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Maggie Whitley

joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith & simple living

You are here: Home / blog & handmade advice / featured artist / {Featured Artist: DeerLola}

{Featured Artist: DeerLola}

December 18, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Filed Under: featured artist

This giveaway is now closed!



Here at
Gussy has a lot to say we love to look at all things beautiful.
Beautiful wall art, beautiful accessories, beautiful stories about family life.


Today marks week #6 of my series on featured Etsy artists. It is my goal to introduce some drool-worthy eye-candy. Over the next few months I’ll be showcasing hand-selected Etsy artists that offer products that I think will appeal to you, my readers :)

Please join me in welcoming Ina at 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!

***


Now for something fabulous!

Ina has offered to give away this wooden acorn necklace:


***

To enter:

Leave a comment with why you’d like to win something from her shop!



For additional entries {leave a separate comment}:

-Comment that you follow my blog

-Comment that you follow me on Twitter

-Tweet about this {leave a comment with your Tweet}

-Blog about this {leave a comment with your post URL}


RULES:
  • 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!

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ABOUT MAGGIE WHITLEY DESIGNS:
Maggie Whitley weaves her writings around joy in motherhood, homemaking, faith, and simple living. She homeschools her children, enjoys a quiet room while reading, and roars with laughter over the challenges & delights of motherhood. Maggie and her husband, along with their four young children, live in metro-Detroit. She has been writing online since 2008.
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“We are preparing to wind down for the school ye “We are preparing to wind down for the school year with just a few more weeks of intentional table lessons. We will then transition to a lighter learning schedule during the summer months. Today I am grateful for the books and resources I’ve read that have helped keep me in my own lane. (Visit my blog to see a personal favorite.)

Even now, three years in, I appreciate the reminder to stay on the path that was designed with intentional thought just for me.”

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I took off my “comparison / contemplation” gla I took off my “comparison / contemplation” glasses last month and it’s been soooooo good. See also: sooooo hard (because life is never and/or). I’ve been writing more, reading more, spending more time outside. Talking to friends faces and smelling their detergent. My heart feels lighter. I’m sharing a few updates on my blog if you’d like to read? 🌾🤓blog reading & writing is a much better pace for me. You too? Link in profile.
Reflecting on this today 💓🕊 When I reflect o Reflecting on this today 💓🕊 When I reflect on the moments I’ve felt my mind spinning, my emotions swirly, it’s almost always when I’m not feasting on the word of God. Not that reading scripture is the cure for anxiety —no! Rather, it’s hard to worry when we’re worshipping.
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I fought every internal comment I could think of a I fought every internal comment I could think of and took my kiddos for a looooong walk today before dinner. ❄️✨ There’s just so much work required to raise children! I’m feeling like a tired lady. But sunshine & fresh air are good companions to keep around. 

We came home and I made “the best dinner ever”. Max specifically announced, “it’s so great you’re launching new meals to the world”. LOL— kids! 🤣👏🏻💓
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So, hello! As you can gather, my name is Maggie ;) 

I started writing online (almost 13 years ago) to share the handmade products I was sewing. My shop was called Gussy Sews. ✂️👛I love the community that has grown from sewing & sharing online.

Let’s FFW to today: Zack and I live in Michigan and have four young children (2 boys & 2 girls). I slowly left the handmade industry and walked right into homemaking, homeschooling, and encouraging women through writing. 💕📝

Motherhood has been very hard on me. (And not just because of how close in age our four children are.) It’s been hard for me because I fought for years to accept that *it’s supposed to be hard*. 

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(I’ve had to be really vulnerable!)

So, yes motherhood has fully transformed me. But even more so, Christ has fully transformed me. My list of “all that He’s done for me” is off to a beautifully long start.

Something else I want you to know about me: I stalled for years before acknowledging I have anxiety and depression. It’s hard to talk about this because of course this isn’t forever “my hardship”, but rather because acknowledging this means to heal I have to work through some really difficult things. ✨

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