Where The Grass is Greener

 Visit Renee's lovely Etsy Shops http://www.etsy.com/shop/WheretheGrassisGreen and http://www.etsy.com/shop/Countrytagsale where you are sure to find charming one-of-a-kind gifts.

Find vintage items that were altered or embellished to create an elegant country cottage chic look.

By Renee Houston Zemanski

I am a writer and an artist (I’ve waited a long time to add that artist title, but I feel that I have finally earned it). I am passionate about creating one-of-a-kind art, antiquing, writing, photography and my family. My little Etsy shop, “Where the Grass is Greener,” is where I sell my art. I take ordinary objects, purchased at antique stores, flea markets and tag sales to create unique works of art for people’s homes. I also have an Etsy vintage shop called “Country Tag Sale.” That’s where I sell the vintage findings that I can’t bear to take apart and repurpose.

I love the thrill of the hunt for old things that can be recycled or upcycled. Basically, I see potential in other people's junk. The best part of finding vintage items is researching the history behind each item; I learn something every day and I love to share those stories when I can.

I began my business refurbishing and hand-painting furniture when I had a large studio to work in and store things. I recently lost my studio space, so now I’m concentrating on much smaller works of art (much easier to ship, too). While I have an office for writing, the back of my (very long) closet/laundry room serves as my little art studio – this tends to spread out to the rest of the house, though. The absolute best part of working on my own is the flexibility it allows me so I can spend time with my kids when they need me.

I’ve always been creative (or at least that’s what my friends and family tell me). My dad is very handy and my mom and sister are both artistic – my sis has a jewelry shop on Etsy, staciejewelry.

I have two Etsy stores, a blog and a website for my furniture (furniture that I am trying to sell so I can park my car this winter). Stop by my blog and say “hello.”

Blog at: http://wherethegrassisgreener-rz.blogspot.com/

Website: http://web.me.com/rzemanski/Where_The_Grass_is_Greener/Welcome.html


Etsy shops:
Where The Grass is Greener: http://www.etsy.com/shop/wherethegrassisgreen
Country Tag Sale: http://www.etsy.com/shop/countrytagsale

Archaic and Exotic

Enjoy a visit to Amore Valkyrie http://www.etsy.com/shop/amorevalkyrie where you will find fine precious jewelry with an old world aesthetic.

About Amore Valkyrie:

Amore Valkyrie jewelry strives to hint at the archaic and exotic - while being refined enough to wear every day. Pieces are intriguingly unusual, excitingly strange. There is mystery in an eye-catching piece that whispers of the old world.

About me:
For me, Amore Valkyrie is 1) an expression of ideas continuously coming, and 2) a replacement for things I've always been looking for.

As for the first thing - I dabble in art things, but haven’t committed until now - little bit of design school, fashion, creative writing, and so on. I feel art is a search - for me, it is an endless attempt to express an aesthetic idea I can't put my finger on. Thus, Amore Valkyrie is a tiny expression of artistic ideas I've always contemplated.

As for the second - for a while, I was a freelance blogger for a few fashion blogs. I wrote admiringly of the brave new endeavors of designers and drowned my laptop with pictures of designs I thought provoking and inspiring. Fashion encourages you to shop and browse ravenously, but yet I never found exactly what I wanted. Therefore, Amore Valkyrie is a growing collection of items I've always wanted, but never found.

I'm most inspired by what is ancient - really, really ancient. Still, something most important to me is letting my pieces hint at the old, while still being wearable and down to earth – therefore, I use only durable, high quality materials like precious stones, fine chain, sterling silver and gold. It would be a big dream come true for me to see others wearing Amore Valkyrie pieces day to day. Etsy Studios - thank you so much for featuring me and many other start up Etsy-ers! I am so hugely grateful to Etsy for being not only a service, but also a community that encourages me to let Amore Valkyrie keep growing.

At the moment, my workspace is a dining table and everything fits in a big white Staples file box (which doubles as my tabletop photography cube!)

Visit Amore Valkyrie:

twitter: http://twitter.com/amorevalkyrie
flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amorevalkyrie/
blog: http://amorevalkyrie.blogspot.com/