by Elisabeth Walsh of aronawalsh
Featuring: Bonnie Bruno
Bonnie is offering you a special deal! FREE 5x7 listing (your choice of any listing) with the purchase of any 11x14 print!
Your shop name: (1) bbrunophotography (2)beadspiration
How did you get your start on Etsy?
A young mom who attends my church told me about her Etsy shop, where she marketed pinafores she sewed for little girls. I had been making beaded jewelry, so I thought it might be a good place to market my bracelets. A few weeks after opening Beadspiration, an encouraging artist on Etsy contacted me to say he had gone to my website and saw my nature photography. He wondered why I wasn’t marketing my art on Etsy. Honestly, I had never thought about it until that moment.
How did you choose your shop name?
The name for my first shop popped into my head one day as I was reading an article about someone who had put a lot of “sweat equity” into their business. Since my main profession is writing, I went immediately into brainstorm mode. Perspiration...beadspiration. Yep, that’s it! I’ll call it Beadspiration!
My second shop, and the one that is my biggest passion, was easy to name. I chose bbrunophotography as a shortcut to Bonnie Bruno Photography.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Since I’m juggling writing with photography and beading, I can’t say I have a “typical” day. Each day is different, in that I take care of the immediate business at hand. If I’m closing in on a deadline, my writing gets first dibs early in the morning right after I have my quiet time and a nice big cup of good coffee. Between contracts, I spend a few hours a week beading, and a big chunk of time processing RAW photos from my Canon. I shoot photos only in RAW format—very big high resolution files. Editing them is time-consuming, but fun. It’s the part I enjoy most, because I make decisions about formatting, such as whether to crop them into a square format, or use a more typical sizing, such as 8x10 or 12x18. Some photos lend themselves to a bit more work, such as adding a textured layer to give it an artsy feel, like I did with my Urban Rose print. Most of my photos are available in sizes up to 20x30, which is convenient for those who are looking to fill a large space.
If you could be anywhere in the world for one day, where would it be?
I’d like to spend time at a cozy log cabin near Lake Tahoe, where my parents used to take us six kids when we were young. I have wonderful memories of a wildflower-strewn meadow behind the cabin, and a hill we always hiked. A stream ran nearby, and the cabin had a wraparound porch where I loved to sit and think. I haven’t been there since I was 16, and the family friends who owned the cabin have since sold it. I often think about the fun we had there, and I can still remember the feeling I had every time we unlocked the door and stepped inside. It was my favorite place to vacation. 
What is your favorite Bible verse?
What is your favorite Bible verse?
Galatians 2:20, because it’s a reminder of who I am and Whose I am: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
What is your favorite Etsy item listing to feature?
What is your favorite Etsy item listing to feature?
“Sweet Dreams” Photomontage Print I love creating photomontages, because it involves borrowing portions of 5-7 original photos and painting them into a new image using a Wacom Intuos3 Pen Tablet. I love this type of work, and I’ve listed several photomontages in my shop.
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| Sweet Dreams Photomontage |
-URLs to where else we can find you on the internet (Facebook fan page, Twitter, your own dot.com, your blog, etc) My main website: http://bonniebruno.com
My latest children’s book: http://www.wix.com/bonniebruno/WWSS
Photoblog: http://bonniebruno.wordpress.com
Seedplanter Designs blog: http://seedplanterdesigns.blog
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/seedplanter
My latest children’s book: http://www.wix.com/
Photoblog: http://bonniebruno.wordpress.
Seedplanter Designs blog: http://seedplanterdesigns.blog
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/
Please take a minute to visit Bonnie's shop and give her some lovin'!
Comments (14)
Love your favourite verse Bonnie!
:) Deb/dspdavey
I LOVE the mixed textures in your photographs and OH the montages are amazing.
So glad to meet you!
♥♥♥
Sue
Hi Bonnie - so nice to get to know you better. Beautiful work, I would be interested in knowing what type of writing you do too. And Arona - you did a great job on this feature!
Lovely to meet you and great work!
Nice to meet you Bonnie! Love Sweet Dreams, that is really beautiful.
What a pleasure to meet you Bonnie, thnak you for sharing.
Your favorite verse is a great verse to start each day with!
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What an arrary of talents you have.
Your creations are all lovely. Nice to meet you!
Great feature Lizzie!
Anastasia
What a talented lady Bonnie is. So great to get to know you.
Thanks so much, Elisabeth for writing up the feature. Great to have you join the CAST blog team. Great job!
Nice to meet you Bonnie! Both of your shops are just lovely, but oh my! your photography is just exquisite!
very nice work!
interesting, I thought the name was from bead + inspiration.
Nice getting to know more about you and your shops.
I've never tried shooting pictures in RAW. Didn't know how to work with it, so I repect that in your work.
Roxanne
It's fun learning more about the CAST team members! Bonnie, love the photomontages! Thanks Elizabeth for this post!