Featured Etsy Seller of the Week - Mud and Mint

I was shopping around on Etsy the other day and ran across this seller Mud and Mint. I saw these earrings and immediately was looking around in her store.

Aren't those just pretttttty! Such spring colors. Wait there is more.....

I just LOVE these. She calls them Color Drops and Color Pools... fitting names. So I was intriqued and asked her to be my featured Etsy seller this week. Here is one more little delicacy for you to see and then I will let her tell you about herself... Here you go...

Tell us about you, and as much as you'd like to share with the Etsy world:
my name is cari and i live in madison, wisconsin with my fiancee will and our bulldog lola. during the day i work as an office/general manager and all around "girl friday" for two locally owned businesses: a bakery/cafe and a funky, retro decor tavern. both are owned by my good friend jane and i have some of the best co-workers a girl could ask for.

in the evenings and on weekends you'll usually find me having happy time: hanging out in my attic studio, playing with beads and wire. seriously, we all have our problems but answering this question reminded me that all things considered, i really do have a pretty sweet life.
:)

Let's here about your shop and how you got started:
i got started making my own jewelry primarily to justify my bead addiction and it grew from there. i was eight years old when i strung my first little seed beads i had purchased with my allowance onto a safety pin and attached it to my shoelaces (as was the style at the time). then, i went into my first bead shop when i was 16 and was immediately hooked; the color, the sparkle, polish and texture. to this day when i walk into a bead shop i can’t just look, i always have to touch and feel the beads as well (shop owners must just love me!).

over the years i would occasionally buy beads, make a few things, then put everything away until the next urge to get crafty hit me (sometimes i would also feed the crafty urge with cross-stitch but that's another story!). then about 4 years ago ..two things happened: first, i discovered the world of online bead shopping (yes, i was a late online retail bloomer) and it opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me... i was no longer trapped by limited supplies or materials. second, something in me changed. i had always had artistic or creative interests but always found "art" or the idea of creating things and putting it out there for public consumption a bit intimidating. now, i'm just so over that. i love what i do and it feeds a piece of my soul. the rest of it... having a business and other people appreciating my work... it's just the icing on the cake.

i originally opened shop on etsy in january of 2007 as caris designs before i decided on a name change; my current shop, mud and mint, is named after a necklace i designed last year and has been open about 8 months. as for my work itself, i do some strung jewelry, a lot of wire wrapping, and i work primarily with sterling silver, gold fill, semi-precious stones and vintage beads and components.

What inspires you to create?
I love to play with size, shape, texture and contrast but the biggest inspiration to my work is color. It could be a beautiful painting or a small bit of left over wrapping paper…certain colors and combinations really draw me in and inspire me to create new and interesting things.

Descibe yourself in one word:
complicated.

What's your favorite:
it is really impossible for me to narrow these questions down to one decision...

Book: i can't say i have a favorite book but john irving is my favorite author... i love just about everything he has ever written.

Movie: rushmore... i'm a big wes anderson fan.

Song: heroes by david bowie.