Featured Seller Friday

Hello blog readers,

Welcome to the first "Featured Seller Friday," where I get to feature one of the talented Etsians that has made it to my Treasury on Tuesdays. Today I chose AnnWilkinson, the photographer who took this gorgeous picture that reminded me of Napa:

Not only did she remind me of Napa, I couldn't help but noticing she was from Jersey. As much as I am a reincarnated Cali girl, my Jersey "spiritedness" has never quite left me, so I was drawn to hearing her story.

Here is her website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AnnWilkinson and here is her story:

What is your life story?

I'm from the Midwest originally, and migrated East as I grew up. I feel like I'm "from" New Jersey. I lived in Hong Kong for a couple of years, too, and then went back to NJ near Philadelphia and then moved to Park City, Utah, for 12 years. It's great to be back on the East Coast again. I've got a terrific husband, two daughters and two orange cats. In addition to being a photographer, I'm in the international shipping business, which pays my bills...

When did you start turning your photography from a hobby to a business?

I started taking pictures when I was a teenager and then off and on again while my kids were little and I was starting my career. My husband and I owned a transportation company, and we sold it in 2006. One of the terms of the sale was to stay out of the transport business for three years, and I wanted to do something completely different and start exploring my creative side. Since I can't draw, I started taking photographs in earnest -- both portraiture and fine-art.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

My inspiration comes from lots of places -- I kind of see things from a camera's point of view, and I love to go to museums and just walk city streets and hike anywhere I can. Paintings, collages, grafitti, street art and good graphic design really excites me. I also love to look at other photographer's work; I don't copy, I just love to fill my eyes and brain with inspiring people's work.

How did you find Etsy and when did you decide to open your shop?

I found Etsy three years ago, and it took me about two minutes to decide that was where I was going to launch my fine-art photography business. I love Etsy from the bottom of my heart.

How would you describe your style?

I don't know how to describe my style. Sometimes I think it's still in the formulation stages. When I take portraits, I like to think I make people feel comfortable enough to open themselves up to my inquiring camera. With fine-art photos, I hope I show the viewer some tiny little thing they may have overlooked. Maybe someone could look at one of my photos and notice more about their world around them. That would make me very happy.

What is one thing about your creative process that people don't know?

Something about my creative process that I'm embarrassed to admit is I'm very messy and disorganized behind the scenes. Only I know where and how my images are filed on my computer, my paper file cabinets are completely snaggled, and behind closed cabinet doors lie things waiting to fall on the unsuspecting who dare open them. It's really a little sad.

How does life affect your photography and photography affect your life?

That's a very compelling question: I travel with my camera, and it has shaped many of my trips; my husband and I spent two months in Panama, and I spent most of my time out and about with my camera. My eyes are always composing a shot. When I think of how my life affects my photography, I guess I come back to travel. Starting when I was young, I took a leap of faith and gave up some good concrete things to spend my time exploring other parts of the world. It paid off for me in such great ways, and I'll always be grateful for making the decision, even when it felt scary at the time. I love people, and I truly feel people are good. Sometimes, people are scared or tired or angry and they react in ways that are hurtful. I'd like to think my love of humanity comes through in my photographs. Thank you for interviewing me. It was really fun to spend some time thinking about all this. Kind of puts things back into a good perspective.