A Crafty Life: Be In The Moment

Welcome to the new installment of A Crafty Life. I'm Birdy27 of Birdy27 Designs and once a month on the Etsy NY blog I'll feature someone or something of interest to the great artisans and followers of the Etsy NY team.

My first interview is with Melissa Kelly of Be In The Moment. I met Melissa in July at the Hester Street Fair and was instantly struck by her calm and compassionate demeanor.  Things were slow that day, so I got a chance to look at her jewelry and I was intrigued by her themes of nature's unending beauty, love of animals, and spirituality. Melissa started her business in 2009 and she now works at it full time.Melissa is a very active member of the Etsy NY team, so I felt she would be the perfect subject for this first article.

Were you raised in a creative environment? How long have you been creating jewelry?

I have been making jewelry in some form since elementary school! I’ve always loved jewelry! From the youngest of ages, I would bedeck myself with bracelets, rings, necklaces, earrings...you name it. So it makes sense that I ended up here. I still buy other designers' jewelry to wear, but it was a natural progression to want to create my own designs and truly express myself through what I wear. I started making jewelry on a more serious level my senior year of college. I went to NYU as an acting major, and that final year, I took a jewelry course. I mostly enrolled for fun, but I quickly saw that I had a natural talent for metal work, even above many of the art majors in class with me. I was hooked after that. My teacher there told me to continue taking classes at the 92 Street YMCA, which has an excellent jewelry arts program. I enrolled there and never looked back! My only regret--perhaps--is that at this point, I would probably have a master’s degree worth of education, but since I took classes at a community program, I don’t have any “credentials.” I regret that because I think I would really enjoy teaching, and it is difficult to get a teaching job, at least here in the city, without a master’s degree.

Domed Enamel Rin

When did you know you wanted to start a business?

That was always something in my long-term goals, especially if my acting career did not pan out the way I hoped. I ended up working for several different jewelry designers as a bench jeweler/production assistant, which I really enjoyed and which definitely improved my skills! When the economy crashed in 2008, I ended up losing both my part-time jobs that year because the businesses suffered. (I had been working 2 days a week for one designer, and 2-3 days for another.) I felt that was a turning point. I decided to apply for some full-time jobs in the business, and told myself if I didn’t get them, that was the sign to start my own company finally. And that’s what I did!

I love the name you chose for your business: Be In The Moment. How did you come up with it and what is its significance?

I chose that name because of my acting background. My acting studio taught Sanford Meisner’s acting technique. “Be in the moment” was one of our biggest mantras. When I started my jewelry class in college, I inscribed my final project piece with the mantra, and that stuck with me. I always had the idea to name my jewelry company after that, to give tribute to my artistic roots.

That's a great name since it honors the creative process and inspiration. How long did it take for your business to become self-sustaining? What was your journey like?

Well, I don’t know if my business is self-sustaining even now! I have been in business for about 2.5 years. Each year I have quadrupled my sales numbers. I purposely started small, just on Etsy and doing small local craft fairs. The following year, I expanded and was out at craft fairs, etc., every weekend. This year, I changed my plan slightly and have pulled back from weekly craft fairs--I felt my work was not appreciated as much--and I expanded in other ways. I did my first wholesale show this year, plus this summer I was part of 3 pop-up or collective stores. I chose to only do larger art/craft fairs, where I felt my customer base would be. My summer was not as successful as I had hoped, but things are still growing and improving. This holiday season, I am opening up a booth at Columbus Circle with some other great Etsy NY members as The Sixth Borough. It’s a big investment, but we’re confident it will be a huge success! I’m also currently enrolled in a great jewelry business course co-run by one of my former bosses, Tracy Matthews. It’s called "Flourish and Thrive," and it’s set up to give jewelry designers the tools and know-how to really grow their business in the right ways and become truly successful. It’s great! I can’t wait to take all I’m learning and apply it to my business going forward

Divi Tree Necklac

How would you describe your products?

Right now, my collection primarily consists of handmade enamel on copper pieces with sterling silver and semi-precious gemstones. The collection is colorful, urban, and unique. Given the nature of the enameling process, every piece comes out a bit differently; each one is one of a kind!

How did you choose the themes for your line? What is your inspiration?

Honestly,I just started out by making things I loved. I have a lot of natural elements as inspiration: butterflies, birds, stars. I also choose colors that appeal to me: blues, greens, gold, burgundy. I really make things that I would want to wear, pieces that pop. Even the smaller pendants are a great subtle pop of color and/or texture.

How do you create your pieces?

The majority of my line is enamel on copper. This is a labor-intensive process. You start with powdered enamel glass that comes in a myriad of colors, and is either opaque or transparent glass. Each piece must have at least 2 layers of enamel on both sides. You can only fire one layer at a time in the kiln, so this means it is a minimum of 4 kiln firings, plus time to cool off, cleaning in between, etc.

I Heart My Bike Necklace

Please detail your process. When starting a new piece, do you sketch your idea? Do ideas come to you in dreams? Do you do research or rely solely on your imagination? What are your favorite materials to work with and why?

I have a very loose process, I’d say. I really just create things based on shapes, colors, and textures that I like. I don’t do a lot of sketching in advance, unless it’s for a very complex piece. The majority of my creations have come from me playing around in real time and seeing what happens. I wouldn’t say I do a lot of research, although I’m sure I get inspirations from the outside world. I have certain colors I love to use and work with in enameling. I actually love doing the metal work--filing, sawing, soldering. I don’t do much of that for my current line of work, but it is something I’m hoping to bring into my line soon. I love the marriage of metals and colors, be it with different metal types together, with the inclusion of enamels or with gemstones.

How do you deal with pricing?  Custom orders?

I felt lucky that I worked in the industry before starting my company, because I already knew the basics of pricing and to price with wholesale in mind from the beginning. This is a mistake a lot of Etsy artists make, or people that just don’t know. Essentially, I add up my costs--labor, materials, overhead--and multiply that by a certain standard amount to arrive at my wholesale price. That price I then double to reach my retail prices. Everyone has slightly different formulas, and this is one thing I’m working on now in my jewelry business course. Pricing for custom orders is a whole other thing. I haven’t had too many custom orders. I usually use the formula above, but I may tweak that in the future to account for the extra design time it takes for a custom item.

I understand that you've recently done some work on your studio. Do share.

Here are 6 images of my “improved” studio space. I thought for sure I’d taken "before" photos, but I couldn’t find them! In any case, the redo happened in part because I found an old, battered desk in the trash outside of a church rectory a few years ago. I saw the beauty and the potential of it, so I took it home to my dad, and he refinished it. You can see in the photo how gorgeous it is! My parents brought the desk to me this month, and we got rid of my old desk, my old carpet, and did a general declutter and cleaning.

The other great addition was the track lighting. Now I can see when I’m working! So important!

YES! You definitely need to see what you are doing!

I also have a picture of these great wooden crates I picked up in Maryland in August. I got them for display purposes for my craft fairs and booths, but in the meantime, they make an attractive place to hide some odds and ends that used to just be in the center of the room, taking up space. It is obvious I still have a lot of clutter and things to improve, but I am so happy with my new space to work in.

The desk rocks and so does the lighting! Now you're all set to take your business to the next level. What is the most profitable aspect of your biz? Craft markets? Etsy sales? Other online sales?

Right now, the most profitable part of my business is doing trunk shows and also doing larger art/craft fairs, like Hoboken’s Art and Music Festival and Corning’s Glassfest. I need to work on my photography and showcase my one-of-a-kind work more in order to get into more high-end art fairs like these, which is where I’m happiest, too.

What is the most challenging part of owning your own business?

What isn’t challenging? One thing for sure is that I spend way more time than I ever thought I would on administrative stuff, so I barely have time to actually make the jewelry! It is hard to schlep all my displays and work to fairs on the weekends, which is partially why I’ve pulled back from doing that on a regular basis. I have a lot of fear of trying to get into the wholesale world more, so that’s a challenge for sure. It is also hard to take time off; I feel that I’m always working, even if it’s just thinking about what I have to accomplish when I should be relaxing. It’s also a challenge for me because I work out of my apartment, so regular household stuff is very distracting to me. I recently (with the help of my parents) cleaned and organized my office/studio room, which has been a huge help! It is so much easier for me to work in a clutter-free environment. I’m not totally there yet, but I’m on my way! The best thing we did was putting up the track lighting, because now I feel like I can actually see when I’m working!

I understand you are starting your wholesaling journey. What is that like? Is it scary or exciting or both?

Wholesale is still pretty scary to me. Having done my first trade show, it was interesting to see how differently wholesale buyers shop compared to regular consumers. I still have a lot of work to go before I feel confident in that arena.

I know for a fact that developing your own business is a LOT of work.Would you say it's worth it all the blood, sweat, and tears? How do you keep going on the days when it seems it would be more practical to have a 9-to-5?

It’s worth it if this is your dream and your passion. It can be very hard some days. I know even a month ago I was thinking about the practicality of having the 9-to-5 instead! But you know, you have to listen to your heart and go for it. We only have one life to live.

How important is the support of family and friends How important has it been being part of the Etsy NY team? What are the benefits? Any drawbacks?

It’s definitely important to have your family and friends support you! But you know what, you won’t get that support from everyone, so just take it in stride. You will have family members or friends who won’t understand, won’t be supportive, and that is really tough. But you’ll have the other ones who will support you. I definitely lean on my friends when I need to vent, or to share concerns and fears, whatever it is. That’s one reason being part of the team has been so great. I’ve met a lot of awesome people on the same journey as me (whether or not we’re at the same point in it), and having those people who "get it" be there for me and vice versa is priceless. Joining the Etsy NY team definitely helped me in so many ways. It’s a great community of people willing to share their time, expertise, experiences and advice. Who knows where I would be in my business if I hadn’t joined? Having that network and community is invaluable. As much as I’ve gotten from it, I try to pay it forward and help others on the team, too. Running your own business like this can be very lonely. Having the team ensures it is not.

Where do you see your business in 5 years?

Ideally, I would like to be successful with online sales, wholesale, and I would like the majority of my business to be at large art fairs around the country. When I was in high school, I was really inspired by those types of art fairs and the artisan jewelry available there. I love to travel, so this marries my traveling bug with my business. It would also be great to have a small boutique or boutique collective.

What advice would you give other artisans hoping to create a handmade business or who are in the early stages?

Hm...I guess my advice would be just do it! I really let fear keep me from pursuing this for so long. I eventually chose to jump in and just do it. You’ll make mistakes and learn from them along the way. I also found it so helpful to work for others in the business first. I got an insider’s look into how and how not to run my business. It was so helpful. A BIG thanks to Melissa Kelly of Be In The Moment, for a insightful interview! Melissa shared her process, her heart, and her soul with us and I'm sure we all learned a lot. Much continued success to you and Be In The Moment. I know you're on the verge of making all your dreams come true.

Until next month, this is Birdy27 signing off. Please support the handmade community! Successful creative artisans can change the world! Chirp, chirp!

Birdy27 is an actor/writer/singer/songwriter/graphic designer/knitter/crocheter/yarn-based accessories designer/jewelry maker/entrepreneur and founder/president of Birdy27 Designs (www.birdy27designs.etsy.com). Please join the action at the Birdy27 Designs Fan Page at www.facebook.com/birdy27designs.

Book Review & Interview: the Right-Brain Business Plan

Hi everyone, today I wanted to talk a little about the "Right Brain Business Plan" which is a fabulous resource to all of you "right brainers" out there who are looking to start a business or are having a little challenge writing a business plan. Some of us "Creative types" avoid writing a formal business plan as the idea of huge word documents, boring excel spreadsheet and dare I say working out the money (Moola as the book refers to it as) scares us!

This book turns all of this around and using your right brain creative thinking style to work on creating a visual map for success. It will feed your creative side by taking you through each aspect of writing a plan for your business using vision boarding techniques, pictures, words and photos. There are lots of great worksheets to download full of color and fun and the book even makes spreadsheets exciting with the use of color and simple financial planning techniques.

Each chapter covers: * Using your creative intuition * How to use the right brain process * Crafting business values and vision * Looking at where your business fits into the big wide world * Marketing * managing the moola ($)! * Corralling your creative cohorts * Action planning * How to put it all together * Maintaining the magic and momentum *

“If you think of business planning as boring, well, you haven’t read this book yet. This is not business as usual… Jump right in!” – from the foreword by Chris Guillebeau, author of The Art of Non-Conformity

 Jennifer Lee - Author of "The Right Brain Business Plan"

I had the opportunity to interview Jennifer Lee, the author a few months ago, so wanted to share a few of her insights about the book.

1) Jenn, huge congratulations on the publication of your book. Can you tell us a little about the book and who would benefit from it?

Thanks, Louise. The Right-Brain Business Plan guides you through a fun, visual, and accessible process for completing all the standard sections of a business plan. The book includes colorful, illustrated play sheets, creative exercises, full-color photos of featured Right-Brain Business Plans, and success stories of fellow right-brain entrepreneurs. The book is for budding and seasoned business owners including artists, crafters, writers, photographers, coaches, consultants, therapists, yoga teachers, massage therapists, holistic health counselors, non-profit leaders, educators, and any creative soul wanting to turn their passion into profit.

2) How long would you say it took from the time you had the idea to publication?
I made my first Right-Brain Business Plan in November 2007 at my kitchen table during Art Every Day Month. I had no idea then that this idea it would turn into a book! I created my 9-page handwritten and illustrated e-book in the spring of 2008. And in 2009 I set out to write a book (a totally different one!), but publishers were more interested in The Right-Brain Business Plan concept so I sent out proposals for that and landed my book deal with New World Library in the fall of 2009. My manuscript was due to my publisher in April 2010 and then it went into production and was published in February 2011. So, long story short, it took a little more than three years to go from initial idea to book on bookshelf.

3) What right brain tools did you use to develop your ideas and the plan for the book?
I used many of the right-brain tools that I talk about in the book! I used a Levenger Circa notebook to organize all of my existing material by chapter before I even started writing. That made it easier to know I wasn’t starting from scratch and it already started to “feel” like a book. I used mind-maps and sticky notes to brainstorm and outline content for chapters. I also used my sticky note project plan to map out my tasks and milestones throughout the publishing process.

4) What do you think are the biggest challenges for right brainers in business? And how to overcome them?
One that I see is that many right-brainers in business can overlook the financial aspects of business. I encourage people to acknowledge that the numbers can actually be a pretty creative process. You can use your imagination to come up with new, innovative income streams. And you can always get support from an expert to help you figure out the nitty gritty calculations to make sure you’re going to turn a profit.

I’d say the other is not trusting themselves enough. They tend to keep thinking they need more information or training, when really they just need to take some action, find clients, and make offers.

5) What is your favorite right brain booster and left brain chill pill?
It’s hard to pick one, but a favorite right-brain booster is to gain a fresh perspective using images. I also have my collaged values cards on an easel on my desk and that helps me focus my energy for the week.

My favorite left-brain chill pill is to acknowledge my accomplishments when I’m beating myself about all the things I haven’t finished yet.

Grab the book from Amazon here. Connect with Jennifer and The Right Brain Business Plan below:

:: Website :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Flickr ::

Louise Gale - Your Creative Career Consultant for The New New Blog

Meet your {NewNew}

I had the privilege of sitting down with Lisa Toff of myconey. Here's our interview:

Tell us a bit about yourself: I work in Coney Island and share a studio space with my musician husband. I was in fashion for five years and decided to leave it last summer to pursue art of my own making. I work on prism POP, p*Charming and I freelance as a graphic designer / fashion illustrator.

What is your shop name? I have two:
prismPOP : prismpop.etsy.com
prismpop is devoted to being eco-mindful while maintaining a commitment to design. prismpop focuses on paper products including postcards (my favorite correspondence), art prints and gift enclosures.

p*Charming : pcharming.etsy.com p*Charming is all about personalization - I think it's important to have an intimate experience when selecting charm jewelry so I encourage mixing and matching to create the perfect piece.

Why the 2 shops? Why not just run one shop? I struggled with whether or not to keep them separate or together. I started with p*Charming and when i decided to create prismPOP I didn't want to confuse the customer with a completely different product. I wanted to be sure each shop maintained it's own synergy. I still question whether it was the right choice.

Materials: For prismPOP i use 100% recycled paper and soy ink. For p*Charming, I use so many found items that it varies - brass, Swarovski crystal, silver plated and glass.

Married? Yep - I work in Coney Island and share a studio space with my musician husband and no kids - been married under a year, so I guess we are still considered newlyweds.

What part of your life do you find is/was the most creative? Do you think back to these times when creating your work? I really think I've maintained the same creativity throughout my life - I like to draw from modern influences - I love the ever-changing nature of art and it completely inspires me to create!

What is your creative process when making your product? I will feel inspired from an art exhibit or something I've seen in and around the world - I'll note it , mentally or jotting it down or photographing it and then later I will typically have another creative burst that seems to work well with the initial inspiration. I work on the computer to mix the two together; it feels rather serendipitous.

Do you have any creative thinking tricks you like to share? I studied art history and photography undergrad, then I started going to Pratt for communication design but it focused too much on psychology and marketing. I did not complete that program, but at least it brought me to NYC!

When you get stuck, how do you get out of it? That's the great thing about doing prismPOP, p*Charming & freelancing, I can easily work on a different project and still maintain my productivity.

What is something about yourself that surprises people when they find out about it? Probably that I'm married...that i live in Coney Island...that I speak Russian...that I had meningitis in college - maybe I'm predictable? That I lived in Ghana for 3 months?

What inspires you? My husband, street art (Judith supine, os gemeos), Brooklyn, Manhattan, traveling - definitely other cultures and local artisans.

What is the first thing you remember making? I was obsessed with balloon animals.

What are your current projects and what is on the horizon? I'm looking forward to expanding prismPOP with new designs, creating more products than I currently have, and outreaching to venues beyond NYC.

Why should people buy handmade? I think it's important to support artisans to continue crafts and traditions. If we rely on machines too much, the beauty in creating might be lost. I think the old tradition of apprenticeship is so valuable - learning how to create with your hands is a wonderful experience.

What handmade possession do you most cherish? I love a doll I picked up at last year's renegade craft fair.

Apart from creating things, what do you do? It's my life and right now I'm adopting a puppy - but otherwise that's what i do!

In ten years I'd like to be... In ten years I'd like to be as happy as I am today - I'd like to have a bigger family and continue my passion for traveling.

What are your your best-selling items? Best selling on-line is the cutlery necklace. . . and in person the individual letters (which I do not put online because they are often one of a kind) - people love personalizing by adding a letter to a necklace.

What item are you most proud of? I'm not most proud of any item but more that I am making it on my own - having worked for corporate America for so long, it's nice to be independent.

Last words? I love creating and I love inviting others to create as well - in fact I have a swap listed on my blog encouraging others to be in the process!

In conclusion, I'd like to add that I found it very inspirational to be able to sit down with a trained artist who works on her art for a living. Being not so far from Coney Island, I find her endearing, and inspirational. We should all strive to be inspired by our work and not be so focused on sales that we forget about our art. That's what I got from my interview with her.

-The Craftaholic
Sweet Buddha Designs

Meet your {NewNew}

meet alex of alexandra ferguson!

alex and i had a really fun chat the other night, dishing about everything to do with her business and her fantastic, eye-catching, recycled-felt applique pillows.

so, let's start at the beginning... were you crafty as a kid? do you remember the first thing you ever made?
My mom was always super crafty with us as kids---I'm not sure if I was crafty by my own inspiration, but there was always some project going on. She was a patternmaker before she got married, so she would make loads of clothes for us, and we were subjected to fittings, which were really annoying because we kept getting stuck with pins. And there was always something baking in the kitchen. The first thing I made...that's really hard. I was in art classes since I was a baby, but my memory hadn't kicked in yet...it was probably a painting

did you study arts or design in college?
I went to NYU, which doesn't really have a good art program, but they do have an amazing photography division in the Tisch school. I did a mixture of photography and sociology because I wanted to be a photojournalist. I did do a summer at RISD to do fashion illustration and computer graphics, that turned out to be much more relevant to my career since the New York Times didn't hire me and fashion did...

so what is your day job currently?
I work freelance as a tech designer for a huge fashion company that sells to Kohl's and Walmart. Before that I worked at Rebecca Taylor and Zac Posen as a tech designer and studio manager. But I am reducing my hours more and more as my pillow company takes off. I now only work 2 days a week in the city, and the rest is pillow time.

oh, that's fantastic that you're able to make the transition to more pillow time... do you find that anything you do in your day job influences your pillow work?
For sure...making a pillow and making a dress aren't all that different really. As a studio manager, part of my job was to look over the sewer's shoulder and check the quality as they go. It also gave me a really good understanding of how to run a company, from initial concept through production. Working in fashion developing a product that would be sold in the market has given me a lot of confidence to put my own product out there for sale.

did you ever consider doing clothing as your personal craft/design work?
NO! My housewares company is my ticket out of fashion. Fashion can get really rough.

so when and how did you decide to get into the pillow biz? and how did you settle on pillows over any other kind of housewares?
It was totally by accident. I decided to make my best friend some pillows to girl-ify her apartment and it was so fun so I kept going and made everyone pillows for Christmas, and then just when I had put my sewing machine away my best friend's sister saw my original pillows and told me about Etsy and....you know the rest! Now that I have the aesthetic down, I am slowly expanding into other categories beyond pillows. Next up are tote bags and little zipper cases, and after that I want to tackle table settings. I have a table setting fetish.

did you know from the beginning that you wanted to use recycled materials?
That was an accident too. I ordered so much felt from my supplier that they just sent the whole bolt, which had the manufacturer information on it. So I looked them up and discovered all this information about how it is recycled! It is such a win-win situation--it is really great quality felt (so much better than the store-bought stuff that my friend got) with a beautiful color palette AND its recycled?? Awesome.

very cool. do you plan to stick with recycled/repurposed fabrics for all of the items in your line as you expand?
If I can keep to organic or recycled fibers I will, but I don't want to price myself out of the market either so it depends on what I can source with a quality that I like. Realistically, I am sure I will have to have non-recycled materials at some point in the collection. But I'll be sure to note for the consumer what is recycled and what isn't.

how do you come up with the inspiration for your designs?
They come from everywhere. You can put anything on a pillow, really. I always keep my ear perked for neat lyrics or expressions for the pillow talk collection. For the botanical collection, i have a bunch of books with gorgeous flower photography that provides endless inspiration. sometimes an idea will pop out of nowhere--sometimes those are the best ideas.

do you have any creative thinking tricks you'd like to share? when you get stuck in a creative rut/drought, how do you get out of it?
My best creative trick is to invest in the right tools for your trade. I kept struggling with my sewing machine stretching and and distorting my applique shapes, and then I decided to buy a teflon foot and, much like a cheeseburger, the stickiness went away. Amazing. Jumping on the rotary blade bandwagon had the same satisfaction. I am so lucky to have not gotten stuck in a creative rut yet, but I am sure it will happen. In the meantime, I am keep copious lists of all my ideas now, so that when I run out of new ones I can go back and reference those ones.

i saw that your "i heart my soldier" pillow is inspired by your brother. is he deployed at the moment? have you sent him a pillow?
He was in iraq for 15 months but came back in October. He is stationed in Germany now with his wife. He does have a pillow but not that one ;). As soon as I have time to build up my inventory I want to send him both that one as well as the Army Wife one. I'll be advertising every time they have a dinner party. The military community is really tight knit...

glad to hear your brother is somewhere safer. have you gotten any feedback on those pillows from military families so far?
People in the military that know me through my brother really dig them, but they havent been big on Etsy. It must be a demographic thing.

so you make everything yourself at this point, right? would you like to get to the point where you have people working with you? where do you see the business in five/ten years?
Yeah, I am a one man band, although my friend will cut out patterns for me sometimes, and my boyfriend once assembled some hangtags. I plan to bring in an assistant to work side by side with me part time soon, I have some calls out. I'll still cut everything out myself because I can't let go, but I'll let them do the stitching.

do you sell mostly on etsy now, or are you selling wholesale/consignment as well?
I have a showroom in Dallas that I started with about a month ago, so I am definitely keen to build my wholesale business. Once that gets set up, I want to find showrooms in NY and LA, but one at a time. I always want to sell on Etsy though, not just out of fondness for the place that started me off, but also because it is a great way to read the market, see what styles people respond to and which ones they don't. Plus, selling retail is better than selling wholesale ;)

speaking of selling, what is your biggest seller? what design do people seem to love the most? Hands down, my best seller are the monogram pillows. It is so fun working with my customers as they pick colorways. After that, the Bud Explosion series as well as the Be Nice or Leave pillows are a big success.

tell me about your workspace—where do you work? what would be your dream workspace? I think I am in my dream workspace! I work out of my mom's house in her separated two car garage that she turned into a studio for herself a couple years ago. now its my studio, mother/daughter relationships are awesome that way. We hand painted the walls and stenciled the floors, and I have a wood burning stove to keep me cozy, and when it is nice out (like today!) I open up the sliding glass doors and move my sewing machine out onto the deck and sew with my sunglasses on.

i'm completley jealous. so what do you find to be the most challenging part of running your own business?
Keeping up! I am trying to hit all the grass roots marketing resources like blogs, flickr, twitter, facebook....I definitely spend more time on the computer working than I do actually designing and sewing. I also need to redesign my website to get that up to snuff, and I want to make it an e-commerce site, but I just have to find the time. Right now I work 7 days a week until 1 or 2am every night trying to get through it all. The hours are the same that I put in when I worked as a studio manager in fashion, but it hurts so much less when you are doing it for your own company. I guess the discipline to work hard is another thing fashion industry did to prepare me for this....

if you were trying to convince someone to shop handmade, what would you tell them? and what is your most beloved handmade item that you own but didn't make yourself? I love handmade because it is so much more interesting and different than what you can find out on the market! Mass manufacturing has its place in this world, but not so much in my apartment (when I can avoid it!) Plus you can work directly with the artist and custom make something just for you. Walmart can't do that. I grew up around antiques that were all handmade, so its super hard to choose a favorite. But I think it would have to be the dining table that I grew up with. It was an old work station for a carpenter, and has all his dings and dents. Plus we contributed as kids--my brother's name is scratched down one of the legs.

and lastly: what is something about you that surprises people when they find it out? That I went out on a Saturday night! They just assume now that I work 24/7. But after several years in fashion, my friends are used to it. :)


you can find alexandra on etsy and at alexandraferguson.com.


reported by:
- cakehouse

Meet your {NewNew}!

Meet Jen Pepper of PepperSprouts! I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know her better through this interview. Read on for a peek into Jen’s life…

Tell us a bit about yourself! I grew up in a small beach town in Delaware, it's the kind of place where your parents know you got a D on your math test even before you did. My family has always been supportive of my interest in the arts and let me take a watercolor class when I was 7, from then on I feel like I've always had a project going on. I spent my first year of college at the Art Institute of Boston, and then transferred to the University Of Delaware, where I majored in Graphic Design. I moved to New York after graduation, and started a slew of odd creative jobs. I worked as a custom picture framer, a photo retoucher, a advertising production artist, and currently design director at isocurve. Throughout it all I've always been creating, drawing, painting and anything else I can get my hands on.

What are your favorite materials and what do you transform them into? I love paper, wood, paint, x-acto knives, and fabric mixed with digital software and I make pretty things to decorate your home.

Why did you start PepperSprouts and when? I officially started PepperSprouts in 2008 to keep my creativity alive and give myself an excuse to keep creating. I love the idea of designing pieces and sending them out in the world for other people to enjoy.

Design plays an important role in your work, so who are your favorite designers? Some of my favorite designers are Jennifer Sterling, Chip Kidd, David Carson & Ken Barber. I know when I love a piece of design work because I get this feeling in the bit of my stomach that feels like jealousy, yet at the same time I SO want to hang out with that person.

How would you describe your aesthetic? My design aesthetic is very clean and simplistic mixed with a little bit of wit, I try mix a little bit of humor in everything I do.

What are you working on now? What's new and coming up? I just finished a Brooklyn skyline pendent, Michelle from Dirty Loves Clean gave me the idea this winter and I'm very happy to say that it came out wonderfully! My upcoming projects are numerous, some textile designs for throw pillows, a series of prints and originals of my favorite Brooklyn buildings, some super cute typography and silhouette brooches, and another set of coasters. I also have an ongoing childrens book I've been working on, hoping to have that finished by the end of the year. So keep your eye out, I'm on a roll!

Wow! You've got so much going on! How do you find time between your full time job and your own work? Do you have a set routine? Ha! I always say I need more hours in the day. As I work 9-6 Monday-Friday in a small design firm, a lot of my outside work is done on the weekends and late at night. I talk a lot of ideas out on the train ride to and from work, with my boyfriend of course not complete strangers.

What inspires you? So many things inspire me, I love the woods, nature, my silly welsh corgi, Einstein. Typography also plays a big part in the background of my work.

Einstein is so cute! That face kills me. What part of your life do you find is/was the most creative? Do you think back to these times when creating your work? The most creative time in my life has to be right now, because I'm able to be creative at my day job. My mind never turns to mush. I might be thinking about a logo for a client and some crazy idea for a series of prints pops up in the background.

What is your creative process when making your work? It's funny I actually come up with a lot of ideas in the middle of the night. I rarely sleep through the night. I find myself waking up and having to sketch something out. When I have some idea I spend some time bouncing things off my mathematical boyfriend for a different opinion on things. A lot of times I sketch ideas out in illustrator before I bring them out in the real world.

Do you make all the products yourself? How long does the production process take? My shadow boxes are made my me, hand-cut from paper and assembled, the entire process takes about an hour or so. My illustrations, of course, are my own. I am currently working on some new home goods that will be out in the next month, the first out are my silhouette coasters which took me a few weeks to get the design finalized, and then they were outsourced to be cut, then finished by me.

What are your best-selling items? My Brooklyn shadow boxes and silhouette coasters are two of my best sellers. I think they add a lot of uniqueness to a home.

When you find yourself stuck, how do you get out of it? I go to the bookstore. If I open a book and start looking at designs, or patterns or maps, or floral design it gets my mind jump started and then its hard to get it to stop.

Do you have any creative thinking tricks you like to share? Always keep a little notebook with you. I couldn't live without my moleskin. Just jot it down, get it out of your head, especially if it’s a bad idea, or something that just isn't going to work. You never know when those forgotten ideas may transform into something else great.

Why do you think people should buy handmade? Originality. Cut out the middleman, and buy the creativity that supports local economies. People put so much love and time into their creations, I can't think of a reason not to buy handmade.

What handmade possession do you most cherish? So many to choose, I really love my ceramic Bears in love from KG + AB, I got them last year at the Renegade fair at McCaren Pool.

I have a ceramic spoon from KG + AB and it is my favorite handmade object too, because using it makes me so happy. Apart from creating things, what do you do? Oh the usual, exploring the city, doing the dog park thing, winning free drinks at Redd's because I rock at skeeball.

What is something about you that surprises people when they find out about it? I'm a comic book nerd. It's pretty funny because the last few weekends I've been dragging my boyfriend into Midtown Comics and I can tell he just feels super uncomfortable.

In ten years where do you see yourself... Married and self employed. But seriously, I'd like to still be able to wake up everyday and create. I want to still have fresh thoughts and not be burned out. I really don't want to get burned out.

Thank you so much for sharing Jen! She also has an awesome blog, UpstateFancy, where she features lots of other makers, inspirations, beautiful objects and design on the daily. Check out the blog and make sure you hop over to her shop. Thanks for meeting your NewNew member Jen! and check back for more interviews to come!

Jessica

MiniatureRhino