ETSY ISOT LADIES : PEARLSQUILTEDCRAFTS

Tell us a bit about yourself:
My name is Inci Turegun. I was born in Istanbul, TURKEY. I studied business administration at university, but I always loved foreign languages, history and archaeology.

I started to correspond with a Japanese girl named Tomoko as a part of my English studies when I was still a middle school student. Through her letters, I took an enormous interest in Japan, the Japanese language and the Japanese culture and I started to learn the Japanese language from a Japanese teacher as a hobby in Istanbul. Through my private Japanese lessons, I fell in love with the country and the culture and then when I took a Japanese-speaking tour guide license, my love for Japan and the Japanese language turned into a way of life. In the mean time, I made several trips to Japan and made a lot of friends over there. I had worked as a tour guide for 10 years and then I married to a Turkish-born American citizen and I moved to Oklahoma City, USA 3 and half years ago.

My Etsy Shop
http://www.pearlsquiltedcrafts.etsy.com/

What are your interests?
As I wrote earlier, I always loved foreign languages, archaeology and history. Japanese language had been my favorite hobby so far, but in the US I gained another passion: patchwork quilting. And it’s also thanks to a Japanese lady named Midori living in Oklahoma City and she is coincidentally a friend of one of my Japanese friends in Japan.

Patchwork quilting is a new passion for me. I didn’t attend any courses to learn it. Mrs.Midori was my first teacher. She kindly taught me the basic steps about patchwork. Right now, my knowledge about quilting comes from mostly the books and magazines in Japanese language which I can read easily. I like the self-teaching approach in learning things. And my husband thinks that I am quite good at teaching myself stuff. I am hoping to make further progress in quilting in the future.

How did you find out about Etsy?
I first discovered Etsy through a friend who is also a Etsy seller, which is You, Nil! I was thinking about putting my quilted handicrafts on Ebay, but I was scared of it! I loved Etsy, because it was so user-friendly as a shopping site. And especially I liked that everything on the site was handmade!

Please describe your creative process:
I am interested in mini quilts. I find it hard to start and finish a huge bed quilt up. I don’t have a suitable place to spread to work on the project, or necessary tools, so my main interests are mini wall quilts or practical little things such as purses, bags, pouches you can actually use in your daily life.

I like hand piecing, hand appliqué and hand quilting. I don’t like the machine stitches on the quilts. I don’t know how to machine sew and I don’t have a sewing machine, but I am not sorry for that. I like the rustic feel of hand quilted quilts and I find the time spent in hand quilting to be soothing. The motion of stitching is very calming to me and during these quiet moments I can concentrate on my thoughts easily.

One of the essential steps about patchwork quilting is picking up a pattern and necessary fabrics for that particular project. I have my Japanese friends in Japan sent me Japanese patchwork magazines regularly. Japanese patchwork magazines are very easy to understand because they present the projects in process drawings unlike American magazines, and very fun to look at if you don’t understand the Japanese language. I have an advantage because I know how to decipher the writings in Japanese. These magazines are full of lots of fun projects to make which I like very much. I usually choose my patchwork projects from these Japanese magazines. Once I finished the project, I take a picture of it right away and post it to flickr groups which I’m a member of.
How do you promote your work?
I’m trying to promote my work mostly in the Etsy forums, flickr and several blogs. And I tell about my Etsy shop to all of my acquaintances. That’s it.

Could you please tell us about 5 Etsy stores that you most like?
I have several favorites on Etsy that I like to look at from time to time:

http://www.irregularexpressions.etsy.com/
http://www.kimonomomo.etsy.com/
http://www.pomadour24.etsy.com/
http://www.patchworkpottery.etsy.com/
http://www.hanapurse.etsy.com/