Hudson Valley Etsy
Team's March featured member shop is WickedMint, the fabric creations of Ryan Green.
Congratulations!
One cloudy day, I went to see Ryan at her home studio in
Beacon (I can’t wait for it to start getting warm again!). Her house is wonderful, full of lovely
artwork and I was immediately envious of her well-organized work-space. Although she’s been making things since she
was little, as her mother taught her to sew, Ryan’s been selling her creations
since 2003, starting at craft fairs and markets in NYC and through her own
website, eventually moving to Beacon. She’s
been selling on Etsy since 2006, almost exclusively since 2009, and she’s even
an Etsy educator!
I've seen Ryan’s creations around Etsy long before I became
a member of the HVNY team, so it was a pleasure to meet the person behind the
lovely chevron patter I see around, as well as some great silk-screened work! I
had spent some time reading her blog in preparation and found out she has a
nearly 4 month old girl. I got to meet Elliot,
who was very reasonable with me distracting her mother.
 |
| is she going to start sewing soon? |
So why does Ryan do what she does? “Being able to make
things gives me freedom to own things that I might not otherwise be able to
afford or be able to find in a store. I love sewing fabric creations because I
can dream something up in my head and make it come to life. When someone
becomes a customer by purchasing one of my items, it feels amazing. I imagine
it feels how an artist would feel after selling a painting in a gallery.”
 |
| what a cute elephant! |
And how does Ryan make these lovely creations? It depends on
what she’s making but like most things it must be designed first!
For her tea towels, cosmetic bags, and her telltale chevron
patter, she begins with a computer design that is printed through spoonflower on a high quality linen/cotton blend
fabric. She’s hoping to expand this process to cover
most of the items in her shop, as they offer more color preferences and she
feels it’s safer for Elliot.
Still, her pillows are generally silk-screened in her
basement (I didn't get a chance to check it out, but aren't her pillows
gorgeous?) on brightly colored duck cloth or cotton twill. Generally, she uses white ink, but she could
use up to 4 different colors with this process.
Next after the fabric is printed, silk-screened, and cut all
the pieces have to be collected and sewn together.
Here she’s working on a cosmetic bag.
To the ironing board! She has to flatten out the
pieces to be sewn a second time.
I love
all the brightly colored zippers she has that go ever so well with her own
designs, as well as her collection of threads!
Then, when everything’s sewn up, it’s time to get it ready
to mail out.
She has personalized shipping labels and tags that gives
just the right personal touch while letting you know you are buying from
WickedMint!
As I mentioned earlier, Ryan is an Etsy Educator! Basically, as part of a pilot program, Etsy
trained 15 shop owners in how to teach others interested in opening a shop Etsy 101. Most of them had already been educating people,
but Etsy wanted to have the trainings be more standardized and give the
trainers the ability to communicate directly with Etsy. So, if you’re interested in opening up an
Etsy shop, keep your eye out for any workshops she might be holding near
you. I hope they start training more
people soon, if only because being an “Etsy Educator” sounds so cool!
I hope you enjoyed your trip to Ryan’s workshop! I know I did. Definitely, go check out her
awesome
Etsy Shop and keep an eye out for a craft fair or Etsy 101 class
she’ll be at. You can also find her on
her blog,
Facebook, and
Twitter. I’m
sure you know someone who needs a lovely pillow or tea towel to warm up
their home just in time for spring!
Enjoy!
Amber
