Fox 13 Etsy Feature Focuses on My Shops

I was fortunate to be featured on Utah's Fox news in a story about Etsy. Max Roth and a cameraman came to my studio and spent two hours interviewing and filming me, eventually paring it down to two 3 and 1/2 minute bits. I was happy with the positive spin and that the more embarrassing things I said didn't make the cut. You can see both segments here:

http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-etsy-experiment,0,5506194.story

ScatterbrainTees.com

After much deliberation I have decided on a winner for the URL contest. The chosen URL for my T-shirts is ScatterbrainTees.com. There were some really good suggestions, a few of which beat out the winner when shared with select friends and family. But ultimately I had to choose the one that sat the best with me. Funny thing is, the person who submitted this one is... myself. Um, isn't this like one of those parables where a seeker of knowledge ends up back home at the fulfillment of his quest, or finds his answer in a mirror? Um, let me get back to you on that one.


But, as promised, there are still some prize winners. I mentioned in the rules that if I chose one of my own ideas (and no, I didn't KNOW that I would) that I would still draw three runners-up to win one free shirt each. And so I did. Congratulations to Gabi, Beth and Nate & Dani, who have all been notified by email.

Now, if anyone read my new year's resolution post about being a "reformed blogger", you'll know I've already broken it. But so you know, I did spend a good deal of my non-blogging time creating the ScatterbrainTees website. I hope that's a pretty good excuse.

PhippsArt $100 T-Shirt Giveaway

It's fun to give stuff away. When I grow up I wanna' be a philanthropist!

But for now I am giving away $100 worth of shirts to one winner, and one shirt to a runner up. Whoever can help me come up with a PERFECT URL will be given $100 worth of T-Shirts! To encourage more people to enter, two randomly chosen entrants will also be given a free shirt.

Here's what this is about: I'm already selling my shirts online within Etsy and Artfire, but it's time to start my own URL as a place to sell my shirts. Initially it will point people to those shops, but at some point it will be a store in and of itself.

My problem (and this is where you come in) is that I can't decide on a name! My first thought was that it should have a name relating to wearing art: wear art, wearable art, yada yada. All the best URLs along those lines are taken. So now I'm trying to just think of something off the wall- something creative and bizarre. Example: prostheticbraintees.com (That one's a little long).

Here are the details:

1) TO ENTER:

-Please send your entry to:

contest [type the @ symbol with no spaces] michaelphipps.net

-Leave a comment to this post (if you want) but please don't post your URL ideas here!

2) Deadline: The sooner the better! The contest ends when I have decided on a URL. At that point the runner-up prizes will also be chosen. If I think of the URL on my own, I will draw 3 total names for runner-up prizes (one free shirt each) from the entries (must be at least 20 entries). I want to have this URL chosen ASAP, so expect this to be a short contest!

3) PLEASE check to see if your suggestion is taken before submitting it. Simply typing it into your browser does not necessarily tell you! Go to register4less.com (or somewhere similar) and type it in. You can do several at one time. I am only interested in URLs that end in .com

4) Extra stuff: You can suggest multiple ideas (which will increase your chances of winning the main prize) but will only have one entry for the random runner-up prizes. I reserve the right to reject entries that seem like you're "not even trying" and not even include them in the runner-up drawing. Example: ihopeiwinyourstupidcontest.com

Winners may choose any shirts as available on http://phippsart.etsy.com
The grand prize winner will get FOUR total shirts, whether the total (including shipping) is above or below $100.

4) Hints: Here is some more information on what I'm really looking for:

The name should DEFINITELY be catchy, easy to spell, memorable, creative, and unoffensive.

It would be NICE if it is also short.

It can end in "tees" , "tshirts", "garb", "wear" etc. but doesn't have to!

One of the most popular t-shirt sites on the net is www.threadless.com - I'd love to have something that simple and creative. Remember also that it can be REALLY off the wall! quixoticcabbage.com? Sure!

Good luck!

Radio Interview

I'll be interviewed today on BlockTalkRadio about my art, screen printed shirts and about the Handmade Movement. It airs at 9:00pm EST on www.blogtalkradio.com/blockheadrod

Tune in and hear me fumble through my first ever radio interview! Expect long, awkward delays, constant searching for every-day words, incoherent and irrelevant answers, and sorry attempts at humor. What could be more fun?

Bye Bye Birdie

I started a thread on Etsy asking for help in naming my new shirt (seen above in one of its four styles). Kind of by default I simply called it "SNIP". When I changed it to one of the names below, a bunch of people told me I should have left it! So...I changed it back. Nevertheless, here are all the suggestions. Which one do you like?

My notes are in red...

no strings attached
down to the wire
Severed connections
dont fly with scissors!
Snip... let the birds do the flying
cut-the-wire....
end-communication....
Cut it out
chirpy-chirpy-snip-snip (Goofy but I like it!)
Cut to the Chase
bye bye birdy (Hee hee)
Off Line
very cool shirt btw (It WAS suggested, albeit jokingly)
Lorena Bobbitt shirt (Had to look this up. Oh yeah, HER. Next...)
nsa = no strings attached
cut above the rest
Evangelin shirt
Quick! My Mother-in-law is Calling!
Dropped Call
Cut Loose
Flying Without a Wire
Call Screening.
Fly away Peter, fly away Paul.......
It's time to cut the strings!
Sproing (Another favorite of my own because this shirt really is about what is GOING to happen)
going wireless
like birds with wifi...
breaking habits
The Birds.. The Scene They Didn't Show You
Live Wire