Collage Papers

I have been making jewellery for about seven years now and have been selling it on Etsy as well as in shops and markets. I love Etsy, as I've previously said, but I am not sure about my shop. After spending time talking to other Etsy sellers, friends and family I am thinking of expanding the shop.

My Current Etsy Products

My latest plan is to put some print collages that I have made into my Etsy shop. This is something that I have been considering for a while. And by ‘a while’  I mean roughly a week. It was a spur of the moment decision that has had meant I’ve had no sleep since I thought of it. 

Collage in a Pine Coloured Frame

I declared myself self-employed around about six months ago now and once I had made that commitment there were few decisions I took lightly. I had a little savings and very generous parents but when you’re serious about trying to make your own business work everything seems like a life-or-death decision. Which is of course, completely untrue but it’s very easy to lose perspective. One of the perils of working alone is that there is no-one to talk you down off the ledge when you start to go into headless-chicken-panic-mode.

How the Collage looks in a coloured frame

I am not going to be stopping selling, or making jewellery but instead I am hoping that collage will add another string to my bow, hopefully work well on Etsy and give me an increased chance of making this my profession as well as my passion.

 

I want to put a good range of collages online and also have options for custom items as well as being able to personalise (with names, dates etc.) pre-made items. They will be presented in a pine coloured frame but I'll also have an option for different coloured frames for those who want it.

 

I began making collages while I was in my final year at university as a way of presenting the poetry I was writing at the time. I never meant to do anything more with them and they were just wall decorations as a source of inspiration for me. As a side note, I do have those first poetry collages on my walls while I am making my current collages for Etsy!
The inspiration for most of the pieces that I am making nowadays come from some form of literature, I will do a post later on about where ideas come from. For now, I will say that most good books and poetry collections that I read make me want to create a new collage, as do occasional pieces of music.

Now, I need help if anyone out there is willing to give me some suggestions. I've got a couple of questions that I will be asking people via email, on etsy, facebook and twitter as well as here.
1. If I have a new section of my shop for collages, should I put all of my jewellery back into one section, rather than having the bracelets, necklaces and kits separate as they are at the moment?

2. Do you prefer descriptive titles (Purple Print Collage) or more decorative ones (Collage of Farmhouse Lilacs in Bloom)?
3. Does anyone have any insight into copyright issues? I have done a lot of research into this because I do not want to get into legal hot water, and more than that I do not want to be taking work from artists. I should say that people on Etsy have been really helpful on this as well. I have tried very hard to make sure that all of the collages are my own work and not recognisably from others but also they are a commentary on existing art and images so I would love input on this issue.

4. If you think this is a huge mistake, please do tell me, I will be grateful for all your thoughts!
If you want to help out please leave a comment or drop me an email!

I've already had a couple of people helping me out on this and I know they read this blog and so thank you very much!
I'll finish with a couple of pictures of my work area. I tidied it for the pictures, there are normally mugs with tea or coffee in them, a laptop and a pile of reading books as well!

My Workspace with all of my inspiration pieces on the walls

Me, working.

Vick.

vclinde@gmail.com
www.vclinde.co.uk

http://www.etsy.com/shop/vclinde
@vclinde