Meet Etsy Painter & Artist: MWiebe

Michelle Wiebe is the astonishing talent behind MWeibe. She has only recently made a point to paint every day and build her business "as opposed to consigning (her work) for someone else to sell." She is a busy stay-at-home Mom of three and admits every Etsy sale helps her family. "My husband pays the bills and I pay for the icing on the cake," she explains.

She often finds inspiration in music. "Sometimes I'll put on something and my heart just soars. Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead, Nick Cave - those usually put me in the mood to paint." She also enjoys other atrists' work - and reading their blogs. She describes her style as impressionist "because (she) really likes to catch the realism of an object or scene without the stuffiness that can so easily happen when you get really technical."

As a child her parents encouraged her creative spirit. "My dad used to bring home reams and reams of old dot matrix computer paper. I would hide out in my room and draw for hours. I absolutely loved that. Once I picked up a paintbrush and really got into it, I knew that I was most definitely a painter." She has been nurturing her talent for fifteen years.

Michelle plans to turn her talent into a full time job within two years, so that she'll be financially set when her youngest starts school. Eventually she hopes to become fully integrated with the Etsy community. "Selling is one thing, having a group of artists and artisans with whom you can talk shop with and share tips is priceless." When time allows she visits the forums and acknlowledges how important it is to build solid friendships with her fellow Etsians. "Make friends, comment on stuff, heart stuff, most importantly look at stuff. We have such a great site here and by telling all our friends and family about it, we can all keep each other in business." She cautions that quality is key "even if it means asking a bit more for your item. Unlike other sites where auction mentality = low ball bargains, etsy customers are, for the most part, willing to take a second look your unique piece even if it costs more than a mass produced item. We have something special here with the buy handmade mentality." Please visit her shop: http://mwiebe.etsy.com/

-Wendy Baylis

Dharma Designs

http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com