March 11th, 2007
Featured Seller: Magprint
You thought I was just going to do items/avs of the day, didn’t you! But no, the main even is back with another wonderful seller interview. If you need to catch up:
- Here’s my introduction post.
- You can view my list of Etsy sellers who are blogging about other sellers here.
- Lastly, check out my series of features by viewing the “spotlight” category of this blog.
Now, on to the featured presentation:
My second featured seller is the oh-so talented magprint. I had a terrible time narrowing down the images above to only four, because Margaret’s shop is filled with beautiful things. One of my favorite is “The Sleeper,” pictured below. I’m reminded of how wonderful it is to rest, to be outside, and to have a blanket. I think those may be three of my very most favorite things!
This next print is another one of my favorites, “Hillside Trees.” I’m reminded of Italy in fall–not that I’ve been there, but a close friend will be soon. I love the sense of movement and balance in magprint’s work. The pieces really would stand out wherever they are placed.
Okay, enough from me. Here is the interview you’ve been waiting for:
1. Introduce yourself
Margaret Rankin
Location – Toronto, Ontario
Artists – Egon Shiele, Naoka Matsubara
Colours – don’t have favourite colours, but I have favourite colour combinations which I actually can’t describe in words (go and see these prints in my Etsy store – The Red Flute, Vase No. 26,Hillside Trees, Cypress Row, Along the Cabot Trail, Floor Vase, China Village Springtime)
2. When did you start doing your craft?
I was walking down a street in Vancouver one day and I bumped into my old boss who had recently given up work to take a diploma in sculpture and I asked him what motivated him. He told me that he really had no choice in his decision and that if I felt strongly about something I should just go for it. So I did. I found myself on Granville Island signing up for a basic Relief Printmaking course at Emily Carr College of Art and Design. And I have worked on prints ever since then.
3. How did you come up with your shop’s name/concept?
One of my best friends suggested the name ‘magprint’ for my e-mail address and I have used it as my name for selling prints on line because it is an abbreviation of my name and it says prints at the same time.
4. What makes your work unique?
Me, I suppose! I don’t work out of a printmaking studio, so I am not influenced by others working around me. This has its good and bad points. I would like to be influenced by techniques, but not trends or other people’s images.
5. What special thing do you do for your customers?
I try to think like my customer thinks. When they buy something they would like to be acknowledged, so I send an e-mail thanking them and telling them when their print will be in the mail. When I know the print is actually in the mail I send a second e-mail to let them know and include an estimate of how long it will likely take for the package to arrive. I think a customer likes the reassurance of communication during the process of buying something on line.
6. What’s your favorite item in your shop?
My favourite print is Looking Out. It is a block print of a beach scene in New Zealand and I love the colours I used because when you look at each of them you would be hard pressed to give a name to many of them. Other people’s favourites are Cypress Row and Swept Away – I think because they are both very graphic prints.
7. Suggestions for Etsy?
Don’t overcharge on shipping. That is so annoying.
8. Your favorite Etsy shops?
Too hard to answer
9. A little-know fact about you?
I am allergic to caterpillars.
10. What things can a buyer look for when searching for quality prints?
Good registration of the blocks if it a multi colour print. Clean margins (not always possible as I know). Clean reverse side of the paper. Use of archival papers and inks. No ink squish (from too much ink on the block). Enough ink applied to the block. Even application of ink on the blocks. Small editions (this is a personal preference on my part). Then just go for an image you like!
11. What inspires you?
Inspiration comes from a number of places. My father comes from Cape Breton and I have made quite a number of prints based on aspects of his home – the farmhouse, the field behind the farmhouse, the outhouse, favourite beaches, the farmhouse kitchen and so on. Cape Breton is one of my favourite places in the world. I have also recently started to make prints based on some of the quilts my grandmother made. I also love trees and some of my best prints are based on trees. Ditto rocks and water.
12. How long does it take to make a print?
This is one of those impossible questions. The fastest print I ever made took one day – coming up with the idea, sketching it, making the blocks, proofing the print and printing the edition – and there were only seven in it. That is fast for me, but it was one of my best prints. One of the prints I am currently working is a beach scene in Cape Breton and I know from printing the proof that the last inking will take three weeks to dry. That is the other extreme.
magprint.etsy.com . the magprint blog
Thanks so much to Margaret for participating! Feel free to leave a comment if you enjoyed this review and interview. Or, please contact me and nominate yourself for a future feature.
