misosouper, a shopping blog

I will testify to the loveliness and wearability of Michelle Chang’s jewelry.  I own this and this, and this piece rarely leaves my neck.  (All purchased on my own, FTC.  All purchased on my own.)  Sweet with a prickly edge is how I like to describe Michelle’s designs:  skulls don’t seem quite as scary when their diamond eyes can wink at you.  Even her mouthless kittens look the tiniest bit sinister.

And oh, lucky readers:  this week, Michelle Chang Jewelry and I are giving away a sterling silver Baby Skull Necklace to one of you.  To win, you must do one of two things:  subscribe to misosouper’s feed or subscribe to misosouper’s e-mail newsletter, then leave a comment on this post.  (If you’re already a subscriber, leave a note to that effect.)  For extra entries, you can tweet, blog, and/or Facebook this contest, then link to those posts here.  If you do all of the above, you will earn four entries.  Be sure to read the fine print, and good luck!

the fine print:

Comments will be closed and entries will not be accepted after 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010. The winner will be selected at random on Monday, February 1, 2010, and notified by e-mail. Results of the giveaway will be announced in the comments on this post on Tuesday, February 2, 2010. Misosouper, a shopping blog reserves the right to disqualify entries that are incomplete, inaccurate, or considered spam.  If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen and notified.

Inkbloom’s printable fabrics are such an innovative product…wouldn’t you like to win a set for yourself?

Full details here.

(And congrats to ambrerose, the winner of a Lifetime Zibbet account.  Thanks to Lo for the reminder!)

In a world of either artisan-designed, hand-produced fabric or Crayola-bright commercial bolts from JoAnn’s, there arrives an amazing new option: self-printable, customized fabric from a company called Inkbloom.

It’s like DIY sci-fi: using your home inkjet and loomtack, Inkbloom’s patent-pending magical sticky material that makes fabric behave like a piece of paper, you can create lush, graphic prints for personal or limited commercial use.

Inkbloom offers downloadable patterns (called inkblocks), whose colors are easily modified through Photoshop or PS Elements.  You can even add bits of text to your designs.  And Inkbloom just introduced inkbits, which are exclusive designs for creating tags, cards, and labels that coordinate with your fabric.  Imagine the possibilities for entertaining, gifting, and branding:  party favor bags, pillows, jewelry pouches, and company cards, all in your own perfect hexadecimalized RGB color code.

Crazy?  I KNOW.  But so easy that even a dolt like me could do it.

Inkbloom and Misosouper will let one lucky reader exercise her creative muscle:  to win our random drawing for a package that includes Loomtack fabric stabilizer, plain white base fabric, and Inkbloom’s brand-new lovey Valentine design set, leave a comment on this post, telling us 1) what you plan on making for your sweetie for Valentine’s Day; or 2) what text you’d print on your Valentine’s design.  (More inspiration available in this gallery.) For extra entries, you can tweet, blog, and/or Facebook this contest, then link to those posts here.  If you do all of the above, you will earn four entries.  Be sure to read the fine print, and good luck!

the fine print:

This prize will be shipped to US addresses only.  Comments will be closed and entries will not be accepted after 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, January 24, 2010. The winner will be selected at random on Monday, January 25, 2010, and notified by e-mail. Results of the giveaway will be announced in the comments on this post on Tuesday, January 26, 2010. Misosouper, a shopping blog reserves the right to disqualify entries that are incomplete, inaccurate, or considered spam.  If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen and notified.

If there’s a truth I’ve learned from this blog, it’s that handmade is hard.  Of course there’s the making (which is joyful and energizing, yes, but still time and labor intensive); and the marketing, which means trudging to craft fairs in crappy weather and sending lots of e-mails to people like me, who already receive 874 e-mails a day about new jewelry/accessory/art shops.  (NB:  keep sending those e-mails.  I appreciate them.)

I’ve made it a point to support Etsy and Etsyians over the two years of this site; here’s a (probably incomplete) list of past features you can check out.  But sellers need options–you know, the whole ‘all eggs in one basket’ thing–and sites like Etsy need competition, which is how they are forced to adapt and evolve.

Enter Zibbet.  Cleverly named and cleverly conceptualized, Zibbet’s easy-to-navigate marketplace exhibits (get it?) goods from all over the globe. Its interface is elegant for both buyer and seller, and, unlike the uniformity of Etsy, will allow complete customization of shops to give them a singular look.

So Zibbet’s pretty, and it’s also priced right:  listings are free, and Zibbet takes no commission or sales fees.  And as a good neighbor, Zibbet offers the ability to link to your other shops and add an Etsy mini to your site.  (This feature available only with a Premium account; please see this chart for more features.)  Zibbet’s cheerful CEO Jonathan Peacock is committed to expanding the site’s features and services, based on feedback from its members; from what I can discern, starting a Zibbet account now would be a ground-floor opportunity, as evidenced by the fact that a few of my Etsy faves have recently opened Zibbet shop.

For the next two weeks, Zibbet and Misosouper are teaming up to give away one Lifetime Premium Account to one lucky winner.  Zibbet’s holiday promo selling Lifetime Premium Accounts ended quickly and increased in price with each 50 accounts sold, so this is a great deal:  your account will come with full access to all future Premium Account features.

Because you can’t beat free, and you can’t beat forever, do one of the following in this post’s comments:  visit Zibbet, find your favorite item(s), and link to them here; tweet, blog, and/or Facebook this contest, then link to those posts here.  If you do all of the above, you will earn four entries.  Be sure to read the fine print, and good luck!

the fine print:

Comments will be closed and entries will not be accepted after 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, January 15, 2010. The winner will be selected at random on Monday, January 16, 2010, and notified by e-mail. Results of the giveaway will be announced in the comments on this post on Tuesday, January 17, 2010. Misosouper, a shopping blog reserves the right to disqualify entries that are incomplete, inaccurate, or considered spam.  If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen and notified.

image by Frankenkitty

…to tell you about the amazing Big Bang Giveaway hosted by our friends at Mi SPA.

One lucky winner will receive 10 prizes from some of misosouper’s favorite shops, like Whimsy & Spice, Prismera Design, Inklore, and Feterie.

To enter, you must visit all 10 sites, pick 3 favorite items and comment back at Mi SPA before 11:59 on July 6th.

Happy, happy 4th!