Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

interviews

Interview with Thistle Rose Weaving

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Today I would love to introduce you to Martha of Thistle Rose Weaving. I am a long time admirer of her timeless and classy woven pieces. I know you will find her story very interesting!

What attracted you to weaving? How did you learn?

” When I was a young teen my family lived next door to a Swedish family.  Everyday on my way to and from school I would see our neighbor, Mrs. Skarstad sitting at her huge Swedish CM loom.  My curiosity finally got the better of me and I knocked on her door to ask her what what she was doing with that “thing” that was in her window.  After watching her weave a beautiful white linen tea towel, I was hooked.  Unfortunately my parents were not in interested in buying me an expensive floor loom and my dream of weaving like Mrs. Skarstad stalled, sputtered and went into remission.
My weaving dream remained in the back of mind for many years but time and life got in the way until one day in 1997 I had the idea that if I wanted to learn to weave I better get busy and do so.  Without any idea of what I was doing I bought a very old 4 shaft Kessenich loom from a tiny fabric store in Madison, WI and then ordered Chandler’s “Learning to Weave” book.  I sat down and proceeded to teach myself to weave.   Without access to any weaving teachers I learned via books and good old fashioned trail and error.  The internet was just beginning back then and not many weavers were posting at that time.”

Do you have any other arts and crafts you spend time on?

“I also occasionally knit, spin and sew, but weaving is my true love and I spend as much time as I can working on my looms.”

How long has your Etsy shop been open? Did you aim to sell your weaving or is it something that just came about?

 “My studio is called Thistle Rose Weaving – it is my way of proclaiming affection and admiration for the historical figures Mary Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I. I enjoy the fact that I can in some small way combine two of my interests, renaissance history and weaving.   My shop on Etsy was opened in 1997 as a way to sell my textiles to the public.  “

Your woven pieces have a very distinct, classic and historic style. Is this something that you strive for?

 “Here at Thistle Rose Weaving I delight in weaving heirloom quality traditionally inspired table linens and textiles.  I try to use primarily natural fibers in all my work along with a dash of inspiration from the nature that surrounds my country home.  Traditional Scandinavian weaving techniques have always interested me, I feel that classic design is timeless and blends into any decor.  I strive to provide my clients with well made high quality textiles that will stand the test of time.”

What are your favourite fibres to use and why?

” Cottolin yarns, those spun with 45% linen and 55% long staple cotton fibers are my favorite yarns to work with for household textiles.  Good long staple cottons that are colorfast are also a staple of my yarn stash – working with natural fiber yarns is expensive but pays off in the long run by being long lasting and beautiful.  Silk or silk blends are also a joy to use when I turn my interests towards weaving shawls and scarves.  “

What single item do you seem to make or sell the most of?

“I am primarily known as a towel weaver.  Many weavers do not like to weave long warps of towels because they find the endless warps too repetitive.   I enjoy the challenge of weaving towels with different treadlings and color change.  I strive to make each towel something special.  Using traditional weaving drafts and modifying them to my taste is something that keeps me coming back to my loom time and again.”

Are there any challenges for you in making a living from your weaving?

“The time it takes to design an item, warp the yarns, set up the loom, weave, wash, iron and finish the handwoven textile is very long.  If a weaver actually charged a living hourly wage for just the labor alone, one tea towel would cost well over $75.00 or more.   Most weavers are never going to get rich weaving, we would love to be able to support our family with this ancient fine craft but in today’s society that is not going to happen.”

What are your hopes and plans for the future of your business?

 “I hope to keep weaving well into the future and do harbor a dream of opening a weaving studio somewhere out in the public eye where I can run an open studio.  It would be great to demonstrate and teach those who are interested in learning. ” 

Being based in Brethren, Michigan, what do you love about where you live?

“My husband and I moved to Brethren, MI just over a year ago.  After a 22 year career in the military and a second 12 year career in the public sector my husband decided it was high time we get busy and build the farm we have long dreamed of.  We moved to Northern Michigan to start our farm, Witcher Highland Cattle where we raise registered Scottish Highland Cattle.  Some say we are nuts to begin yet another career but we are happy to live surrounded by the Manistee National Forrest, Lake Michigan and our beloved farm.  Life is good.”

Thanks to Martha for joining us today and sharing a little of her weaving life with us! If you want to check out her beautiful woven pieces (and I know you will!) you can find the Thistle Rose Weaving shop here.

Thanks for taking the time to read, until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Interview with Felicia Lo from Sweet Georgia Yarns

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Today I’d like to introduce you to the lovely Felicia, who grew a successful yarn company from the humble beginnings of a small blog. I love Felicia’s adventurous spirit when it comes to all things fibre and how she continues to learn, explore and create. She also happens to have possibly the cutest two kids I’ve ever seen!

You have a strong interest in more than one type of fibre art. Can you tell us about some of them?

“Yes! Sometimes I wish I could streamline my making and narrow my focus to just one fibre art… but I really do love the interaction of weaving, spinning, dyeing, and knitting. If you’re going to weave, you’ll need yarn… and what’s better than weaving with yarn that you dyed yourself or even yarn that you spun from fibre that you dyed? It’s so powerful to be able to control and affect the finished object at so many levels and can open up your creative possibilities. So the things I make tend to take longer since I want to be involved in the dyeing and weaving processes at the very least. And since colour is so significant as a personal expression, I feel like the work doesn’t have my “signature” on it if the yarn isn’t hand-dyed. 

And while we create hand-dyed yarns and fibres at SweetGeorgia, knitting with hand-dyed yarns is really my hobby. I nearly always have a project with me for car rides, soccer practice, swimming lessons, and Netflix nights.” 

What attracted you to weaving? How did you learn?

“When I think back, I remember my parents giving me a Fisher Price toy loom when I was a kid. It was basically a rigid heddle loom and it was AWESOME. I remember weaving really thick white acrylic yarn and making a fabric that I hand sewed into a tiny purse. It wasn’t pretty, but I was so young, I just thought it was magic to be able to make something like that. 

It wasn’t until I was almost 30 when I actually started to weave. It was actually my spinning teacher that gently enabled me to really start weaving. She taught both spinning and weaving at a school here in the Vancouver area. I took the spinning classes in a room that was FILLED with floor looms. It was inspiring and the itch to weave was inescapable. Originally she told me that weaving used up lots of yarn and since I was making tons of hand-dyed yarn, I just thought it would be a great way of using up yarn.

I joined the weaving class and remember learning how to wind a warp, how to dress a loom back to front, and then for one of my first projects, I wove a silk scarf from yarn that had been handpainted. Every part of the process felt addictive — threading the heddles, sleying the reed, tying onto the front apron rod, throwing the shuttle — all of it was addictive and I was always craving a little bit more. “

How did SweetGeorgia Yarns come about?

“SweetGeorgia happened quite unintentionally. It was 2004 and I was a web developer at the time and I was familiar with blogs, but didn’t realize there was a growing community of knitting bloggers until I started searching Google for information about this Rowan sweater design I wanted to knit (it’s this sweater, if you’re curious: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/audrey). Turns out there was a “knit along” for this sweater design and knitters from all over the world were knitting this pattern, taking photos of it, writing about their process, and documenting their successes and failures. And that’s when I realized that a blog was more than just a way of communicating or recording project details — it was (at that time) a way to participate in the greater craft community.

So of course, I started a blog so that I could also report on my Audrey sweater progress and random bread baking escapades. There were only one or two bread baking blog posts and then I continued to document my learning and experiences in knitting, dyeing, spinning, and weaving. The hand-dyeing I was doing caught the attention of the community and I found a lot of encouragement to continue dyeing and begin a little Etsy shop. So in 2005, I opened a small Etsy shop from my dining room table with three skeins of yarn. Now almost 14 years later, we have a team of about 13 people who help run our production dye studio! “

As a successful business woman who also has a young family, you must get asked the question “How do you do it all?” What are some of your strategies for balancing family, business and creative time?

“It’s funny because I’m asking every other mom/boss the same thing! I think I even asked you, Kelly, this same question over email! I can say, it’s not easy, but I try to keep a good balance of work and family life. Since my kids are still young, they go to school for part of the day and then my youngest, Nina, who is only three years old now, will join me for Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. So I squish work time into the hours when they are at school. Then when the kids are with me, I try to be present and put my work away, but we might do things like go to the dye studio together or do some craft room tidying and tasks (they like to wind balls of yarn). I generally never work on weekends or evenings anymore and I try to spend evenings with my husband, but that’s when I also try to squeeze in some knitting or weaving time. 

I’ve also discovered this phenomenon where work expands to fill the time that you give it. If you give yourself 4 hours to do a job, it takes 4 hours. But if you only have 3 hours to do the same job, miraculously, it takes only 3 hours. So, I’ve started doing more “time boxing” and giving myself a set amount of time to do any one thing and the thing has to be done within that time frame (because there is no other time to do it). So, this allows me to schedule out my week and account for all the things that need to get done. For example, filming the vlog always happens on Wednesday afternoons between 3 and 4 pm, editing the vlog always happens on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 am, and all of that needs to happen because the vlog HAS to be published at 10 am on Friday morning. It’s kind of great to give yourself this set window to work… otherwise, editing a video could easily take 8 hours if you let it and then you’ll definitely feel like there is never enough time. “

How many looms do you personally own and which is your favourite?

“It’s so hard to pick favourites! Over the years, I have acquired a few looms including an 8-shaft Louet Spring 110 cm loom, an 8-shaft Schacht Baby Wolf in cherry, a 4-shaft Leclerc Nilus 45”, plus a handful of smaller looms like a 4-shaft Schacht table loom, a Louet 4-shaft Klik loom, an Ashford 16” Sample It rigid heddle loom, an Ashford 20” Knitters loom, and a Schacht 25” Flip loom. Oh and that’s not including two wooden frame looms from Woven Wood Goods and a whole bunch of tiny frame looms from Purl & Loop. Oh dear, when you list them out like that, it looks like a lot of looms… but I’m generally weaving on just about two at a time. And I enjoy having this “fleet” of looms (what’s the word for a whole bunch of looms?) because it gives me the opportunity to lend the portable looms out to weaving-curious friends! I love them all… ok maybe I like the Spring, Baby Wolf, and Sample It looms the best right now because that’s mostly what I’m using on a regular basis. “

What are your favourite fibre/threads to use and why?

“Silk has always appealed to me and so when I first started learning to weave, I only wanted to weave silk and everything with 100% silk. But since that time, I’ve grown to love all kinds of fibres and yarns for weaving. I love untreated wool in the way that it fulls and blooms. And I love cashmere for unrivalled softness. I’m also totally in love with kid mohair and silk and love to use that in the weft. Ultimately, I’m really drawn to the texture and feel of the yarn itself and so I consider how the textures can meld together between warp and weft to make something fabulous to feel. “

What items do you love to weave the most?

“This year I tried doing a little bit of rep weave, having been obsessed with images of it on Pinterest. But I’ve loved weaving big blankets for family and friends and also scarves and shawls. I could just play with the interaction between colour and texture for the next decade (as I have for the past decade) and still wouldn’t tire of it. “

What did you do for work before starting your business?

“I’ve had a number of career changes in my life. I started off as a community pharmacist after graduating from the University of British Columbia. And then shortly after, I transitioned into my own design business. I had started doing graphic design and web development for clients when I was still in university and so when I graduated, so slowly moved away from pharmacy work and moved towards design work. And then when I was 28 years old, I started the SweetGeorgia blog and it morphed into what it is today. I just rolled up my graphic design skills and experience into focusing entirely on SweetGeorgia. “

One of your more recent endeavours is the School of SweetGeorgia. Tell us a little bit about that.

“Yes! Two years ago, I began building an online video-based fibre arts school called the School of SweetGeorgia. The idea was to build up a deep knowledge resource of education for the full spectrum of the fibre arts. From dyeing to spinning to weaving to knitting, sprinkling in a good dose of colour theory and design content as well. The School is currently offered as a subscription-based membership that also includes an active discussion forum and monthly livestream Q&As to help support our members. 

This all began when I first published my book “Dyeing to Spin & Knit” and people were inviting me to travel to teach workshops at conferences and shops all over. I have two little kids at home and didn’t want to be away from my family with all these traveling and teaching opportunities. So instead, I decided to film my teaching and workshops so that I could provide education from wherever I am to my students, wherever they happen to be. Then we can all learn and connect from wherever we are.”

What are your plans for the future of your business? 

“SweetGeorgia will be celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2020 and we will be three years into the School of SweetGeorgia at that time too. Our mission has always been to bring light to people’s lives through colour and craft, and we’ve been aiming to do that through making beautiful hand-dyed yarn and fibre and designing timeless knitwear patterns for our craft community. In our future, I’d like to see us welcome more makers, weavers, spinners, dyers, and knitters to the craft community. I’d like us to use our focus on education to introduce people to a new hobby or craft that might bring their lives light and joy. “

Being based in Vancouver, Canada, what is one of your favourite places to visit? 

“If you come to Vancouver, no doubt I will offer to take you to two of my favourite places — Grouse Mountain where we ski and snowboard in the winter and where my husband and I got married, and Finch’s Tea, my favourite place for sandwiches.”

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Thank you for joining me here Felicia, I know my readers will be so inspired by your story, your enthusiasm and by all you do!

You can visit Felicia by following these links:

Sweet Georgia Yarns

Instagram

Facebook

Thanks for reading friends, until next time…

Happy Weaving!

Interview with Mirrix Looms

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I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Claudia Chase, President of Mirrix Looms. You may be aware that I am quite taken by the tapestry looms available from Mirrix and have one on my Wishlist, as I discussed in this post.


                                              Photo credit Williams-Prior Art + Design


When did you first become interested in weaving? How did you learn? What attracted you to it?

I became interested in weaving when I was nine or ten. I saw a rigid heddle loom in the home goods department of Macy’s! My parents bought it for me for Christmas. I was hooked. But that was cloth weaving and it would take me many years to realize my passion was actually tapestry weaving. That happened when I was pregnant with my daughter Elena. There was a tapestry course being offered in San Francisco, CA (United States) where I was living at the time. The class seemed more like a gathering of women who wanted to weave together and not a lot of instruction seemed to be happening. They were also doing some natural dyeing and it struck me that although the onion skins were cool maybe the heavy metal they were using to fix it was not the best thing for my pregnant self. I attended two classes. I learned only one thing: I loved tapestry and I was going to master it on my own. 


When did you decide to start a business and how did you settle on a name?

I designed the loom with a friend because I wanted a high-end very portable metal tapestry loom. A metal loom existed called the Hagen but the smallest size was 24 inches and I wanted something really small that I could throw in a bag and haul wherever I might go. I didn’t want to miss any opportunity to get in a few weft passes. I also wanted a loom with a more sophisticated shedding device along with excellent tension. Our prototype was ten inches wide. Sometimes life just happens and the next thing I knew I  was in business manufacturing portable metal looms. The name came from the joining of a Greek and Italian verb to mirror or to wonder. I just added “ix” at the end and Mirrix was born!


                                            Photo credit Williams-Prior Art + Design

Mirrix looms are quite unique in design and aesthetics. What influenced your decisions on materials and style for your looms?

I wanted to use metal because it is much stronger than wood and one of the biggest failures for small wooden tapestry looms is they cannot withstand the stress of tension and in any case most of them don’t even have a tensioning device. There were a couple of other metal tapestry looms out there and folks were making their own out of copper pipes. I wanted a loom with an easy to use shedding device, perfect tension and portability. We took some old ideas and some new ideas and came up with what we think is the perfect portable tapestry and bead loom.
How many looms do you personally own and which is your favourite?

There are fourteen looms in my studio at this very moment with various stages of tapestries on them. I am always experimenting for new kits, new products and new ways to weave so I need a lot of looms. My favorite size changes over time. For a while I was weaving tiny tapestries on the 5 inch loom. I guess I was looking for intimacy. Currently I am working with all the smaller looms. But I have a lovely piece temporarily in repose on a twenty-two inch loom, which at times has been my favorite size for tapestry. It’s small enough to easily move from space to space and it’s large enough to make a rather substantial tapestry. In the past I have stated that if I could have only one Mirrix Loom it would most likely be the 22 inch loom. But then again, I really do love those smaller looms that peopled my original vision. I would also want one of the smaller looms. Gosh, deciding which one would be quite the dilemma. There is a reason why folks collect multiple Mirrix Looms!

What are your favourite fibre/threads to use and why?

I use wool and silk almost exclusively. I am fascinated with weaving with our hand-painted silk yarn and ribbon. Combining it with wool is magical. For warp I use wool, linen and cotton depending on the project. For about ten years I dyed fleece and the spun it in to yarn. I do hope to get back to that someday because it made my tapestries totally mine.

What items do you love to weave the most?

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with working on smaller pieces. They are little, tiny comments on life and happen quickly so I can move through one a day. In the past I have woven large pieces which take weeks or months to complete. That requires an entirely different mind set. I find lately that I find myself more attracted to the smaller pieces because I can move through a design or color problem much more quickly with small format. I know I will be ready to go back and do a large piece very soon. 

What did you do before your weaving business?

                                         Photo credit Williams-Prior Art + Design

I wove tapestry before I began the loom business. Before that I wrote and published poetry and worked as an editor. I had founded a poetry magazine back in the day. My interests range from verbal to visual. I believe I have a healthy dose of ability in each.

I love that your looms are manufactured local to you and at Sunshine House. Can you tell us a little about Sunshine House and how this wonderful collaboration came to be?

Sunshine House provides supported employment for people with physical and mental disabilities. Making a loom is a complex process and the managers there do a fantastic job matching tasks to people’s abilities and setting up work stations to help people with different abilities be successful. It’s a wonderful place and allows people who may not be able to get employment elsewhere to work and to be a part of something truly good. 

What are your plans for the future of your business?

We want to continue doing what we’ve been doing all along. We have created a rhythm for doing business whether it’s finding a new audience to developing new looms, accessories and projects. It’s careful and determined. We don’t rush into anything because we want to make sure we are always taking Mirrix in the right direction. Thus far, we have been so lucky with our choices. We do have a new product on the horizon which will allow lightening quick warping of the Mirrix which will both accommodate new weavers but also assist seasoned weavers who want to instantly throw on a warp for sampling or otherwise. We have been working on this new accessory for a year now. It has just survived market testing with flying colors so we are ready to launch!

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in learning weaving?

Start slowly. Sometimes people get into their heads that they want to weave something very complex or very specific and they get frustrated when their skill level doesn’t match their expectations. Weaving is a skill that can take many years to develop. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself and start with the basics and you’ll be way more successful. Giving yourself a strong foundation of weaving skills is very important! 

Thanks to the Mirrix team for a marvellous insight into your looms and business!

I wanted to add that another thing that really appeals to me about the company is all of the excellent instructions and tutorials you can access on their blog and Youtube. These are people who really want you to succeed in your weaving and I just love that.

To find out more about Mirrix, you can visit them at the following places:


Interview with Goose Nest Weavers

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Today I have the honour of interviewing Jessie from Goose Nest Weavers. I first came across Jessie and her husband Lemuel on Instagram. I was instantly smitten with their beautiful images of old looms, stunning weaving and the fact that this husband and wife team are sharing the joy of weaving, faith and life together. 

They have inspired me in many ways and I’m sure you will find them equally fascinating.


I love that you and your husband work and weave together. Which of you started your weaving journey first, and how did it all begin?

I began weaving after I was encouraged by a dear friend to give it a try. I bought a small loom and struggled to learn pretty much on my own. After I retired from my job, my husband and I found a really super school where we could spend a week at a time and have personal instruction.  We began at the beginning and not only was I in love with the entire process my husband turned out to be a natural at it too. As a small child my Mom had a friend that was an older lady that made rugs for the community on a loom that went back in her family for several generations.  I watched her and itched to be allowed to try.  I was 10 at the time, so thank goodness she knew not to allow me any where near the loom.  Nearly 30 years later after the lady’s death I now have been able to acquire that loom and that was  our first antique loom. 



Goose Nest Weavers is a wonderful name for a business. How did your business start and what was your inspiration for the name?

Naming the business was easy.  We live in a rural area and over the years there have been small villages that have come and gone.  We have a small farm and on the property there was once a small settlement that was called Goose Nest.  It has become sort of part of our identity now too. Hence, the only proper name it seemed to us, was Goose Nest Weavers.

To be totally honest we are probably the worst business people in the world.  We do some custom work on order but as you well know the time required to begin and follow to completion a hand weaving project is time consuming to say the least.  So once you have made people aware that an overshot coverlet is not an on demand kind of thing, that there is probably a month or more involved in producing it , the folks that want to go ahead are the fuel for the creative fire. I really get a buzz from folks that see and understand and appreciate the product as well as, the process.

You and Lem weave specifically on beautiful antique looms. Was this a conscious decision for you?

 As I explained I had  acquired our first barn loom and after very carefully taking it down and numbering and labelling all her parts I quickly realized that there was very little that I could transfer from my knowledge of the modern loom I had been working on. So I set to looking for a place where I could gain the expertise that was going to be required. I guess you could say that we chose the old looms. 

We went to study at the Marshfield School of Weaving. The prime reason being that there you work on 18th century looms. It was the best thing we could have done.  The folks there walked us through a project and at the end of the week we were feeling very confident.  Kate Smith the director of the school has been a great resource for the looms. We have acquired several from her.  Most of them came from someone’s barn or attic.. They look like a pile of sticks when we first see them.  We bring them back to Lem’s workshop for some TLC and before long they are up and functioning again.  Currently we have four old looms that we are weaving with plus one new loom.  There are about 4 or 5 more that are waiting to be given a good cleaning and be put to work.



Have there been any challenges or difficulties in working with old looms?

Oh you know, these “old ladies” are quite the characters.  Sure there are tricks and tweaks that you have to acquaint yourself with each.  Because they are generally pretty old, we have several that are now more than 200 years old, they have been built with a combination of woods, each species reacts differently to temperature and humidity, the “Girls” can be temperamental.  

We do our best to keep everything environmentally on an even keel.  But, that being said there is nothing more satisfying than sitting down to spend time with  a piece of equipment that has become like an old friend and allowing her to glide through a job just as she has for the past two hundred years. You can very nearly feel all the hands that have asked her to work for them over the centuries guiding your hands. We were told early on that looms have a feminine nature.  As you move your hands and feet to get her to do your work it is very like dancing with a lovely lady. So it is imperative that you treat her as you would a “lady”. I must admit it seems to work the charm. 

Do you have any favourite fibres or threads?

We both prefer natural fibers, we use a great deal of cotton and linen in conjunction with wool in several weights.



What items do you love to weave the most? Do you have a favourite weave structure?

Lemuel enjoys weaving heavier projects. He especially enjoys making rugs, either the traditional rag rug or we have become acquainted with a Venetian pattern that dates back to a weaver in the 1700’s. 
I prefer making household linens. Towelling and blankets. However, my all time favourite is Overshot and Summer & Winter coverlets.

           What did you and Lem do before your weaving business?

My goodness we have been jacks of several trades.  Lemuel worked with his family on the family farm and when his health dictated a change he had his own business as an Equine Dentist.

As the wife of a farmer I worked on the farm too, while working as a medical office receptionist and later as a letter carrier for the Postal Service on the side.


What plans do you have for the future of your business?

Go slowly.  Enjoy what we are producing.  Make sure that what we are asking the looms to produce is something that we will proud to put our names on and be associated with for many years maybe generations to come. 
We have become aware of several 18th and 19th century weavers that worked in our community. Once folks found out what we doing they have brought us their family treasures to share with us the skills of the generations of their families. We want to be producing coverlets and rugs of a quality that will allow the folks that own them to pass them down their families with pride.




Do you have some advice for those who are interested in learning to weave?

I would say don’t worry about starting a business. Allow yourself to fall in love with the craft. It requires a steady hand, the time to do a thing properly. If you will do those things you will find that there is so much that artistically you can explore.  Color, texture, fibers, more and more.
  
Find someone who you can depend on to mentor you. I’m old school and a real person is good for me but you younger minds can probably make the internet work for you. The craft of weaving has been around since before the pyramids and the process is essentially the same,  the only difference is that the creative spark that you have is yours alone and it can make a very big impression if you set it free. 




You can visit Goose Nest Weavers on Instagram 
                                  and
                check out their Etsy shop.



   

An interview with Yours Truly

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The lovely Sonja has interviewed me for the SHE (Schooling at Home Etsians) team blog today!

I haven’t been the most dedicated blogger of late – having your page constantly hijacked so that you can’t access it sort of quells the motivation!

I’ve been using every spare moment to work on my final piece for my stumpwork course and also so handmade goodies for one of my girls who is turning 6 next week. I hope to be able to update and share before too long.

God bless!

Interview with Poppy Bean and Bloss!

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Now for my second interview with crafty women in business we meet Michelle from Poppy, Bean and Bloss. If you haven’t stopped by Michelle’s store yet it’s about time you did, she has a gorgeous variety of waldorf dolls and toys as well as sock monkeys and covered notebooks. I’m particularly fond of the outfits she makes for her dolls.



* What prompted you to start your business/how long have you been in business?

I launched my online store (http://www.poppybeanandbloss.com.au) in February 2008 but had probably spent 12 months before that working on designs and having toys tested for compliance with Australian Safety Standards.  I started with sock monkeys (having made my first one as a present for my niece) and then I made my first doll, and haven’t looked back since.  I really love making the dolls and seeing each one come alive. I still love the monkeys, but waldorf dolls are my passion now.

*What do you feel are the keys to a successful business?

I think the keys to a successful business are having a clear idea of what you want to achieve, drive, determination and lots of hard work.  Running a business from home around a family also needs careful planning so family commitments don’t suffer.




* What advice can you give other crafty women wanting to start their own business?

Pricing is one of the hardest things – as well as covering material costs, you need to allow for your time and it is really hard to set a price that will allow you to really be compensated for your time.
Originality of design is another important factor.  If you are going to be selling products made from someone else’s pattern make sure you have permission to use the pattern and credit the original designer.  There are plenty of places to find inspiration, but whatever you are making to sell should reflect you as a craftsperson.  For example, both my dolls and sock monkeys are traditional toys that have been around for a long time.  I did however come up with my own patterns for the toys I make to sell, and I believe that I have added my own influence and style to these traditional toys.
You also need to consider the time that running a business takes up.  You may well love crafting but you need to be prepared for all the administration in running an online store.  Craft markets can be great, but will eat into your family time on the weekends too.
Having said that, don’t be afraid to give it a go.  There are a lot of great places you can start to sell your product – madeit, etsy, and a lot of malls like the Crafty mamas Congo, Ozebaby and OzHandmade to name a few.

* Many people say “do what you love and the rest will fall into place”. Do you think this is true?

Sort of – I think that if you love what you are doing, it is easier to do the hard work to make a success of it.

www.poppybeanandbloss.com.au

Thank you Michelle for sharing your insights with us!

If you have a crafty (or craft related) business and would like to be featured here please contact me.


Interview with Posie Patchwork!

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I have to admit I have an ulterior motive for presenting this interview. I get to pick the brain and receive some great advice from a successful and long admired crafty mumpreneur. I know how many other budding designers, crafters, sewers and artists there are out there who can benefit from and be inspired my Mums following their dreams to make a living out of their passions.

First up we have the talented Jennie from Posie Patchwork, enjoy the read…..

* What prompted you to start your business? 
  I was a new young mother in 1999, fresh out of Uni, with a husband away at war, so I started sewing more
seriously to stop myself from feeling lonely & I like having a project to work on.  I started selling to family, friends, word of mouth, then went full time after having twins in 2001 & started a website.  When my 4th child started preschool in 2007, I started a wholesale label too & attended markets on a more regular basis.
* What do you feel are the keys to a successful business?  
Finding a strong niche which you have a passion for, know your demographic, be original, fresh & add your own twist on new designs.  You have to know your style & be confident in your skills.
*What’s next for your business?  
Well as Army life has it, we’re moving in December to Brisbane, the 4th different state & territory I’ve started my business over in.  It’s amazing how well supported you are locally & with good markets.  I’m actually cutting back, as we venture into high school & more deployments coming up.  4 children have a lot of homework & sport for one parent to manage.  I’d like to continue to do quarterly high end markets, perhaps start a small retail shop front, reduce & refine my range.
* What advice can you give other crafty women wanting to start their own
business?  
I highly recommend you have a clear & concise answer for when anyone asks “what do you do”.  If you um & ah you don’t sound serious, professional or convinced yourself!!  Be strong, say something like “I own a design studio where I produce handmade products made from an amazing range of fabrics from around the world” which really means you have a craft room at home, work around the children & order fabrics on the internet.
* Many people say “do what you love and the rest will fall into place”. Do
you think this is true?  
Depends if you want to be able to say you are in business or want to make money!!  Handmade craft business is long hours, coming up with new styles & constantly trying to stay ahead of the growing competition.  I still love what I do after a decade in this profession, but I was patient, let it grow slowly, work around the children from babies to primary school & managed to get involved with some great PR opportunities – magazines, markets, stores & customers who spread the word.  My priority is my family, thus why I’m cutting back as they become teenagers & our family dynamic changes.  

Thank you to Jenny for being my first interview victim!
If you would like your business or profile to be featured here, please contact me.