I imagine the YOWZA! feature to be a "sippin' coffee, feet up, chillin' out with your blog homies, mello Sunday, nap is a'comin' soon" kinda time. It's not a quick read. It's like your favorite column in the Sunday paper. Or a mini-chapter in a good book. I hope you enjoy this feature & are inspired by the way the featured artists create & think.
And with that, here's my next guest, Lisa, who has an Etsy shop called Polka Dot Creations :
Where were you born, where are you from, where did you grow up, & where are you living now?
I was born in New Jersey, am from New Jersey, grew up in New Jersey, and am living in New Jersey, now! I grew up in an area that was a suburb of New York City, and now I am in an area with rolling hills, countryside, and horses that is only 45 minutes away from where I started. It feels like a completely different place, though.
What inspires you?
I get most of my inspiration from seeing what other things that people are making. Magazines, shopping, polymer clay workshops, and most recently blogs and etsy are all great sources of inspiration. I like to see something appealing and figure out how I could add my own twist to it.
How long have you been crafting?
I've always liked to make things, especially things I could wear. I used to finger-knit "ribbons" for my hair when I was in girl scouts. And I made about a million of those embroidery-floss friendship bracelets in high school. I was into rubber stamps for a long time, before they were cool. I found polymer clay 11 years ago, and pretty much all of my other crafty supplies fell by the wayside. I'm a complete and total clay addict, but recently I've been getting the itch to make more things that I can wear - not just jewelry - and I've bought myself a sewing machine so I can learn to sew, too. I've successfully made a few aprons, a few tote bags, and a skirt so far.
Share about, or describe your favorite piece.
That's hard, because every piece I make is my favorite until the next one ;-) Right now, I'm on a kick of making claythings to coordinate with designer fabrics. I think I would have to say my favorite piece is anything I currently have on Etsy that has fabric as a backdrop :-)
What's your favorite color?
Ok, that's easy. I'm a chartreuse gal. I like anything in that yellowy-green family.
What do you like to do when you're not being crafty?
I'm a computer geek - I designed and maintain my entire website. When I'm not being crafty, I like to fiddle with my website and maybe add some nifty new feature.
How much time do you spend on your craft?
It depends. There are times when I can go months without making a single thing, but I'm still usually immersed in craft in some other way. My website, in addition to being the place where I sell my clay creations, is also a book store. Anything you could ever want to know about polymer clay can be found there. So, even if I'm not actively making something, I'm still involved in the whole polymer clay community. When I'm in a particularly crafty mood (like right now) I make something practically every day. If I'm not making something, I'm reading about it, in a book or a blog.
What were some of your most recent purchases from other Etsy artists?
Well, I bought that cute button ring from you, Whimsy love , a bunch of notecards from Trail Mix Designs , a fun pillow from Vanessa and Company and I kicked off my Etsy obsession a few months ago with a backpack from Janine King Designs .
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given on pursuing your craftiness? "Just go - you need this, and we'll be fine!" (said by my husband when I was hemming and hawing about spending 3 days away from home on a polymer clay retreat) He was right: I did need it, and they were fine here without me. And now I take a weekend away every couple of months to take a class or get involved in a polymer clay guild activity. I come home refreshed and full of inspiration, and the boys enjoy a weekend in their pajamas with Dad.
What are your goals or dreams in regards to your art?
Well, for me, a lot of the joy is in the creating of it. I have my book store to help me pay for the supplies so that I can keep crafting. I like to sell my work because it validates for me that it's good enough for somebody else to like it ;-) Someday, I think I'd like to have a little creativity shop, where I sell books & videos, but also have a little section for my crafts to sell, and also an area for people to just come and be crafty together or take classes, etc.
What else would you like people to know about you?
Hmmm, well, I'm just really into the whole craft blog / etsy/ flickr thing right now. I didn't "get" how it was such a social thing until recently, and I think it's great! I've been into online message boards since I called my first bulletin board system in 1989. I ran a few BBS's in the early 90's and recently had my own message board online (The Polka Dot Cottage) for the past year. I recently closed it since I was spending all of my spare computer time blogging and didn't have any time left for it, but the archives are still around for anyone to read http://www.polkadotcottage.net/ . I also have my own internet radio station: Polka Dot Radio http://www.polkadotradio.com/ which is fun for me, when I'm not too busy with crafty things to actually update the song list regularly! I have dreams of being "Super Crafty Spotless-House-Having Cookie-Baking Mom", but the dishes stacked up in my sink tell the real truth about me...
You can also check out her blog at http://www.polkadotcreations.com/blog/
Happy Sunday everyone! And Happy Father's Day to all you pops & daddies out there!
Thanks for the interview! It was fun! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! sounds like a neat gal, gonna go and check her out! Thanks for showcasing such awesome folks ;P
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