Hot Shop of the Week!

Congratulations to Marilyn from GrandmaMarilyns -- after a bit of a hiatus, she is our Hot Shop of the Week! So sit back, grab a cup of hot cocoa, and enjoy Marilyn's interview and a few of her lovely creations.

Who is GrandmaMarilyns?
My name is Marilyn. I am a wife, mother, grandmother, bead artist, and bead designer. I live in a little town in the middle of nowhere in south Texas called Freer. We are the crossroads of Hwy 16, Hwy 44 and Hwy 59. If you go south on Hwy 16 from San Antonio, we are about 115 miles south. When I was first thinking of a business name, I was doing all sorts of crafts. After much thinking, I named my first business Grandma Marilyn's because when you think of lots of crafts, you think of a grandma and my grandchildren called me Grandma Marilyn.


What do you create and how long have you been doing it?
Oh, I have been crafting for as long as I can remember. The first crafts that I can remember were making potholders with loops and loom and making long strings with a spool knitter made with a spool and nails. My mother tried to teach me various crafts but for some reason, I could not learn from her. Then when I went overseas in the 70's and had nothing to do, I bought some yarn, needles and a book and taught myself how to make granny squares. I tried knitting but found I didn't like it. I also upgraded my junior high sewing class and learned to make clothes for my son and myself at that time. In the 80's, I learned to make earrings with beads and wire and creating with plastic canvas. I lost track of my beading but continued to advance my crocheting skills. Beading came back to me in 2005 when I needed a way to earn some money. From there, I have gone into designing and selling beading patterns. I also learned to quilt from my mother-in-law but got burned out when someone asked me to make a queen sized quilt. My other crafts have gone by the wayside for the time being since beading came into my life. Will they return? We will have to wait and see.


Where do you find your inspiration?
Everywhere. I will see something and think I wonder if I can make that into something for beading. Originally, I would see a pattern that I fell in love with and think of ways to vary it (usually just the colors because I didn't think I had a creative bone in my body). Since then, I have let my creative muse loose and I can create beautiful jewelry and beading patterns.


What is your favorite medium?
I love to work with Delicas or Crystals and Japanese seed beads. I love the sparkle of the crystals and am trying to come up with some designs to use them.

Is selling on Etsy your full time job, or just a side project?
For me, it is a full time job along with selling in other venues since I live in the middle of nowhere and cannot find a job. I take my bead art and designing very seriously. I would love for it to become profitable at some point in time. Also, managing my GrandmaMarilyns (beadwork and jewelry), GrandmaMarilynsToo (bead patterns & destash), and AngeliquesCreations (all other crafts, such as crocheting) shops doesn’t leave me much time to do much else. LOL!


What is your favorite thing to do with the Etsy Texas Crafters team?
Admitting members and when I get the chance, talking with my friends on the forum.


Any tips for other Artists / Crafters?
Don't let people push you into a niche. If you don't like creating something, don't. Love what you do but make sure that when it is complete it looks like something you would want to buy. Take good pictures of your items so the buyer can get a good look at what you are selling. If you find yourself in a creative block, try something else and come back later.


Tell me a Secret about yourself.
I was a semi-truck driver with my husband for 9 years. I sure do not miss that. LOL! Driving a big truck like that with a 54 foot trailer behind you can be very stressful. You never can tell what the vehicles around you are going to do, how the weather will affect your driving and whether you will be able to keep safe so that you won't harm your husband and puppies in the bunk. My biggest fears were that I would run over one of the vehicles where the driver was being stupid or laying over the truck and hurting or killing my husband and puppies. That kind of stress I don't need.



Thank you, Marilyn, for such a wonderful interview! We love getting to know our team members better and checking out their fabulous creations!

If you would like to be considered for next week's Hot Shop of the Week, simply go to any of Marilyn's shops -- GrandmaMarilyns (beadwork and jewelry), GrandmaMarilynsToo (bead patterns & destash), and AngeliquesCreations (all other crafts, such as crocheting) -- and pick out your favorite item. Post back here with the link to the item & why it was your favorite -- and don't forget to post your shop name as well! And if you have more than one favorite item, it is perfectly fine to post multiple times, as long as you post all the requested information each time. Then, I'll use a random number generator to pick a new Hot Shop for next week from everyone who has commented on this post by noon on Thursday, 12/10, and will post the next interview on Sunday, 12/13.

NOTES:

>> EVERYONE is welcome to comment on this article, but only ETC members will be eligible for selection as a Hot Shop. Thanks for understanding!

>> Comments by ETC members that do not include the requested information (link to favorite item, why it's your favorite, and your shop name), will not be eligible for selection.