Bird vs. Bird

In another fun moment from wild-n-crazy spring ‘08, I answered some questions for the neat-o craft/design blog My Wooden Robot
When they sent the request, I was more than happy to oblige because I really, really like things like filling out surveys and making lists and answering questions. I’m not being sarcastic. I’m just a nerd like that. Anyway, you can read my pearls of wisdom if you want!

What’s been going on in the world of Bird vs. Bird? You might think “nothing at all!” judging from the pathetic trickle of information that’s made it to this website, but the opposite is true, my friends.

Spring ‘08 has been wild and crazy! Most wild-and-crazily of all, Bird vs. Bird was the Etsy featured seller April 4-7. That means that yours truly was selected from amongst tens of thousands of Etsy shops and put on the front page of Etsy.com for Three! Whole! Days! All our little friends, from Kinglet to Oriole, got looked at by thousands, yes, THOUSANDS of people worldwide! Over 150 of those folks were also kind enough to make purchases. Lots of late nights stuffing envelopes and writing addresses at Bird HQ…
Should you be so inclined, you can read my featured seller interview, which includes exciting revelations such as my 5 favorite bands. Also, you can see a dorky photo of me perched awkwardly next to my trust Sailrite sewing machine.
What else has happened? I’ll tell you later. Like tomorrow. Or maybe Wednesday.

A rotating selection of Bird vs. Bird coin purses and tote-style purses is now being sold at Brownie’s Vintage in downtown Berkeley, CA. It’s a cool little shop full of tempting vintage clothes as well as accessories and clothing from indie designers. Stop in the next time you’re in the area.
The address is 2001 Milvia Street (at University) right near the downtown Berkeley BART station and the UC Berkeley campus.

The new chipmunk design looks to be a hit. I like the li’l guy, and I’m glad other people do as well.

I just found out it was featured on Mixed Plate last Friday. Rad!

For a while now this has been what I like to call my “faker” website.  ‘Cause really it’s a blog.  And I want to let it be just a blog where in addition to posting announcements about new products and events I can also just yak about artsycraftsy stuff and birds.

I’m getting ready to more or less shift all the shoppity-shopping aspects of this site over to Etsy, just because it’s so much easier to deal with, and it’s more professional.  It’s such a great site, and I love knowing that fun people in Finland and Australia and Maine are running around with my birdies in their pockets.  You should usually be able to find whatever BvB item you want there, and if not, I can always make it for you and post it as a reserved listing.

In the past couple weeks I’ve been dealing with a lot of headache-inducing paperwork, but it’s all for the best and I feel ever-so-satisfied now that it’s done.  If anyone ever needs advice on setting up a not-just-a-hobby home crafty business in Oakland,  I can tell you in excruciating detail what you need to do and in what order.  Whoo.

I’m very excited about some new pins/brooches I’ve been fiddling with.  No pictures to show you yet, but soon!

Two, yes TWO new designs have been added to the lineup, and (gasp) they don’t have feathers! But they’re still pretty cute.

Chipmunk (on pumpkin orange) and Wild Rabbit (on pale sage) are available now in Coin Purse form in the Bird vs. Bird Etsy store. I plan on drawing up a few more woodland critter graphics to fill out the series, at which point there might be a new sticker set available as well.

It’s a few days after the fact, but better late than never, right? Thanks to all you online and in-person shoppers who helped Bird vs. Bird have a totally awesome holiday season! I was sewin’ and mailin’ like crazy.

Now that things have mellowed out, I hope to get cracking on some fun new graphics. I’ll also be revamping this blog/site a bit as I transfer more of the shopping and catalog stuff to the Bird vs. Bird Etsy site. Of course you can still always email me directly to order things or discuss custom projects.

Also in the works (i.e. churning around in the depths of my brain) is a new Etsy shop/product line focused super-duperly recycled stuff made from all different kinds of scrap and rescued materials from my workplace and beyond. These will probably be more one-of-a-kind or limited edition items. Stay tuned…

My friend Grace’s co-worker makes jewelry, and is having a little sale at Grace’s cool co-op house this Sunday (12/9). They asked if Bird vs. Bird would like to hawk (haha) wares as well, and of course I said yes.
It should be a fun, low-key event. And I’ve been informed there will be light refreshments!
The address is 2961 Ashby Ave. It’s just a couple buildings downhill from the intersection of Ashby and Claremont, so if you’re going to be roaming around Rockridge/Elmwood anyway, why not roam on up to say hi and maybe pick up some gifties for your friends and family!

Take a look! The Bird vs. Bird Hummingbird Coin Purse is featured in a post on the Eco Etsy blog.
Thanks folks! If you haven’t peeked at the Bird vs. Bird Etsy shop, take a look! Despite my questionable camera and even more questionable photography skills I managed to take some nice, pretty photos of all the coin purse designs yesterday before the clouds rolled in.

Hey East Bay types! Head over to blankspace gallery and buy cool stuff made by yours truly and many more local artistes. I’ll certainly be there for at least one of the “Holiday Cheer Receptions”…Hope to see you there!