Friday Feature - Alison DuBois

Give us a summary of your shop, and how you got started?
Alison Du Bois Original Fine Art Photography is a labor of love. I joined Etsy on January 2, 2008 as a New Year’s Resolution to begin to market my art work. It has been an incredibly fun experience. Within a few hours of posting my first 8”x12” photo I had an interested customer! She wrote to me to see if I could enlarge that photo and she then spent the next few days at a photography show in Los Angeles and came home and bought my Sedona Reflection in a 16”x20”! From that moment on I was hooked on Etsy. I have met some interesting people and made some new friends in this great community.

What motivated you to open your shop?
I was motivated to open a shop because my family and friends kept telling me that my photography was saleable and that I should find a way to let other people know about it so they could enjoy it. I am more motivated to share my art with the world than to make money, but by selling my photos I can afford to buy the equipment that I desire, and to travel to new places to discover a unique perspective of our planet.

How did you select your name?
Well, it is probably pretty boring, but I thought it was important to use my real name as my Etsy name so that eventually when I become better known if people are searching for my work they will find my Etsy shop easily. (As an aside, I often get asked if I am the famous Medium, Allison Du Bois – alas, I am not!)

What makes your shop unique?
I believe that my shop is unique because I am passionate about the world around me and I think that it shows in my work. I have a pretty wide variety of landscape photos, macro photos, and some interesting black and white work. I am branching out and selling a coffee table book that includes 81 of my photographs and am happy to report that I just sold my first one! Additionally, I am adding some of my original art work in the form of ACEOs. I will be adding cards in the next few weeks.

Do you sell anywhere outside of etsy? If so, where?
To date, I have mostly sold by word of mouth. Last fall I was invited to join a group of artists in the Palm Springs, California area called “Rare Artisans” and my photography, jewelry, and artwork are on their website at www.rareartisans.com. (They also have a shop on Etsy)

How long have you been making your craft?
I started taking photographs about three years ago and I was thrilled to find that my unique way of seeing was able to be translated to film. I usually start with just enjoying what is around me and really absorbing the energy of the scene before I begin to photograph it. I think my composition is very good, and I am learning more each day about the technical aspects of how to capture what I see. I find that digital photography allows me the opportunity to start big and work my way in to a scene to draw the viewer in further – sometimes the best photos are the first one I take, sometimes it is the 10th. It excites me on a daily basis. Most of my photos are as they come out of my camera, I do very little adjusting in Photoshop.

Is it your full-time job?
At this time, full-time photography is still a dream. I just love to dream, don’t you?

How do you balance work, and/or your shop, and home?
I am currently pursuing an education in gemology at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California. I use a formal “balance wheel” – a physical reminder of the things I wish to accomplish each day that helps me find time to stay fit and healthy, stay fiscally responsible, and work on my artistic side. (If you want more info on how to set one up, please email me at alison.rareartisans.com)

What is your favorite material.
I love crafting and I have been doing it all of my life. My Mom was an artist and she inspired me to be creative from an early age. I love to experiment with all kinds of materials and I love to learn how to do new things. I guess I still haven’t decided what I want to be when I grow up – a photographer, a seamstress, a jewelry designer, an artist…a ?


What inspires you?
My boyfriend, my children, the beauty around me, and other artists inspire me. I am a proud member of the POE (Photographers of Etsy) team and am inspired by and learning from the other members. I am always finding beautiful things on Etsy (usually looking for an item for a Treasury) that starts my mind working in an unexpected direction.

Click HERE to visit Alison DuBois Shop