FRIDAY FEATURE - Jennifer Squires Productions

Give us a summary of your shop, and how you got started?
I've been photographing professionally since 1996 and I opened my Etsy shop in February 2008. My work covers a broad range of categories, from shopping carts to gerbera daisies, but I always find that I focus on the details of life.

How did you select your name?
I use my name for my shop name and business name, so I guess it comes from good ole Mom and Dad.

What makes your shop unique?
My photographs are fresh, contemporary, and very professional, complimenting a wide range of decor styles.

Do you sell anywhere outside of etsy? If so, where?
The prints exhibited on Etsy are only available through my Etsy shop, however I can be commissioned for private pieces through my website: www.jennifersquires.ca

How long have you been making your craft?
I've been taking pictures my whole life, but I began to study photography in high school and continued through college.

Is it your full-time job?
I am very happy to say that photography is my full-time job, and has been since 2001.



How do you balance work, and/or your shop, and home?
I restrict blocks of time throughout my days and weeks that are specifically for work and specifically for play.

What is your favorite material?
My favourite materials are found objects and paper.

What inspires you?
I am constantly inspired by the world around me and I use photography to search for simplicity and meaning in the beauty of the everyday.

Click HERE to visit Jennifer Squires Shop.

On vacation......

All last week I took a little vacation, while we had a friend in town visiting from Rome, Italy so that I could take her around Washington D.C and Northern VA. She left yesterday morning for Chicago, and will be traveling across the US for the rest of the month, so it's back to normal around here and I thought I would share some of our adventures

The National Monument, view from the the Lincoln Memorial.

The Luray Singing Tower contains a carillon of 47 bells, and was erected in 1937.

The Luray Carverns.

The Caverns were first discovered in 1878.

Skin Care A-Z Continued

Here are tips p & q from "Your Everything Guide to Skin. All you need to know from A-Z." These tips come to you from an article in Elle Magazine. I have company in town this week from Italy so this is just a quick post, but make sure you check back for more tips soon!!

p. - PH BALANCE: Harsh cleansers and sugary snacks are just a few of the factors that can upset the skin's normal ph (4.0-5.5), causing flaking. To hit the reset button, forgo intense acid peels chomp green veggies, and rehydrate with lotion.

q. - QUICK FIX: Make up artists know how to wake up lackluster skin in minutes without a drop of foundation. Apply a moisturizing mask (or just a rich cream) with a gentle, three minute facial massage. The process relaxes the muscles, accelerates microcirculation, and plumps lines to create smoother surface and a temporary - but convincing - glow.

There are only a few more tips left in the series and you don't want to miss them, so make sure you check back for the rest of Elle's Skin Care Guide.

Friday Feature - V Silcox Designs

Give us a summary of your shop, and how you got started?
answer: Back in 2001, and right after September 11th, I made a life changing decision. On that day, I was sitting in a high rise building in downtown Los Angeles when the news came. Of course we evacuated, and on the long drive home I had pleanty of time to think, specifically about how valuable my family was to me, how sad I was for those who were lost, and what choices I had made for my life.

I gave up my 20 plus year career in construction, to persue my passion for art. All my life I had toyed with pen and ink...and I suppose charcoal as well, but I had always envisioned painting glass, wine glasses specifically, so I figured....why not go with the fantasy. And here I am.


How did you select your name?
Answer: I wanted my pieces identified with a person, not a company name. Hence, V Silcox Designs.

What makes your shop unique?
I'm not sure that I'm all that unique, although I have found my own style of painting, which so far seems to be mine alone.

Do you sell anywhere outside of etsy? If so, where?
I usually average about 35 to 40 art and high craft shows per year, so I'm on the road constantly...from here in Southern California...to the San Francisco Bay Area...to Arizona.

How long have you been making your craft?
Answer: I started toying with glass painting in 2001 and practiced for well over a year, trying to perfect a clear transparent painting method, which would resemble stained glass. I didn't show until 2003, and it's been non stop ever since.

Is it your full-time job?
Answer: Absolutely! I average no less than 9 hours per day painting.

How do you balance work, and/or your shop, and home?
Answer: Well, the studio is in my home, so it's convenient. I have a fabulous husband, who handles a lot of the running around. The hardest thing for me is to stay off the Etsy site, in order to get things accomplished!

What is your favorite material?
Answer: Well, of course glass and enamels. But after that, I love fabric painting, charcoal, pen and ink, and over the past year, have started to dabble in graphic design.

What inspires you?
Answer: Light refraction....sounds weird...but it's the absolute truth.

Click HERE to visit V Silcox Designs