This week’s shop has extermely lovely handmade items. Claire Elizabeth Annals (her maiden name was Rhodes), of RhodesAnnalsDesigns.etsy.com, sells bags, hats, crochet purses, knitted scarves and cowls. She also sells some of her sister’s jewelry and vintage patterns.
“Each item is 'lovingly' handmade, by that I mean that I enjoy making them and like to imagine how they will be used by their new owner. When I made the wisp scarf, I couldn't shake the feeling that it should be used as a light shawl at a wedding. I am always on the look out for new ideas, and if I wouldn't use an item, it doesn't go into my shop. I use the best materials I can source, and I am always on the look out for unusual yarn and fabric patterns.”
Her family inspires her to create. “There have been many things over the past where one or another member of my family has said 'you could sell that'. The hats came from my mum giving me a metre of fleece fabric one day as my son had outgrown his hat and she, rightly, reckoned I could make one myself. The 'hug a hottie' came from a special request from my sister for a knitted hot water bottle cover. The flower hair clips came from a childhood memory of hair grips and bun covers that my mum used to crochet for me when I was a little girl, and the pouches came from a necessity to be able to find things in my voluminous handbag (which I made because I couldn't find anything big enough in the shops).”
Rhodes Annals Designs is located in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK, and ships internationally. She is more than happy to make custom items just for you.
About her Twitter habits: “I like to engage in conversation with others over Twitter - I do a fair amount of link posting but hope that I balance that out with friendly banter and sometimes even advice. I know personally that I am more likely to purchase from someone that I felt I had 'bonded' with on Twitter or in the Etsy forums - and I have purchased many, many items that way. I love the immediacy of Twitter - you can post a link to your latest item and then sit and watch the view count mount up. I think that there are lots of very courteous people on Twitter who click on every link and I am thankful to them.”
You can read about her projects on her blog at Claire's Stitching Adventures. Find her on Twitter @RhodesAnnals. Become a fan of her Facebook page.
Special for the Week: Put “Twitter Rocks” into the “Messages for the Seller” box and await a revised invoice with a 10% discount off the item price.
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