YOWZA! It's the Sunday Featured Artist...Epicurious Market!

Yummy. Delicious. Scrumptious. Gourmet.....Just don't eat it! Seriously, don't those rows of "chocolates" look absolutely edible? But, they're not! These are the White Chocolate Truffle Soaps from Epicurious Market, created by Marcee. Don't you just want to lick your computer screen right about now? I did! Oops, I mean... "I'm sure tempted to!"
Epicurious Market is a very popular shop on Etsy. I recently bestowed an "Epicurious" gift to my last cupcake swap partner & I'm thinkin' it's about time I treated myself!
Let's meet Marcee, a "southern" girl, who describes herself as having, "...a big heart & a love for creating uniquely scented products."

-Where were you born, where are you from, where did you grow up, & where are you living now?
I was born in Kansas City, KS, moved to Chicago when I was 2, moved to San Francisco when I was 4, and lived in Sacramento, CA until I was 14. Then my family moved to Knoxville, TN and I have lived here for the last 16 years (except for a short 6 month stint we did in Tampa a couple of years ago). I am fortunate to have lived in several great cities and experience different cultures. But I say I am truly a southern girl at heart now :)

-What inspires you?
Hmmm... I woud love to say something deep or even something sweet (like my kids), but the truth is I am inspired by whims. Seriously I see something that looks cool, smells good, seems fun and off I go to create. Sometimes I will see my whims through, other times I will move on to the next. In general I am inspired by things that make me feel good, feel happy.

-How long have you been creating?
As I child I was more into acting and expressing my creativity through performing arts. By the time I was 18 I was already working in the corporate world. It wasn't until the last few years that my creative side re-emerged, and now I can't stop coming up with new recipes for products.

-Share about, or describe the favorite item in your shop.
This is a tough one because of course I am biased and love all of my items :) Seriously I will not offer anything that I would not buy myself. Right now though I really love my soaps, and my favorite is White Chocolate Truffle, mainly because it is a unique scent to find in soap, and it smells like something you would find in Godiva lol.

-What’s your favorite color?
This changes constantly, but I really like brown, especially when paired with pink or turquoise blue.

-What one thing did you believe as a child, that as an adult you now realize was silly?
The great pumpkin. Seriously! My parents fed me this big story about the great pumpkin bringing me a bag of candy at Halloween time (because the area we lived in at the time was not great for trick or treating) and I believed it, until the other kids in my Kindergarten class looked at me like I was crazy when I told them.

-How much time do you spend creating?
A ton. Every day I spend time reseraching new products and recipes, testing new scent blends, testing new products, changing my labels ...something. I really enjoy the product development portion of my business.

-What were some of your most recent purchases from other Etsy artists?
I bought some boxes and supplies from Box Bliss, I bought some lovely coasters from Bauer Designs , and my second set of kids bracelets from VM Designs.

-Use three words to describe yourself.
driven, eclectic, sarcastic

-What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given on pursuing your creativeness?
Surround yourself with people that are even more creative than yourself. It will push you to explore your full creative potential.

-What are your goals or dreams in regards to your creative ambitions?
I'm not sure. Right now I enjoy doing what I do, sometimes I dream about opening a retail store, other times I want to open a studio for other artists. The main thing is I have to keep it at a level that still allows me to enjoy the creative process. And other times my goals are small , something like coming up with the perfect cupcake soap lol.

-What do you like to do when you are not being super creative?
Go to the movies- I am a big movie fanatic, read (looking forward to the new Harry Potter book), spend time with my kids outdoors. It is easy to get on a roll and in a creative tangent, and become a hobbit in my own little world, so often times I have to force myself to leave the computer or my studio and actually live life :)

Thanks Marcee! I don't know how you pulled yourself away from all the yummyness that surrounds you to have an "interview" with me! And by the way, keep working on that cupcake soap girl! I needs me some!

If you just can't get enough of Marcee, take a sneak peek at her new fragrance line found on her blog: http://epicuriousmarket.blogspot.com/. She also operates another Etsy shop with her sister--Doll Baby--selling mineral makeup.

I'm off to purchase some "chocolates"! I promise I won't eat them!!