From New Jersey LittleOwlSoapCo

As I stated earlier this week, I am hosting another Etsy artist from New Jersey , Garden State. My new guest is LittleOwlSoapCo in which you will find hand-crafted vegan soaps and body washes. You can almost feel and smell these beauties from her lovely shop. Let read more about this wonderful artist...

S: What is your name and what is the story behind your shop’s name?

J: My name is Jen Katehos, and Little Owl Shop is named after the Athena noctua (Little Owl), was sacred to Athena, the Greek goddess of, among other things, wisdom and handicrafts. I'm half Greek, and carry a medallion in my purse with Athena on one side and the Little Owl on the other. When I needed a shop name, I looked no further.

S:How did you find Etsy and what made you join Etsy?

J: I heard of Etsy a few years back on the fabulous Knit and Tonic blog, and in 2007, I started out as a buyer. In 2009, when I started making more body wash than I could use in a decent amount of time, I realized it was time to open at Etsy shop of my own.

S: What inspires you in creating your work?

J: I'm inspired by the chemical process by which soap is made. Combining carefully measured oils, water, and lye, and observing the ingredients from a completely new substance is fascinating to me.

S: We would love to hear your daily routines if there is any.

J: I commute nearly 2 hours each way to work and back, and I do a lot of reading and planning on the train. By the time I get home, I'm exhausted, but usually have an hour or two to take care of some creative business. Then it's dinner with the hubby and time for bed. The weekends are when I get to focus on making soap and experimenting with making lotions, scrubs, and lip balms.

S:What is your favorite book?

J: This changes constantly, but the last book I read that really delighted me was "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by Marisha Pessi. It's the kind of book I wish I'd never read so I could read it again all over for the first time. Before that, it was "The Historian" , by Elizabeth Kostova. ( Apparently, I like my books wordy.)

S: What was your last travel destination?

J: Costa Rica for my honeymoon.

S: What do you do to relax?

J: I read fiction, watch ( a lot) of HGTV, knit, and sew.

S: Do you have any suggestions to a new Etsian seller in creating and maintaining their shop?

J: I'm fairly new at this myself, but I know it is very important to reply promptly to convos and to communicate with buyers. People love knowing that you've received their order and that it's on its way.

***GIVEAWAY***

Jen was so generous to offer any of her body wash/lotion sets from her etsy shop for her giveaway. If you want to be a lucky winner please follow the steps. It is pretty simple!

Please visit her etsy shop and post a comment under this post with the LINK of your favorite item from her shop and please don't forget to add your email address.

http://LittleOwlSoapCo.etsy.com

Please also follow my blog.

The giveaway will open to US only and will end July 8 at midnight! The winner will be chose using http://www.random.org/