Louisiana Etsy Duo... Multi-talented Teena and Phil Whitmore

This Spring at the Wednesdays at the Square in downtown New Orleans I finally got to meet Teena & Phil (whose work I had seen on Etsy and loved but hadnt run into them at the art markets yet). First to greet you in their market space may be one of their two precious dogs (Marley is the one pictured here)who love to have vistors in the booth.
It was great to finally see their work in person. Phil does screen printed graphics and linoleum wood cut prints: http://inexplicableconfetti.etsy.com & http://pbwhitmore.etsy.com.
Teena works with art photography (along with textiles and other arts) and polaroid transfers that are just stunning,

http://whitmorephotos.etsy.com.
Finally they agreed to submit an interview and introduce themselves to the group.It took a while. And I had to listen to Phil's violent femmes covers on his ukelele while waiting. Not really but he is a gearing up for a big ukelele show at the Neutral Ground Coffee House tomorrow night (Monday October 8) from 7-9pm.

Phil Says:
We live in Uptown New Orleans, But we have only lived here a year and a half (so we've never said Y'all). We create silkscreend images on T-shirts (mostly).
All of the designs are original and created by me Phillip Whitmore with the influence of my wonderful wife Teena. We will print on anything made of cloth. We have done baby onesies, aprons, napkins, pillow cases, and although I haven't done them yet, someone just asked if I could print on womens underwear for their band and I said yes.My main creative influence has always been my suroundings. Ilove to travel, and when I paint, draw, or design screens, I am considering my surroundings. Sadly I haven't really done much travelling this year, So my influence would mainly be New Orleans.

My silkscreens are shown at Freret Street Market, New Orleans Art Council Market, and this week I will begin selling them at Storyville near LSU in beautiful Red Stick. You can also visit www.inexplicableconfetti.etsy.com I joined Etsy one year ago this week. Without Etsy I probably wouldn't have decided to do this business. I used to do it for fun for my friends, then someone considered ETSY, and now I have a business. Etsy has also cured my leprasy, and when my wife left and took the kids I thought all was lost. When I joined Etsy, she came back, and now she works to pay the bills. She even gets a baby sitter during the day so I can work on my bowling score. Wow Etsy has sure changed my life.

Some advice for new sellers:
#1 Check out others selling what you are, and try and make your items somewhat your own.
#2 Heart lots of people.
#3 Talk to local Etsiers and find ways to work together to promote as a group.
#4 Buy lots of Inexplicableconfetti shirts (They make you look better, and they make business run smoother.

Teena Says:

1.Please tell us where you/yall live
I live in New Orleans

2. What kind of work do you do?
Black and White, Altered, Hand-Colored Photos, and Photographic Fabric Collages.

3. What do you consider your main creative influences?minor?
Things from a simpler time. I was born in the wrong decade, I am inspired by the
early 1900s.

4. What Markets do you participate in in the area/region/state/nationally?
Bywater art market, occasionally the North Shore art market.

5. When did you join Etsy and how has it impacted your business?
I joined in September 2006.and I can't say it has made a big difference in my sales,
but it has helped me keep a current inventory online and it is a great community.

6. Any advice for new sellers?
Don't get discouraged just because you don't sell a lot on etsy. There are a lot of
artists out there with great stuff who aren't selling, and vice-versa.

Teena and Phil will be appearing next at the Bywater Art Market on Saturday October 20, Royal at Piety Street,9am-4pm, http://bywaterartmarket.com.Come check out their work and pick up some handmade New Orleans prints and gorgeous photography.