Zibbet is pleased to present Donna of Bargersville, Indiana. Donna is the owner of Illusions by Donna where she showcases her handcrafted knits and jewelry.
Donna has many different artistic talents from painting, to knitting and jewelry creations.
You can visit Donna at her Zibbet Community Hub page and her Facebook page. Follow her on Twitter to learn more about her latest craft projects.
We enjoyed our interview with Donna and hope you will too. If you enjoy this as much as we did, use the Share tool so others can enjoy her interview also.
I am a 58 year old single woman, mother to 4 wonderful kids and 7 gorgeous grandkids. This describes me as well as anything. ”A true Proverbs 31:13 woman. ‘She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands’. Always happiest when expressing my creativity. Painter, knitter and jewelry maker.” I have leaned toward the artistic side all my life.
Since I am alone now, being creative consumes much of my day. I have worked for a nursing agency for many years, but want to be independent of that. I probably knit 12-14 hours a day and the balance of my waking day is taken up with other business related activities.
My grandmother sewed and I learned that at an early age. I have tried just about everything craft related over the course of my adult life. In 1998, in an effort to get away from nursing, I took a decorative painting class. This led to my being given the opportunity to paint in about 5 states for friends I have made on the internet. In 2007 I spent 3 mos in Maine painting a house for a friend. It was there that I learned to knit. I was alone in the house all during that time and decided to walk up to the Central Yarn Shop in downtown Portland and found a pattern for a baby hat (that turned out to be very complicated for my very limited ability.
I persevered though it and by the time I was finished I was back in there to buy more materials. After I got home, my best friend wanted me to give jewelry making a try. I tried to wiggle out of that, but she surprised me with a tool kit and a few beads. I was soon taking apart all the unused beaded necklaces I had in my possession and begging for more from friends. In 2008 because of the economy, the bottom fell out of my painting business so I turned to knitting and jewelry making to supplement my meager income. Selling online and at my local farmers market became my focus.
Two women had a tremendous influence in my life growing up. My grandmother was my inspiration for getting involved in crafting with my hands. My mother was always encouraging me too. She took up needlework later in her life and she’s probably laughing at me from heaven. There was a point in my 20’s that I gave her a huge collection of yarn and unfinished projects, and she finished them all. On a business level I really admire Marguerite’s, from the Zibbet Forums, Xquisitely Lady M chainmaille work. I think I would lose my mind trying to keep up with all those jump rings.
A. I still love to paint and will take the opportunity to paint when I can. I spent 4 mos last summer back in Maine painting for my friends brother. In about 3 weeks I will be arriving back in Portland to do more work for my friend. (That will make a total of a year spent there over the last 4 years.)
B. My grandkids. I love them soooo much!! The first hat I made was for my granddaughter Katie.
Love most about Zibbet? I started out on Etsy, I visited the forums there a lot at first, but found the negativity disconcerting. I moved the focus of my business to 1KM and participated in the forums there. I felt ‘connected’ to the other sellers, but when the admin pulled that rug, I heard about Zibbet. I was very leery though about ‘getting involved’ because it took me months to ‘get over’ what happened on 1KM. A few months ago I started participating in the ‘Promote Your New Listing’ threads. So the answer would be The Community. I have a need to feel connected to other sellers. My second is the easy item upload process. I love it!
I’m not a person that takes to changes well. I kind of like things the way they are. But there are times when I’m searching for jewelry parts, that it seems there aren’t enough sub categories.
My A-#1 promotional tool has been Facebook. I have around 300 people on my friends list and I found when I started posting pictures of my finished items, people really took notice. Almost all of my online sales have been coming from my FB friends list. A few months ago I was accepted to a program for building creativity and getting donations for a special need (like equipment), called Kickstarter. I don’t have my project for Kickstarter up and running yet, but I hope to very soon.. That will be a very significant promotional tool.
Use the Community Forums. Get to know other sellers. There are some really great cheerleaders in the Zibbet Community and I appreciate them all.
In the future, I’d like to be SUCCESSFUL!! I like working at home. I look back on my life and it seems like I’ve always been selling something. In my early 30’s I was selling hand painted Christmas ornaments and floral arrangements to co-workers. I tried a few multi-level things, Amway, Home Interiors etc. But I always end up coming back to things made by my own hands. There’s that whole creativity thing popping back up!!..LOL
Tags: Featured Zibbeters, Illusions by Donna
