Getting to Know One Another- Introducing Helen Turnbull

Greetings All EFC Members! Here is our latest installment of the “Getting To Know One Another” Series: 

Tell us a bit about yourself (name, location). 

My name is Helen and my Etsy eshoppe is Glass0Beads (that’s Glass #0 Beads). I am a bead addict. I am a fan of all things handmade.  I live in Etobicoke (et O B co), a western suburb of Toronto, Canada.

Who are you in your real life? 

For over 40 years I have been using beads in one way or another.  I made ‘love beads’ in the ‘60’s. Then I added them to my needlework. And now I have returned to beads. I create  artisan jewellery.

What are your favorite materials?

These are hard questions!  I am part magpie and part packrat. You just never know when we might need just that 1 thing you’ve been hanging on to for 15 years.

I am a visual and tactile individual. I have been known to ask people if I may touch their sleeve just because it looks soft. I’ve never been turned down, by the way.  I love the natural fibres. And I am drawn to all things shiny and smooth and bumpy. There is a place in my repertoire for wire, too. And that segment is growing in stature.

What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

Contrast. Light and shadow.  Bright and  dull. Shiny and matte finishes. Big and small.

I get my ideas in shapes of things: for example, the idea for a pendant came from the shape of a dress I saw in a magazine.

I also get ideas in the interaction of other artisans; from needlework and knitting and so on.

What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it?

I remember knitting those slippers you can take to wear at a friend’s house. I made a lot of them and I hated every single pair. To this day I hate those slippers.  I embroidered a wall hanging for a cousin’s wedding gift: the design was my own and the quality of the stitching was very good, but looking back I see the design, my own, as rather childish.

Do you sell in other locations besides Etsy?

Right now I am rather excited ~ understatement.  I’ve learned that, if I want this business to succeed, I must sell face to face. I had an incredibly small taste of selling at a centenary celebration and I did very well. From March 19 to 21, I will be selling my wares at the ‘Almost Spring’ Toronto Bead Oasis Show.

Do you have a website?

Yes and No. I had a website: http://www.LampworkAndBeads.com and I am in negotiations to get my rights to the name reinstated. At present there is only an apology on that site.

Why did you join the Etsy for Charity Group?

I have lived my entire life in the Lap of Good Fortune. The need to pass along that good fortune has been fulfilled by the Etsy for Charity Group.

Do you belong to any other Etsy Groups or other affiliations?

Etsy groups? No. Affiliations? Yes. I am a member of American Needlepoint Guild, Embroidery Guild of America, Ontario Crafts Council, Toronto Bead Society. Online I am a member of SRAJD (Self Representing Artisan Jewellery Designers), Etsy, Jewellery Geeks. And, of course, Etsy For Charity.

What charities do you support personally and why?

Giving, for me, is personal.

Canadian Diabetes Association ~ I am diabetic.

Kidney Foundation ~ renal failure, a side effect of diabetes, shortened my father’s life.

Ontario Fibromyalgia Association ~ I have it.

Playing for Change ~ music hath power to soothe the savage beast. Music is a universal language, it brings people together.

Describe your Etsy experience and any advice you would like to share with others.

I am learning as I go and I have found that Etsy-ans are very giving of their assistance.

Build up your stock: get at least 3 pages of your product.

And then, get your site recognized through SEO and Social Marketing strategies.

Success with Etsy, as with your other online presence, requires work.

What makes you smile?

The ‘ah-ha’ moment, wherever it occurs. Nature in all its beauty. Music. And I admit to loving slapstick comedy when it is in ‘the real world’ and not manufactured on stage and screen.

Anything else you would like to add?

I am glad to be here. And I am eager to learn. And I am glad for this venue to give something back.

Thank you, Alice, for this unique introduction to the artisans of Etsy for Charity. Your questions have given my the opportunity to put my feelings into words.

Thank you Helen for sharing a bit of yourself with your fellow Etsy for Charity Members!

Alice