Etsy Interview: Neil from Art by Neil Slorance

I "met" this guy through one of my blog friends on Twitter and he is awesome so I interviewed him about his Etsy shop, which you should all check out.

This is tied for my favorite thing in his shop. Poor sad robot : (
I just want to hug it and make it all better.

 

It is tied with this. I do love robots : )



It is also tied with this.
 

 
1. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Hey! My name's Neil Slorance, I'm an illustrator from Glasgow in Scotland. I'm 25 and have a pet tortoise.

2. Tell me a little bit about your shop.
 

My etsy shop is where I put up my prints, pictures and other bits and bobs. I set it up about 2 years ago and so far it's been ticking over nicely.

3. How long have you been making art?

 

Since I could hold a crayon really. I spent most of my school days doodling in jotters and making wee comics about superheroes I'd make up. I really wanted to be an artist although I stopped for a good while in my teens while I was pursuing music but got back into it around the age of 19/20.
 

4. How long have you been selling art?

 

I started selling about 5 years ago, I remember I took my painting to a market stall in a library. I remember feeling totally chuffed when I sold my first painting, I guess because I wanted to be an artist when I was a kid and this was me taking my first step.

5. Why did you start making art?

 

I guess everyone starts making art as a kid and then as we grow up for whatever reasons some of us stop. I've kept going mainly because it's the best way I've found to communicate my ideas and thoughts, and where as I'm not a great talker and I stumble on words my pictures have given me a voice.

6. What inspires your art the most?

 

Life? Any part of life I feel strongly enough to make a picture about. Aside from that just when I get excited about something e.g I've been playing a lot of mario so I made a mario picture.

7. What advice do you have for new Etsy sellers?

Try and have a wide range of products, especially little things, they are your bread and butter. 

 

8. What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

 

Don't be afraid to show your work, even the stuff you're not proud of.

neilslorance.com
flickr.com/photos/osm_art
twitter.com/osmart

So be sure to check out all of Neil Slorance's stuff. If nothing else, definitely visit the shop and his Flickr stream.  He draws so many amazing things!

And definitely leave me a comment letting me know if you have an Etsy shop and would like me to interview you.

Where to Shop in Seattle: Wish

How cool is their sign?!
(photo courtesy of Wish)

When I first saw the sign, I had to go in.  The windows displayed cute outfits that were just my style.  I had an hour to kill before catching my bus to go to the dentist and I spent it in Wish boutique.  Wish is a cute little shop located at 4419 Wallingford Ave N. in Seattle.  I immediately fell in love with the decor, the clothes, the jewelry, and most of all the hats and I knew that I had to share it with everyone I could.  My camera was away for repairs that day, but I talked to the owner and told her that I'm a blogger and that I would love to come back and take some pictures.  I really wanted to share her shop on my blog.  She was such a nice lady and said that would be great.  I tried on some jeans (unsuccessfully but I have such a hard time finding jeans.  I bought an adorable hat that fits my style perfectly.  I was looking at the jewelry and the owner told me that it is handmade by local artists.  That's when I told her that I actually make jewelry and gave her my business card so she could look at it.  I told her I would bring in some of the newer stuff for her to look at on my next day off.  She was very friendly and we talked for quite a while.  Before I knew it, I had just about killed the hour and had to go catch my bus, but not before purchasing a cute robot ring.

On Tuesday I had my wisdom teeth taken out.  Which meant another trip to the dentist.  Which meant another trip to Wish with another hour to kill before catching my bus.  I came prepared this time, with my newly repaired camera and a bag of all of my jewelry, both new and old.  I took pictures of the shop while the owner looked at my jewelry.  It was good that I brought it all with me, because for some reason there was a fluke and she wasn't able to look at my Etsy shop without creating an account, so she hadn't seen it yet.  Imagine my excitement when she said that she would keep four of my necklaces there on consignment!  My biggest goal for my jewelry business was to have some of my jewelry for sale in an actual shop and not just online and she helped me achieve it :)  I had a permanent smile on my face after that.  It lasted until my surgery because I had to open wide so they could use the sharp things in my mouth to cut my wisdom teeth out.  I was really happy and had to share the news with everyone I know.  I also had to share this lovely shop.  If any of you live in Seattle or are planning to visit Seattle, it would be a great place to visit.  And did I mention the amazing prices?!  We all know that I love a good deal.  My hat and my robot ring were each less than $20, and they weren't even on sale.  They were both really well made too.  The robot ring is really cool, because it's made from the nice kind of metal that doesn't make your skin change colors, but it's also adjustable!  Many of the rings at Wish are adjustable, which I really appreciate.

And now for the part you've really been waiting for: the pictures!  All of these photos were taken by me at Wish on Tuesday.

Who doesn't need a new scarf or two for Fall?!

Look at the lovely decor!

These two dresses are on display in the window, and look at all those fedoras : )

I love every single part of this outfit.

This is the perfect outfit for Fall.

Bird necklaces always hold a special place in my heart, and I love the detail on these two.

So many wonderful hats!  The one on top in the center is like the one I bought.

Cute elephant and camera necklaces.

I adore the displays and the decor, and obviously the jewelry too.

How cute is this bicycle jewelry? I can hear all of you Seattle people drooling.

I love this dress! I also love the lace topped one behind the leather jackets.

So what are you waiting for?!  Go to Wish and buy some fall clothes.  You know you want to.

Achieving my Goals

I achieved one of my goals for my Honeybee Alley shop today, which was to get some of my jewelry in a real shop.  Four of my necklaces are now available for purchase at a lovely little shop called Wish.  I'll be writing about the shop and sharing pictures soon, because I seriously love that place.  The owner is the sweetest lady.  I also got all of my wisdom teeth removed today and my face is still numb, so I'm dribbling ice cream down my chin.

And in case you were wondering, these are the four necklaces:

 

New Jewelry

These are some of the new things I've been making lately. Sorry that the pictures are unedited but I just got my camera back and am super busy tonight doing everything I need to get done for tomorrow.  Tomorrow I'll be showing my jewelry to one of the stores, eating sushi, then getting my wisdom teeth removed.  But anyway, here is the jewelry.

 

Stuff

shop/jewelry stuff:

I am going to be interviewed by a really cool blog in the near future.

Two stores might want to sell my jewelry.  One sells girly stuff and one sells more natural stuff (stones and found objects)  So I am making lots more jewelry of both types now.

My camera is still off for repairs, so I can't list new stuff for the shop yet, but there is some new stuff.

My friend had this great idea to host a jewelry party (sort of like a Tupperware party but me selling my jewelry) next month with a bunch of her friends and roommates.

Blog stuff:

I have so much stuff I want to share but I get so tired after work that most nights I don't blog.

One topic you can look forward to in the future: my (mostly terrible) haircuts through the years

Personal stuff:

I'm getting my wisdom teeth taken out next Tuesday and my wonderful boyfriend insisted on taking care of me afterward.

More Favorites

Favorite herb: cilantro (nobody asked that one but I wanted to share)

Favorite weather: mild fall or spring weather, because I get overheated and sick to my stomach really easily when it's hot and get cold very easily when it's cold

Favorite website: Ellen, how do you expect me to choose one?! Etsy or xkcd.com or Cracked or eBay or Pinterest or Hulu

Favorite webcomic: Abstruse Goose or Lolbots or XKCD or Doghouse Diaries

Favorite vegetable: corn or carrots or, if I cooked them, broccoli or green beans, or sweet potato fries, if those count

Favorite artist: Wirrow

These are a few of my Favorite Things

I just thought that I would share a little bit of random information about myself.

Favorite color: orange

Favorite food: Philly cheesesteak or fried rice or mango curry

Favorite dessert: ice cream or red velvet cake or cream puffs

Favorite fruit: mango

Favorite movies: Fifth Element, Star Wars, Edward Scissorhands, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Favorite sport to watch: football

Favorite band: Rise Against

Favorite song: Sweet Child o' Mine (recently became tied with The A Team by Ed Sheeran, which is so depressing and yet so lovely)

Favorite TV shows: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Supernatural, The Neighbors

Favorite author: Dean Koontz

Favorite book: Odd Thomas or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Any other favorites you'd like to know? Ask me in the comments.

Dissecting Lyrics: Want U Back

I have never actually watched the video, but the radio is super into playing this brain cell killing song right now so I've heard it way too much already.  I'm assuming the video is just as or more brain killing, although her outfit is super cute in the still at the beginning, except for those boots.  Black boots would look way better.  Hooker boots would probably be better suited to the song.  For those of you who don't actually want to have to hear it, here are the lyrics.

Want U Back

Hey, boy you never had much game
So I needed to upgrade
So I went and walked away-way-way
Now I seen you been hanging out
With that other girl in town
Looking like a pair of clowns-clowns-clowns

Remember all the things that you and I did first
And now you're doing them with her
Remember all the things that you and I did first
You got me got me like this
And now you're taking her to every restaurant
And everywhere we went, come on!
And now you're taking her to every restaurant
You got me got me like this

Boy you can say anything you wanna
I don't give a sh, no one else can have you
I want you back, I want you back
Want want you, want you back
I broke it off thinking you'd be crying
Now I feel like sh looking at you flying
I want you back, I want you back
Want want you, want you back

Please, this ain't even jealousy
She ain't got a thing on me
Tryna rock them ugly jeans-jeans-jeans
You clearly didn't think this through
If what I've been told is true
You'll be crawling back like boo-hoo-hoo

Remember all the things that you and I did first
And now you're doing them with her
Remember all the things that you and I did first
You got me got me like this like this

And now you're taking her to every restaurant
And everywhere we went, come on!
And now you're taking her to every restaurant
You got me got me like this

Boy you can say anything you wanna
I don't give a sh, no one else can have you
I want you back, I want you back
Want want you, want you back
I broke it off thinking you'd be crying
Now I feel like sh looking at you flying
I want you back, I want you back
Want want you, want you back

Oooh, oooh, I thought you'd still be mine
When I kissed you goodbye uh-oh uh-oh
Oooh, oooh, and you might be with her
But I still had you first uh-oh uh-oh
Yo,
Remember all the things that you and I did first
And now you're doing them with her
Remember all the things that you and I did first
You got me got me like this

Boy you can say anything you wanna
I don't give a sh, no one else can have you
I want you back, I want you back
Want want you, want you back
I broke it off thinking you'd be crying
Now I feel like sh looking at you flying
I want you back, I want you back
Want want you, want you back

Does this sound like a helicopter
Brrrrrrrrrrrr


First off, can we just talk about the fact that the title has the "word" u in it?  Why?  Is she pretending this song is a text?  Can she just not spell "you"?  I don't know.   First off, she's complaining he never had much game.  So I can only think that she wanted him to be hitting on all the other girls while he was in a relationship with her.  But he was loyal (gasp!) so she left him.  He found some other girl and the two of them are very happy together and she's jealous.  So she insults him and them, calling them clowns, saying his jeans are ugly, and what have you.  The chorus is the part that really gets me though.  She broke up with him because she thought he would cry and then he moved on so she wants him back because no other guy wants her apparently.  Can't imagine why!  And then she thought he'd still be hers when she kissed him goodbye.  So either she thought she would be free to see other guys but he would still be with her, or that he would beg her not to break up with him.  She goes on to pout about how he's taking her to restaurants they used to go to together.  That is so ridiculous, like every time he starts a new relationship he can't go to any of the restaurants he used to go to?!  Give me a break.  And don't even get me started on the grunting noises.  Basically this song is a girl sounding as much like a spoiled little jealous baby as possible, and I hate it.  I don't know enough about Cher Loyd to pass judgment on her, nor would I, but this song doesn't make me want to listen to any of her other ones.  Oh yeah, and the part where she says it's not jealousy?  Um, beg to differ.