As a certified “crazy cat lady” I LOVE anything having to do with cats! I was on a Tophatter auction one day and I met the fabulous Ricki Hipwell. She said she made clay cat figurines and necklace charms. So, of course I HAD to see them! I went to her shop and immediately fell in love!! I had to order custom creations of my babies, which I wear every day, and a Mr. Waggletom, the Tophatter kitty! I’ve gotten so many compliments and every time I visit her shop she has more adorable and unique kitties!
I LOVE people who do custom orders like this!
These are the FABULOUS kitties she made for me! Aren’t they precious!?
My favorite thing about Etsy is that you can get to know the people that you buy from. So I asked Ricki to share with me some of the things that make her and her business so unique.
Give us a short bio: I'm 26 years old and spend my days with my Husband and 2 Furbabies in Naples Florida. Not to mention my 100+ clay kitties. I guess you can say I'm kind of a cat lady.
What inspired you to start your business? I love creating things and my Kitties are my biggest inspiration for all the kitties I make. Dexter is my grey and white tabby who is a big 17 pound mama's boy and Gabe is my tuxedo kitty who is a ninja who literally bounces off the walls.
What inspired you to start your business? I love creating things and my Kitties are my biggest inspiration for all the kitties I make. Dexter is my grey and white tabby who is a big 17 pound mama's boy and Gabe is my tuxedo kitty who is a ninja who literally bounces off the walls.
What inspires your creative process? My fans. I get super ideas from my fans everyday. I write down the 100's of ideas and try to spend at least a full day just making all the kitties. I couldn't do it without my fans.
What is your favorite thing you’ve made and why? I would have to say my Avengers Kitties are my all time favorite. I worked so hard to get them to resemble their super hero counter parts. They are a fan favorite for sure.
www.etsy.com/listing/102166950/itty-bitty-avenger-kitties-set-of-4
What advice do you have for other people who want to start or grow their Etsy shop? The biggest piece of advice I can give for Etsy shop owners is to take advantage of the Online Labs: www.etsy.com/community/online-labs They have soooooo much helpful information about how to get your Tags set up so people can find your shop, how to take the best pictures and Etsy Success Symposiums that are FANTASTIC for getting your name and brand out there. I couldn't have done it without Etsy's resources.
Here are some of my personal favorite of her kitty creations:
I hope you enjoyed getting to know this fabulous artisan as much as I did! Please stop by her shop and adopt a Itty Bitty Kitty of your very own!
Courtney~*
Ricki is so talented, thanks for sharing!
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