Shop Spotlight: Smirking Goddess

Suzanne Urban runs SmirkingGoddess: Magnets and pinbacks that provide a dose of "home-brewed" funny to lighten your day. Her large array of humor has finds for co-workers, friends, family, geeks and cynics alike.

"I reside in Windsor, CT with my husband, malti-poo and house rabbits in an antique home built in 1664 by Reverend John Moore.  It's even registered with the National Federation of Historical Homes.

I am a former commercial illustrator, graphic designer, and gag writer.  When I entered the work field, known as a "day job", I kept up with some freelance assignments but focused my efforts on creating my own designs and products for my Etsy shop.  My first shop, Smirking Goddess, features my own magnets and pinbacks that I write and design in Photoshop and then hand press in my studio.

I stumbled upon Etsy in 2009. Initially I placed prints and small format paintings of my whimsically humorous work in my shop. However, due to my day job I needed a faster product to produce in order to build up inventory. I started experimenting with magnets featuring my own designs and home-brewed wit.  The magnets sold very well at local Connecticut indie shops and in my Etsy shop. I love to wordsmith, make people laugh, entertain people, and their success has allowed me to continue along this path. I've since shifted my prints and original paintings to my second shop on Etsy, Suzanne Urban.

My magnets and pinbacks are created in Photoshop, printed on my R2000 Epson inkjet printer with archival inks on acid-free Epson paper. I hand press them in my studio using a tecre handpress machine.  My illustrative paintings are painted by hand using high quality acrylic paint; my prints are scanned, adjusted in Photoshop, and printed on my Epson printer."

To find out more about Suzanne and her shop, please visit her on Etsy or Facebook.

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Written by Alonda Baird-Juhasz, owner of Designer Dwellings, who believes in adding color to life. An avid DIYer, sparkle-loving, all things fabulous addict, her shop features bright and fun home decor accessories and gifts. When not in the shop you can find her interior decorating or visual styling events and photo shoots.