Everyone please give a big welcome to our Wednesday featured artist!


-Your name: 
Deborah, but I go by Deb.    ;)

-Your shop name(s):
Two Cheeky Monkeys and Domum Vindemia

-Introduction on you: I am a scientist, jewellery and homewares designer living in Melbourne, Australia with my wonderful husband and two gorgeous little girls.  I was actually born in Singapore, but have spent most of my life here in Australia; and I have an Aussie accent to reflect that fact too, LOL.  I grew up with Christian parents and have several Christian family members and I am constantly thankful for that blessing in my life.  Like many Etsians I have met, my background is not in art or design and many of the creative techniques I know were learned from books or my mum.  While my dad was quite good at fancy styles of writing and drawing, it was my mum who instilled me with a love of crafting by teaching me to cross stitch when I was four or five years old.  As I grew older, I learned more and more crafty techniques but my favourite was jewellery making, which I taught myself from books as well as trial and error and spent a lot of my time (and pocket money) making earrings for myself and my friends and relatives.

-How did you get your start on Etsy?:
My start as an Etsy seller is a rather involved story!  I quit my day job when my youngest was born, thinking that when the time was right, I would look for a position in a different institute.  In the mean time, I returned to my love of crafting and creating to keep myself entertained and to entertain my girls as they became toddlers.  I made so many handmade cards and jewellery pieces that I started giving them away to my friends and family who encouraged me to try selling my work.  Since I couldn't find a suitable part-time job in science, I finally took this advice in mid-2009 and decided to try my hand at starting a handmade business.  Domum Vindemia was opened in early 2011 when I realised how much I loved making upcycled homewares and that I was making more than I needed or could give away!
-How did you choose your shop name?:
My jewellery store, Two Cheeky Monkeys, was named after my two little girls!  I toyed with various names when I decided to start selling my creations and my husband thought that "Two Cheeky Monkeys" was an appropriate name since it all started because of my desire to be at home with my children while they were babies.  Domum Vindemia was so named because it means "vintage home" in Latin.  I wanted a unique store name which would pique people's interest but still be relevant to what I sold instore, so I plugged a few different ideas into Google Translate (LOL) and liked the sound of Domum Vindemia the best!


-What does a typical day look like for you?: A typical day for me usually starts with the morning rush of making lunches and getting my girls to school or kindergarten on time.  If I am child free, I try and go for a run to get some exercise and then run any urgent errands before I have to pick up my youngest from kindergarten.  The rest of my day is then spent doing housework, working on my stores, entertaining my girls or being their taxi service.



-If you could be anywhere in the world for one day, where would it be?
I have been a little bit in love with Paris ever since I learned French in high school, although I would now like to travel all over Europe if possible.   :)

-What is your favorite Bible verse?
My favourite verse tends to change from time to time but I do so love 1 John 4:10 - "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
My husband really likes this verse too and the passage it is from was one of the Bible readings at our wedding.

-What is your favorite Etsy item listing to feature?
My current favourite type of listing in Two Cheeky Monkeys is the "Pride and Prejudice" brooches and rings.  I don't have enough listings in Domum Vindemia to warrant featuring any, but if I did, I would probably feature the buntings.


-URLs to where else we can find you on the internet (Facebook fan page, Twitter, your own dot.com, your blog, etc):

Madeit: http://madeit.com.au/DomumVindemia
Etsy: http://DomumVindemia.etsy.com
Madeit: http://madeit.com.au/TwoCheekyMonkeys
FB: http://facebook.com/DomumVindemia
Blog: http://twocheekymonkeysdesigns.blogspot.com
Twitter @dspdavey

Thank you so much Deborah for allowing us to feature your lovely shops! Everyone please go check them both out, she has so much delightful stuff (especially for those pride and prejudice fans like myself) and don't forget to comment to let her know you read!
And the winner of the beautiful ACEO giveaway from the last featured artist (Derek Collins) is Sheila of Sewfaithful.etsy.com!