of keeping my bases covered!

Tidal Pool Necklace and Pendant - $33

amefaust: In your profile, you say you live in Arizona. I've never been there, what's the best and the worst thing about living there?

mysticwynd: Hmmm... worst things (want to get those out of the way!):

1) Temperatures over 105 (it's pretty comfortable to that point!)

2) Scorpions and snakes and a couple other critters that are too gross to mention!

3) Our limited highway system (most of the main points of interest only have one main highway connecting them - if there's an accident or closure, be prepared to be stuck or do a lot of extra driving!)

4) Would you believe too much sun? I actually love it when it's cloudy or raining because on average, we only have around 70 cloudy days a year! (The upside is that you can plan virtually anything outdoors and be pretty sure that rain won't ruin your plans!)

Best things:

1) Temperatures under 105 - which is 9 months out of the year. While I own winter clothes, I rarely need more than a light jacket unless I'm up in the mountains!

2) The mountains - I can drive 2 hours to the mountains in winter, play in the snow for a couple hours, and then drive home and swim in the pool. Can't beat that!

3) All of the amazing places of interest - In addition to the Grand Canyon, there are a number of other incredible canyons, rivers, lakes and waterfalls. Visiting the Indian ruins or places like Tombstone is like walking through the pages of ancient history. We also have extensive systems of canyons, dormant volcano fields, our own huge meteor crater and some of the most beautiful red rocks (in the Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon area) that you will see anywhere in the world! Arizona is also home to a number of observatories (which is so cool if you're into stargazing)

4) Our summer rainy season (which used to be called our monsoon)- we get some of the most amazing summer storms in Arizona. I have a friend who actually did his doctoral thesis on lightning and even he is awed by the intensity and beauty of the storms here. But I guess you have to like storms and not be intimidated when you see that precursor of a thousand foot wall of sand heading for you!