Meet Yanni from Yanni Creations

Where are you from and tell us a little about yourself? 
I am a free spirited recycling artist and Etsy Artisan. I am engaged in all sorts of crafting but I hold a deep appreciation for recycling and creating with decoupage to be the most fulfilling. I live in Baguio City, Philippines, known as the “City of Pines” . It is also commonly referred to as “The Summer Capital of the Philippines”, where the climate is temperate. Much cooler than the rest of the country – a perfect getaway up in the Cordillera Mountain Range.


Why did you start your Etsy shop?
My love for upcycling and remaking started because I have an enormous collection of bits and pieces that I have stocked since childhood. I do collage, woodworks, beads and more traditional kinds of things. When I eventually started making funky and unique jewelries, it was hard to stop and I have accumulated quite a heap. I have a local online shop where I sell my handmade items and when I discovered Etsy, I thought I could share my products to the international market. It was in late April when I finally decided to open a shop in Etsy, I believe it is one of the best avenues to have my creations known.

How did you come up with your Etsy shop name?
It’s simple, just my name and what I love doing, Creating…

What is your favorite item in your shop and why?  Do any of your pieces have a memorable story behind them?
It’s hard to pick just one. I love my Map creations in general. I have always loved maps. They’re useful. They’re pretty. And quite often, they’re free. I could spend hours looking through an Atlas and never get bored by it. As a child who was fond of history and geography, I was fascinated by postage stamps from around the world and all kinds of maps – physical, political, treasure, climate, old, new, you name it. With the heaps that I collected and sorted, I was just content on keeping them in an album and the Atlases neatly stacked only for my own consumption. I really never figured out how else to use them. However, with the art of decoupage, I finally found a way to incorporate them in my craft projects. I am now able to create wonderful pieces especially with a travel theme. At present, I continue to collect any maps I find. I actually frequent book sales to scout for vintage books and atlases which I know would make my craft world more exciting.

What was your first piece you sold? 
I opened my shop on April 19th but was only able to list items on the 29th. I had my first sale on May 2nd and I was so thrilled, the buyer from the Netherlands bought 5 items at once ( 1 North America Bangle, 1 Brazil Bangle and 3 European Map Adult Wooden Hangers). I actually spent $28 for the shipping but it was worth it. I may not have gained much from that first transaction but I was delighted nonetheless. That gave me a good reason to think that it was not a bad idea joining Etsy after all. I was hesitant at first considering the volume of sellers and the variety of items especially jewelry which comprises majority of my listings.

Apart from creating beautiful pieces, what else do you do? 
It is my personal goal and YanniCreations to help change people’s minds and hearts to reconsider what is garbage and realize that anything seemed worthless could still be salvaged. Ephemeras that are normally discarded can be transformed into eco-friendly accessories with just a bit of imagination, creativity and a sense of fun. Thus, besides creating and selling, It is my personal advocacy to share as well. I give free lectures on green politics, conservationism and climate change and host workshops to cause oriented groups promoting recycling and reusing stuff normally destined for the landfill.

Any advice on selling things handmade?
Sometimes selling handmade and I emphasize RECYCLED items is quite hard. Some peek at my shop and shrug thinking, oh I can do that. It happens quite a lot in my Flickr where people ask how I came up with my stuff. I usually end up sharing the details. Perhaps too shy to say, why not buy from my Etsy instead hehe. It’s actually great because we are slowly changing people’s mindset about their trash and are now reconsidering reusing and recycling stuff they no longer use. However, if selling your creations is your bread and butter, you need to make sure your products are competitive enough. My advice is to keep creating unique items and even though your materials are common such as paper for instance, make sure that your finished products are sturdy and long lasting. To be able to sell well, all we need are hard work, excellent customer service and quality products.

Why should people buy homemade?
Buying homemade things can have a dramatic and positive effect on our lives and our environment. Not only are we helping the economy prosper but we are also supporting the craft industry with so many artists, whether they be budding newbies or seasoned ones trying to make an honest living with their craft.

Any works in progress?
Right now, I am completing my animal decoupaged series. I have wooden hand carved cats, dogs, dolphins, birds, horses, elephants that I am decorating with maps and other ephemeras. These are collectibles perfect to adorn desk tops or use it as functional paper weights.

Any other sites you can be found on?
I blog about my craft. I usually write detailed procedures on how I come up with my creations. http://www.etccraftetc.blogspot.com
Facebook Fanpage http://www.facebook.com/iloveyannicreations

**Please take a moment to visit Yanni’s shop.  If you comeback here and leave a comment with your favorite item you can have a total of five extra entries to leave on any or a combination of my current giveaways.  This offer ends on  6/28 at midnight.