Dawn Whitehand: Visual Artist
Christmas shopping
Shop Small this Christmas and Support Handmade
Next Saturday, 28th November, is shop small Saturday. This is a great opportunity to do some Christmas shopping and support small business at the same time. And if you buy from a maker you are also purchasing a unique gift that is sustainable and has been made with care, rather than a mass produced product from a department store.
I have a great range of gifts in both my ETSY and MADEIT stores to suit foodies, jewellery lovers, men and women, teachers gifts, hostess gifts, and custom orders are welcome.
As well as Saturday being Small Business Saturday, Friday is Black Friday (the Friday before Thanksgiving, which we don’t do here in Australia, but Etsy is an International platform so I am joining the fun) and Monday is Cyber Monday – what a mouthfull!
So to celebrate this weekend shopping extravaganza I have a coupon code giving a 10% discount in my #ETSY store
Christmas is looming though so cut off order dates are listed below 🙂
Also enjoy a slide show of some gift ideas for you, your family and friends.
Sunday Studio Visit – Christmas and Etsy
Yes, my Sunday studio visit is late AGAIN!! but that’s what makes it intriguing, isn’t it?
Oh well…
Today (or yesterday) has been all about playing with Christmas decorations and jewellery pieces that I unloaded from the kiln this afternoon – they are still warm as I thread ribbon through angels and wire wrap findings for ceramic earring pendants.
I have been selling alot on ETSY lately (well alot for me) which is great, and my aim is to add as much as possible for the Christmas season – I have so many pieces finished, but have not had time to photograph them and/or edit the pics and tailor the listings… these are very time consuming tasks – but I have set myself the goal (and it is now public) so there will be no stopping me now!!
So without further ado these are some pics of what I have been working on and keep an eye on my ETSY store for further additions to your Christmas shopping list 🙂
Give Handmade at Christmas : Last Minute Gift Guide
Christmas is fast approaching and if you live in Australia you can still place an order in my ETSY or MADEIT stores within the week and receive your gift before Christmas. if you live outside of Australia you can place an order, but won’t get it before Christmas – instead I can express post a gift card to you with details and an image of what your gift is for the person receiving which you can write a xmas message in and place under the tree.
While it is too late for custom orders, I have lots of ready to ship products available – products that people who love to give handmade unique quality, and those that love to receive the same, will love.
My MadeIt store is stocked with handmade unique tableware and my Etsy store has handmade tableware, jewellery, buttons and original art greeting cards.
Not sure what to give as a gift? I have gift certificates available in both of my stores – if you would like a different amount than I have listed simply message me and I will create a custom listing.
Below is an example of one of the pages from each of my shops …. explore, and happy shopping 🙂
Sunday Studio Visit – Xmas Stuff
In the lead up to Christmas it is becoming hectic – there are custom orders, but also dinner and BBQ invitations left, right and centre! This weekend has been one of those weekends, so there has not been much action in the studio. Today I did manage to load the kiln for a bisque firing for my student classes, as I do usually intend to have all the student work through by the end of the year, which can be a huge task!
Apart from that I am participating in a couple of ETSY team promotions, which involves helping promote other team shops, while they in turn help promote your shop – and all shops have universal coupon code for discounts in their shops. I am participating in an Etsy Meet & Tweet and a Strategic Team for Success promotion. (see below for further xmas shopping info)
I have a 10% discount in my shop for both teams, plus shipping is FREE Australia wide, and I do keep international shipping reasonable use coupon code spst4u or blackfriday14 both till December 3rd at checkout.
I also have a discount in my MADEIT shop – enter merrychristmas at checkout for a 10% discount storewide! And shipping is FREE throughout Australia!
So that is it for today in the studio…. happy Christmas shopping 🙂
Buy Handmade for Christmas
OK, I am going to do the annual bang on about buying handmade this Christmas – but it is really important!!
We live in a world of mass production and mass consumerism, and this can be an alienating influence on how we see ourselves in the world!! Buying handmade helps to heal some of the disconnect we feel from society and ourselves. How? Because a handmade product comes directly from the maker…. it contains their passion and emotion, and this flows through as the product is used in our everyday lives – whether it be jewellery, tableware, sculpture, drawings, journals, clothing….everything…. we touch it and it touches us.
This is why I am so passionate about being an artist and a maker.
In this post I am going to concentrate on my MADE IT store. I joined Made It a few years ago, out of curiosity and to check it out when I began designing tableware and jewellery under my brand DeeDeeDeesigns. I began stocking my shop earlier this year, only with my tableware, wanting to concentrate on promoting this range.
The thing I like about Made It is that is all about handmade, and is a platform only for Australian sellers. While purchases can be made internationally, the product you are buying is 100% Australian made – this is great for the economy and great for Australian makers.
It just so happens that this week I am a pick editor on Made It…. so click HERE to view lots of great Aussie gift ideas just in time for Christmas!
In the meantime here are some pics of some of the handmade tableware available in my Made It store – bowls, coffee cups, tapas sets, condiments dishes, candle holders, trinket dishes – all great for Christmas gifts, including secret santa and teacher gifts, or even to adorn the Christmas table!
Want to Give Handmade this Christmas?
This post may be a little late, but I have been ssooo busy creating stock for the ‘makers’ hubs I am participating in this year for Christmas!
If you are in Ballarat or surrounds, or if you feel like a country drive, you can visit me – and other makers – at two locations this week.
I am participating in the Pop Up Collective at Backspace Gallery in Alfred Deakin Place this coming weekend, Friday- Sunday, and I will also be selling tomorrow night (Thursday) 5-9 at the Makers Hub at Mitchell Harris Wines, where Sagria, gourmet pizzas and exclusive shopping will all be featured under the one roof!!
Now if you aren’t in the Ballarat area you can always visit my Etsy shop for unique handmade Christmas gifts, which if you order within the next week or so should be delivered before Christmas day ( hello Australia Post).
Can’t decide what you would like to give as a gift?? My Etsy store also accepts Etsy gift cards, which can be redeemed for anything in store!!
If jewellery or ceramics are not your style I also have handmade sculptural paper works at the Unicorn Lane Gallery on display till the 20th December, and available for sale. These delicate works would make beautiful and unique Christmas pressies for the art lover in your family or circle of friends.
So, I hope I have cleared up some Christmas shopping dilemmas…. and below are a selection of images available in the “Makers” hubs I am participating in…. ( the faceted bowls are exclusive and are not available on Etsy)
Latest Kiln Offerings…
These bowls are the latest offerings, courtesy of the kiln god, and are destined for the Pop Up Collective event at Backspace Gallery, Ballarat running from 29th November till the 8th December.
There will be feast of handmade local goodies to buy as Christmas pressies which is great for sustainability and eco friendliness.
I will also have my ceramic jewellery and Japanese inspired tableware available for purchase.
So if you are in or near Ballarat over the next week or so, “pop” in for some unique gifts that you will not find at Myer or Ikea or Target or well … you get the drift!! 🙂
Handcrafted Christmas Gifts – buy from small business and individuals this year!
There is only five weeks till Christmas, so shopping time quickly passing by. The simple solution may seem to go to a large department store, and buy everything in one frenzied spree, but why not consider buying from small business and/or self employed people this year, rather than from multinational companies?
Shopping online is a great way to accomplish this. Not only is it a time saver if you are feeling the rush of festive season, but it also provides easy access to a whole assortment of small businesses, individuals and artists that sell online. An added bonus is that usually these business are more sustainable and more ethical. These are people who are interested in customer satisfaction, and your goods are delivered to your door – what could be better?
My online store is on Etsy, along with lots of other artists and crafters that make a wide array of handcrafted goods.
As some regular readers will know my speciality is ceramic jewellery and tableware, but I also have upcycled button jewellery, ceramic buttons, and original artwork blank greeting cards. And I hope to be introducing a new line of tone jewellery in the next day or two.
To ensure Christmas delivery orders must be placed in my shop by 26th November. This is because I am going overseas to exhibit in Florence, but also because the post can be pretty swamped at Christmas, so the more delivery time the better.
Below is a small selection of items from my store. To view the full range of my products, visit me here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/DeeDeeDeesigns
This work by Dawn Whitehand is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.