Meet Your Neighbor - Sally Bateau

Me

Who are you?
I am Alicia Bernstein, my shop is called Sally Bateau. I sell mostly jewelry, but I have started offering stuffed owls, vases, and storage containers as well!


Tell us a little about your family.

I am married to an amazing musician and we have 2 children. My youngest is 4 years old and incredibly entertaining, the eldest (technically a step-son, but mine just the same) is 12. We live with my husband’s mother in a beautiful old farmhouse in the sticks. We have one clinically insane cat called “Mickey” who feigns ignorance but is actually a criminal mastermind.

Me and Ziggy

Where are you in Maine and what’s it like?

I live in New Canada, a small town just outside of Fort Kent. We are in a gorgeous spot covered with rolling hills and lush, green landscape. It is an amazing place. We have a little garden and an amazing yard. My mother-in-law and I work together on our flower beds and veggie gardens each year; we are both quite passionate about gardening.


Are you a native Mainer? If so, what’s kept you. If not, what brought you here?

I am a native Mainer, I have lived in Maine all of my life. I grew up just south of Fort Kent in an even SMALLER town called Portage. I really love the quiet serenity of this area, it is very conducive to my creativity. I spend as much time as I can out in the woods looking at flowers, colors, and all sorts of different things that inspire me.


How long have you been making your craft and what got you into it?


Modeling a prototype of a goblin costume
for Midsummer Night's Dream

I had initially started tying hemp. My dear stepson called me one day when I was out of town and asked me to pick him up some hemp. I wasn’t sure that I had heard him correctly, but instead of jumping to hasty conclusions I asked him what he meant. He said he wanted to tie bracelets with hemp twine. Thinking it was a good activity for us to do together, I bought him his hemp and learned how to tie. I then became interested in beads and beading, so I tried my luck with polymer clay. I immediately fell in love, and since then my love for creating has branched into all sorts of things; jewelry, accessories, some sewing, and upcycling old bottles, vases, and other containers that would otherwise end up in a landfill and whatever else comes to mind! I love to create; I’ve only been doing this for a little over a year, but it is truly the one thing that was missing in my life. I had become so wrapped up in day-to-day business that I had forgotten to take time to CREATE. Now, I feel better about everything, my live has become so much more balanced since I rediscovered my creativity. I also design and create costumes for UMFK summer theater each year; I look forward to this ALL YEAR!

Watercolor Ragmuffin Stuffed Owl

Do you feel your craft is related to where you live?
 
I think that I am influenced by my location, but my crafts aren’t really a reflection of where I live. 


How has being a part of the Etsy Maine Team helped you?

Etsy Maine Team has been a sort of divine intervention for me, the team has been MORE than helpful; I can throw ANY type of question out there in our chat threads and within an hour I have MULTIPLE answers. Maine Team members really seem to look out for each other; I have gotten so much encouragement and support from this team. I am a member of a few other teams, but Etsy Maine Team has become my “home” team.


What are some of your favorite shops on Etsy?
 

Mushroom Design Clay covered Container

I have an embarrassing number of “favorites”. There are so many talented artists on the Maine Team! I am still fairly new to Etsy, but a few names that stick out are Country Folk Soap, Camelot’s Treasures, Coastal Art Glass, Rough Magic Creations, Little Eye Designs, Noadi, Remaine Wicked, and Hand ME Down Creations (all Mainers!). I also LOVE Jesse Utt (a former Mainer), Little Daniel’s Den, Beat Up Creations, Dorthy Domingo, Blithe Gardens, Arzu Musa, and Island Girlz Jewelry. I’d have to copy and paste all or most shops names into this document to get an accurate list, but I think that might interfere with the purpose of the article. Most of the shops I’ve listed are places I have bought from or have had some sort communication with and they have really impressed me. SO MANY amazing people on Etsy!


Where do you see yourself and your Etsy shop in the future?

I sincerely hope that I am able to become more successful with my sales and shop, but time will tell. I love Etsy, but there is something special about going to craft shows and spending time with customers.


Where can we find you online and locally?



Hemp Anklet with Clay and Wooden Beads

I sell primarily on Etsy, I do not have a physical “shop”, but maybe somday…*sighs*… I love to frequent craft fairs, art walks, community festivals, music festivals, and holiday events to sell my wares and meet new artists. Sally Bateau is on facebook, you can check out my page at:
www.facebook.com/pages/Sally-Bateau/ and my Etsy shop at: www.etsy.com/shop/Sallybateau.

Thanks Alicia for sharing a little about yourself and how the wonderful state you live in helps you create!  

Be sure to check out all the other awesome Maine artisans on Etsy, by searching "maineteam"