Wonderland Boutique Giveaway

This weeks giveaway comes from the beautiful Wonderland Boutique. This shop offers so many cute purses, clutches, make-up bags and tote bags. The winner this week will win a matching make-up bag and coin purse. (Don't know why the picture won't go bigger)

The lovely Amy also agreed to answer my usual questions so we can get to know her a little better!

1. What’s your name and where do you come from? My name is Amy, and I come from South Wales in the UK.

2. How long have you been making your designs? I’ve been sewing for years, and before Wonderland Boutique, I used to make bags for myself and my friends - and I also set up a custom-made service on MySpace. In my current incarnation though, I’ve been making designs for my Etsy store for around 18 months.

3. Why did you name your shop 'Wonderland Boutique''? I’ve had a life-long love of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It was my favourite book as a child and I continue to be inspired by its eccentric ideas and abstract imagery, so Wonderland Boutique was born!

4. What are your favourite materials to work with? I generally work with cottons and/or linen mix materials as they tend to take shaping better than less substantial fabrics. I particularly love working with trims though, so a lot of my designs feature jersey bows, pleated ribbons and layered banding.

5. Of your items, which is your favourite? Of my current designs, my favourite is a Clutch Bag called “Heart of Glass”. It’s made from a classic monochrome stripe fabric, and I really love using black and white materials as I find it a challenge for me to make the most of a bag from such a basic starting point. So with this bag, I went to town with an oversized jersey bow in an adorable heart print, and I just adore how kitsch and retro the Clutch became!

6. Where do you get your inspiration for your designs and also their names? My inspiration comes from everywhere and everything really, and it changes all the time. I do tend to work within my own tastes so my designs regularly feature bows, polka dots, kitsch touches and retro styling. The names for my items also come from the ether – a lot of them are song titles or references to films and books that I love, though I also take inspiration from the style of the piece and its particular fabric print and attitude.

7. Do you have any formal training or did this start as a hobby? I don’t have any formal training, other than the scant home technology lessons I had in school an absolute age ago! My Mother always knitted and sewed when I was growing up, so perhaps I picked up a few tricks from her.

8. Do you have any favourite Etsy shops which you buy from? Oh there are masses! I adore Etsy, and I head there first whenever I have any gifts to buy or fancy treating myself to something wonderful. There are so many unique and inspiring designers established there, but some of my absolute favourites are:

All Those Threes

Sisicata

Pretty Racoon Clothing

Made With Love By Hannah

9. What’s your dream for 2010? In relation to Wonderland Boutique, I’d like to expand my designs to include a few different styles of bags. I’d also like to introduce some specific collections so that my customers can choose items from a range of say vintage-inspired pieces, rockabilly-themed ones, floral designs etc. It would also be great to try and get my items wholesale into a few more bricks and mortar boutiques, as well as showing at some craft fairs.

10. What’s you favourite flower? I do love stargazer lilies, and you can’t beat a simple peony or tea rose for that touch of vintage elegance.

Onto the giveaway bit!

The same rules apply as before.

• You must be a follower (please tell me how you are following so I can check)
• You must visit Wonderland Boutique and comment on here as to what is your favourite item

Extra entries may be gained by

• Hearting your favourite item (1 entry)
• Adding Wonderland Boutique to your favourite etsy sellers (1 entry)
• Follow on Twitter (1 entry)
• Blogging/Twittering/Facebooking this giveaway (1 entry each)
• Follow the Wonderland Blog (1 entry)
• Buying something from Wonderland Boutique (5 entries)

Please provide links to your blog/twitter/facebook. And supply your etsy username.

You must post a separate comment for each one you qualify for so I can assign numbers to each comment, or they will not be counted as separate entries.

This competition will end at midnight GBT on 21st March!

Winner of the High Cloud Giveaway will be announced tomorrow

Good luck

Daisymay X