Dancing Dragons on silk scarf so you can take them anywhere you go!

The Dancing Dragons silk scarf

This silk scarf was painted... well, on a whim, really! I just wanted so badly to make it and the design finally became crystal clear in my mind, so I took a week of my normal chores and painted it!

Dancing Dragons silk scarf on ETSY!

That's me: Minkulul, with the Dancing Dragons silk scarf!

Here we go with some more pictures. Those were taken at my studio, so inside. Can you tell how silk shimmers and how it can change its tones and shades? This is so amazing to see this transformation: depend on the light type, you have a bit different scarf every time!

Hand painted silk scarf Dragon Dance is on Etsy now!

Dancing Dragons silk scarf is HERE

And here we have some pictures from the painting process. As I said, this one took me A WEEK!Why? Well, can you see all the scales on both dragons? Yay, it was almost like meditation with a brush!

Painting the Dancing Dragon silk scarf

The Dancing Dragon - painting outlines for the design on silk scarf

Would you like to know the technique that this scarf was painted in? Please check my post about silk painting the contours after using colorless gutta - the "stained glass" technique.

Firebird Wings silk scarf - painting process

XL silk scarf in red and gold - the Firebird Wings

Silk scarf Firebird Wings on Etsy

One of my biggest and boldest creations: the Firebird feathers creating pattern of wings I call Firebird's. Let me show you in a few steps how it was painted!

Painting the Firebird Wings scarf - colorless outline

In March I have designed and then painted the Firebird Wings.

Painting the Firebird Wings scarf - the centre piece

You can see all the colors used, the scarf was to big for me to keep paints on the table.

Silk scarf Firebird Wings without the outlines. You can find this one on ETSY.

Painting the outline - red and burgundy contours

Recently, I decided to add outlines to the design, to make the feathers pop!

Painting details outline for the Firebird Wings scarf.

The Firebird Wings scarf painted with outlines! There's me in the mirror!

Silk scarf Firebird Wings with contours painted - on ETSY

So, what do you think? I do prefer the scarf with outlines painted! It took a few days to paint but I think it's totally worth the work!

1000 sales on ETSY! YAY

My Etsy shop just got the 1000th sale! 

Thank you so much! Thank you for all your kind words, feedback and orders!

Brushing up tags - how to sell on Etsy?

If you are here on my MinkuLUL blog for the scarfs and painting on silk, this post might not be interesting.
There will be some 'Etsy seller' slang.
You have been warned.

Here's a cute pic I did some time ago to make it up for you ;)

If you already have a shop on Etsy...

... and if you feel as overwhelmed with Etsy constant changes as I am, you might think this is a good moment for brushing up your tags.
Oh, they do change. All the time. They changed the search engine.
And now it is...

... a tag - war! 

 oh yes, it is a battle against time (where to get some free time, huh?) amd a battle against all you already know about search engine on Etsy.

Do you know what they did?

No low-profile hearts or favs, please. 

That's what the Etsy people seems to be saying to us. No low-grade links. No heart-ing games, no "fav and run" games on Teams, just social media or google ad links.
I have seen it happened during last two months. Last year I would start promoting by putting my new listings to my favorite teams, to play some games with them... no more! I have stopped doing that.  
I do believe that low-grade clicks, hearts and favorites makes my listings perform worse in the search engine.

Let us see your tags!

But no one - word tag. They do prefer us to be more specific now, like using "silk scarf" instead of two separate tags "silk" and "scarf". I know this is not so new but I feel like lately only the two or more word tags are working.

Let us see your title!

No more crowded, long titles, it seems. I think that shorten ones work better. No repeating (this is specially hard). I had listings with titles like "silk scar with strawberry scarf with fruit red strawberry scarf' and so on... of course it had more sense than this ;) but you get my drift. Now just one 'silk scarf' for me in the title. JUST ONE!
And of course you have to put tags all around your description. But don't simply copy the title. Make it more real - time speech. Make it 'organic'

Finally, the listing itself.

I am trying to promote my Waterlily silk scarf. I have tinkered with the description, tags and renewed it.

Water Lilies silk scarf - on ETSY

I have read the seller guide about improving your SEO on Etsy seller handbook (HERE) - it is a great read, along with other articles.
I have checked my Waterlily silk scarf status on EtsyRank (HERE) - fantastic tool! You can (among other things) check the tag popularity, search for synonyms or compare it with other tags!
I, being not native English speaker, would not think that 'water lily' would be more common than 'waterlily'! huh!

ufff... finally, my work was done. Now off to social media, to promote... but that's a topic for another post.

Art Nouveau on scarfs - Jugendstil creations

Art Nouveau - my favorite style

In polish we call it secession,  meaning 'leaving the old behind' - so true! This is an art of nature, flowering ornamentation, asymmetric and pure beauty.
We had many wonderful artists creating in this amazing style, and Stanislaw Wyspianski and Alphonse Mucha are my absolute idols.

S. Wyspiański Iris flowers

Art Nouveau art is my source of inspiration, and sometimes I use it as a reference or even a base for my silk paints design. I love transferring Alphonse Mucha masterpieces into wearables!

A. Mucha 'Rose'

The scarfs in Art Nouveau style

Oh I have so many! Here are some photos of my designs. Enjoy!

Angel of Fire and Ice based on A.Mucha  'Feather'

Peacock Feather inspired by Art Nouveau ornaments

Mucha Rose scarf based on... A. Mucha 'Rose' :)

Firebird and Poppies inspired by Art Nouveau

Mucha Lilies scarf based on... A. Mucha art 'Lilies'

Angel Wings inspired by Art Novueau style

Oh, the list goes on and on, as I really feel I am one of the Art - Nouveau artists. Hope to prepare a Pinterest board with Art Nouveau pics for you!
Drop me a note if you want to be included, I will make the Pinterest board an Open Board.

Poppies and Firebird: from design to painted scarves!

The Poppies and Firebird silk scarves

My latest creation in MinkuLUL shop, the commissioned scarf size 34 x 34 inches.

Silk scarves Poppies and Firebird on ETSY

I have painted it with a Setasilk silk paints, to get the most vivid red there is! (I think this red is even more intense that the one I have from acrylic... not to mention watercolors... this is THE RED!!) 

The beginning... a design!

I had a pleasure to work with a great lady from US, who wanted a red and gold scarf with flowers and Art Nouveau touch. We e-mailed a bit about the size and ideas, then I created 3 pictures for her to choose from.

 We e-mailed a bit more and so the final version was created!

I am drawing the designs with colored pencils... taking pictures with my phone did a nasty number on the quality and colors... thankfully I have my camera back!

The silk painting - all the fun!

While painting - Setasilk silk paints are amazing!

Silk scarf Poppies and Firebird

Silk scarf Poppies and Firebird

Silk scarf Poppies and Firebird

I am wondering, is "scarf" rectangle and long, and "scarves" square?
Hm.... or just two words for the same thing?

Fox scarf and getting out of your comfort zone - art style!

Comfort zone sometimes has to be broken! 

I had lovely summer, painting in the garden, doing what I love the most: watercolor style, Art Nouveau style, lots of flowers.

 Yay, painted the Iris scarf in the garden in the country side!

Here we go!

Now, back in town, I decided it's time to do something spontaneous and different!

It's essential for painters to push their limits, experiment and find new ways for expressing themselves. I did that painting a Fox scarf.

Silk scarf Fox on ETSY, find it HERE!

This design is quite unusual for me.
First, the color set: red, crimson, a bit of orange and gray.
Then, the composition: I tried to simplify Japanese landscape; no ornaments, no - as my art teacher used to say - no unnecessary "chatter".

 Fox scarf - front and back

Simple lines, two foxes and strong colors - that was the trick! Hope you will like it!

Oh, btw. if you are experiencing an art-block, there's no better way to get out of it, than get out of the comfort zone with your creations!

It is so hot... and still no silk paints!

I am still waiting for my silk paints, can't start working without them :O

Beside drawing, I am working on my Etsy shop.
I love finding new gorgeous items on Etsy, so every once in a while I spending a few hours going through shops and listings.... here's what I have found today!

It is so hot! collection on ETSY

I am enchanted by them all but just look closely on this Kentucky Derby Hat from BoringSidney shop. OMG all of their hats are amazing. Just WOW!

This is also something very special. Spring Wreath from The BullBungalow made with grapevine. Gorgeous.

So yeah, hopefully my silk paints will be delivered today so I could start painting. I miss it!
In the meantime, enjoying ETSY finds :)

Stocking up... and a sudden lack of paint

Stocking up

Yes, recently I had some more free time from painting regular orders, so instead taking time off (who needs to rest?) I decided to paint some scarfs as a smart way of stocking up for the fall season.

Currently I have 20 ready to go scarfs at my Etsy shop, YAY

Here are all of my ready to go silk scarfs

... and a sudden lack of paint

 Uhhh this was an upsetting discovery!

 I do not buy all of the colors needed in painting, I mix my own colors from primary (yellow, red, blue and black) so one fine morning I was left with no more blue... which means no blue, green, violet... ahhh! no way to paint!

So I am taking my time of eventually :) 

Have a great summer - time!

 

Peacock scarf and... how to pimp up your close up?

Peacock silk scarves with lighting effect - thank you Photogramio! 

Recently, I have found a fantastic webpage called Photogramio  for editing photos. It's user panel is very cool, try it! :) it looks like a old - fasioned photo studio and it add effect similar to Instagram.

I had a great time playing with it and now I wanted to share with you one of the photos of my ready-to-go Peacock scarf.

 Edited close-up of  Peacock scarves and the un-edited photo.

The picture was first re-sized in GIMP (from 350dpi to 72dpi which is a standard monitor resolution). Then the picture was brightened - up a little with contrast and brightness options.

The Photogramio was used to create the lighting lens effect. I like it as it makes the picture more umm... magical -I suppose - is the word I am looking for ;)

Please let me know what do you think! 

I am testing this edited picture now as a front photo for this ready to go silk scarves. I am very curious will it affect Peacock scarves popularity? 

Big scarf FLOWERS

Here's the very special silk scarf I've painted as a custom order for a wonderful couple from USA.

 Handpainted silk scarf FLOWERS on ETSY

The scarf became their bridal canopy! Oh, I feel so honored. The couple stated that the scarf will eventually become their heirloom :)

This silk scarf is big: approx. 203 x 61 cm (80x24 inch) and I had some fun placing it on my small desk (160 x 60cm) ;) This scarf has a stained - glass feel to it and it was achieved by double painting.

Firstly, I painted flowers and backgroud using silk paints and water based gutta outline. Then I fixed the paints, washed it and ... yes, painted again, this time with black just to make the contour. I really like the finished piece, but it was twice the work... hence the price.

I am going to use this double - painting technique more often, hopefully this spring when there will be more time for creating new designs... and a lot of inspiration from nature.
 For next few months there is an idea of bordered scarfs... but that's something for the next blog post ;)

Ohh, if you wish there are more pictures of this scarf on my Pinterest Board!

Etsy search clumping issue - solved? What now?

Please note: this post probably will only be interesting for Etsy Sellers :)

In the begging of October a glitch on Etsy search appeared - the 'uber dominancy' or 'clumping' called in forums by sellers.

The 'uber dominancy' of search results by just a few shops made lots and lots of other sellers lacking of views, and in consequence, sells. I've seen it myself, using 'silk scarf' term for search. It was madness. Pages after pages of similar scarfs from one shop... for the customers? that was really bad. Imagine you want to buy but there seems to be only one type of scarfs available on Etsy from only one shop. I guess many potential buyers just gave up and moved to another on-line shops.

The issue of 'uber dominancy' was resolved in the end of October (at least on 10 first search pages for every search term) by using good old 'relevancy'. There is an engine that decides which item is relevant - accurate for the specific term that can be searched. 

People around Etsy Forums reports that now re-listed or recently listed items don't get theirs '5 minutes' in the searches. I confirmed it, only my oldest items, the ones with most 'hearts' and 'treasuries' get into first 10 pages of Etsy search.

So what can we, sellers, should do?

• There is no first page Treasury anymore, instead there is the Activity Feed. That means we need more hearts :) and treasuries, but with a place in the fist row (the first row is visible in the Activity Feed).
• We need links and backlinks (links to our items from blogs, pinterest, facebook and our internal links from our shop from one item to another)
• We need good SEO and good tags, as always.

But do we still need re-listing?

To get into the Activity Feed of our friends (ppl who favorited our shop or are following us) yes, But for now it seems re-listing won't get us into search result.

***

This info I gathered around Etsy Teams and Forum. I hope it will help! If you wish to discuss or have some other news for us, please feel free to contact me or to leave a comment!

To learn more:

• CLUMPING - Etsy Forum topic
• SEO & RELEVANCY -  great Etsy Team
• PROMOTING - Etsy Team for promoting your items

500 + sales on Etsy THANK YOU!!

It was a few days ago, but due to some health issues I can share this great news with you today!

500 sales on MinkuLUL.etsy.com

It was crazy two years, filled with hard work and lots and lots of fun! I simply love painting so this job is a dream - come - true for me :) 

I am so thankful to all my customers for their trust and support. THANK YOU!
I am so grateful to Etsy for giving me and so many many other artists and craters a wonderful opportunity for growing. 

Peek at my workshop - packing the scarfs

Here's a question: how to wrap the scarfs to make it beautiful for the customers, to give all the nessesery care instructions, yet not to make the package to heavy or to fragile?

For my Etsy customers I am packing silk scarfs in a plastic bag (so light! and you can instantly see the scarf after opening the envelope!) and I am adding a bow with two business cards.

 You can see the Peacock scarf in the wrapping process :)

The first business card has my name and my signature, the name of the scarf and the date of creation.
The second business card carries the instructions for washing and ironing.

I find it sufficient :)

Do you like it? How would you do it?

Ready to go scarfs - 21th of July

I love creating new designs and new scarfs, but sometimes I need to slow a bit in creating process and just practice my manual skills.



I took this week of designing and focused on painting! This gives me such a joy :)

Here are some of this week READY TO GO silk scarfs on Etsy:

Hand painted silk scarf 'Peacock'

Hand painted silk scarf 'Trees in Blue'

Hand painted silk scarf 'Rohan Horses'

Hand painted silk scarf 'Violet Sky White Tree'

Hand painted silk scarf 'Celtic Wolfs''

If you find something that you especially like, rest assured that the scarf will be sent to you in 24 hours :) 

Most of my scarfs are still made to order, which takes me from 3 to 5 days, depending on the complicity of the design. 

If you wish me to design something special for you, let me know!