Getting There… a few peeks around the new studio


© Robyn Hood Black

Greetings! I’ve been out of touch but busy, what with moving across the state and all. My new studio is slowly coming together, and I do love it. I will share a proper tour and pictures soon. In the meantime, here are a couple of clean-slate/new space/before-I-moved-in pics, and several pics of some fast-filling nooks, crannies, and curiosities. Enjoy!

What am I NOT showing you? Um, the remaining boxes and all the little pieces-parts that I’m still walking around and organizing. It seems I’ve accumulated quite the collection of vintage and art supply ‘treasures’ in the past ten years…. (Insert shoulder shrug emoji here.)  

More soon! :0)


© Robyn Hood Black

© Robyn Hood Black

© Robyn Hood Black

© Robyn Hood Black

© Robyn Hood Black

Thanks for popping in!

A Little Lunar New Year Fun with William Blake…


Happy Year of the Tiger! Or, Tyger, as it were…

I like to participate in the New Year Poem Postcard Project spearheaded by Jone Rush MacCulloch, one of my dear poetry friends. Several of us Poetry Friday folks, or poetry minded folks, swap postcards in the mail to jumpstart the year. These are usually lovely and inspiring. I got a wild hair this year and decided to toss in a chuckle, with this play on “The Tyger” by William Blake (1757 – 1827):
©

Poet Poet, burning bright

In the blue computer light

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful syntax-y?

Did he who made Iambs make thee?

©Robyn Hood Black, after, and with apologies to, William Blake

I sketched the tiger in pen and ink, but filled in the fur with snippets from
Blake’s draft of “The Tyger” from one of his notebooks  (copied from a reproduction in Peter Ackroyd’s book, BLAKE).  Lucky for me, there were lots of heavy black scratch-outs!

To see the poetry postcards I received and for links to and about Blake’s poem, click here for my author blog post.

Wishing you a wild and poetic 2022!

It’s HEARTSYLETTERS Time! (Scroll down for newest “additions”!)

Greetings, Friends! It’s almost Valentine’s Day… I’m busy in the studio conjuring up gifts for the letter-lovers in your life. (Or for yourself!) We can use as much love as we can get these days, right?
Scroll down below this post for the most recent additions.

My physical shop remains closed to the public (except by appointment) until we’re a bit further along the pandemic road, but my Etsy Shop is open 24/7. I’ll be posting lots of heart/love-themed items on Instagram for the next month; feel free to follow along here. And, Thank You! (I DO love my customers and supporters!)

First up: These fun, funky chokers made from 1950s and 1980s ingredients – for those with “questionable” taste, perhaps? :0)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/942628667/vintage-brass-question-mark-heart?ref=shop_home_active_1

This Week’s Webinar: Your Etsy Shop on Social Media

Etsy Shop Owners! Need some Social Time? Check out Robyn’s THIRD Etsy U Webinar coming up this Wednesday – also featuring Mary Thibault of Thibault Gallery. Introverts welcome!

Your Etsy Shop on Social Media

September 30, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter… How do we keep up?  We’ll look at some of the main channels in the Social Media world and how they can help connect your shop with potential customers.  Then we’ll offer tips on choosing the right one(s) for you. Learn how to share photos, videos and stories, and how to make a plan for your shop’s social engagement that won’t overtake the rest of your life!

Register for the Social Media Workshop here.

Note:  Etsy U workshop participants will receive a “check in” link to provide an email address and the name of their Etsy shop. That’s actually how I’ll get credit for teaching the classes! Etsy states that it will not share personal information with unrelated third parties for marketing purposes.

Etsy Search Workshop Coming Right Up!


How do you get found on Etsy? And what does Google have to do with it? Join me THIS Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020 for an online Zoom webinar exploring all things Search! Co-hosted with Mary Thibault and ‘broadcast’ from Thibault Gallery. I’ll be sharing slides from Etsy as part of the Etsy U program. Details below!

Getting Found on Etsy – How Search Works

September 23, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

You’ve got wonderful products, great photographs, and you’re all set with pretty packaging and shipping tape… but how do potential customers find your shop?  It’s all about SEO – Search Engine Optimization. We’ll delve into the workings of Etsy search, from keywords to conversion rates, exploring ways to optimize your shop listings to help match them with potential buyers.  As a bonus, we’ll talk some Google, too.

Register for the Search Workshop here.

And, could your Etsy shop use some Social Media savvy? Read on:

Your Etsy Shop on Social Media

September 30, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter… How do we keep up?  We’ll look at some of the main channels in the Social Media world and how they can help connect your shop with potential customers.  Then we’ll offer tips on choosing the right one(s) for you. Learn how to share photos, videos and stories, and how to make a plan for your shop’s social engagement that won’t overtake the rest of your life!

Register for the Social Media Workshop here.

Note:  Etsy U workshop participants will receive a “check in” link to provide an email address and the name of their Etsy shop. That’s actually how I’ll get credit for teaching the classes! Etsy states that it will not share personal information with unrelated third parties for marketing purposes. (I have completed trainings this year as an Etsy U instructor, but I am not an employee of or representative of Etsy. )

ETSY U Workshops – Series of Three – with Me! :0)

I’ve received training this year to be an Etsy U instructor. And now I’m ready to share what I’ve learned! I’m offering three workshops this month on Zoom, all online and to be recorded in the lovely Thibault Gallery (a couple doors down from my own studio) in downtown Beaufort. Mary Thibault and I are hoping to offer in-person workshops, too, but for now, all Etsy workshops are online. Read on for details, and feel free to email me with any questions. Space is limited. (robyn@artsyletters.com)

Just in time for your holiday prep! Here’s the scoop:

New to the world of selling on Etsy, or would you just like to spruce up your skills? Whether you are an entrepreneurial Etsy maker, a vendor of vintage treasures, or a curator of craft supplies, these tips from Etsy can help you grow your business.

Join Robyn Hood Black of artsyletters® for some “Etsy U” tips in this September webinar series!  We’ll be coming to you from the lovely Thibault Gallery in Beaufort, SC, where artist and Etsy shop owner Mary Thibault will keep our 90-minute meetings humming with Southern hospitality.   

On Etsy since 2012, Robyn completed trainings this year to become an Etsy U instructor. You’ll benefit from content that comes straight from Etsy, as well as personal experience from Robyn (& Mary). Participants will have access to the slides after each session –a great resource in itself.

Sign up for one, two, or all three webinars. (We plan to record these and make them available for a limited time period following the classes, technology willing.)

Etsy Shop Branding Basics & Beyond

September 16, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost: $15

What promise does your brand make to your customers?

We’ll help you discover or fine-tune that, and then we’ll explore how your shop’s images, messaging, packaging, customer service and more help you keep that promise.  A great introductory workshop and also helpful for those who have been around the Etsy block a few times!

Register for the Branding Workshop here.

Getting Found on Etsy – How Search Works

September 23, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

You’ve got wonderful products, great photographs, and you’re all set with pretty packaging and shipping tape… but how do potential customers find your shop?  It’s all about SEO – Search Engine Optimization. We’ll delve into the workings of Etsy search, from keywords to conversion rates, exploring ways to optimize your shop listings to help match them with potential buyers.  As a bonus, we’ll talk some Google, too.

Register for the Search Workshop here.

Your Etsy Shop on Social Media

September 30, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter… How do we keep up?  We’ll look at some of the main channels in the Social Media world and how they can help connect your shop with potential customers.  Then we’ll offer tips on choosing the right one(s) for you. Learn how to share photos, videos and stories, and how to make a plan for your shop’s social engagement that won’t overtake the rest of your life!

Register for the Social Media Workshop here.

Note:  Etsy U workshop participants will receive a “check in” link to provide an email address and the name of their Etsy shop. That’s actually how I’ll get credit for teaching the classes! Etsy states that it will not share personal information with unrelated third parties for marketing purposes.

*wee* Summer Break & Found Poem Collage Video


Click here for my how-to video on YouTube!

Greetings, Art Lovers! TWO Things:

1.) Last week, I was delighted to be a guest presenter for young creatives at Camp Conroy, sponsored by the Pat Conroy Literary Center. It was my first time doing a craft workshop VIRTUALLY. We made found poem collages, like the sample I’m holding above. If you need a fun literary art project this summer, feel free to click the link under the picture and you can enjoy a mini tour of my studio, and the lesson I made for the campers, start to finish! :0)

2.) My Etsy shop will closed for a little summer break June 26 – July 2. If you send me a message through Etsy, I’ll try to respond in a timely-ish manner! (My physical studio is still closed for the time being.)

Here’s to good books, good poems, and soul-nourishing art. Stay safe and well, and see you soon!