03.21.08
Posted in Uncategorized, fun, shopping, site promotion, interviews, crochet at 6:04 am by KellyM
Please meet Mikki, Owner of www.kustomkrochet.ecrater.com.
Where are you located? Texas
What do you design? Crocheted throws, baby blankets, place mats and coasters.
Where/How did you learn this? My Mom taught me the basics when I was 5 and I’ve built on it since then. I had never seen anyone else “draw pictures” on afgans and decided to give it a shot. Only recently have I discovered, I’m not the only one. Haha.
Favorite Artist who inspires you? None in particular.
Where does your inspiration come from? Life, my kids, family, something I want to try. Who knows, sometimes it just creeps up on me.
What do you do to combat creative block? Do house work for a while, or look at pictures in magazines. Sometimes, if I just stop trying, it comes to me.
Where do you design your creations? My living room, bedroom and kitchen. I crochet almost everywhere, even while riding down the road.
What does your work space look like right now? Overflowing with yarn ~ LOL
How does your family feel about what you do? They love it because I use them as test subjects from time to time. LOL
Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own creations using this method? Just do what you love and love what you do.
Favorite part of owning your own business? I get paid for doing what I love.
How do you relax? I crochet.
Favorite color? Pink
Does this color show up in a lot of your work? It depends.
If there were more hours in the day, what would you be doing? More crochet.
A sample of Kustom Krochet products. For all products, please visit Mikki’s website.
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03.16.08
Posted in Uncategorized, jewelry, fun, hand crafted jewelry, shopping, site promotion, interviews, crochet, knitting, Stained Glass at 3:29 pm by KellyM
Please meet D’arcy, Owner of www.littlesalem.com
Where are you located? St. Paul, MN.
What do you design? Stained glass (panels, lamps, pendants, jewelry boxes). Various knitted and crocheted items (chokers, halfmits, soap satchels)
Where/How did you learn this? I returned to college when I was 42, and spent most of my time in the Fine Arts Dept. There, I learned sculpture, watercolor, graphic design, but mostly fell in love with all aspects of glass, from stained glass and fusing to glass blowing. I learned how to crochet from my grandma when I was very little.
Favorite Artist who inspires you? Oh, there are so many! I love John Waterhouse. There are so many people in my life who are artistic though, and they inspire me.
Where does your inspiration come from? Life and dreams. Sometimes I can see art in the mundane, and I dream so much when I sleep it’s like I’m just visiting another, more colorful place. That’s given me a lot of ideas in my waking hours.
What do you do to combat creative block? I have so many different things I like to do that I don’t even have the time to get to all the ideas I have now.
Where do you design your creations? I have a workspace in my basement that I use for doing my glass. Soon, I will be setting up space to include pewter casting and silver metal clay. (I just got a new torch and I can’t wait to fire it up!)
Upstairs I have a little room where I do my sewing and beading, and I crochet and knit when I’m watching tv at night.
What does your work space look like right now? Very cluttered! I’m always working on at least a couple of things at the same time!
How does your family feel about what you do? My whole family is very supportive! My partner in life is a very talented artist, so he is not only supportive, but he “gets it”. My kids are following a creative path also, so there’s always plenty of creative energy in this house!
Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own creations using this method? For any method, follow what drives you. Learn what you can, and get your hands dirty and try it. If you’re passionate about it, you’ll succeed.
Favorite part of owning your own business? The hours. I can work around family, appointments, etc. I just need to remember to stop sometimes.
Least favorite? The actual business end. I’m still learning that, and I feel like it takes so much time away from what I love to do.
How do you realx? A bonfire in the back yard after my guy BBQs a great steak!
Favortie color? Hmmmm. Lately, I’m liking reds. Overall, black and purple.
Does this color show up in a lot of your work? Oh yes, lots of black.
If there were more hours in the day, what would you be doing? Learning to play my harp, and playing my guitar more.If there were more hours in the day, what would you
A sample of Little Salem products. For all products, please visit Darcy’s website.
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03.02.08
Posted in Uncategorized, fun, shopping, site promotion, interviews, crochet, knitting, handbags at 8:26 am by KellyM
Meet Robyn Vines Smith, Owner of www.burstofhappiness.com.
Where are you located? Albuquerque, NM
What do you design? Accessories such as handbags, totes, knitted scarves, fancy-pants aprons.
Where/How did you learn this? I am self-taught. I learned to sew, knit, crochet on my own over the past few years. I never thought I had creativity in me because I never gave things a try. Now I’m eager to learn more and more-for instance, I’m currently learning yarn dyeing and spinning. Each thing I do takes me down new exciting paths.
Favorite Artist who inspires you? I guess the natural thing would be to pick someone in fashion or someone really famous, but I’m going to pick my friend Ren Adams (www.artbyrenadams.com). It’s not because I aim to do work like hers, because we do really different things. But she inspires me because she’s really passionate about her work and she’s taken so much time to learn about Asian culture. She really draws from her knowledge and passion and she takes her artwork and the culture behind it very seriously. Through her, I’ve learned to take interest in many new things.
Where does your inspiration come from? Fabric prints and fashion. I just see a fabric and know I’ve got to make something out of it.
What do you do to combat creative block? I don’t really have creative block–my problem is more a lack of time to get to work on things.
Where do you design your creations? Spare bedroom at home.
What does your work space look like right now? Today it’s quite messy because I’ve been sick and not inclined to clean up. But usually I keep it quite neat. I’m a very organized person, so I can’t work if things aren’t kept tidy and in place.
How does your family feel about what you do? They are very supportive, I’m not making a living this way, so nobody has any reason to think I’m nuts or criticize me.
Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own creations using this method? With sewing and knitting, it’s all about practice. But my advice is to really take pride in your work and sell the best product you can. Quality, all the way. To do business as an indie shop online, you must put a lot of time into researching free or inexpensive ways to network and get noticed. Otherwise, you’re just one Web site out of a zillion floating through cyberspace.
Best advice you received when starting your business venture? Promote, promote, promote! It’s all up to you to get noticed.
Favorite part of owning your own business? The feeling I get when somebody wants an item I made!
Least favorite? When sales can’t match the amount of time I put into it.
Favorite color? Yellow!
Does this color show up in a lot of your work? I do have colorful items.
If there were more hours in the day, what would you be doing? Sewing more.
A sample of Burst of Happiness products. For all products, please visit Robyn’s website.
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02.16.08
Posted in Uncategorized, fun, shopping, site promotion, interviews, paper crafts, crochet, knitting at 8:03 am by KellyM
Meet Steph Calvert, owner of www.heartsandlaserbeams.com.
Where are you located? Long Beach, CA
What do you design? All sorts of arts and crafts items, ranging from paintings to plates to stationery to handknit/crocheted/sewn items.
Where/How did you learn this? I’ve always been super into making things, and have been drawing since I could hold a pencil. I went to Savannah College of Art and Design for my bachelors in 2D animation, and have picked up a bunch of skills through my various day jobs since then, including being and artist at a kids educational website, a graphic designer for Oshkosh b’Gosh and Mighty Fine, and most recently and Assistant Designer at Intercontinental Art Inc. I’ve taught myself how to knit and crochet, and took sewing classes through a local community college.
That sewing class was awesome. My sister and I took it together, and everyone else in the class was much older women than us making very traditional projects, so we decided each homework assignment needed to be as over the top as possible. My vest project ended up being a floor lenth pink pleather travesty with maribou trim around the neckline and horrendous pink and green floral lining. I still have it tucked away in a closet somewhere. There’s no way I’d ever wear it out of the house, but it’s amazing and I just can’t seem to put it in the Goodwill pile!
Favorite Artist who inspires you? Oh there’s a ton of them! Paul Frank, Fawn Gehweiler, the folks at Gama-Go, and friends who are doing amazing things with their art including Melissa Contreras, Brian Viveros. I love certain companies like Cram Cram and Harajuku lovers for their design sense. I’m just super into fun happy graphics!
Where does your inspiration come from? I get inspired by all sorts of things. A lot of times it’s jokes between my husband Josh and I, or things that have happened in my life. Sometimes it’s movies or songs or TV shows or vintage graphics. Pretty much anything that has some sort of impact on me.
What do you do to combat creative block? Doodling is the answer for that. If you just sit there not doing anything, complaining that you have no ideas, you will get no ideas. Make yourself do something, anything, to move forward and it’ll help the ideas start flowing again.
Where do you design your creations? It’s a tie between my computer in our bedroom and the kitchen table. If I’m knitting or crocheting, that’s usually on the couch, or with the Long Beach Stitch n Bitch Group. They’re an awesomely fun bunch of ladies!
What does your work space look like right now? Two words. Mess Eeee.
How does your family feel about what you do? My husband is the most supportive person on the planet in terms of my quest to be a full-time Hearts and Laser Beams employee. He’s super helpful at craft shows and he’s always coming up with fun ideas for me to use. He’s the perfect partner in crime! The rest of my family is pretty awesome about it too, very excited about the progress I’ve been making lately!
Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own creations using this method? Just keep going, going, going towards your goals and have a blast doing it. That’s what’s been working for me!
Best advice you received when starting your own business venture? Get EVERYTHING in writing when it comes to business agreements! Receipts are a must!
Favorite part of owning your own business? Having projects to work on where I don’t have a boss telling me what to make and what it should look like. It’s been a blast thinking “Hey, this stuff is funny. I want to make it like this” and then doing exactly that. Then having people come up to my table at craft shows and start giggling!
Meeting all sorts of other awesome crafty people has been totally cool too. I’ve joined forces with the Long Beach Craft Mafia (www.longbeachcraftmafia.com) and it’s really been helpful in finding out about shows and sharing information as to what works and what doesn’t for various crafty ventures. I’m excited about venturing into print advertising with them this year to get our names out there more!
Least favorite? Trying to learn all about running a small business is a little intimidating! I’m plowing through it. Though, I’ve been arming myself with books, like Small Business for Dummies to learn important things like how to write a business plan to keep me on track to meet my goal of making Hearts and Laser Beams my only job.
How do you relax? I love to watch movies, the cheesier the better. My husband and I rediscovered laser tag with some of our good friends which has been absolutely AMAZING!
Favorite color? I don’t really have one. I’m just typically drawn to all kinds of bright happy colors.
Does this color show up in a lot of your work? Oh totally!
If there were more hours in the day, what would you be doing? Making tons more stuff for craft shows and my site! Going to the gym! Eating candy!
A sample of HeartsandLaserbeams products. For all products, please visit Steph’s site.
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02.13.08
Posted in Uncategorized, style, fun, site promotion, advertising, interviews, fiber art, crochet at 10:08 am by KellyM
Meet Katie Toohil owner of http://dreadlochness.etsy.com.
Where are you located? Currently Gloucester, MA; soon to be Dallas, TX
What do you design? Hats, headgear, bags, and various other fiber arts items.
Where/How did you learn this? I started crocheting as a kid. My grandmother taught me a few stitches, and from there, I just learned by trial and error. Books and the internet have been very helpful to me! I worked at a theatre as wardrobe supervisor, and I learned several handstitching techniques there, but most of my sewing knowledge I’ve come to on my own.
Favorite Artist who inspires you? There are so many, it’s hard to choose! I’m definitely very inspired by tons of different DIYers out there. I’m inspired by anyone who’s looked at something machine made and overpriced and says “Well, I could do that.”
Where does your inspiration come from? Inspiration is everywhere. Sometimes, it’ll be a song. Sometimes, a sunset. Sometimes, it’s a conversation I have with friends. You never know when it’s going to hit, and it’s always fun when it does.
What do you do to combat creative block? It’s important to take a break every now an again and just let yourself recharge.
Where do you design your creations? I design completely out of my home (and when things are slow at my regular job, shhh don’t tell).
What does your work space look like right now? Messy! I have a little corner of the living room that I use to stash my yarn, and my sewing machine is in my bedroom with a pile of fabric just waiting to be attacked. It’s a constant struggle to keep things relatively organized.
How does your family feel about what you do? My family is incredibly supportive of any of the crazy things I decide to undertake. They’ve been wonderful!
Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own creations using this method? Practice! Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And try new methods as often as possible!
Best advice you received when starting your business venture? Promote yourself. You can be making gorgeous, quality handmade goods, but if no one knows about it, your business won’t be going anywhere.
Favorite part of owning your own business? I like having the freedom to do the things my own way and not answer to a boss or higher up. I also make my own hours and do what I enjoy!
Least favorite? When it’s just you, there’s no slacking. You have to be going all the time, always creating, always getting the word out there, always moving! (I secretly love this.)
How do you relax? Crafting, which is convenient, because that’s also my business! It’s important to love what you do, that way it doesn’t feel so much like work.
Favorite color? Blue!
Does this color show up in a lot of your work? Yes, though I often have to control myself at the yarn store and make sure I’m not loaded up only on blue yarn!
If there were more hours in the day, what would you be doing? Working. I’m sort of a workaholic and I’d love more hours a day to build my stock and promote!
A sample of Dreadlochness products. For all products, please visit Katies website.
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