Pictures, Pens, Pencils and Trinkets
Mary Stoots “Stootsy” started the shop in November 2012 after she had accumulated enough artwork to require a sales venue. Her brother already had an extensive inventory of pens and pencils, so they decided to collaborate their efforts and ‘Designs By Stootsy’ took on a partner.
Mary lives in central Ohio, and Tom lives in Ocklawaha, Florida. The Wood Turner inventory was shipped to Ohio in December 2012 and continues to make its way North as Mary is the warehouse and inventory control specialist. She handles all of the financial, marketing, and website communications as well so Tom can remain free to create his masterpieces in the workshop. When time allows, Mary manages to make a few masterpieces of her own.
Through the magic of technology, Tom & Mary rarely have any issues even though they live 1,000 miles apart. They ‘Skype’ daily, and email frequently. In fact, the Etsy partnership has brought them closer together.
Mary began making 3D paper sculptures after she left a 37-year career in finance and marketing in 2011. She started with paper tole kits and eventually decided she could make pictures from photos on her own without the use of a kit. After experimenting with different weights of paper, she found one type that worked for her and proceeded to develop a unique matting method she could call her own utilizing the actual photo within the matte.
The Buckeye jewelry was widely popular at Mary’s workplace, so she has continued to string scarlet and gray beads for the Etsy shop as well. So many customers have inquired about the buckeye beads that they are now sold separately on the website!
Our Dad started making pens before Tom did. He introduced the craft to Tom, so Tom bought a mini-lathe! The lathe arrived with quite a selection of starter kits, and “Wood” Turner was born! Tom makes all kinds of pens, pencils, letter openers, fan/light pulls, keychains, seam rippers, etc. but he is uniquely talented when it comes to pen inlay projects. His inlays are truly spectacular.
Christmas 2013 was our first holiday season with a robust inventory on hand, and we did very well on Etsy. It’s a fantastic website for handmade products, and we plan to stay as long as they’ll have us!
Mary lives in central Ohio, and Tom lives in Ocklawaha, Florida. The Wood Turner inventory was shipped to Ohio in December 2012 and continues to make its way North as Mary is the warehouse and inventory control specialist. She handles all of the financial, marketing, and website communications as well so Tom can remain free to create his masterpieces in the workshop. When time allows, Mary manages to make a few masterpieces of her own.
Through the magic of technology, Tom & Mary rarely have any issues even though they live 1,000 miles apart. They ‘Skype’ daily, and email frequently. In fact, the Etsy partnership has brought them closer together.
Mary began making 3D paper sculptures after she left a 37-year career in finance and marketing in 2011. She started with paper tole kits and eventually decided she could make pictures from photos on her own without the use of a kit. After experimenting with different weights of paper, she found one type that worked for her and proceeded to develop a unique matting method she could call her own utilizing the actual photo within the matte.
The Buckeye jewelry was widely popular at Mary’s workplace, so she has continued to string scarlet and gray beads for the Etsy shop as well. So many customers have inquired about the buckeye beads that they are now sold separately on the website!
Our Dad started making pens before Tom did. He introduced the craft to Tom, so Tom bought a mini-lathe! The lathe arrived with quite a selection of starter kits, and “Wood” Turner was born! Tom makes all kinds of pens, pencils, letter openers, fan/light pulls, keychains, seam rippers, etc. but he is uniquely talented when it comes to pen inlay projects. His inlays are truly spectacular.
Christmas 2013 was our first holiday season with a robust inventory on hand, and we did very well on Etsy. It’s a fantastic website for handmade products, and we plan to stay as long as they’ll have us!