Spotlight: girls can tell

"I like putting things out there that make people smile. The world needs more useful, interesting stuff, and less boring, poorly designed crap."

Those are the words of the fabulous Sara Selepouchin of girls can tell, and they couldn't be more true. Sara uses her architectural drafting background to draw diagrammatic illustrations, which she then prints onto useful things like tea towels, lunch bags and coasters. Simple as that. And I guarantee, they will make you smile.

Read on to learn more about how Sara got her start, what her guilty pleasures are what she wants to learn next. You can also enter to win a pack of her floursack towels!

Where are you from originally and where do you currently call home?

I currently live in Philadelphia, and unlike the cast of the terrible mtv show, I grew up on the Jersey shore.

How long have you been selling on Etsy?

Almost five years! eek!

Do you sell your art full time or do you have a day job?

Selling my line of work is my full time day job.

What, if any, formal training have you had in the arts?

I have a degree in Architecture from the University of Virginia. It's not an arts degree, but it definitely has a strong relationship to what I do now.

What made you decide to open up shop on Etsy?

I was wasting time while working for an architecture firm and found Etsy when it was still super new. And became pretty much obsessed.

How did you come up with your shop name?

It's just the name of the album I listen to most often when printing.

What do you like least about your craft?

Oh gosh, this is a hard one. I find it really hard to strike the balance between making + selling. Not to sound whiny, as I'm grateful that I'm able to do what I do full time but it's a really, really hard way to make a living.

Do you have any advice for other sellers or those thinking about pursuing their craft?

If you're not willing to come up with your own product designs and create something that really stands out and is recognizable, you're sunk.

Five Etsy Shops you love

Off the top of my head? This is hard, but:

verreencore

pinkbathtub

strawberryluna

circaceramics

giantdwarf

Where is the coolest place you have ever been?

I ran a marathon in Alaska in 2005. That was pretty incredible.

What is your favorite leisure time activity?

I love craft beer. I love the community around craft beer, I love the beer itself, and I love trying new types of beer. So good. My favorite leisure activity would have to be any type of craft beer festival.

Share some of your guilty pleasures
Taking a full day off and actually staying off the internet + not checking my email for a full 24 (or at least 12) hours. It's rare, but it feels really good when I'm able to actually do it.

What is the strangest thing that has ever happened to you?

It still amazes me when people I meet in real life tell me they've read my blog. That blows my mind.

Share some of your favorite music

I named my business after a Spoon album, so I suppose you could say I'm a Spoon fan. ;)

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play you?

I'm not sure why, but it'd be fun to see Elizabeth Moss play me in a movie.

What would you like to learn?

I'm a self taught screenprinter, so I'd love to actually learn the "real" way to screenprint. And I would love to take an accounting class (I probably actually will do this in the spring). I'd also love to learn to speak another language fluently (Russian would be awesome!)

What does the future hold for you and your shop?
I can't give away all my secrets! I can say that my business is definitely bursting at the seams, so I'm currently looking to bring in some interns to help with some of the workload. Hopefully then I can make sure things keep moving forward instead of doing all the folding + tying + day to day time consuming stuff myself. I'm daydreaming of a new line to introduce in 2011 (not just diagrams!) and will probably also take on more custom work for events (think girls can tell weddings!)

You can keep up with Sara and her work by visiting her website, girlscantell.com.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Sara is offering one lucky winner a four pack of floursack towels.

HERE'S HOW TO ENTER:
Please leave a comment on this post with your favorite item from girls can tell along with what new subject matter you would like to see a diagram of.

You may enter once per day with another item you love or another diagram idea.

YOU MUST INCLUDE your first name -AND- etsy username or email address with every entry. (If you are worried about email spam, you can spell out the 'at' and 'dot' rather than using the standard email format.)

Receive additional entries (one each) if you:

Follow or subscribe to this blog, my Twitter or my Facebook

Follow girls can tell on Twitter or Facebook

(You DO NOT need to leave separate comments for each additional entry, just mention which apply)

You have until Sunday, November 14 at 10 pm (est) to enter and I will announce the winner Monday morning. Good luck and thanks for visiting!