Craft:

I fell in love with the The Pink of Perfection blog right from the start. It was as if Sarah McColl was a crafty friend of mine who I was able to check in on and see what she was working on. Her how-to videos were always fun, very-well put together, and even had a catchy theme song! I loved that she experimented, tinkered, and had a love of crafting that I share. I'm happy to share a recent interview I had with NY based crafter Sarah McColl to get the behind the scenes scoop on the Pink of Perfection and crafting around NY. Read on and prepare to be inspired!

Nat: What was your inspiration for creating Pink of Perfection?

Sarah: I've always liked learning how to make things with my hands and experimenting with recipes and playing around in the kitchen. The real problem was that when I graduated from college and moved to New York my life suddenly felt so soulless and uncreative and lonely.

My then-boyfriend now-fiance, Sebastian Conley, and I were walking around the reservoir in Central Park one cold Saturday afternoon in December 2005. This was around the time that Rocketboom was getting a lot of buzz. So Sebastian told me he thought we should do an online show. He would shoot it, edit it, and design the site and I would come up with the ideas, produce it, and be the host.

But I was dubious, like, "who would want to watch me?" I felt that I was interested in cooking and crafting but not particularly skilled or accomplished in those areas. But Sebastian convinced me I had a nice way of doing things. I am not the best cook or baker or knitter or crafter, and you don't have to be the best to really love the creativity of those endeavors or to love the way they add value to your life in ways that aren't about buying or consuming.

So maybe that story is more about the impetus than the inspiration. But the inspiration was and is always: living creatively and sharing your creativity with a community of people, and finding beauty in the small, imperfect details.

Nat: You do all kinds of DIY projects on the Pink of Perfection blog from food to furniture makeover. What kinds of crafts do you enjoy doing? What have been some of your favorite projects you've done for your blog?

Sarah: I really like finding garbage on the street and thinking, "oooh, what can I make out of this discarded medicine chest/old card table/broken mirror/cardboard box?" It's more a McGyverish mental exercise than anything, thinking about how I can turn some junk into something pretty and/or useful. I also just like simple embellishment: embroidery and gluing ribbon trim onto readymade objects like lamp shades.

So far on POP, I've been really happy with the felt coasters, the time I planted bulbs in soup cans, the big horse stencil wall art we did, and my yoga mat bag, which was one of my first sewing projects! I liked making cufflinks for Sebastian, too.

Nat: Can you share with us how much time goes into a Pink of Perfection segment from idea to final video editing?

Sarah: Let's not even count talking out the idea or me running around town to get supplies. The shoots themselves are usually about 3 hours. Sebastian has come up with some new-fangled way to edit and finish the episodes that shaves off a lot of time (they used to take many, many hours to render), so I think the editing process now takes a solid day. In the beginning of Pink of Perfection we tried to do one episode a week, and you can imagine how it quickly took over our lives in a fun but unsustainable way.

Nat: What are some of your favorite places in NY to get craft supplies or to find creative ideas?

Sarah: I love M&J for ribbon, rick rack, buttons, and all sorts of odds and ends. Pearl Paint and Pearl Craft across Lispenard is great. I love, love, love Purl Patchwork for fabric. I always feel just plain happy and inspired when I go into Rare Device and Flirt in Brooklyn, but I think I get my best ideas in junk stores.

Nat: Do you have a special crafting tip you can share with our readers?

Sarah: Oh dear, not really. It's more advice than a tip, but just learn as you go. Appreciate the little mistakes of a handmade project, and keep your eyes open: there's material for projects everywhere.

Nat: What are some upcoming projects you are working on this spring and summer for Pink of Perfection?

Sarah: I'm hoping to do more entertaining features, complete parties with all the recipes and any accompanying crafts. I also want to sew my first skirt, either using one of the patterns from Betsy Ross or trying to work off a skirt in my closet. And I want to write a Pink of Perfection book, but that might take longer than a summer!