Five Questions: Etsy Shop Palimpsestic

Last week, we started a new series called Five Questions where we invite our favorite shops on Etsy to answer - you guessed it - 5 questions!  When you meet someone for the first time at a party, you exchange names as you shake hands and then you most probably start asking questions, "So, do you live in the area?", "Have you known Tim + Gina long?"  (Tim + Gina, they're hosting the party - just in case you were wondering)   It's a natural response to want to get to know people better + asking questions is the vehicle of choice!

Etsy is an international community and we'll probably never get to meet these amazing shop owners in real life.  But through asking them just 5 questions, you start to get a glimpse into their lives + you feel more connected.  Jenn of Etsy shop Palimpsestic is featured today in our Five Questions series + we're so excited to have her here with us.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee, get cozy + we hope you enjoy learning about Jenn!


1. Why did you open an Etsy Shop?
 I started out just doing collage art for myself, my friends, and my family. Two people in particular--my mother-in-law and a another close friend--kept insisting I should try to sell my work. They both have my art framed in their houses and, since they also both have great taste, I figured I could trust their judgment. Plus, I was never really happy in my corporate jobs and the idea of living a creative, "making" life always appealed to me.


2. What do you think makes your product unique?
When I go shopping for old books and ephemera to use in my art, I always look for pieces that have been thoroughly and obviously adored. Nothing makes me happier than finding a book with a tattered binding and scrawls in every margin. i like to think that all that love still lives in the things I make and is only added to by the new owners.


3. Describe your studio/creative space.
I live in a little Colorado town surrounded by open plains, rolling bluffs and, of course, the Rocky Mountains to the west. My office sits behind a pair of french doors at the very front of our faux Victorian house, with an apple tree out one window and a lilac bush out the other. The wall behind me is completely covered by a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. 


4. What are your goals for your Etsy shop in 2012?
I'd like to start selling prints of my collage art and I have some exciting plans for my Unblockers writer dice. In general, I'd like to cement Palimpsestic's image as a place to find beautiful things for people who love words.


5. What does a day away from the studio look like?
Two weekends a month, I sit down with my husband, my friends, and my ten-year-old son to play board games and Dungeons & Dragons. The off-weekends bring constant family adventures. We love to camp and hike in the mountains, to go to Denver museums, and to attend local arts events. I also always have a book within arm's reach and am perfectly happy to curl up and read a Sunday afternoon away.