Check out The Gilded Bee on Etsy!

I came across The Gilded Bee Etsy shop and blog yesterday and just fell in love with the products Sasha Lynne North offers there. They are so pretty and romantic, that I just had to feature the shop on my blog! Be sure to click on over there and check out what she's offering.

Here's a little interview I did with Sasha:

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself….where are you from? What kind of art do you create? Etc.

I’m from Rural Southwest Iowa, USA, I’ve lived in the country since I was 2.
I make my own clothes, am a milliner, I cook and bake a lot, I write the recipes on this blog: labeebonvivant.blogspot.com. I have a nice big garden so I can grow organic produce and flowers, I have 3 cats and a Collie, I draw and paint. I have been home schooled K-12 grades, as have my sisters and cousins. I love collage (think somerset studio) and those elements make their way into my projects often.

Q: Many of the items in your Etsy shop are made from paper…why do you choose to use paper in your projects?

I have many passions material-wise, I decided to do the paper items because I have worked with them the longest out of all the materials I have used, and I love working with them.



Q: What inspires your artwork?

Beautiful colors. I love to walk into a paper store, and hold up a solid sheet of paper and just imagine. Other things: My garden/the outdoors/David Austin Roses. Buildings, fish. Vintage artwork and ads, textiles, even something like a towel, Japanese papers etc. Almost anything…

Q: Your Etsy profile mentions your love for vintage things...what do you like best about antiques?

Mmm, the finishes are often times different, such as on vintage glass ornaments. The detail work on furnishings. I love the opulence of the Victorian/Edwardian Ages, the velvet, the silk, the tinsel, the flowers. I love to hunt for/collect vintage millinery flowers on my antiquing trips. I love the detail work on garments, and I am crazy about 50’s fashion. I’m in the process of starting another blog for fashion related stuff and handmade garments/hats and accessories.

Q: Your shop has an unusual name...what's behind the name “The Gilded Bee”?

I just thought of it a couple of years ago, I liked the way it sounded. I decided it would make a great name for a stationary shop. I came up with it long before I had heard of Etsy, and when the time came, it clicked.



Q: What can Gilded Bee fans expect to see in the near future? What are you working on now?

Oh my, my house is covered with glitter and crafting stuff everywhere, I have ideas coming out of my ears. Always more tags, I didn’t realize how addicted I was to them till I started listing more. Stationary with candy, cake and ice cream, more ribbons and trim, more envelopes, both solid and patterned and both large and miniature, thank you cards and invitations, more flowers, both ribbon/fabric and paper, gift and favor boxes, labels and stickers and whatever else I dream up.