Quit Your Day Job: I did!

Back when I was first thinking of starting my Etsy shop, and I wasn't sure exactly whether I should go for it, I started reading the Etsy Blog for the courage and inspiration to follow my dreams. The stories and advice I found there gave me the push I needed to go ahead and open the doors on Satsuma Street and list those first few cross stitch patterns, hoping that maybe this crazy idea would work out. So two years later when I was contacted by Etsy and told that they wanted to feature me as one of their "Quit Your Day Job" stories, I was so honored and thrilled, I can't even tell you!

I was happy to be able to share any little bits of advice I could with new or aspiring Etsy sellers, and what was most important to me was to share the message that everyone has to find a unique product to offer and a way of working that suits them, rather than trying to follow someone else's path to success. If you're interested in hearing how I turned cross stitch design into a full time career, I encourage you to go read it, and while you're at it, there are lots of other inspiring stories there too!

Satsuma Street wouldn't be anything at all today without the support of all the wonderful people I've connected with through Instagram, Facebook, and all over the world, so most of all thank you to everyone who has supported the shop and reached out to say hello and let me know you like the patterns! It means so much to know that people like what I'm doing, and inspires me to keep going and making more happy cross stitch patterns for everyone to enjoy!

Photos by Erik Valind Photography

Garden Cat!

It's crazy that it took an avowed cat lady like myself so long to do a cat pattern! I suppose it just had to be the right time and I needed the muse to hit me…I was thinking about doing something Spring-y and flower inspired, and I do wish my kitties could spend their Spring days exploring a garden, but alas they are city cats and have to watch the seasons change from inside the apartment windows.

This cool cat gets to spend all his time under a magical sun, chilling with his friend the bee, smelling the amazing flowers and never worrying about a thing. Seems like a pretty good deal, Garden Cat!

Of course my apartment cat doesn't have it so bad either. I only put him to work filling orders on the rare occasion that I take a day off… if you ever get an email from me and it's full of typos, don't blame me…it's probably my assistant:

Head on over to Satsuma Street to find the Garden Cat cross stitch pattern (along with lots of other fun designs). All the cool cats are cross stitching these days!

xoxo Jody (and Stoli)

2015 Limited Edition Tea Towel Calendar

One of my favorite things to collect is vintage Vera Neumann scarves, I try to find them in every thrift store and flea market I go into, but the one thing I've never found found is one of her classic linen tea towel calendars.  So this year, I decided that I needed to design a Satsuma Street calendar and have it printed on fabric and stitched into a tea towel, just like the vintage Vera ones I covet!

I really enjoyed designing this calendar, and building the little cityscape around each month in my colorful, Mary Blair and Small World inspired style!

In a Vera inspired touch, I added a little signature to the bottom corner of the towel with a little satsuma orange.  I guess that's becoming my trademark!

I've decided to make these tea towel calendars a limited edition, so I'm only making 100 of them.  They're already selling pretty fast, so if you want one, get yours now!  You can find them in my etsy shop here.

coming soon...

Though the weather is still in the 90's here in Los Angeles and we haven't even started carving pumpkins yet, I'm busy working on Christmas patterns for Satsuma Street! I've been wanting to do a set of cross stitched ornaments for a while now, so these little cuties will be part of a set of six, and I'm really enjoying how they're turning out! They stitch up so fast, you'll be able to make several in a weekend. A set to give away, and one to keep! Look for them in the shop in a couple of weeks!

Satsuma on the Radio!

I was profiled this weekend on the NPR show Marketplace Weekend as an example of "the new normal"… how people are making money in this economy in new and different ways. Though it might seem strange, the internet is actually making it easier for some handmade artisans to make a living selling their work. Platforms like Etsy have made it really simple to connect with people all over the world who are interested in buying from small sellers like me.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to listen to the story, it's really well produced and gives a nice little glimpse into a day in my studio. You even get to meet one of my cats! And a big thank you to the lovely people at Etsy and Marketplace who put it together, I'm honored to have been featured!

Satsuma Street Giveaway!

Who doesn't love a giveaway?? I've teamed up with the super awesome craft magazine Mollie Makes to do a little end-of-summer contest and the lucky winner will get FOUR free patterns from my Etsy shop! (And that's any patterns, not just the city designs.) The contest ends September 9th, 2014…so run on over to the Satsuma Street or Mollie Makes Facebook pages to enter or…go right here!

it's never too early...

to get a little spooky! I decided to get a jump on the holidays this year, and I love Halloween so I went crazy and started stitching ghosts and black cats in the middle of summer! It's hard to find modern, sophisticated Halloween counted cross stitch designs, so I wanted to make something different and fun but still classically Halloween!

I love how the strong black and white typography sets off against the bright candy colors, and since the whites are all left unstitched it's a surprisingly fast project for how large it is.

I couldn't resist finishing it as a funky throw pillow with some crazy pom pom trim, but I also considered framing it in a gothic-style black frame for a great way to greet trick-or-treaters!

Add some punch to your Halloween this year with this crazy mixed-up colorful design, only from Satsuma Street!