{Featured Artist: DeerLola}

What inspires you? Lots. First and probably foremost all people that are close to me. Also, I find a lot of inspiration in other artists and events or sights I stumble across in my everyday life.

Where do you call home? Are you from there originally? I live in Rotselaar, a small town about 30 minutes from Belgium’s capital Brussels. I grew up in another province until I was 18 and moved away to study elsewhere. After my studies, it just felt weird moving ‘back home’ because I had found a new home. So I stayed put, found a job and later on a husband here as well. Although I must admit that when visiting family and my parents in my home town and province, it still feels like coming home…

Name something unique to where you live. There is hardly anything ‘unique’ around here. I consider our home a very unique place. Still lots of green, nature and trees. The perfect place to come home to!

Share an interesting fact about yourself. At the moment, that interesting fact would be that I am 6 months pregnant with our second child :)

How did you come up with your shop name? And just who is Ina? I’m married, have a lovely daughter and by day I work as a full-time communications specialist in an IT company. In the evenings and weekends I love to create jewelry. When I decided to start my own shop, I wanted to do so with a catchy name. So I went with my daughter Dolores’ nickname Lola. And Lola loves deer…

If you had to describe yourself in a word, what would that word be? Inquisitive

What made you decide to open up shop? I’d been creating jewelry as a hobby for almost a year and was giving away the jewelry I made to my niece, sister, friends, family… but I was creating more jewelry than all these people could wear together, even if they changed jewelry three times a day ;) When I discovered Etsy, I was amazed by all the great artists and the variety of designs, creativity and products ! So I decided to try and sell my own designs as well. Sometimes I wish I could spend more time promoting my shop but I simply lack the time with a full-time job.

Name your favorite thing about selling handmade. Getting feedback on my work! I’m a real perfectionist so each time I send out a package with a piece of jewelry, I always double-check if everything is okay. It has to be perfect. When a buyer leaves feedback and they love what they purchased, that really makes my day!

Do you have a day job or sell on Etsy full-time? I have a full-time day job so my Etsy time and the time I can spend on crafting is limited to the evenings and weekends, mostly. Although I have to admit I will check in on my shop occasionally during the day. I’ve also joined the Etsy European Street Team, which is a fun, kindred-spirited, talented and very supportive group of artists on Etsy. We have a very busy thread and it’s difficult to keep up at times but it makes my Etsy experience a very fun one!!

Give us a little glimpse into what a typical day in your life looks like. During the week I will get up at about 7 AM. We’ll have breakfast and get our daughter ready for school. My husband will bring her to school in the mornings. I will pick Lola up after school, will prepare dinner and get her ready for bed. I have a very flexible work schedule. Some days I will work from home, some days I will go to the office to catch up at the coffee machine and for meetings. I love my job and although I sometimes wish I would have more time to spend on other things, I couldn’t miss my job which I actually love a lot!

Share with us a favorite Etsy purchase or shop. I create jewelry but am not a jewelry person myself. I will wear simple silver earrings and I wear rings. Both you can find plenty on Etsy! I will spoil myself with an Etsy purchase every now and then but keep discovering so many incredible handmade things on Etsy every day. My wish list only gets longer and longer…

List a few of your most favorite pastimes. Spending time with my family and friends, being outdoors and of course… crafting!

Read any good books lately? When I read a book, I want to finish it in one go. I can’t just read a few pages and then continue the next day… So most of the time, unfortunately, reading books is limited to my vacation… One of my favorite books is The House of Sleep by Jonathan Coe.

What is your most prized possession? I’m not materialistic at all so I don’t value ‘possessions’. I can’t really think of anything I own or possess that I couldn’t live without.

What are three of your favorite foods? I love food. I like to eat. I enjoy eating good and healthy food. So naming three of my favorite foods is a challenge ;) Anything that is fresh. The dish doesn’t have to be complicated, as long as the ingredients are fresh, I’m happy. Anything which is authentic Italian food, I love ! When we travel (which has been to Italy the past couple of years), we always look for Slow Food restaurants. Slow Food is an international organization, founded in Italy in the eighties, that encourages good, authentic and fair food. I also like ice cream and could eat sushi every single day…

What would you like to learn to do? Silversmithing ! I would love to create jewelry from scratch. I’d also like to learn Italian. Properly. So more than the few words and one-liners I picked up from spending my vacation there…

What are you listening to right now? I absolutely love soul and R&B. I love Angie Stone and Erykah Badu. Also love to listen to Bill Withers, Barry White and Sinatra. My all time favorite song which always lifts my spirits is Fly me to the moon’ by Sinatra!

Name one place you must visit in your lifetime and why. I’ve had the privilege and pleasure to travel quite a lot but have never been to Africa. So if I could… one day… I’d like to travel to Africa, discover a few countries there and probably totally fall in love with this fascinating continent!

Ina has offered to give away this wooden acorn necklace:

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• The giveaway will close Sunday, December 21 at 10 pm CST, and the winner will be announced the following day

• You ABSOLUTELY have to have an email address listed on your blog profile, blog, or the comment you leave. Don’t make me hunt you down {‘cuz I’ll pick someone else!}

Please check back Friday, January 1 for another featured artist post!