This Colorful Felted Ball is definitely one of my favorites from her shop. Other folks clearly like it as well, since it's been featured on Etsy's front page! (Congrats for that, Angie!)
I just love all the textures and colors in Angie's shop, and it's always fun to learn more about a fellow local Etsian. Enjoy the interview!
1. To which Etsy Teams do you belong?
I belong to the SFetsy team, Schooling at Home Etsians (Sheteam), and the Crafting in Color (CIC team)
2. Please tell us about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How
did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?
My newest and favorite items are my textile collage scarves. They're made of yarn and other textiles, but sewn together into one thick, soft, warm little bundle, rather than knitted or crocheted. I also have crocheted bracelets, some dainty, some chunky, and upcycled textile rings. And let's not forget the beads and buttons. It's quite a variety of items, but they're unified by my love for bold, interesting color combinations.
I do so many different crafts, it's hard to sum up how I've learned them all. Mostly I get inspired by things that others have done, or ideas from books. If I don't know how to do something I'll google an online tutorial. Often I'll take an idea and change it to make it my own. And my favorite part of the process is choosing the colors. So I tend to gravitate toward crafts that are big on flexibility of materials, making design decisions, and making it up as I go. But it's hard for me to stay focussed on pattern intensive projects like knitting or sewing with patterns. It's no fun for me to follow the directions!
3. How did you get involved with Etsy?
One day I told a friend, "I would love to have a shop on Etsy." That Saturday I started my shop! Sometimes I ask myself why I'm doing it, and the answer always boils down to the fact that I just love it. I get a charge out of showing my work to others, and getting positive responses.
4. What inspires your creations?
My biggest inspiration is beautiful, bold colors. But I get ideas all the time. I love to upcycle and to create from things I already have around. My kids also inspire me. I home school my kids. As part of their schooling, I often plan art and craft projects for them. But I almost always get involved and enjoy coming up with my own twist on whatever we're doing. That's how my buttons and beads came about.
5. What is your biggest challenge related to your Etsy shop?
My biggest challenge is time! Home schooling my kids is a full time job. I have so many ideas, but I can only try a few of them in my limited crafting time.
6. What is your favorite item in your shop (currently for sale or previously
sold)? Why is it your favorite?
My favorite item is this scarf:
They have been so much fun to make. I spend a lot of time deciding on colors and choosing yarns and other textiles to go in it. And each time I have no idea exactly what the final result will be, but it always turns out fantastic. The first one I made was for me. I've never worn a scarf before, but now I can hardly wait until it's cold enough.
7. What advice do you have for other folks selling or buying on Etsy?
I don't feel experienced enough to give out much advice. But I do know that when I'm browsing Etsy as a buyer, great photos are really important to me. When photos are bad it's really hard to tell for sure what the item looks like. And poor photos make me wonder if the item is made poorly, too. Learning to take a decent photo is doable for anyone. I read everything on Etsy that I could find on the subject. I also found a photographer friend who was willing to swap a home cooked meal for photography lessons.
8. Tell us two (or more) other interesting things about you.
One of my favorite projects last Spring was participating in a yarn-bombing in the SoFa neighborhood of San Jose. As part of an art festival we wrapped and decorated trees with knitted pieces of all kinds of colors and designs. A lot of them are still there!
And I love to travel. Last Summer we went to Honduras. The islands there are like heaven. Next Fall we're planning an extended trip to Europe.
9. Where else can we find out more about you and/or your creations?
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42862402@N07/
For more Friday Feature interviews at Mama's Magic, click here! And if you're an Etsy artist who is interested in being considered for a feature at my blog, send me a convo through my shop, Mama's Magic Studio!
I just love all the textures and colors in Angie's shop, and it's always fun to learn more about a fellow local Etsian. Enjoy the interview!
1. To which Etsy Teams do you belong?
I belong to the SFetsy team, Schooling at Home Etsians (Sheteam), and the Crafting in Color (CIC team)
2. Please tell us about the items in your Etsy shop. What do you make? How
did you learn your craft? What is involved in your creative process?
My newest and favorite items are my textile collage scarves. They're made of yarn and other textiles, but sewn together into one thick, soft, warm little bundle, rather than knitted or crocheted. I also have crocheted bracelets, some dainty, some chunky, and upcycled textile rings. And let's not forget the beads and buttons. It's quite a variety of items, but they're unified by my love for bold, interesting color combinations.
I do so many different crafts, it's hard to sum up how I've learned them all. Mostly I get inspired by things that others have done, or ideas from books. If I don't know how to do something I'll google an online tutorial. Often I'll take an idea and change it to make it my own. And my favorite part of the process is choosing the colors. So I tend to gravitate toward crafts that are big on flexibility of materials, making design decisions, and making it up as I go. But it's hard for me to stay focussed on pattern intensive projects like knitting or sewing with patterns. It's no fun for me to follow the directions!
3. How did you get involved with Etsy?
One day I told a friend, "I would love to have a shop on Etsy." That Saturday I started my shop! Sometimes I ask myself why I'm doing it, and the answer always boils down to the fact that I just love it. I get a charge out of showing my work to others, and getting positive responses.
4. What inspires your creations?
My biggest inspiration is beautiful, bold colors. But I get ideas all the time. I love to upcycle and to create from things I already have around. My kids also inspire me. I home school my kids. As part of their schooling, I often plan art and craft projects for them. But I almost always get involved and enjoy coming up with my own twist on whatever we're doing. That's how my buttons and beads came about.
5. What is your biggest challenge related to your Etsy shop?
My biggest challenge is time! Home schooling my kids is a full time job. I have so many ideas, but I can only try a few of them in my limited crafting time.
6. What is your favorite item in your shop (currently for sale or previously
sold)? Why is it your favorite?
My favorite item is this scarf:
They have been so much fun to make. I spend a lot of time deciding on colors and choosing yarns and other textiles to go in it. And each time I have no idea exactly what the final result will be, but it always turns out fantastic. The first one I made was for me. I've never worn a scarf before, but now I can hardly wait until it's cold enough.
7. What advice do you have for other folks selling or buying on Etsy?
I don't feel experienced enough to give out much advice. But I do know that when I'm browsing Etsy as a buyer, great photos are really important to me. When photos are bad it's really hard to tell for sure what the item looks like. And poor photos make me wonder if the item is made poorly, too. Learning to take a decent photo is doable for anyone. I read everything on Etsy that I could find on the subject. I also found a photographer friend who was willing to swap a home cooked meal for photography lessons.
8. Tell us two (or more) other interesting things about you.
One of my favorite projects last Spring was participating in a yarn-bombing in the SoFa neighborhood of San Jose. As part of an art festival we wrapped and decorated trees with knitted pieces of all kinds of colors and designs. A lot of them are still there!
And I love to travel. Last Summer we went to Honduras. The islands there are like heaven. Next Fall we're planning an extended trip to Europe.
9. Where else can we find out more about you and/or your creations?
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42862402@N07/
For more Friday Feature interviews at Mama's Magic, click here! And if you're an Etsy artist who is interested in being considered for a feature at my blog, send me a convo through my shop, Mama's Magic Studio!
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1 comment:
this is really cute stuff, yay for yarn!
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