Etsy, a website featuring independent and local-to-you artisans, is "your place to buy and sell all things handmade". Right this very second, I am seeing listings for homemade apricot jalapeño jam ($6.50), nutty lil' squirrel glass vases ($14.00), turquoise/teal gloves with olive edges ($24.00), and a bullet shell necklace ($42.00). That's just part the main page!  One of the features that I find particularly helpful on Etsy is the "Shop Local" feature, which lets me input my ZIP code to receive a list of shops and artisans that live in my city! This is how I found one of my favorite local artisans, Fannie and Sprout!



Now, they may only be local to you if you live in the greater Detroit area, but Fannie and Sprout are worth checking out!

We are lifelong artists and crafters who adore dogs. We share our shop with the girls...Fannie, a bulldog of the English persuasion and Sprout, a spunky Brussels Griffon.

All artwork is original. Nothing is computer generated or enhanced. No prints or reproductions here!

Once I saw the great portraits that they did of dogs, I asked for a custom order for my husband's birthday. I provided some photos to Kellianne for inspiration and she took it from there. We ordered a 5x7" piece of our dog, Bruce, and another, smaller "ACEO" version for his desk at work. We ended up receiving those plus a bonus kitty ACEO of our beloved, nutty cat, Fluffer-Nutter, safely wrapped and, in the case of the 5x7", mounted to a nice matting.  We get compliments from visitors to the house all of the time. It stands to reason that I have now purchased a set of portraits as gifts for my family members. They were delivered yesterday and captured the spirit of their dogs, living and passed away, perfectly. 

The thing that sealed the deal when I was making my Fannie and Sprout gift choices, aside from the extraordinarily reasonable prices is the fact that they love rescue dogs as much as I do!  They are a part of the Etsy for Animals group and they make sure to note:
Fannie & Sprout hope you'll consider adopting a shelter dog. A portion of our sales are donated annually to our favorite rescues.
Now THAT is my kind of shop!  If dogs aren't your thing, they have other pieces featuring different breeds of dogs as well as other animals that are available for purchase right "off the shelf". Please take a few minutes to check out their shop. You won't want to miss them for that very special gift for a fellow dog lover. Kudos to Fannie and Sprout!