Tony Owens is the owner of Red Bud Primitives.
He is our Feature Friday Artist.
1. What is
the name of your Etsy shop and why did you choose that name?
I named my Etsy shop Red Bud Primitives for the street that
I live on in the small town of Mocksville, North Carolina; Red Bud Lane.
Mocksville is located between Winston-Salem and Statesville off I-40.
2. How long
have you been on Etsy?
I have been on Etsy since January of 2012.
3. What type
of items do you offer?
We currently offer Primitive, Rustic and Americana décor
items as well as cabinetry largely on a custom basis at this time.
4. How long
have you been crafting?
I have been working in wood for over 30 years and am a 3rd
generation Craftsman. My Dad taught me woodworking at 12 years old and I am now
passing those skills to my son who is 15.
5. Who or
What inspires you?
I find inspiration in a lot of forms. A lot of my items are
variations of things that my Dad made when I was a kid. Some of my items are my
own designs inspired by things that I see around me every day; and I get
inspiration from other artists. While I would never copy another artists work,
I do see things that I would change to make them different.
6. What is
your favorite item in your shop and why?
My favorite item in my shop is the Outhouse toilet paper
holder. Growing up in the Appalachian Region there were still a lot of these in
use. It is tribute to the region and is my own design. I have been making these
for about 15 years and have sold more of these than any other item I have ever
made.
7. Other
places where you can be found (Ebay, webstore, blog)
I in addition to Etsy, I can also be found on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/rbprimitives) and on Twitter (@redbudprimitive), or by email
at redbudprimitives@gmail.com
8. How do
you describe your artistic style?
My artistic style has a simple, country flair. I like to
push the envelope of my abilities and produce new things. I think the fear of
messing up holds us back from trying new things, but hey it’s only wood, right?
I have as many failures with new ideas as I do successes but I never stop
trying to go the extra step.
9. Do you
have set days or times to work on your craft?
I primarily have only weekends to work on my crafts. I work
a full time job as a manufacturing plant manager and I usually describe it as
full time and a half.
10. What words
of advice would you give others or to someone just starting out?
Don’t underestimate your abilities to stretch yourself into
areas that you are not comfortable with. And most importantly, don’t overestimate the money you are
going to make doing crafts. A few good months of sales can turn into a dry
spell in the blink of an eye. In 20 years of actually selling my crafts I have
seen the cycles go from “all I can do to keep up with orders” to “boy I sure
wish someone would buy something”.
Branch out to all avenues you can access. The circle of friends and
family that you know that you can sell to closes in rapidly.
11. Tell a bit
of personal info about yourself.
I have been happily married to my soul mate for 17 years and
have a 15 year old son. I have been woodworking for 30 years and try to balance
that with a full time job and spending time with the family. I look forward to
growing my woodworking business through the internet as well as doing local
arts and crafts shows starting this fall.
Great to get to know Tony!
5 comments:
What a great feature!!! So nice to see that Tony is continuing to follow his dad's footsteps and that his son is also learning the craft!
Lucy
Great feature on a very talented artist! Hugs, Valerie
Wow!! What a great interview!! Tony has a wonderful shop and I am so happy to learn more about his business and what he has to offer.
Great job! Tony, I'll be stopping by to check out more of your items. . I think you just might have something I need. :-D
Wonderful feature on Tony!!
Kim
Enjoyed this feature on Tony :)
Susan
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