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Archive: Interviews
May 1, 2008
CraftSanity Podcast with Jenny Hart
Catch Jennifer of CraftSanty's latest podcast with embroidery queen Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching. You'll also be able to download a free stitching pattern! Also, now through Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) everything in Jenny's Sublime Stitching store is 10% off.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
May 1, 2008 11:00 AM
Interviews, Needlearts |
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April 25, 2008
Feeling Stitchy Interview with Doe-C-Doe
Feeling Stitchy has posted a great interview with crafter Gina from Doe-C-Doe. Check it out for some gorgeous eye candy and insights into this clever crafter's inspirations.
Posted by Jenny Ryan |
Apr 25, 2008 03:00 PM
Interviews, Needlearts |
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April 24, 2008
Ariana Marinelli Interview and Staindrop Hedgehog Pattern
Kristen of Plush You! has an interview with crafter Ariana Marinelli who makes plush goodness like these hedgehogs above. Read the interview and enter the giveaway to win two albino hedgehogs. Ariana also includes a pattern to make the cute little hedgehogs above.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 24, 2008 10:00 AM
Amigurumi and Toys, Interviews, Patterns, Sewing |
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April 20, 2008
Plush You! Interview + Giveaway with Jenny Harada
Kristin of Plush You! has got a great interview with Jenny Harada who makes the most wonderful plush monsters. You can also enter the giveaway for a chance of winning a custom plush just for you made by Jenny!
For those of you in the Seattle, WA area, Plush You! is also looking for an intern.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Apr 20, 2008 08:00 AM
Amigurumi and Toys, Interviews |
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April 16, 2008
Sandi Henderson Interview @ QuiltersBuzz
QuiltersBuzz recently posted an interview with designer Sandi Henderson, who shares her free PDF pattern for these frilly Ruffle Pillows, which have of course been made with her signature Ginger Blossom fabric.
Posted by Jenny Ryan |
Apr 16, 2008 12:00 PM
Fabric, Interviews, Patterns |
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April 10, 2008
Black Apple Podcast & Bookplates
The latest CraftSanity podcast features a chat with the super-popular Emily Martin of The Black Apple. In addition to sharing her thoughts on creativity, Emily also shares these cute downloadable bookplates she designed. The Black Apple on CraftSanity
Posted by Jenny Ryan |
Apr 10, 2008 07:00 PM
Interviews |
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March 19, 2008
CraftBoom's Q+A with Kristin Link of Sew, Mama, Sew!
The CraftBoom blog recently interviewed Kristin Link, who owns the fabulous online fabric shop Sew, Mama, Sew! Check it out and find out how she turned a love of fabric into a successful business. Interview with Sew, Mama, Sew!
Posted by Jenny Ryan |
Mar 19, 2008 03:00 PM
Craft Business, Interviews |
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March 7, 2008
My Neighborhood - Steve Lambert
The neighborhood where I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has a really high concentration of crafty people and shops. Previously I profiled Victor Osborne. Today I have a profile of artist Steve Lambert.
In addition to his work as CEO of Anti-Advertising Agency and creator of AddArt, Steve makes some pretty cool drawings. I previously posted about the ones he did with Packard Jennings for Wish You Were Here! Postcards from Our Awesome Future. Steve just posted an Instructable explaining the drawing technique he used for the project that he calls Drawing for Non-Majors. Steve developed the technique at Eyebeam where he is a Senior Fellow.
Steve starts with a photograph and then manipulates it through combining it with other images, tracing, rotating, layering and adjusting it using digital tools like Illustrator. The end result is a combination of "flat, comic book style and 'how to evacuate the airplane.'" Steve's background is in photography with a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from UC Davis. He likes that this technique includes photo realism, but that it also allows him to manipulate the image to emphasize specific parts and make the image more engaging for the viewer. His bread and butter tools for drawing are a laser printer, light box, slide projector, slide film, and pigma micron pens.
Steve Lambert
visitsteve.com
• Drawing for Non-Majors on Instructables - Link.
• See my Steve Lambert Flickr photo set - Link
• Steve Lambert's Flickr photos - Link.
Posted by Michelle Kempner |
Mar 7, 2008 09:00 AM
Arts, Interviews |
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February 12, 2008
Betz White Interview on CraftSanity
I just got to meet crafter Betz White for the first time yesterday at CHA. She's an amazing crafter and is so warm in person. It's fun to finally meet someone you've been emailing with for the last year or so. Betz has a new interview up with Jennifer of CraftSanity that you have to listen to where she talks about her new book Warm Fuzzies, 30 Sweet Felted Projects and her past appearance on the Martha Show. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Feb 12, 2008 10:00 AM
Interviews |
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February 6, 2008
Mahar Drygoods Artist Profiles
If you haven't checked out the Mahar Drygoods blog lately, you really ought to pay them a visit. They've been running fabulous profile pieces on the various artists who create the offbeat kiddy crafts sold on the incomparable Mahar Drygoods website. Profiles include Cathy of California, Kim Baxter of Kissycake, Elizabeth Soule and many more. Click through for the full archive. Link.
Posted by Jenny Ryan |
Feb 6, 2008 05:00 PM
Interviews, Kids |
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January 31, 2008
Blogs We Love: Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
This week we Craft bloggers are sharing with you our favorite blogs (besides Craft and Make, of course!). I caught up with Lenore Edman from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories to talk about her philosophies on creativity and what she does at EMSL. She runs her blog and small business with her husband, Windell Oskay, where together they post new and fun DIY projects ranging from racing toothbrush robots to edible googly eyes.
Lenore is an inspiring creator. She writes:
Most people who make things tend to specialize in a certain area, whether it be electronics, yarn, paper or food. Whether you call something shop or home ec. doesn't really change that at the root, you're learning a set of skills for creating things. I'm a liberal arts kind of Jane-of-all-trades: I can do a little of everything, and I apply it all everywhere, but I don't have any specifically marketable skills. I'm not afraid of fitting a fabric cover to a plywood frame or of putting electronics in a plush toy. I think translation stages are cute, and I love vintage packaging materials. I adore bearings and am not afraid to pack them with grease. The most important thing for me is to have someone to brainstorm with and to not be afraid of any ideas, no matter how far fetched or ridiculous they may seem.
Lenore and Windell publish online how-to guides for their projects, and believe very strongly in sharing what they love:
What I do is mash up a bunch of different making techniques to implement ideas. I'm incredibly lucky in that my techniques mesh well with and complement my partner's techniques. We get to combine more methods than most makers. And what we do that sets us aside from most people who make things is to write up what we do and share it with everyone else. It takes more time to make [projects] when you're dedicated to documenting the process; so why do it? What I really love is finding out that someone else benefited from the information I've put out there. It is incredibly satisfying to find out that a project I wrote up inspired someone to try something new. Because that is what it is all about: not being afraid to try something new, whether it be with food, sewing, electronics, or whatever it is that makes you happy.
Lenore comes from a family with a strong do-it-yourself tradition, and was always encouraged to experiment throughout her childhood. Innovation comes from necessity -- Lenore learned to maintain her bike for when she couldn't afford a car. She and Windell want to propagate the confidence to experiment with new techniques to get your ideas out there. Their projects and kits available at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories are an inspiration to anyone skirting the maker/crafter line. - Link.
Related:
- Blogs We Love: A Ervilha cor de Rosa - Link.
- Blogs We Love: Oh Joy! - Link.
- Blogs We Love: Knick Knacks & Ric Rac - Link.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Jan 31, 2008 02:00 PM
General, Interviews |
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My Neighborhood - Victor Osborne
The neighborhood where I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has a really high concentration of crafty people and shops. I started visiting these people so I can share their stories and work with the readers of the Craft blog. Last time was Lisa Levine from Lisa Levine Jewelry. This week we are going inside Victor Osborne's amazing hat store.
Victor opened his store and design atelier in Williamsburg in August of 2006. Victor Osborne's hats are made on location and the store is a place for neighborhood locals to drop in on weekends to buy a hat or watch the design process. During the week, Victor sells his hats to stores and designers for fashion shows.
Victor got interested in hats from an aunt he describes as "very Breakfast at Tiffany's." He attended FIT for women's wear and majored in knitwear, but found that he kept gravitating towards accessories and hats. His favorite hats to work on are blocked hats because they are very sculptural. Blocked hats are made by using steam to mold felt to wooden hat blocks. According to Victor, only one major hat manufacturer in the US still uses this traditional technique.
Inside the store is a mix of Victor Osborne's current designs, unique vintage hats and tools of the trade like wooden hat blocks and books. It would be hard to walk around without trying on a few hats. I have to admit that I bought 2 hats before I left.
Victor Osborne
364 Leonard St
Brooklyn, NY
victorosborne.com
• See all my Flickr photos from Victor Osborne - Link.
• Victor Osborne's Flickr - Link
• How to Block a Felt Body on a One-Piece Block - Link
Posted by Michelle Kempner |
Jan 31, 2008 07:00 AM
Fashion, Interviews |
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January 23, 2008
Etsy's Featured Buyer: Faythe Levine of Handmade Nation
Etsy's featured buyer this week is our friend, Faythe Levine, documentary filmmaker of Handmade Nation. Handmade Nation is a documentary about us -- about the rise of DIY and the new wave of art, craft and design. Also, take a visit to her Etsy shop where you can get this super cute Handmade Nation T-shirt or other craft goodies to help support the documentary. Read more about Faythe and Handmade Nation in her interview here. Link.
Related:
Watch the Handmade Nation Trailer - Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jan 23, 2008 08:39 AM
Bazaar, Interviews |
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January 22, 2008
CraftSanity Interview with Hilary Seabolt + Felt Fortune Cookies Tutorial
This week, Jennifer of CraftSanity talks with Hilary Seabolt the creative force behind Lily Bean Market, a place where you can buy toy felt food for your children or bring home the cuteness for yourself. As an added bonus, find out how to make Hilary's felt fortune cookies! Listen to the CraftSanity podcast with Hilary Seabolt of Lily Bean Market here. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jan 22, 2008 10:00 AM
Amigurumi and Toys, Interviews, Patterns, Sewing |
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January 19, 2008
Plush You Interview with Shawnimals
Kristen of Plush You talks with Shawnimals the maker of such cute toys that I adore when I go work at those craft fairs. Read the full interview here on Plush You. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jan 19, 2008 05:00 PM
Amigurumi and Toys, Interviews |
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January 18, 2008
My Neighborhood - Lisa Levine Jewelry
The neighborhood where I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has a really high concentration of crafty people and shops. I started visiting these people so I can share their stories and work with the readers of the Craft blog. Last week was Wendy Yang of Maiden Hong Kong. This week... I talked to Lisa Levine from Lisa Levine Jewelry.
Lisa Levine (rhymes with wine) makes really beautiful dangle earrings. She has been making jewelry for a long time. She made her first jewelry in the 4th grade for a church bazaar. She and a friend made friendship bracelets and earned $60. Later, she got her first job at a bead store. For college, Lisa got her BFA in painting and sculpture at California College of Art. After she finished school, she started making earrings and taking them around to stores to get orders. In 2006, she opened her jewelry store on Metropolitan Ave in Williamsburg.
Everything in Lisa's store is handmade in the back of the store. She draws her inspiration from materials and lets the design evolve out of that constraint. She also uses a lot of found objects and chains.
Lisa Levine Jewelry
536 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY
lisalevinejewelry.com
• See all my Flickr photos at Lisa Levine Jewelry - Link.
• Lisa Levine Catch the Sun Jewelry on Cool Hunting - Link
Lisa showed me her studio in the back of the store and walked through the steps to making earrings. Before I could tell her that my ears aren't pierced, she had made an earring and put it in my ear. Okay my ears are pierced, but I haven't worn earrings in a really long time. Pictures of Lisa's steps follow.
Read full storyPosted by Michelle Kempner |
Jan 18, 2008 06:00 AM
Craft Business, Interviews, Jewelry |
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January 9, 2008
Jenny Hart Interviewed on CraftBoom
CraftBoom has posted a new "Crafting Heroes" interview with Sublime Stitching's Jenny Hart, where she tells us all about starting her super-popular D.I.Y. business. Link.
Posted by Jenny Ryan |
Jan 9, 2008 09:00 PM
Craft Business, Interviews |
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My Neighborhood - Maiden Hong Kong
The neighborhood where I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has a really high concentration of crafty people and shops. I started visiting these people so I can share their stories and work with the readers of the Craft blog. Up first... Wendy Yang of Maiden Hong Kong.
Maiden Hong Kong is a really cute store on Lorimer Street. Wendy Yang opened the store in August 2005. The store carries a mix of vintage clothes mostly from Hong Kong, China, and Japan. There are several sewing machines in the corner because every piece of vintage clothing gets altered, restored and repaired before it gets put out in the store. When she has time, Wendy makes clothing to sell in the store. In fact, every time I go by the store someone is working at a sewing machine.
I really like that Maiden Hong Kong feels rooted in the neighborhood and community. They are even starting to offer sewing classes next week with the first class on January 15th. The class is for absolute beginners and will cover both hand and machine sewing. Over 5 weeks, students will learn to make the project of their choice.
Maiden Hong Kong
502 Lorimer Street (on the corner of Powers)
Brooklyn, NY
maidenhongkong.com
• See all my Flickr photos at Maiden Hong Kong - Link.
• Maiden Hong Kong User Reviews on Citysearch. (The first review is sweet!) - Link.
Posted by Michelle Kempner |
Jan 9, 2008 07:00 AM
Craft Business, Interviews, Sewing |
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December 12, 2007
Jeaneology Book Giveaway
Head on over to Adorn's blog where our craft friends Susan Beal does a mini-interview with Nancy Flynn, author of the new book, Jeaneology: Crafty Ways to Reinvent Your Old Blues. Learn how to take your old denim jeans and refashion them into something new from a belt to a handbag, and more. If you comment to Adorn's post (click on the link) before next Tuesday, Dec 18th you'll be entered in to win one of five books that will be given away. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Dec 12, 2007 09:00 AM
Interviews |
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November 26, 2007
DEPART-ment Interview
As craft fairs are popping up around the country this holiday season, for the last 4 years in Chicago, there's a different way handmade goods are being sold. DEPART-ment is like one big store you can shop -- where things are organized in groups by product, much like how a store is. You also pay for everything at 1 checkout area. I got a chance to talk with the organizers of the event Sarah Bortt, Laurie Freivogel, and Ariel Samara before their next big DEPART-ment event coming up this weekend November 30 - December 2.
DEPART-ment
AV-aerie (formerly Open-End)
2000 W. Fulton *310, Chicago
Friday, Nov 30: 7pm - 11pm
Saturday, December 1: 11am - 5pm
Sunday, December 2: 11am - 5pm
Nat: Please tell me about DEPART-ment and a little bit about yourselves.
DEPART-ment: DEPART-ment started in Chicago in December of 2003 as a twist on the traditional craft fair. Imagine it more like the indie store of your dreams. Instead of vendor booths, we group items into departments (get it?), with a central checkout area and helpful volunteer "staff" ready to assist you. We've hosted four shows a year since the beginning, to provide as many handmade alternatives for consumers as possible, including one show a year at the Pitchfork Music Festival.
Our focus is providing ethical, handmade alternatives to consumers by offering as wide a variety of goods as possible, to reconnect buyer and seller - an experience that's lost in the modern economic model. Buyers can form relationships with the creators, learn their process, collaborate with them and order custom work - making us all "together for new economy" (our tagline). We also aim to nurture relationships between makers. Instead of having our participants trapped behind a table all weekend, we ask that they volunteer for a shift during the show, working alongside their fellow participants. This allows us to get to know each other and to better foster community.
We have seven organizers, all makers, five who sell their goods through DEPART-ment. We share a lot of common philosophies, but we're also all very different, which makes DEPART-ment pretty well-rounded. The three of us talking here are:
Sarah Bortt: Sarah is an all around organizer, educator, and maker of many things. She has been participating as a maker in DEPART-ment from it's inception. Shortly after the first show, she realized how fabulous the organizers were and decided that she should join in their efforts. Fond of repurposing and trash-into-treasure philosophies, she often creates from items that might otherwise end up in the dump. She currently makes soap, plays the banjo, etches drinking glasses, and makes jewelry, purses, wallets out of things like used truck tire inner tubes & old game pieces.
(Sarah is pictured left on Halloween in her Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders string band (her band) outfit that she made for ALL of her bandmates.)
Ariel Samara: After creating and selling at DEPART-ment since December of 2004, Ariel liked DEPART-ment so much that she became an organizer in 2006. She keeps the website pretty and informative, designs promotional materials, handles PR related tasks, and still finds time to come up with fancy ideas for lovely objects. When she's not working at her day job doing freelance web design, she creates elegant jewelry from translucent vinyl, designs under clothes + over clothes (and soon, travel clothes), as well as purses from fabrics picked up on her travels.
(Ariel is pictured center.)
Laurie Freivogel: Laurie has made things for fun since childhood (remember latch hook rugs?), but didn't consider turning it into a business until she went to her first DEPART-ment in March of 2004. She was so inspired that she went and bought a kiln and taught herself how to fuse glass, and her business Kiku Handmade was born. In July of 2005, she became an organizer. It's often joked that Laurie is DEPART-ment's poster child. She makes fused glass jewelry, belt buckles, and when that gets old she knits, sews, makes knitting needles and crafts with her kids.
(Laurie is pictured right.)
Nat: How did the idea come about to create this? How much work goes into getting DEPART-ment together, since most of you are also running your own crafty businesses or working full time?
DEPART-ment: In the beginning, Marshall Preheim and a few others brainstormed the idea of a craft collective in a store setup that allowed for maximum participation, and that provided as many handmade goods as possible to provide for every need - from fetish to function. DEPART-ment is designed to be very low-risk to foster future makers participation. We have low barriers of entry to encourage more people to create things and try to make a living working with their hands. There is an emphasis on participating at any level -- whether it's someone just starting out with only a few pieces, or an experienced maker with a wide variety of items. We also wanted to offer up the opportunity for shoppers to buy as wide a variety of goods as possible directly from the person that made it (ok, not a car, for instance, but custom car seat covers? maybe!) instead of shopping at the local mega-chain.
Organizing roles vary from financial tasks (paying out participants, year end taxes, paying sales tax) to entering vendors and prices into our cash register database, to design (both print and website), to coordinating volunteers, to decorating. We each have a main task, and we meet together regularly to collaborate. In the months that lead up to the show, we do tend to put in a lot of hours, but still manage to find time to craft.
Nat: Do you think there is a growing market for these kinds of craft "stores" and fairs that seem to be popping up around the country? Why do you think people are flocking to buy handmade?
DEPART-ment: We talk about this a lot, and are thrilled that the crafting community has grown exponentially over the last few years. For the most part, the community is totally supportive, both online and locally, allowing people empower themselves through craft, either as a hobby or a full blown business. We feel that, in order to continue to grow, it needs to evolve to keep it interesting to makers and shoppers alike, and keep a step ahead of the chain stores, who glom onto and exploit trends like these. We have to find ways to expand the market and get people away from buying mass made items from overseas. Buying locally and buying handmade allows shoppers to have something truly unique and special, and to have a connection with the maker and the product.
Nat: Can you tell us what kind of fun products will be at DEPART-ment?
DEPART-ment: For the holiday show, we'll have goods from over 120 local and national makers. Some of the specific things that we'll have that we think are extra cool are coasters made from sliced and polished rocks, lighting made from delicate curls of wood, etched glasses from recycled bottles, one-of-a-kind freeform crocheted hats, every kind of jewelry ranging from cute, shrinky-dink necklaces to elegant, one-of-a-kind stones set in sterling, new + recycled fashion, amazing cloth + repurposed truck tire inner tube handbags, paintings, prints + photography, stationary, cat + dog toys (can't forget the pets!), amazing sewn and crocheted plush and cool, vintage-inspired baby gifts and much more.
How should interested crafters who want to participate in your event for next year contact you?
DEPART-ment: Email info[at]depart-ment[dot]com and ask to be put on the makers email list -- you'll get updates about upcoming shows. We have all kinds of information on how to participate on our website, at www.depart-ment.com.
Nat: Are there any special plans for DEPART-ment in 2008?
DEPART-ment: Since the last three shows have happened so fast (July at the Pitchfork Music Festival, October at AV-aerie, and now December at AV-aerie), we haven't had as much time as we'd like to talk about the future. We'll meet in January to start planning for the year. Some ideas we've been considering include perhaps doing special themed shows, and reviving workshops on things that interest crafters (tax + business issues, how to photograph your work, etc.) during our Sunday morning participants brunch. We also plan on making the website more informative, adding a blog and links to our flickr account.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Nov 26, 2007 12:00 PM
Interviews |
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