Featured Seller: kirevi8

Ok, I told you that would be get back into the swing of doing a featured seller series. I searched through the time machine to look for some awesome pieces and guess who I found.....

kirevi8

Take a look at anything in her shop and her talent and uniqueness emanate from every piece she has in there!

Take this piece for example - new joy of anatolian woman.
This was the one that REALLY caught my attention when I was scrolling through the hundreds of images in the time machine. I couldn't take my eyes off of it and I knew I had to see more. Once I was in her shop I wanted to meet the woman and creator of such wonderful pieces of wearable art.


Tell us about yourself. Who is the person behind kirevi8?
**************************************************
My name is Semra Ascioglu and living in Istanbul -Turkey with my family and my 9 years old cooker, KUKI.
I studied Journalism and public relations. My section was Radio -TV

Despite of different jobs, my hobby followed me since my young ages up to now.
I have been always happy to learn and practice all kinds of handmade arts, work with my hands and always been told that my designs were original and very stylish.
I started my own line with bali style and modern jewelry and specialised in authentique anatolian jewelry.
In other words I want to bring the old ethnique traditions to our modern life.
In my designs I like to use exotic colored beads, crystal, hand stitched flowers, ethnic symbols as oya flower, ceramic and glass beads, leaves, coins, leather, knitting pieces and combine them with modern materials.

Every piece is unique and each jewellery has its own story in Anatolia which makes sense to me.

I have to agree with her here. Look at this piece! There is so much variety in the materials and colors, it's easy to see how anyone could combine the old and new into any outfit.

What inspires your pieces? They are all so unique and very creative!
**************************************************************
I like very much to visit art museums in Istanbul.
Specially I prefer Turkish Islamic Arts Museum and Ethnography Museum where I can find old Anatolian and Turkish traditional accessories, dresses, life style.
I follow all Turkish and Foreign publications, reviews concerning traditional Turkish arts.


Because the ocean is one of my favorite places, I couldn't help but fall in love with the fantastic sea shell necklace! I love the variety of shells used and how they all look so elegant together.


How did you get into crafting in the first place, and what motivates you to keep doing it?
********************************
I really do not know how or when I started to get into crafting.
I started to make different kind of handwork since my very very young ages, lets say when I was 4-5 years old. First I learned how to knit, then comes stitching, then decorating flowers, patchwork, glass painting, painting, one stroke, wood painting, stitching, etc.
It is a lifestyle for me to make or to work on handmade arts. I love to do it and always I try to progress in my works.

This piece is absolutely stunning! This is an oya Turkish lacework necklace. The delicacy of this necklace, to me, makes it absolutely beautiful and so feminine. The colors in it are so rich and wonderful. Awesome work!

What do you have planned for the future of your etsy shop, or any plans with your crafting business?
*************************************************************
I am planning to list more and more oya turkish lacework flowers. They are so beautiful and all they have their own story. I want to share all my knowledge with my customers. Also I will add new textile designs to my shop. I want to open an other shop for supplies and accessories. I guess I will do it at the beginning of next season.



Is there anything else that you would like the readers to know about you?
***********************************
I can tell this - that I faced a lot of difficulty when I started this business professionally. I was off from work for 20 years. I did not know how to use PC, programs, how to make photos, resize them,... what does it mean to give a link?? what is to open a shop in web... etc etc..
It was really very very difficult and hard for me to learn it. But I never gave up. I begged my sons to teach me all about PC. They were very helpful. After 5 years I know almost everything about PC. But it was really very hard and harmful process for me. Now when I look behind I am smiling and I feel very proud of myself. After 20 years I made big job.

Well, we are so glad that you learned and tried as hard as you did. You are truly an example of how hard work, persistence, and passion really pay off. The Etsy community is lucky that they have such wonderful talent to share!



Anything else that you would like to share?
***************************************
I would like to say that now I am very happy to be a member of Etsy family. I am working very very hard to improve my sales in Etsy and make myself to be well known there. But the most important point is that I met very nice friends there

To see more of kirevi8's beautiful pieces, you can visit her shop by clicking on her name at the beginning of this post, or by clicking on her etsy mini in the sidebar. Thank you so much for reading and I hope that you enjoy kirevi8's creations as much as I do.