Featured Shop: Floof Bug™

This month's featured sponsor is the fantastic Etsy shop, Floof Bug!
I have always been an advocate for small businesses like Etsy shop owners, mainly because you can find so much original artwork.  The items you purchase aren't manufactured in a huge factory; it was hand-crafted.  I find that so special.

This artist is no different!  Get to know this talented designer and make sure to check out her shop.  Her stationary is sure to put a smile on your face!

Featured Shop: Floof Bug™

Tell us about yourself

I graduated from SCAD in 2004 for Fashion Design when I married my husband (also a SCAD graduate, but with a Computer Art degree.) Since he finished college a quarter before me, he was already on the lookout for a job while I was finishing up school. I wasn’t sure where his new career would take him, but I would have followed him anywhere. I had complete faith that I could find success and happiness as long as we were together. 

San Diego is where we ended up and it turned out there are very little opportunities here for Fashion Designers. I was completely determined however, & finally got a job as a Costume Designer in the Halloween industry. I worked in that industry for over 7 years, before I made the decision to start my own business in 2012.

What inspired you to start your business?

The Halloween Company I worked for held a lot of major licenses, so I was constantly taking direction from other brands. I’d attend design conferences where our licensors would discuss their marketing initiatives and what made their brand unique. It was all so interesting to me that I decided one day I would create my own brand. I started with the character, Lulu Lolli, who is inspired by one of my cats (Lulu). It is my goal to continue developing more illustrations and one day, license them out. I’d like to experience the other side of licensing and have other companies manufacture for me. For now, I am doing all my own development and production (with the exception of my acrylic charms, which are outsourced). It’s so exciting though, to see my art on different products. At the moment I offer cards, stationery, prints and accessories. 

What is the most popular item in your shop?

People seem to like my “Shoe Love” illustration featured on note cards. I have sold many of these in the brick and mortar shops I am in as well!
Anyone with a cat knows that they like to cuddle with shoes and rub their cheeks on them. It is really hilarious to watch a cat do that! Since Floof Bug™ is a very girly brand; I had to make it a couture inspired stiletto shoe! 

What is your favorite part of owning your business?

The creative freedom! After working under other people for so long, it’s so nice to be able to have 100% say on what I create. Also, it’s so nice to make my own hours. I’m not a morning person at all, so I’m grateful I no longer have to rush off to be in an office at 8 am. Instead, I sleep in until 8 or 9 and work in my pajamas for a bit until I decide to go to the gym. 

Just for fun, if you were to write your memoir, what would the title be and why?

It’s hard to think about a memoir of my life at this point because I feel like I still have so much to do. I’m a Pisces so I love to dream about the future. Sometimes my husband and I talk about moving to Costa Rica where he’ll surf and I’ll open a little café on the beach. I’d like to go into fine art too. I think installation art would be fun! I’ve also entertained the idea of writing a novel, and perhaps that would come in the form of a memoir one day. Hopefully by then, I will have had lots of adventures. So I suppose it could be entitled “The Dreams and Adventures of Kellie Michelle.”

As a special thank you to all the Cozy Reverie readers, Floof Bug is offering FREE SHIPPING for the month of May!  Just enter MAYPROMO at checkout! (*valid only at the Floof Bug Etsy shop)

Where else can you follow Floof bug?  Here you go!
Website: Floof Bug.com
Twitter: @DigitalDollface 
Facebook: Floof Bug: The Paperie