Today we'll be chatting with our next star, Stefanie from Stefanies Sammel Surium! She's a very talented lady that manages one blog and a small online business, while having a 9-to-5 job all at the same time.
Design It Chic: Hi Stefanie, can you introduce yourself in just a few words?
Stefanie: My daytime job is marketing so a few words are hard for me, but I’ll try do my best: I’m 41 years old and live in Cologne, Germany. One of the biggest jokes of my life is that actually my last name is Teufel, which means devil in English, so you can imagine I had a fun time in school:)
Design It Chic: Fun time indeed:) Now that we know a bit more about you, can you share with us what's your business about?
Stefanie: I guess it is all about colors and fibers. I love to create and express myself. For me it’s really relaxing to work with all those beautiful beads, fibers and fabrics after returning home from work. And all the vibrant colors I tend to work with lighten up my mood. I also try to incorporate fair traded beads and recycled sari ribbon into my work. You actually help Asian and African women buying this - I love that idea!
Design It Chic: That's such a beautiful concept! But how did you start on designing jewelry?
Stefanie: I've been born with a magpie gen - so when I come across beads or fabric I feel the urgent need to collect them. But to be honest - how many beads and how much fabric can you pile up? That was the moment I decided to share some of my treasures to make room for new items that desperately need a home:-)
Design It Chic: Interesting! Do you have a strategy when you combine your materials and colors?
Stefanie: Can’t say so. Creating jewelry is a spontaneous process - at least for me. But ideas strike me everytime and everywhere and sometimes it’s hard to wait till I get home and try if this particular idea really works out..
Design It Chic: Fair enough:) We see that you have a pretty blog too. How do you use it to advertise your jewelry business?
Stefanie: I had my blog before I’ve started my Etsy-shop. So it’s more of a personal thing. I show my creations there and tell my readers a bit of my inspiration or how I did the particular item. But I also write about places or exhibitions I visited and so on. But of course I link to my shop so that my visitors know where to find my items if they want to.
Design It Chic: Can you tell us a funny blooper from behind your shop or your blog? Something that you tried and didn't work and it turned out to be a funny story for us now?
Stefanie: When I discovered Etsy a few years ago I never thought of selling so I registered with my usual screen name Steufel (mixture of my name and surname). Unfortunately Etsy doesn’t allow you to change your username – that’s the reason I’m stuck with this super-exciting shop-title “Steufel” everyone is envious about:-)
Design It Chic: Awww. We all had out moments:) Even lady gaga had a bad dressing moment:):)
Stefanie: We should send her all the beautiful stuff you feature in your blog. She wouldn’t have another one then:-)
Design It Chic: Oh so true, Stefanie:) And to wrap it up now, can you tell us what surprise do you have for our readers?
Stefanie: Tastes differ so I decided to give away a 20$ Gift-Certificate for my shop to one lucky winner. So your readers can decide what they like best:-)
Design It Chic: AMAZING!! Thanks a lot Stefanie for hanging out with us!
So you heard the lady! One of you awesome readers can snag a $20 gift card to Stefanie's beautiful shop:) Just in time for the Holiday season! All you have to do is become a follower of Design It Chic right here and then pay a visit to Stefanie's wonderful shop and tell us in a comment what item did you like most. That's 1 entry.
If you want to gain extra entries, add Design It Chic's button on your blog somewhere where we can find it and come back and tell us that you did(2 entries),blog about this giveaway with a link back to this interview and then comment that you did that(1 entry), follow Stefanie on her blog and come back and comment that you did(1 entry), follow Stefanie on Facebook or Twitter(1 entry) and tell us that you did that with a link back to your profile so we can check. There's 7 possibilities for you to snag that sweet $20 gift certificate, so what are you waiting for?
The giveaway is now officially open and will be closing 11/21 midnight Central Time Zone.
Enjoy everyone!!! And don't forget, if you're looking for some unique jewelries for the New Year's Eve party, go to Stefanie's shop because you will find something for sure:)
Plus don't forget to check the other stars from our Show Yo' Flow Campaign, and make sure you don't miss any of the upcoming interviews along with our amazing gifts for everybody! Happy Monday all!
