Featured Seller: Fuzzy Funk Designs

Hi, my name is Julia, or s.no.ozles on WB. I am the proud owner of Fuzzy Funk Designs and am officially addicted to WB and Etsy. What's the story behind your Etsy shop? It's funny, really. 2010 started in a way I never thought it would - I was laid off. It was quite a blow to me, one of those "didn't see it coming" situations and I fell into a funk. Looking for work was hard as, being a radio DJ, I would have to move to find one, and my DH was finishing up school in town - therefore moving wasn't really an option. So what to do to pass the time? I called up a friend of mine who had afternoons off, and asked her if she wanted to knit with me. Never mind the fact that neither of us knew how, or had ever knit in our lives. I thought it would be a fun thing to do together - we'd laugh at our crooked scarves and our ridiculous looking sweaters and we'd feel like old ladies once a week. We got together and tried our hands at it. It seemed really complicated, but she was armed with books to show us how to do it. We started knitting terrible looking squares and promised we'd work on them when we met back up in a couple weeks time. During that time I fully embraced knitting. I taught myself a bunch of different techniques and started loving it. My friend - not so much.She says she still hasn't finished that square.

Once I started, I thought about items that I would like to wear. I've never been a cardigan girl, so I started developing things that would be fun to knit and fun to wear. After making a bunch of things for family and friends, I was encouraged to open a shop and Fuzzy Funk Designs was born!

one of the first things i ever knit - a hat for my large noggin'd husband

What's YOUR story? I am in my early thirties. I got married in 2009 to my wacky husband, and we live in a house that looks like a store. I'm not kidding - we even had a guy walk into our house thinking that we sold frozen food (we don't, by the way). I got a Bachelors in English, and then went on to school to be a radio DJ. I've worked in Guelph, Chatham, Fort McMurray and Kitchener. One of those places was much colder than the others! We have three cats, so I guess that makes us cat people. We can't leave any type of food on the counter because one of them will eat ANYTHING (we're talking bananas, bread, tomatoes - you name it, she'll eat it).

didn't believe me?

I also gave birth to a little girl six weeks ago. She's got a fine set of lungs on her, and we love her to pieces.

fresh from the oven and wearing a hat i made!

What advice would you give someone looking to open an Etsy shop? Good pictures make a HUGE difference. If you take terrible pictures, try to see if you can pair up with a professional photographer to take shots of your stuff in exchange for either some of your product, or mutual promotion. If you can't find one, try to school yourself as best you can in photography. I partnered up with Middle of July Photography and my sales have boomed since I started posting her pics! Name something you care about that most people don't Fonts. I'm a sucker for them, and can spend literally hours selecting the right one for even the tiniest project (and yes, it's killing me that there is only a 7 font selection on this blog). It's a sickness. Name something you don't like that most people do Seafood. If it's from the sea, it's not for me. What are your three favorite items in your shop?

my mohawk hat

my bunny mittens

my polar bear blanket - featuring my own lil' lady as the model!

What are you working on next for the shop? I'm working on finger puppet collections as well as bags and perhaps nursery letters as well.

a sneak peek of a bag I'm planning on introducing soon!

As a WB seller, all WB members will receive 10% off my shop by entering the coupon code "WeddingBells10" and entering their username at checkout. If there is something you'd like to see in my shop, I'd love to hear about it, so send me a note! And join my facebook page for discounts and contest opportunities! www.facebook.com/fuzzyfunkdesigns www.fuzzyfunkdesigns.etsy.com Have a great weekend!