Etsy Germany Street Team Sellers: Mika Scott

Name: Mika Sonnenberg & Brittany Scott
Location: Berlin
Etsy Store: Mika Scott
Website: www.mikascott.com (under construction)
Facebook page: http://de-de.facebook.com/pages/MikaScott-Jewelry/124202924314570
Twitter: @MikaScottBerlin

Tell us a little bit about what you make.
We are German goldsmith and American designer who make fine jewelry featuring organic textures cast from natural materials. All of our work is designed, cast and finished by us in our goldsmith and casting studio, where we work primarily with 925 sterling silver, various gold alloys and precious stones. Along with our natural line we also offer a small selection contemporary designs that include welded fine gold, 925 silver and precious stones.

What are some goals for your Etsy store?
There are always improvements to be made to our product photography and we would like to continuously upgrade our store to give it a more uniform and professional appearance. We would also like to become more connected to local sellers and become more involved in the local handmade community. Beause we are also always designing new pieces, we hope to continuously offer an ecclectic and well-rounded collection in our Etsy store.


What item has been a ‘best-seller’ in your Etsy store ?
Our Wrapped White Diamond Twig Ring has sold the most.

How would you describe your style?
Finely crafted, organic and elegant.

Is this your full time work?
Not entirely, though we hope to one day live from our work.

Where do you do your work?
In our casting and goldsmith studio in Berlin.

How would you like to see Etsy develop in Germany?
It would be great to see Etsy continue to gain more of a footing and Germany and grow as a resource for people in the country to shop locally.

What do you see as some of the benefits/potential benefits of being part of the German Etsy Street Team?
Being part of the team would hopefully allow us to make better connections with German designers and become more involved in the local handmade community in our own city. It would also make it easier for those who want to buy from local designers to find our store, which could help in some small way to strengthen the presence of Etsy in Germany.

Etsy Germany Street Team Sellers: Prinz Apfel

Name: Jasmin Herz & Birgit Palma & Mathias Herz
Wohn und Arbeitsort: Berlin, Barcelona & Potsdam
Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/prinzapfel
Website: www.prinzapfel.com
Blog: prinzapfel.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001739465766

Erzähl' uns ein bisschen von dir. Was machst und verkaufst du?
Wir sind zwei ehemalige Grafikdesignstudenten und haben den Prinz Apfel Taschenkalender als Studienprojekt begonnen. Im Kalender ist jede Woche individuell und bunt illustriert, um dem Benutzer Abwechslung zu bieten. MIt Jasmins Bruder als Verstärkung machen wir den Prinz Apfel jetzt das fünfte Jahr und versuchen, uns auf eigene Beine zu stellen.
Welche Ziele hast du für deinen Etsy-Shop?
Verkauf einiger Kalender, Kontakte zu knüpfen, Erfahrung im Verkauf sammeln.
Was ist ein Bestseller in deinem Etsy-Shop?
Natürlich der Prinz Apfel Taschenkalender :-)

Wie würdest du deinen Stil beschreiben?
Lustige, farbenfrohe Scribbeleien - die zum selbst kreativ Werden anregen.

Wo und wie arbeitest du?
Analog & Digital, immer irgendwo zwischen Berlin / Potsdam & Barcelona. Wir arbeiten verteilt in unseren Städten - das ist eines der Besonderen Dinge am Prinz Apfel.

Was würdest du dir für die Entwicklung von Etsy in Deutschland wünschen?
Worin siehst du mögliche Vorteile für dich, Teil des German Etsy Street Teams zu sein?

Was würdest du dir für die Entwicklung von Etsy in Deutschland wünschen?
Dass in Verbindung mit Etsy es auch möglich ist, an lokalen Märkten zu verkaufen.

Worin siehst du mögliche Vorteile für dich, Teil des German Etsy Street Teams zu sein? Die vorhandenen Möglichkeiten von Etsy in Deutschland zu nützen - Feedback auf produkte zu bekommen, da ja zwischen dem Heimatland (sprache) und anderen Ländern immer Unterschiede bestehen.

Etsy Germany Street Team Sellers: Snou

Name: Lucia N Nieves Cortés
Location: Berlin, Germany
Etsy store: http://snou.etsy.com
Website: www.snou.biz
blog: www.snoujewels.eu
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/snou-art-and-design/124336330912409
Twitter: http://twitter.com/snouberlin

A bit about what I make: snou* is my jewelry label and it is all about contemporary jewelry. The collections are characterised by color, an innovative, refreshing character and fine craftsmanship. Unusual materials are brought into new contexts and transformed using a combination of unorthodox and traditional techniques into high quality wearable pieces expressing joie de vivre and boldness.

My goals for the Etsy store: Short term goals have been to improve the pictures and texts of my etsy store. I have been listing items in different phases which has resulted in maybe too many different backgrounds, lighting conditions, text styles. Now everything should be gradually modified to become more coherent in itself and with snou*s aesthetic vision.

Best seller items: have been the Lup textile necklaces and the Lotus rings

My style: Colorful, bold, modern, sexy!

Full time job? Yes, I am an educated goldsmith and jewelry designer and snou is my full time job.

Where do I work: My small Atelier/Gallery is located on the Richardstrasse 43, in Berlin-Rixdorf. Anyone can come by, official opening times are Thursday to Saturday from 13:00 to 19:00 hours.

The development of Etsy in Europe: I would like to see Etsy grow in Europe as they have done in Brooklyn , gathering a community of DIY-ers and offering regular activities, seminars, get-togethers.

Benefit of being on the Team. For me one of the most important or interesting aspects of being a part of Etsy, is being part of a community of creative people who put their ideas to work and bring them to reality within a context which redefines traditional consume and puts a value on concept, quality and craftsmanship. The same goes for the German Etsy street Team, it is a great opportunity to create links among a group of people with similar goals.

Etsy Germany Street Team Sellers: Coki

Name: Coki
Location: Berlin
Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/people/glittercoki
Blog: http://milktoothrain.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/milktoothrain
Twitter: http://twitter.com/milk_tooth_rain

What are some goals for your Etsy store?
I am trying to quit my daily job and work on my passions: craft and blogging...I'd like to create close relationship with the Etsy community and with my readers.


What item has been a ‘best-seller’ in your Etsy store ?
Well...I think that the Diana Camera brooch will be my best-seller because it is something that everyone can use: an adult in the office, a teenager at school but also during the free time, I love that brooch and I made one for me too.

How would you describe your style?
Fresh, old-school, basic...


Is this your full time work?
I am looking for a job right now, since the company (a start up in online games) where I used to work has shut down, so in this very moment doing craft and work on Etsy is my fulltime work, and I love to work on my own projects but in the same time by the moment I have to find an employed work.

Where do you do your work?
I share the desk with my boyfriend, half is mine half is his part. I don't need too much space so I can keep my computer on and have enough space to work..

How would you like to see Etsy develop in Germany?
I think that in Germany there are a lot of people looking at craft and do it yourself as a different way to escape from the city life. In US it is already a chance to escape and create a different way of living...I would like to see more people getting in touch with the Etsy world as a place for creativity (without thinking that craft is only an hobby).

What do you see as some of the benefits/potential benefits of being part of the German Etsy Street Team?
On one hand I am a supporter of the so called "shop local" and I would like to apply this theory on all the fields of my life that is why I think that the German Etsy Street Team can help me to discover what is close to me and vice versa. On the other hand, as I told in the first answer, I want to create close relationship with the Etsy community, I think that the best starting point is joining the German Etsy Street Team, don't you?

Etsy Opening Party in Berlin

Last week I took a whirlwind road trip all over Germany with my husband, our ultimate destination being a small town in the Pfalz to celebrate Easter with his family. On the way we visited Berlin where we attended the opening party of the new Etsy Lab in Germany.

The location, as one would expect, was in a funky, interesting part of Berlin (but then, what part of Berlin isn't funky and interesting) in Kreuzberg. The building was probably at some point in time a Fabrik of some sort, but it now seems to be almost completely taken over by Etsy.

There were large Etsy posters highlighting sellers, a room with a complete table full of little odds and ends surrounded by a bunch of people feverishly basteling away.

Benedikte and Matt where making the rounds generously giving away freebies like Etsy pins and this cute bright yellow Etsy and Cut bag.

Our own Etsy Germany Street Team member Leocardia's products were on display. For those who were at the Munich meet-up you'll remember both her Brezn postcard and her fantastic Aligator (oder Krokodil?) cases:

The crowd was lively and there was lots of music, free drinks and even grilled bratwurst on offer. I didn't know too many people there except for a friend from Berlin that I had invited. However I was lucky to recognize Rebeccah from Schaufenster from her EGST seller post picture on this very blog, and we had a nice chat (until it got too cold to stay in the Hof).

Hopefully there will be more meet-ups and official Etsy events in the near future!

You can find more pix here from Etsy's Flickr pool: http://www.flickr.com/photos/etsylabs/sets/72157623659766177/