HONOR YOUR MOTHER: a Sunshyne Silverwear Mother's Day Promotion

In honor of Moms everywhere, I am offering a very special service for FREE! Send me your child's used baby spoons and I will turn them into unique pieces of wearable art that always hold their special sentimental value.

All you have to do is follow this blog, be a fan of my Facebook fan page, 'heart' my shop on Etsy and pay $4.00 for shipping and handling. (If you live close by and can drop off and pick up your spoons, there is, of course, no charge)

I will make up to 3 pendants per family, each spoon pendant will come with a complimentary black 12 inch ribbon and cotton corded necklace, as pictured above. 

Check out some of the examples of baby spoon necklaces I have recently made. Two of the ones pictured I created special for my sister Amy.


To get the ball rolling, visit my Etsy shop and 'purchase' the FREE MOTHER'S DAY PROMOTION item. I will then 'convo' you with my mailing address.
(If you have any color or image preferences, I will do my best to accommodate them. Put your written request in with your spoons when you mail them out. )
Offer expires May 10th 2010. Please allow 3-4 days for completion.
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Visit my Etsy shop and take 20% off of your total purchase. Convo me with promo code:MAMA GAIL     (excludes shipping, and offer expires May 10th, 2010)  I will refund your discount by Paypal
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HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Something new:

Just a little preview of some new designs. Let me know what you think...
you can always check out the latest minute to minute updates on my facebook fan page
thanks for looking!

Sunshyne Silverwear: An Artist's Statement

1.What has inspired you as an artist?

Well, I would have to say that the things I enjoy in this world inspire me. One if my favorite things to be doing is traveling around this country in my little blue Honda Fit going from one concert to the next. Sometimes my ideas come to me as I'm listening to the droning sound of the open road. Or maybe the beautiful shape of a tattoo or color of a flowing skirt. Also, the time i spend walking the dogs is my personal reflection time, the ideas just seem to flow.

2.What is the first thing you remember making?

Gee, my sister Amy might remember exactly how old we were, I'm thinking I was around 8. I was never really into playing with dolls, but I loved making doll houses out of anything I could find around the house. One time I made a pretty detailed doll house out of old strawberry quart containers and cardboard. The most fun was making the refrigerator open up and have food drawn inside, or window shutters that open and close. I always made dioramas for school projects whenever I could (shoe boxes!). I guess I have always 'been green' when being creative.

3. Are there artists (famous or not) that have influenced your work?

Well, Kadi taught me just about everything I know about knotting hemp, and that is what started me on my path, so I guess she has influenced me, and inspired me. Thanks Kadi, you are truly a great friend.

4. Are there people in your life that have inspired you or your artwork?

See above.

5. Is there a moment in your life when you knew you were supposed to be an artist?

I have always enjoyed making things. I don't think that there was a eureka moment or anything.

6. What materials do you like to work with? do you choose those?

I like to incorporate things that can be reused or reshaped into something creative that any normal person would probably throw out. I have always liked working with paper too, I can remember from a very early age LOVING the stationary section of any store. I don't know why, I have never been a writer. But the thing I like the most, is constantly changing my media and techniques. Keeps things fun and new for me.

7. Is there a special technique or process you use that makes your work unique?

I think my spoon necklaces are unique because they are also a really cool conversation piece, they are eco-friendly and no two are exactly the same. One of a kind, just like the people wearing them.

8. What does creating art mean to you?

Creating art is a release. It takes me away from all of the drama and stress of everyday life. Spending a few hours, by myself, doing what I want, how I want, when I want is one of the few things I need out of life.

9. Does your work have a theme to it?

A lot of my pendants have a music theme to them. Creating altered art out of old music fliers and posters. Also, they are all eco-friendly. Many aspects of making the pendants, from the spoons themselves, to techniques and materials used, to packaging and shipping all have elements of reusing and recycling.

10.What goals do you have for yourself as an artist?

My ultimate goal is to be able to live off of my art without having to have a day job. I used to believe that too much of a good thing is bad, that if I did what I love full time, I would get sick of it and loose passion for it, but I'm starting to rethink it all. It would be wonderful to be my own boss and do what makes me happy. I job that doesn't seem like work, that is the goal I have for myself as an artist.

It's all about ME

Ok, so I thought that I should introduce myself properly and invite you into my life a little. This is me doing what I love. I'm at a art show held in a local bar in Ithaca,NY (one of the coolest towns I might add) This was last summer, July maybe. My friends Jen and Nicole invited me to take part. Sold only 3 necklaces, but had myself a real good time. Over the rest of the summer and fall, I sold most of the necklaces you see behind me on tour with the band Phish.




Next up, are two of the bestest doggies in the whole wide world. Introducing....LOLA and BEASLEY! I have had Lola for my whole adult life. Watched her be born and knew she was going to be mine in that instant. She will have her 10th birthday October 24th. She has been my best friend through thick and thin. Love that dog.

Beasley is Lola's daughter, Born in the corner of my living room on November 12th 2004. She had the coolest markings on her face/head. When she was a pup, it looked like a white flame on the top of her head. She is the attention whore of the two, but also the more fun loving. There is no place she would rather be then as close to me or Craig as possible. She is our 55 pound lap dog.



The picture above, I really should not be posting. This is me admitting to being a complete slob. MY CRAFT CLOSET :D In my defense, it is a very well organized mess. Unfortunately I live in a very small apartment with the 2 dogs and my boyfriend. So this is the only available place to put all of my arts and crafts goodies. Each day I want to work on a project, I drag out all the supplies I need and destroy the living room for a full day or more.
We do actually have a second bedroom, which is supposed to be the computer room, but somehow became the 'man cave'. Long term goal: make enough money on Etsy to be able to finish the attic and have my very own studio.


The rest of these pics are of me at work doing what I love most. Traveling round the country selling my wares. In this pic, I have to give props Kadi, she is one of my BEST friends and the person who got me into the scene. Before her, I only worked on arts and crafts for myself and gifts for others, but she saw potential in me and taught me a thing or two (or three!) about selling my creations for fun and profit. Thanks Kadi, you are the best. This is us at the Ratdog show right in our back yard at the Highland Bowl last summer. Had a bLaSt at that show.


This is my very first day selling hemp necklaces on Phil Lesh and friend's tour. July 8,2006

Ahh, this is one of my finest memories of last year. This is Kyle and I at the Hampton Coliseum (the mother ship!)For the Phish reunion. What a CRAZY 4 days that was. Three sold out shows and Kyle and I end up getting into the first two.(tickets on lot were going for upwards of $700 each. We got ours for face value. This pic was taken night three, not getting into that show was a blessing in disguise. Kyle and I walked around the lot all night talked, and ended up hanging out with a bunch of really cool folks. It was a bonding experience and we have been friends ever since.

Well, I guess that is all for now. More posts to come. Hope you have a wonderful day.
Peace ~ Erin

A dreamer in the real world

Been thinking a lot lately about what I'm doing with my life. (Could be because I just turned 30 and I'm going through a pre-midlife crisis.) I like my 40 hour a week job, (mostly because it is flexible as hell and allows me to travel a half a dozen times a year, for my sanity) but I keep thinking that there is way more I could be doing with the 9+ hours a day I am stuck at work. I love my life, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I would like to be living more of it for me. Craig says that I should be lucky to even have a job at all in this economy and that I have it better that most. Ok, he may be right, but can't i dream? I'm allowed to have aspirations.

My biggest goal, is to someday get that one great idea to make that one amazing thing that no one will be able to live without. To spend my days creating, and being my own boss. It happens all the time, hundreds of times a day, all around the world, right? There is a dream job out there for me, all I have to do is generate it.

In the real world, I'm pretty much a number cruncher/data entry person. At the end of the day the only thing I've made, is my bosses bank account bigger. I would love to walk away from a day's work with something I can point to and say "see this? I made this!" To be able to put together pieces that alone, were nothing special, but assembled, made something useful and beautiful.

For now I'll be happy with the few hours a week I get to spend on my necklaces. If there were 4 more hours in the day, I'd be all good.

I love Sundays

Overall, today was a pretty relaxing day. I did some grocery shopping this morning, then Craig and I took the dogs for a long walk in the sunshine. Next, I did some crafting while Craig played some online poker while watching Julie/Julia together. Craig didn't do so well at poker, which means that he was freed up hours early. That turned out to be a good thing because we ended up taking a long bike ride to Charlotte Beach. This the first time my big butt got on a bike in years, (man, they make bike seats small these days!) I must be crazy out of shape because I was getting winded, and the ride is 90% downhill! Definitely got a work out though. It was about 6pm when we finally reached Charlotte, and we had some great timing because the RTS bus came rolling on up as soon as we got there. We quickly shared a Cheeseburger and fries and hopped on. I don't think my out of shape body could take the bike ride back home, must have been meant to be.

Ahh, so finally I'm home! I got a lot to do before the Dave Matthew's Band concert in May. About 100 necklaces to put together, So I guess that is what I'm going to start working on now. Got about 30 tile necklaces, 15 washer necklaces and 70 spoon necklaces.

I have to fund a summer of music, fun, and travel and there is no better way than kicking it off with a few Dave Matthew's shows. Last year my sister Amy and I went down to the Darien Lake show, (near Buffalo,NY) just for fun, thinking that we might sell a few necklaces while we hung out and partied. Three hours, 3 beers, and a free cheeseburger later, we had made over $400! (and had a BLAST doing it) So Amy and I have made a pact to do it again this year. I have been working on building up my hemp necklace inventory for about a month now. I'm also going to bring a bunch of my new creations to see how well they do this year. I made a dozen or so DMB recycled spoon necklaces too, maybe I'll put one or two up on Etsy to see how they do.

Well, off to do more crafting. Hope you have a wonderful day.
Sincerely,
Erin Gursslin
Sunshyne Silverwear

First day of the rest of my life!

Hello! My name is Erin Gursslin. I am 30 years old and a resident of the wonderful city of Rochester in Upstate New York. The reason why I decided to start a blog, was to be an extension of my Etsy page and give browsers a little background and history on what I do and how I create.

I have always been the kind of person that would rather make something by hand that was unique for a birthday or Christmas gift than go the easy route and buy something, but I never thought of turning my creations into a lucrative business until...

It all started back almost four years ago, well before my Etsy debut. My friend Kadi, a seasoned seller and crafter, convinced me to help make some hemp necklaces to sell in the parking lot of the concerts we were going to that summer. I figured why not, hell, if it helps pay for the cost of going to the show, I'm all in! So for a few weeks, we got together numerous times and made dozens of necklaces.

July 6, 2006 at Darien Lake amphitheater was the first day of the rest of my life. I knew what I was meant to do. I loved walking up and down those isles of cars talking with fellow Deadheads and selling my wares. To tell ya the truth, I don't even remember how much money we made, but I can tell you what a GREAT time I had. Not to mention at that show, I reconnected with a boy that I had not seen in years, we have been in a relationship ever since. So that day was special to me in so many ways.

Fast forward to this past Fall. I was on Phish tour, I think it was in Albany, selling my recycled spoon pendants on the lot, I had heard for the hundredth time that I should take my wares on Etsy. I had heard many stories of crafters on tour doing very well on the site. Since Winter is a rough time to try to sell outdoors, Etsy was starting to look like a pretty good idea.

January 21, 2010 was my grand opening of Sunshyne Silverwear on Etsy, and when I got that first sale about a week later I was BEYOND ecstatic. I think I did the happy dance around the house for ten minutes while calling and texting everyone I knew. I knew this was gonna be a fun venture.