Featuring - Tilly Designs

I'm not a girly girl, never have been, but I do enjoy pretty things. This shop has very pretty soap (almost too pretty to use), and pretty jewelry too :) You can get lost looking at all the amazing items! Take a look - I'm absolutely sure you will find something that you would LOVE to have!

*Where are you from? Tell us a bit about yourself.

-I grew up in a small town called Halfmoon Bay, BC. It's a peninsula off the sunshine coast between Victoria Island and Vancouver. I went to University for Multimedia Design on the mainland in Vancouver and have since moved to New Westminster, BC (a 30 min drive from Vancouver). I love love love all the old architecture in the historic parts of New Westminster and can't picture myself living anywhere else!

*How did you decide on your shop name? Why did you start your business?

I used my old nickname from highschool. My name is actually Chantel, but that has morphed into Chantilly and then out of that came "Tilly". I doodle on everything and I have always loved creating things from jewelry to soap making to graphic arts. Some of my friends suggested I try selling some of my creations and voila! Tilly Designs was born :)

*What are 5 things you want people to think when they see your product?

Quality, affordable, unique, handmade with care, Lovely.

I always strive to find the most high quality economical products that I can. 100% of my soap making products and 90% of my jewelry products are from local suppliers so I can keep my supply prices low to pass those savings onto my customers. I spend a lot of time thinking about how pieces should look before I make them. Each piece of jewelry is unique, I don't mass-produce or re-create copies.

*What’s your supply addiction; is there a specific color or type of supply you just can’t pass up?

Swarovski crystals, chiyogami paper, most silver charms, new mica colourants (for soap making) and anytime my favorite soap making supplies store comes out with a new botanical oil creation or a new oil scent.

*What do you do when you’re not being an artist? What activities do you enjoy?

I'm a programmer / graphic designer for my dayjob so that keeps me pretty busy during the day. I also love walking my dog, playing beach volleyball in the summer, camping and traveling.

*Which item in your shop did you enjoy making the most and why?

My favorite soap is my orange kiwi soap. It was actually an accident. lol. the bright orange was actually a hot pink meca but it didn't quite turn out that way after the soaponification process. I'm still trying to find a meca that will turn out hot pink....

*If you could give a piece of advice to a new shop - what would it be?

Don't leave marketing until the last step. You should have a marketing strategy before you even open your shop. Check to make sure your shop name isn't taken on twitter and facebook. Become a member of a team, stay active on the Etsy forms and promote yourself :) Also, rockin' pictures don't hurt either! - Don't expect to get a perfect picture in your first 10 shots. I take up to 20-50 shots per item and then find the best 5, and adjust the lighting and curves after in photoshop. If you're taking pictures of small items, find out how to make and use a light-box.

*Are there other places on the net we can find you?

Facebook - www.facebook.com/TillyDesigns
Twitter - www.twitter.com/TillyDesign
Website Portfolio (for my day job!) - www.cjmcbride.com





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