CLOSED. Interview and Giveaway: Salvaged Love

This giveaway is now closed.  Please stay tuned for our next interview and giveaway beginning Friday, December 10th.  Thank you to everyone who entered!  Winner announcement coming later today.

This week we're excited to share with you another great shop with a great name.  And even better, this gal is representing the great state of VA (my home!) I fell in love with her items one day while "pounce"-ing on Etsy, and I know you will too.

Meet Claire, Designer and Owner of Salvaged Love

--What does your life outside of Etsy/blogging look like?

I live in Richmond, Virginia, where I work in the stationery world by day and the craft world by night.  (Hmm, that kind of makes me sound like a superhero…except I can’t fly.)  I have a boyfriend whom I adore (and who cooks for me), the best cats ever, and interesting friends.  I am a vegetarian.  I love going to thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets…especially when I travel, which I also love to do every chance I get.  I am happiest when I am making things. 

--Describe yourself (or ask someone else to do it!) in three words.

I had come up with perfectionist & scavenger and was feeling stuck, when I decided to ask my boyfriend, David, what he would choose.  He decided on meticulous, collector & delicate.  Hmm…not too far off.  Interesting.  I think I like his choices better, although my third word would probably not be ‘delicate.’  Maybe…organizer? 

--Fall piece you can’t live without:

My black leather Frye boots…paired with skinny jeans, they are a staple of my wardrobe. 

--Most recent fashion-related purchase:

My most recent purchase that I ended up having to return was a pair of leopard print kitten heels with a pointed toe that looked like they walked right off the set of Mad Men.  I had ordered them online, which is how I love to buy shoes.  Unfortunately, they were NOT comfortable and had to go back.  The most recent purchase that I have kept is a ruffly fringy gray SUPER soft knit scarf bought at a street fair in New York for $8.  I have been wearing it nonstop since the weather turned cool.    

--Do you craft/make anything else outside of what’s in your shop?

I do collage work, using mostly paper, but other things as well.  Like my jewelry, mostly repurposed and scavenged scraps.  I get a lot of my supplies from work, where we like to joke about how green we are because I take home so much stuff that would otherwise be thrown away (and I have been known to dig things out of the trash).  Recent pieces I’ve done have included several custom backdrops for taxidermied birds and multiple pieces for a digital art project called Yet Another Roadside Attraction.

www.richmondbillboardproject.com  

Oh, and I love to knit, but haven’t had time in a while…there are not enough hours in the day!

--Any pet peeves?

When there is still lots of lip gloss left in the tube, but the wand can’t reach it. 

--Bad habits?

…....ummm……………………...procrastination.

--Desert-island food?

Cheese pizza

--Three bands/singers you can’t get enough of:

Erin McKeown

Arcade Fire

De la Soul

--Another blog you follow regularly (link us!):

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

Makes me laugh a lot. 

--What made you decide to start a shop?

I have loved and collected vintage jewelry for a long time, as well as all kinds of other found odds and ends…it’s hard for me to pass up anything shiny on the sidewalk.  And I began to design jewelry when I studied Metalsmithing in college.  I would make and alter pieces for myself using things from my collections.  The combination of my two interests, collecting and designing, has evolved into the Salvaged Love style - modern designs using primarily vintage and repurposed materials.  This past spring, I decided spur of the moment to do my first craft show in New York with a friend and sold some pieces.  That really gave me the push to start actively developing my jewelry line, and Etsy seemed like the ideal place to begin showing my work on the web.           

--Significance of your shop name?

Salvaged refers to the salvaged nature of many of my materials, and Love, well…I love what I make!  The phrase is also a bit of an homage to Savage Love, the advice column by Dan Savage.   

--Favorite item in your shop right now (link us!)

I love this bright blue necklace.  If I were a superhero, this is what I would wear.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57584598/superhero-vintage-brass-and-blue-glass

 

Oh, but that's not all....

Claire is giving away a one-of-a-kind piece to one of our lucky readers, just in time for the holidays.

 
Huge vintage beads are strung from vintage brass bar chain on this lovely one of a kind necklace.  The rich blue-green metallic color looks just like the eye of a peacock feather.  

Here's how you can win (so many ways, so many ways...)

1.  Become a follower of our blog and let us know in a comment below (if you're already a follower, skip to the next step). 

2.  Visit Salvaged Love, and link to your favorite piece in a comment below. 

For ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:

3. Follow us on twitter @miskabelle. (Let us know in the comments...if you already follow, skip to the next step.)

4.  HEART Salvaged Love on Etsy...and let us know.

5.  HEART Miskabelle on Etsy...and let us know.

6. If you already follow us on Twitter, retweet this giveaway once we tweet it. (Let us know.)

7. Link this giveaway through your blog or Facebook page (and let us know in the comments too!). 

This contest will run until December 8th--one week!  The winner will be chosen through a random number generator.

 

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