Featured Artist. Lauren Kelley of The Big Green Giraffe

I’m so happy to share with you the designs of Lauren Kelley, of The Big GreenGiraffe on Etsy. Lauren is one of Bumbershoot Supplies’ neighbors, being located just down the road from Seattle in lovely Puyallup, Washington.

Lauren’s designs and her shop presentation have a rain-washed fresh and clean look and feel, a look that beautifully showcases the vintage materials from which she derives her inspiration.

Lauren says: “Using recycled and vintage materials is really important to me. It means what you find in my shop is unique and special, and the process by which it was created wasn't wasteful… Being a responsible caretaker of our world while I create things for you to love and enjoy is very important to me.”

In addition to sharing Lauren’s lovely designs, I want to share her story of how her Etsy shop began.

In Lauren’s words: “For quite a while I have had this desire in my heart to start an Etsy shop, but simply hadn't found the gusto yet. I walked into a coffee shop one fateful Sunday in March in Chicago where my husband and I were visiting, ordered my coffee, and slipped it into my coffee sleeve that I made that I always keep in my purse. A girl behind the counter commented on how much she loved that I had my own sleeve, and I told her that I make them.

She asks, Do you have an Etsy shop? No, I say, but I should, shouldn't I? Yes, she says, and hands me cash and her card and becomes my first sale and overall encouragement to begin my Etsy adventure.”

Inspiring, yes?  I hope you will enjoy a visit to The Big Green Giraffe to enjoy Lauren’s designs and perhaps you will find a little something, as Lauren says “…to make you smile…to make you happy. That’s what I love.”