900 Etsy Sales! and cute shoes

I want to thank everyone who supports handmade business! Your support lets me keep doing what I love. When I first started my shop on Etsy I didn't have it in my head that I could make a successful business out of it. I just thought I would make what I like. I offered one style of a makeup brush roll and it kept selling, so I added a few more styles and it just grew from there. It pleases me to no end to be able to offer something both useful and beautiful.

♥ ♥ ♥
Lotus

Follow my blog with BlogLovin'

Follow my blog with

China Glaze Collection: Crackle Glazes, product photos and promo info

New for February 2011: China Glaze Crackle Glaze polishes! Finally, some bright colors to play with.

Lightning Bolt: White Crackle
Black Mesh: Black Crackle
Broken Hearted: Pink Crackle
Cracked Concrete: Grey Crackle
Fault Line: Purple Crackle
Crushed Candy: Teal Crackle

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. They are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com

Butter London Collection: Spring/Summer 2011, official product photos and promo info

butter London Spring/Summer collection for 2011

Introducing the butter LONDON Spring/Summer 2011 Collection. Straight from the Fashion Week runways, the Spring/Summer 2011 Collection was inspired by the many colourful “impressionist” style prints that graced catwalks from New York to Paris. Designed by Founding Creative Director Nonie Creme, our new collection is reminiscent of Monet’s palettes, with the inclusion of an opal overcoat that lends ethereal beauty to any shade. Nonie says, “There is a strong move toward ‘retro’ colours this season, with many designers looking at Halston era glamour and style. Although beige and greige nails were still a direction at some shows, consumers want to see something new and exciting on the shelves. butter LONDON’s S/S 2011 collection is all about “pops” of colour that feel unique and edgy but relevant – our trademark!” The Spring/ Summer 2011 Collection contains Blagger, Hen Party, Teddy Girl & Lady Muck. A painter’s palette of lacquers – Create your own masterpiece.

Lady Muck - Powdery periwinkle blue, slightly on the grey side and infused with pearl pigment for a soft, sexy sheen.
Teddy Girl - A pale retro bubblegum pink custom featured on the catwalk of a top Brit designer for S/S 2011.
Dosh - A molten apple green shot through with gold. DEEEELICIOUS!
Blagger - Striking cobalt blue.
Hen Party - A sheer opal lacquer that is neutral and stunning alone, and utterly on-trend as an edgy overcoat on top of any existing lacquer shade

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is for lovers. Even if you haven't a lover this Valentine's, you can still let the cuteness of red & white capture your heart.

I made these cuties a while ago, but I've had too much other stuff to finish lately and these had to take the back burner. Not anymore! They're available for purchase today in my Etsy shop. I've started combining my damask fabrics with the polka dot ones, and I've really taken a fancy to them. They're so bright and cheery, especially this green one:

I had to be quick about these photos or I thought I might never get them up. Hopefully I'll have some time to set aside in the near future for some brighter more clear shots.

Thanks for taking a peek at my work!
asoftblackstar.etsy.com

♥ ♥ ♥

Copyright Infringement, Vol. 2, P B M POLYTEX LTD

Alibaba is notorious for having sellers that counterfeit goods. Not only is there a factory in China now producing my designs, there is also a factory in West Bengal, India violating my copyright as well. They've taken my photos and my item description and edited me out of them. See for yourself:

Recycled Organic Canvas Cotton Brush Bag

P B M POLYTEX LTD
Gujarat, India


They've watermarked the photo with their name! The Alibaba website has a feature that allows you to submit a complaint when your images have been stolen. It's here in case anyone else has this problem.

♥ ♥ ♥

Copyright Infringement, Vol. 1, Dingfeng General Merchandise Co., Ltd

I take pride in being able to offer original handmade products which are functional, fashionable, and affordable. Part of the joy of buying quality handmade products is knowing that you are not supporting sweatshops.

Unfortunately, there is a Chinese website offering an exact copy, complete with my photo, of this red polka dot set for $1 US. One dollar. They also list several other of my products and have blacked out my name in the photos. It's also illegally infringing  on my copyright. You can view their product page here. The company is Dingfeng General Merchandise Co., Ltd, which is based in Guangdong, China.

They blacked out my name on the label!

Sweatshops make a profit through exploitation. Ninety percent of sweatshop workers are women who are young and uneducated. Common abuses include low wages that fail to meet basic costs of living, substandard and unsafe working and living conditions, long hours of overtime for which employees are not compensated, and sexual harassment. For these reasons and so many others, please make ever effort you can to support handmade artisans and fair trade everywhere you can.

Not only are my products handmade in the USA, most of the fabric I use is manufactured in the USA too! I'm sure the Chinese knockoff couldn't compare to the durable high-quality fabrics I use. There's no telling what they would actually make!

Thanks.

*I found out about this because I was reading a post from EtsyTreasureChest about having your photos stolen. Johanna makes really cute crochet flower bookmarks and found that her photos are being used to sell her designs in China, in sweatshops. So I thought, I wonder if my designs have been stolen? Yes, yes they have.

*Yes, not all factories in other countries are sweatshops. 

♥ ♥ ♥

Sweet Tooth: Groundhod Day Blizzard of 2011; Snowpocalypse

Roughly 1/4 of the central US is covered in a thick blanket of snow, from Canada to Mexico. It started on January 31st and the forecast calls for snow until February 9th. It's being called a Snowpocalypse. Missouri was declared a state of emergency and numerous schools, businesses, airports, and highways were closed. We got 6.8" of snow in just the first day, after the ice. I prepared myself to be stranded, so I baked a blueberry upside down cake just before the snow began to fall.

I didn't leave my house for four days. Since I knew I would be trapped here at home for a while I spent the entirety of those four days sewing and finishing orders. I went out on Friday and then it snowed for at least another twelve hours. Today I made caramel popcorn out of boredom.

Since it started snowing my internet connection has been inconsistent, which bothers me more than being stranded.

♥ ♥ ♥
Lotus