handmade wednesday: dunleadogg

Ciao everyone! I'm excited to tell you a little more about this week's featured Etsy seller, Dunleadogg. Jill was kind enough to do this little interview with me all about her and her shop. Enjoy! 

{buy them here and here}

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I'm Jill, a sailor, skier, and kayaker who loves animals. I have two rescue dogs and two cats. 

My husband (a college professor) and I live in a cabin in the woods outside of Annapolis, MD, the sailing capitol of the world. We sail an Albacore (#2997 built in 1967) named MAX, inspired by "Where the Wild Things Are."    

How did you get started with Etsy?

I've been Etsy-obsessed for about two years now, and I have over 5000 favorites. Everything from my wedding rings to nearly all my jewelry to the bag I carry to the art on my walls, as well as every gift I ever give, is of Etsy origin. As we've been updating our Albacore, I've been enthralled with the beauty in the form and function of sailing hardware and decided to start making bracelets from it. I got enough compliments and gave enough away that I thought I'd try selling them on Etsy. I figured it would at least give me a chance to get away from school books every now and then! 

{buy it here}

What would people be most surprised to learn about you?

I grew up horseback riding, but I didn't start sailing or skiing until I was a teenager, which is a little late for those sports. I taught skiing and snowboarding in Telluride, Colorado for a couple of years, and then lived in Indiana for four years. I love boxy older cars and I hate wearing jeans.    

Is your shop your full time job? If not, what do you do for a living?

No, not at all. I'm actually a post-baccalaureate pre-medical student at Georgetown University in DC. It's a program for people who decide they want to go to medical school a little later in life (i.e. non-traditional students). I was an English major, and then I got a master's degree in biomedical ethics (my thesis for my bioethics master's degree involved poetry and cancer patients; it's a perfect meld between science and humanity). I'm essentially a medical student, and I started my Etsy because I needed a creative outlet separate from all the hard science.         

{buy them here and here}

Of all the items you have for sale, which is your favorite?

I love the snap shackles; they are so elegant and technical at the same time, and the smallest I've ever seen. They are designed to open and close in high-wind, high-pressure racing situations. My second favorite are the bow shackles with the splice-eye rope thimbles. I love the little flash of stainless steel with the curve of the bow.

How did you come up with your shop name?

I've been riding horses for a long time, and my favorite pony at a day camp at which I was a junior counselor was named Dunlea. We called her "Dunlea-doggie" as a nickname because she was so friendly. It was my plan at the time to get a puppy and name her Dunlea, but it never materialized. The nickname has always been a default. If I knew I would have a shop eventually, I would have probably picked out a more appropriate sailing-related user-name! But Etsy doesn't allow changes, so Dunlea lives on :)

{buy it here}

Thanks so much for stopping by, Jill!

**Married Lane readers get 15% off in her shop until November 12!

Enter LML15 at checkout!**

ps. Don't forget to enter to win one of Jill's bracelets!