Meet the Team Elite Leaders

I would like to take a moment to introduce each of our Team Leaders.  The leaders of Team Elite keep the team running, they put in many VOLUNTARY hours of work into keeping the team and blog running smooth, not to mention the endless promoting they do for the team and its members!  I would like to extend my deepest heartfelt thanks to each leader to let them know they are appreciated and valued more than words can express!

Meet the Captain Aimer Le Terre:

I have always derived a great pleasure from creating something with my hands, especially when it comes to clay. I am a self-taught artist and have been creating jewelry for over 20 years.  What started out as a hobby soon became a growing business, in 1995 I began selling my jewelry wholesale as Hippie Chic Jewelz, my designs have been featured in Tack N Togs Magazine. 

In 2011 I decided to expand my business and create a new line of jewelry, and thus Aimer Le Terre Jewelry was born. Nature plays a large role in my inspiration for both the design and detail of my jewelry creations, each piece an original creation. 

I am infatuated with handmade; there is nothing more beautiful and meaningful than wearing a handmade necklace or earrings. The whole thought of how much love and time spent on each piece is what makes handmade so desirable to me. 

I am the proud Captain of two Etsy teams, Team Elite and Christian Elite Team. I love helping other Etsians promote themselves online and I have made the most amazing and talented friends.

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Meet our Head Team Leader CreativeXpression1:

Rita's CreativeXpression1 shop contains a treasure trove of items for hearth and home that includes her inspirational book, inspirational pin back buttons and magnets, a variety of decoupaged wood crafts, handmade bead magnets, nature photography, photo button magnets, pin back buttons, custom pin back/photo buttons, and sun-catchers. Her crafts are one-of-a-kind originals; no two are identical. Wood crafts include decorative indoor birdhouses, foot stools and plaques. Bead magnets include, but are not limited to animals, hearts, stars, seasonal and sports theme magnets, etc. 

Rita’s photography collection of animals, beach/mountain landscapes, along with her vivid sunrises/sunsets capture the serene beauty of nature’s splendor from the mountains of Pennsylvania to the beaches of Florida. Photographs are available in a variety of standard photo print sizes as well as photo greeting cards, postcards, and as 2.25 inch photo button magnets or pin back buttons. All pin back buttons and button magnets are professionally hand-pressed by Rita in her home studio. She also loves to work with the customer to create and design custom orders. From May- June in 2011, Rita hand-pressed 2,500+ custom button magnets for local business owners. 

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Meet our Team Leader Michealangelas:

It all started with a parcel of gemstones...

We actually got started in the gemstone jewelry business with one 250 carat gemstone parcel. The gemstones were a lead in to our shop on etsy called Michaelangelas.

We started small, only selling to family and close friends, then quickly realizing we were on our way to a wonderful jewelry selling venue. We had the passion, dedication and love to really make a go of a serious business. We are a husband and wife team working together as one. We love that we share this passion, and we are able to bring joy to others in our genuine gemstone jewelry.

The rest is history...

Michael & Angela

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Meet Team Leader COPARAINGEAL:

My name is Julie Lockhart, and I have been sculpting and working with wire for many years. I learned some jewelry makingback in high school but only recently revisited it. It's been like rediscovering a best friend. I love what I do! I've been tweaking found objects for as long as I can remember. I remember once when I was six I made a pretty necklace out of knotted grass and flowers. I spent what felt like days on it. I also remember crying for what felt like days when it dried up and fell apart.

Since then I've been looking for the right medium for me. I've tried paint.. string.. yarn.. pencil.. silver.. and even a tattoo machine for awhile. In all of that searching I have realized a few things. I LOVE working in three demensions. I am a total rock hound! I LOVE watching metal melt, cool then eventually oxidize. I will NEVER learn to be organized. My only hope is that snipped wire doesn't land in my bottomless cup of coffee. I really do love what I do. I love looking down into my hands and seeing what was nothing moments before, to finding that I have created something both beautiful and interesting. I don't mind the rough skin or messed up fingernails. I thank God that he allows me to work. I can't wait to see how my work evolves.

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Meet Team Leader Katikamade:

My name is Kathya, but my nickname since college is Katika.I loved it since then, and now is my shop name: KATIKAmade.I am a passionate and caring Products Designer. I handmade everything you see in my shop with care and love.

I have always had the ability to see anything and find different ways to make it beautiful and useful. A dreamer at heart, I am very caring and I hope it shows in my work. I work incessantly day or night to create what you see in KATIKAmade.

Everyday is a joy to have one more day to live to do what I adore. Create. And to do it as a way of life is an even better reward.LOVE WHAT YOU DO. NO matter what it is, just do.

It is the best thing in the world to make you feel fulfilled and happy.

I was born in El Salvador but now reside in the Great Los Angeles, CA area. I worked many years in retail, putting my own dreams aside...until finally it hit me after I had my two God Giving gifts. My two amazing daughters, that even though keep me really busy during the day-I do it for them, so they can see that pursuing one's dream it should always be their life goal-I manage to squeeze time to create. I love it and they do too. I am a very detailed creative person. I design day or night. I have to write or draw my ideas as soon as they hit me, otherwise they get buried under a lot more new ones. 

My shop became active in October 2011, even though I had open my account back in 2010. I wasn't ready then.I didn't see the potential that this platform would give me. Now, a year later I am having so much fun and my own successful shop, but I want more. I want to be a brand, a name recognized for my work, originality and service. Little by little I had been growing as a designer and as brand, working my way to make this my full time job. 

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Meet Team Leader BitsOffTheBeach:

Handcrafted Jewelry to remind you of a relaxed and easy day at the beach.  

 I'm Jo, I grew up on Bainbridge Island in the Pacific Northwest and I have always loved walking the beach. From our own wild, and frequently COLD, Pacific coast and Puget Sound to the warm tropical beaches, I love them all.

I was inspired to begin creating my jewelry with all the beach glass, stone and shells I have gathered from years of countless trips to the beach, but as I went shopping for the findings to make them, I could never resist the beautiful beads I found along the way.

 So I hope you enjoy the other pieces as well. I still tend to favor natural material... stone, bone, wood, bamboo, seeds etc... but who knows what I might find out there next. I really enjoy the hunt.I was lucky enough to have grown up on the beaches of Puget Sound. 

Collecting sea shells, sea glass, drift wood and pretty rocks became second nature to me and I never outgrew my fascination with them. My jewelry is an extension of my collection. Bits and pieces of the treasures that have filled my pockets and given me hours of pleasure while walking the beaches.Both here at home and when we are lucky enough to travel to more exotic ocean shores, beautiful little bits seem to come home with me. 

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Meet Team Leader KnitterPrincess:

I'm a teacher, I love teaching...I'm married, I love my husband...

I'm a mother,I love my daughters,Kübranaz and Gamze...They are my angels...

I'm a knitter, I love knitting...

If I knit an item, this means I loved it... 

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Meet Team Leader SerendipityWorld:

A Serendipity Online Boutique, offering the largest selection of Etsy Coupon Codes to make things more affordable and enjoyable for you, your home and gifts. 

Melissa has been creating handmade products for 20+ years and has welcomed the idea of turning her passion into a work at home business. As a homeschooling Mom, Mother of three children and married to the most supportive man she has ever known, she is ecstatic to share with you her unique and affordable designs to bring positive influences into your life. While her passion has always been to help others thrive, in business and in life, she firmly believes through her passion of inspirational, motivational and positive creations, she can continue to achieve this. 

Her love of God, passion for Christmas and the joy it brings, has led her to creating A Spoonful of Christmas Website/Blog and A Serendipity World, bringing a spoonful of : All Things Positive. here on Etsy. Melissa's goal is to bring that same peace and joy you feel at Christmas and those special events, to your everyday life. This joy never has to end. The joy of Christmas and Life is meant to be felt each and everyday of our lives. She welcomes you to implore and discover this in your life, for a better, more unique you.

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Meet Team Leader AntiqueAlchemists:

Antique Alchemy is run by us Justin and Ashley, We are a husband and wife team. We collect, renew, rejuvenate, share and enjoy antiques and collectables of all types.We love anything with age, character and definitely a story! We have both collected since we were young kids.

It has now turned into out full time job and passion. The hunt, the research, the connections are all so amazing and fun!  It has been very rewarding and a lot of fun!

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Meet Team Leader DeeDeeDeesigns:

My history as a visual artist is twelve years long... and includes international exhibitions, international residencies, international collections and publications. I also hold graduate and post graduate degrees in visual arts. During this time clay has always been my medium of choice, with found objects being a close second. This is because, for me, clay is so organic, textural and sensual... and found objects whether natural or human made fit so well sculpturally with this organic nature - either as a complimentary feature or as a contrast.

 I have developed a range of unique and modern handmade tableware and jewellery for my Etsy shop. The tableware is inspired by wabi sabi: the calm and tranquillity of a Japanese/Asian aesthetic. I have travelled widely through Asia - Japan, Vietnam and South Korea - and love the ceramics and associated lifestyle aesthetic that accompanies the ceramic object - ceramics is a lifestyle.

Jewellery wise, I have always been a huge 'wearer' of jewellery all my life, so to turn to designing it is no big leap!!

I plan to continue developing unique ceramic objects to add to the store, such as bookmarks, keyrings and wine charms. 

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Meet Team Leader AlegriaCollection:

I was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and moved to the US with my parents and siblings more than 40 years ago--has it really been that long? Because of the time I spent in Uruguay, I love everything vintage and different. I guess the saying "absence/distance makes the heart grow fonder" must be true. Distance and time have given me a new appreciation for all things old, so-called vintage, things that speak of the people who used them and of the times they (including myself) lived in. Back then, I thought what we had around our house and in my grandparents' house was old and undesirable. I wanted "new" things, "modern" things. What I wouldn't give now to have my grandmother's brocade-covered chairs, her marble-topped Louis-something dressing table, her clawfoot tub. That's why I gravitate towards everything old, be it furniture, clothing, jewelry, shoes, everyday objects. A perfect day today is rummaging through junk shops and garage sales, or being the winning bidder at auction for something everyone else overlooked. So that's the "why I love vintage" part of my story.

As to why I want to create, it's in my genes--like the commercial, "I was born with it." My ancestors had lived in Europe for centuries, but starting with my great-grandparents on my father's side and my grandparents on my mother's side, we have become a family of gypsies. Since then, members of my immediate family have been born in more than a dozen different countries in Europe and the Americas--and we are not a big family! That diversity and the interests and talents of my ancestors, have made it impossible for me not to have a desire to create. But there is one problem. My interests are many (and I mean many) and focusing on a single craft has been difficult. Oh, and there's that little problem called my day job that interferes with the creative process. But I'm starting to become more focused and Etsy has not only provided a perfect venue, but also inspiration. All of you creative people out there are finding the time to live out your passion--even those of you with small children AND a day job! So thank you, Etsians, for giving me that little nudge I needed. 

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Meet Team Leader 2fillesdunord:

My inspiration stems from my romantic love of vintage, my funky sense of humor and my undying devotion to fashion and being a bombshell, infused, more often than not, with nature and remnants of my early life growing up near the forest.

As my good friend Lynne also makes jewelry, we started this shop as a joint effort. The name of our shop is the french version of "2 Northern girls", having both grown up in Northern Ontario.

Now, Lynne is a very busy momma but I've kept the name as "2" to honor her friendship and encouragement. She's the one who gave me that boost of confidence to put myself and my creations out into the world!

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Meet Team Leader BlueButtonStudio:

I am Lisa Gardner and I own BlueButton Studio. I am based in Worcester in the United Kingdom.

I have always loved art and design, and have been drawing and painting from an early age. In the last eight years, while working full time as a graphic designer, I have been surrounded by many creative influences, allowing me to develop a unique style of illustration, using bright colours to depict well known places, landmarks and well known and commonly used items and objects.

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Meet Team Leader SassaLynne

I've been seriously involved in textiles for about 20 years and have been dyeing for almost that length of time. The dyed items featured here are from our Serendipity range. Serendipity means 'the result of a happy accident', and these items from random dye pots are so very special and individual. Cotton and Viscose items are dyed using a combination of Fibre Reactive Dyes. Procion dyes are one member of this family, but I use other types too. All are colourfast and are disposed of in a caring manner with a keen eye on the environment. Silk and wool are dyed using acid dyes. 

You can also catch me at paperpatches.etsy.com, and at various other places on the internet. I occasionally appear on TV demonstrating the Embellisher and other machines, about which I have written a book and made 2 DVDs.