Interview with www.badcatjewelry.com

INTERVIEW WITH @thebadcat

May 29th, 2009

Madi, The Cat
Kritter Koffeehouse

MADI: Hello @thebadcat, and thanks for meeting me at the Kritter Koffeehouse. I am very excited to be speaking with you today and greatly appreciate your time. Before we get started, I just want to point out that just like everything associated with the Kritter Kommunity, Kritters That Twitter is specifically designed for Animals and Animal Lovers. The Kritter Koffeehouse is open daily and serves beverages and snacks for both Animals and Hoomans. That being said, I see you are a Hooman…..could I offer you a cup of hot tea or coffee?

@THEBADCAT: Hello, Madi…may I scratch your chin? I would love a cup of Coffee with an extra shot of espresso if you have it. If you have a few spare treats for the kitties, they would love them. Well, Moxie will at least, she’s a piglet in cat fur.

MADI: Awwww, tanks…..I wuv scratchies!!!  Okay, lets go ahead and get started; we are eager to learn more about you! First and most important, what is your association with Animals? Do any Animals allow you to care for them? (If you have pets, please spend a minute telling us about them)

@THEBADCAT: We have cats here in this house. I was brought up with dogs, but when I was in my 20’s and lonely I decided a cat would be great company. I adopted her (ms. Willow) from the local vet and its been feline love ever since. Now we have Finn Maccool, an extra large, as in muscle, not fat, male tabby that chose us (I’m serious) at a shelter. We recently adopted moxie rotten from Petsmart. She is a cranky little thing who isn’t sure that she likes affection. Too bad, she still gets kisses. She is white and grey and has absolutely gorgeous golden eyes. She is inspiring for some reason.
They are both on my flickr.com site (along with my jewelry): http://www.flickr.com/photos/@thebadcatjewelry/

MADI: Your screen name is @thebadcat on Twitter….Tell me about that name, what it means, how you came up with the name. (feel free to discuss your business here)

@THEBADCAT: I came up with @thebadcat for my business, www.@thebadcatjewelry.com, and basically everything related to it due to Finn Maccool’s nocturnal activities (3 to 5 am). These include everything from knocking stuff off of shelves in our bathroom, to grooming us a 3am, to chasing invisible “greeblings”, howling at the moon, getting stuck in whatever, and scaring his own silly self. Pretty much whatever a cat can do that is irritating in the middle of the night he accomplished it. Daytime hours are occupied by sleeping and getting in the way during photographing jewelry. Moxie rotten is actually worse. Her habits include peeing on bedding (extremely annoying) and biting me. She is also an instigator for cat fights. She is a barroom brawler. @thebadcat is a great conversation starter for my little business. People ask me about my avatar on different sites, and then I am able to talk about making jewelry.

MADI: My sister Abi and I see you on Twitter regularly. What do you like most about Twitter and how do you find it valuable?

@THEBADCAT: At first I used twitter as a means of getting my name out there. Then I very quickly realized its annoying for people to continually post their new listings for their stores. So, now it is a mainly social thing for me. I do post my newly listed items for the views, but I really like meeting new people, or animals… I typically twit with like minded artisans, follow a few celebrities (@Realhughjackman or @JonFavreau) & political peeps, and chat with social animals.

MADI: How do you use Twitter to add value to Animal and Animal Lovers lives?

@THEBADCAT: I am a huge proponent of adopting shelter animals. So if people ask me about my cats I make sure to mention that all of my cats (and the dogs in my life) were either shelter or rescued animals. We still give money to the shelter from where we adopted Finn Maccool . I also donate $1 whenever I purchase something from Petsmart.

If there are animal lovers out there that love jewelry…well, I have eye candy for them. They can start out on www.@thebadcatjewelry.com and then click on the links to my Etsy store or 1000markets.

MADI: My Mommy loves your store! (Almost as much as much as the cat enclosure she is making…) tell us about your store and why you started it?

@BADCAT: Bad cat jewelry got started in October 2007 after my sister in law re-introduced me to beads. In February 2008 I opened up www.@thebadcatjewelry.etsy.com and started donating 10% of purchases to specifically for children in Austin, Texas. Our friends had found out that their youngest child, their daughter, had a brain tumor that ended up being cancerous. It was shocking since in October (2007) she was running around fine and dandy and by January (2008) she was falling down, throwing up, etc. An very fast growing tumor to say the least.

In January of this year, I opened up on www.1000markets.com (www.@thebadcatjewelry.1000markets.com). In March I started my blog: www.@thebadcatjewelry.com Next year, I am going to shave my head for St. Baldricks (www.stbaldricks.com) to raise money for children’s cancer. There, I said it. So stay tuned.

I very rarely make the same piece twice because I get bored out of my skull. I used sterling or fine silver (people with nickel allergies will appreciate that), semiprecious stones, vintage beads that include Swarovski, Lucite, glass from different countries, and some contemporary beads.

MADI: How do you use Twitter to help you with your store and your customers?

@THEBADCAT: I use twitter socially and also just as light advertising for my store. I chat with mainly artisans, and they do the same, so I don’t feel pushy. Twitter has helped me meet some new people I might not have otherwise met, who became interested in what I do, or I have become fascinated by what they do. It is also great if I have a question about a skill set that I am unfamiliar with. Someone has an answer or a link. It’s just fun.

MADI: Thank you so much for your time today @thebadcat, it has been a PAWPLEASURE to learn more about you and your animal family! We are thrilled to know such a cool and talented Kwitter! (Krtter that Twitters)

To check out thebadcat’s jewelry go to:

www.badcatjewelry.com

www.badcatjewelry.etsy.com

-Madi , The Cat