Meet The Shops of the FMNDDTEAM. Today we sat down to speak with Tara from the shop “5of6 Sisters”

How would you describe what you create and sell? What makes it unique or special in your own words?

I am out there looking in old barns and old homes little thrift shops and yard sales to find discarded or unwanted items from the past and bring them to light again by showcasing them here on Etsy. I have always enjoyed watching each person’s creative process and have seen many of my sold items repurposed and reused in unique and beautiful ways, or someone finding an item from their past that reminds them of special times and that drives me.

I started with making jewelry from semi-precious stones and hope to go back to work on that again, due to many rounds of chemo therapy my hands don’t work as well as they used to but I have faith things will work out and in the meantime I’m enjoying other Etsy sellers amazing creations.

How did you find your way to Etsy and how long have you been selling here?

I am an online shopper for quite a long time now as I find it exhausting to go out to shopping centers. At home anytime I can look for anything I may need or want. When I found Etsy and its diverse shops I was hooked. So when I decided to try online sales I didn’t even think of any other sales sites. I joined Etsy in 2015 and then opened my shop. It was slow going at first and I am still learning more of the process of selling online.

Tell me a bit about how you create – do you work with music, silence, in a special room anything noteworthy.

It’s funny how I get into the “zone” and work many hours into the late night and early morning. I am lucky enough to have a craft room and an Etsy room. I have my “on deck items” ready to be photographed and researched and once published for sale it gets moved into the “closet room” waiting for its new owners to find it. What started out as something I would ‘try” has turned into a real business.

I have a photo station and a packing and posting area. I actually reuse boxes. I walk my little dog every night and every other Wednesday is cardboard and newspaper recycling, so I come home with an arm load of newspapers and boxes. I also dumpster dive at a couple of businesses that have given me permission to take boxes out of there cardboard only dumpsters. I try to reuse and repurpose as much as I can in life.

What inspires you to create? Where do your ideas come from?

I have had prosperous times and lean times, and being wasteful is something I don’t do. So the idea of reusing items from the past is important to me. And, it also keeps these items that still have use out of the landfills so maybe my granddaughter and her children will not have the polluted future that is predicted.

You would share a little bit about you personally – perhaps a short personal bio

I live with my little “morkey” named Bella she is my constant company and is a certified service dog. She is my world. I have four sons and two grandchildren a 6-year-old granddaughter and a 7-month old grandson and I watch them several days a week, to spend quality time with them and also to help out the family with childcare expense. I am permanently disabled I would love nothing more to be back working but the doctors don’t think that’s going to happen. So I needed something to keep me busy and I must say between Etsy and my precious grandbabies I am just that – Busy!

Where can people find you?

Well first, my Etsy shop of course

www.etsy.com/shop/5of6sisters?

Facebook www.facebook.com/5of6sisters

Pinterest

www.pinterest.com/temairrose/

Anything Else People Should Know About You?

I started collecting things that were overlooked by others and are part of our history and need to be saved.

I am also a rock hound and decided to not just collect but make jewelry to share with others. Tuning my hobby into something more. It fills my time and helps me work on the debilitating effects of extreme amount of chemo I endured. Making handcrafted, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces. I love working with natural stones created by mother nature not a factory. Of course one of the major attractions for me as my own boss is the ability to have my items seen by millions of people on Etsy. I am a proud team member of Forget Me Nots Daily Discoveries on Etsy! FMNDDTEAM www.etsy.com/teams/7684/forget-me-nots-daily-discoveries

Thanks for your time Tara  – I’m sure we are all now off to check out your shop

www.etsy.com/shop/5of6sisters?