The Craft Begins

Chris Yates is a sort of creative genius, the dictator of a mad colorful world of his own creation where spray paint and MDF run amok.  He creates puzzles called “bafflers” as they are almost impossible to put back together, toys of every shape and flavor, a hilarious weekly web comic, and more.  My personal favorite are the terraforms, sculptures based on topographical map renderings that are so complex it’s almost impossible to believe that they are made by hand.  And let us not forget the original interstate map.

Chris was nice enough to humor me in my questioning.  Here’s what he had to say!

1.  What did you have for breakfast this morning?

- Coffee.  Eight fluid ounces of it.

- I’ve always had sort of a wild imagination and a creative spirit since I was little, so eventually I think working in the arts was just in the cards for me.

-  I was fortunate enough to graduate from the Connecticut boarding school Choate Rosemary Hall in 1997, which had an AMAZING art program.  Many of the teachers there pushed me to bigger things in theater, photography, music, writing, and eventually sculpture.

- I graduated in 2001 with a BFA in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design, which was pretty sweet.  The school is amazing, but almost overwhelming in the breadth of tools and skills available.  I made a lot, and I mean a LOT of things in Providence, and I’m sure I trained and learned from all of it, but a large percentage of my current skill-set has been self-taught and gleaned from various real-world creative jobs.

- I kind of fell into the “toy world” by accident.  I screwed up a layer of an expensive commissioned Terraform (wooden 3D topo maps essentially) in April 2004 and got mad and chopped it up into little bits on my new scroll saw.  I realized I could make puzzles!  So I made a bunch of the first Bafflers (what I call my puzzles) and everyone seemed to like them, so I kept making ‘em.  Getting into custom toys just seemed like a natural continuation of making playful art.  Don’t want to take myself too seriously.

- The Bafflers, for sure!  It’s an exciting and dynamic medium which I can plug in so many different motifs and color schemes.  I am as surprised as anyone I still enjoy making them after almost 1000 iterations.

- Why yes, Bri!  One of my main creative outputs is a popular online photocomic I’ve been running since December 2004 called “Reprographics”.  In fact you and your husband Lt. Felix have appeared in Repro more than once I believe!  I’ll just go ahead and put some text here so can hyperlink to some of the installments you and Felix are in here, here, and here.

- Oh, and I also still make music from time to time.  And paint.  And edit video.  And write write write.  And all sorts of things.  ALL THE TIME

- I like living in Boulder a lot. This is a pretty ideal spot for me as far as the US is concerned.  If I had my pick of anywhere with a generous stipend, I might like to try out Christchurch or Queenstown in New Zealand for awhile.  As long as someone else in the States is dealing with shipping everything for the business.

8.  What is your most treasured possession?

- Everything I own that has been made by the person who sold it to me.  Be it a tiny painting, a custom toy, a metal sculpture, or the Australian hardwoods spiraling through my earlobes, the things that mean the most to me are the things I know have been hand-made and have a story.  Can’t play favorites.

- The head of the art department at Choate, and one of my personal heroes/mentors, Mr. Reggie Bradford, once told me, in a exasperated whisper,

“Chris, you’re trying to do everything at once.  You can be good at a lot of things, but you can only be truly great at one thing.”

- And I ignored him as long as I could – until I realized Mr. Bradford was right.  There are much better bassists and video editors out there.  I’ll stick to my weird little niche that’s all my own.  Puzzles.

- BIGNAME SHORTLIST: Jim Henson, Tim Burton, Andy Kaufman, Mike Patton, Christo & Jean-Claude

- Exactly what I’m doing now, with slightly more money in the bank.

- Now Bri, you know that’s a loaded question.

- We all might have our favorite color we like to wear, our favorite color we like to see on our walls, and our favorite color we like our tchotkes to be.

- My laundry room looks like the spray paint aisle at Home Depot.  I have all of the colors.  Yeah, I might like Marigold or Caribbean Blue better than Ivory Bisque or Raspberry some days, but every hue is special and needs a little love.  (even Mauve)

- Every color has it’s place (even Mauve)

- If you aren’t watching what cute and slightly disturbing creatures and toys Andrew Bell is going to drop next, then you aren’t my friend.

( http://www.creaturesinmyhead.com/ )

- Probably not interviews!

- That’s a hard one.  It’s kind of like playing improv jazz, I suppose.  You just come up with little scraps of ideas all the time, and you toss those bits at more structured lattices like the Bafflers and Reprographics.  It’s hard to say where the ideas come from, I’m just glad they do!

- Even if you just think of “nerdcore hiphop” and shudder, MC Frontalot’s latest sonic masterpiece will BLOW YOUR MIND FOREVER

( http://frontalot.com/index.php/?page=cd )

- It’s quiet for the most part.  It’s pretty.  The weather is delightful.  Everyone is friendly.  An extremely progressive society.  Boulder is HAPPYTOWN3000

- I would have to get a lot better at drawing.

- Hmm, well I almost drowned and died when I was 11 in a rapid in Montana.  But watching a very drunk Jonathan Frakes and Avery Brooks sing showtunes for a tiny piano bar consisting of 90% webcartoonists, hmm… that might be a good candidate too.

( http://www.chrisyates.net/reprographics/index.php?page=732 )

- That people are passionate about something!!  Life is too short to be bored.

Valerie did a little interview with me about the process of how I create my inspiration boards – head over to her blog for answers!

And yes, I actually cut pictures out of magazines and paste them together.  I think better in analog!

I’ve fallen in love with this blog, and I don’t even live in there!  Portland Loves: local is what every city should have – a website dedicated to great food, local businesses and everything that makes a place unique.  If I ever get the chance to spend some time in Portland, I’m going only armed with the information contained in this fantastic blog.  The lovely writers, Misha and Amy, subjected themselves to a barrage of questions for my lovely readers.  Here’s what they had to say!

1.  What did you have for breakfast this morning?
misha// a voodoo doll donut from our fabulous local donut shop, VOODOO Donuts. They were left over from my birthday breakfast! YUM!

amy// Stoneyfield vanilla yogurt, vanilla almond granola, and local wildflower honey.

2.  Are you both originally from Portland?  If not, where did you come from and what brought you to Oregon?
misha// I am kind of from all over the US. Born in Pensacola, Florida, grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana, a few years in Seattle, Washington and finally the Portland area since high school. We moved around alot for my mothers job! I tried moving away after high school only to miss Portland too much and move back after only two years. I will probably still live in other places from time to time, but will ALWAYS come back to Portland, it is my home!

amy// I am originally from Portland, but only lived here until I was five, then spent the rest of my formative years in the Seattle/Tacoma area.  When I was able to move away from home, I moved to Bellingham, WA, which I loved and lived there for almost a decade.  While living there, I met my husband and with him, I moved to Boston so that he could go to grad school. We lived in Boston for two years before returning to my original home (and where we’ll stay!), Portland, OR.  We’ve been here for a year now and we love it!

3..  How did you two meet?
Amy and I met at a art/craft show put on by Handmade NW in fall 2008. She and her husband had just moved here from Boston and we were both interested in trading our art work for each others. We’ve been friends ever since, hanging out, talking art and business, coming up with new ideas to keep doing what we love most.

4.  What was your inspiration for starting the Portland Loves: local project?
misha// For me it was just my love of Portland and how tied to the community we all are.

amy// One thing I’ve noticed about people who live in Portland is that they love it here!  So when Misha approached me with the concept, I immediately felt that it was a great idea!

5.  How do you decide which businesses to feature? Do they contact you or do you just go around town writing about your favorite places?
misha// Currently we are just writing about our favorite places. Also, I rarely leave home without my camera and if I happen upon a place that I think would be perfect for the blog, I ask if I can take pictures and then send Amy there to do a write up and vise versa.

amy// We also try to be mindful of what we feature in that we don’t want too much of the same thing. We like to mix it up a bit.

6.  If you had to describe Portland with three words, which would you choose?
misha// beautiful, green + friendly

amy// charming, creative, vibrant

7.  Everyone’s always going on about how awesome Portland is – tell me, what’s one thing that you don’t like about it?
misha// Well everyone expects us Portlanders to say the rain, but really I LOVE the rain and its a little secret of ours that it doesn’t rain as much as people think. Oh wait, you asked what I don’t like, well…I would have to say the amount of available jobs and the quality of pay. But that is another great thing about Portland is that you don’t live here for the quality of pay, you live here for the quality of LIFE!!!

amy// well, I totally agree with Misha on this one, but I would have to say also that after living in Boston for two years, one thing that I miss is the diversity.  Portland just isn’t as diverse as I would like it to be.

8.  If you can, please walk us through your dream day in Portland.  Where would you eat, where would you stay, what would you do, etc.
misha// I live in the SE neighborhood of Portland, it is a great balance of beautiful houses and local businesses. Each morning the smell of Stumptown Coffee wakes me and draws me into the local coffee shop a block away. After a nice STRONG cup of jo, I ride my awesome red bike to my favorite breakfast shop, Cup N Saucer on Hawthorne, for the #7 Sour Cream and Chives tofu scramble with home fries and spelt toast. Then I would probably do a bit of vintage clothes shopping, maybe hit up the antique mall’s in Sellwood. Lunch would have to be at the Bonfire Lounge for happy hour. They have great food and stiff drinks for uber cheap!! Then I would take a short hike up to Mt. Tabor Park and sit to watch the sun set over the city. For dinner it would be a toss up between The Farm and Pok Pok.

amy// For my dream day, I would wake up early and watch the sunrise.  then I would head to my favorite neighborhood cafe, Dragonfly (in NW Portland) and grab a mate chai before heading to my studio/boutique (someday!) where I would work on jewelry for a few hours.  then I would head out to meet a friend for brunch at the Tin Shed and have my favorite breakfast, the Everything Naughty. after brunch, I would do a little vintage shopping and spend some time in my favorite boutiques, Flutter, Moxie, Tumbleweed, and Pistils Nursery.  in the afternoon, I would work some more in my studio, then head to a yoga class.  for dinner, I would dine at the amazing Veritable Quandary with my wonderful husband.  he would probably have sea scallops and I would have Chilean sea bass.  mmmm….. delicious! oh, and of course, I would enjoy a glass of wine or two!

9.  What do you both do when you’re not writing for the blog?
misha// Goodness, what don’t I do?! I am a full-time photographer and graphic designer. I started my business called Ashton Photography + Design [www.mishaashton.com] in 2001. Mainly I do abstract film photography that I sell at art shows, craft fairs and boutiques.. When I’m not doing that, I am a full time wedding photographer. I have also started to get into pregnancy, new born and kid photography as well. I am always working to perfect every avenue in photography.

amy// well, I am a jewelry designer and have a full-time business called Amy Olson Jewelry. I sell my work online (http://amyolsonjewelry.etsy.com) as well as at shows and in boutiques. I also work at a darling boutique that sells my work called MInk in SE Portland.  All of these things keep me quite busy!

10.  When you’re buying products online, do you look for something that’s made locally first?
misha// Online, I always buy from independent designers and artist from all over the world. I buy my local items from locally owned businesses or directly from the artist/designer themselves. I completely gave up shopping at stores like Wal-mart, the mall and other such places over 10 years ago.

amy// typically, when I buy online, I go straight to websites like Etsy where I can look for handmade items.  I also like to buy locally, which I can usually find at shows around town.  like Misha, I don’t remember the last time I shopped at Wal-mart or the mall and that is because I made a decision long ago not to shop at these kinds of stores~ Wal-mart especially!

11.  What is the biggest local trend you guys have gotten into – for instance, do you have backyard chickens?
misha// Oh man, I would LOVE to have chickens and my own little garden, but sadly I do not…yet! I ride my bike every chance I get, whether its just for fun or to run errands or meet up with the ladies at a bar for girls night. I do as much of my grocery shopping from the local food co-op, and I recycle practically everything I can. To me though these don’t really feel like a trend, just part of everyday life that everyone should be doing around the world.

amy// well, I think that what I have gotten into the most is spending less time in my car and doing more walking and bike riding.  Portland is great about promoting alternative forms of transportation and I try to make the most of that!  I also do my best to support local farm stands and picking my own produce.  I hope to one day have a farm where I can garden and keep chickens, but for now, I do what I can!

12.  What kind of music have you been listening to lately?
misha// I am currently in love with Queens of the Stone Age, the Death Proof Soundtrack and a New Zealand band called the Eastern who I met last summer playing in front of my art booth at First Thursday in the Pearl.
Ive been kind of lame these days an not going out to local shows, which is a bad habit because we have so many great musicians.

amy// I realized recently that I must really like music that is soulful because lately I’ve really been into Cat Power and Antony and the Johnsons.  I love the mixes that my husband makes, which are very diverse and fun.  the latest mix, Summer 2009, consists of songs from some of my favorite artists such as Jim White, The Handsome Family, Girltalk, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, and Neko Case.  I really love music and simply can’t live without it.  Portland always has amazing shows going on and the most recent ones we plan on attending are Girltalk, Daniel Johnston, and M. Ward.

13.  If you were trapped on a desert island, what three items would you make sure to have with you?
misha// my nikon f100 film camera, a holga 35mm and all the expired slide film in the world!

amy// my jewelry-making supplies (can that count as one?), my camera, and a sketchbook/pencil.

14.  What is your best garage sale find?
misha// Hands down, a mini seafoam green guitar amp that my boyfriend adapted for my iPod. That way when Im working in my studio, people can hear the music and not just me singing horribly out of tune.

amy// my husband I have a vintage camera collection and many of our cameras have come from garage sales~ I think these are my favorite!

15.  In a perfect world, outside the constraints of reality, what would you be doing?
misha// Living and traveling all over the world taking photos, having gallery shows of my work on every continent and being able to speak the language of everyone I come into contact with, while still having a home to come back to in SE Portland.

amy// I would be living on a little farm near the river where I would have alpacas and donkeys, as well as a dog and a cat, of course!  I would have my work in various boutiques throughout the U.S. and would be able to travel all over the world to look for gems and supplies.  my studio would be in a converted Airstream Bambi.

16.  Who in your life was a creative inspiration for you?
misha// My parents bought me my first slr camera when I was 14 years old and have always supported and encouraged my dream of being a photographer. They have purchased my art from every show they’ve been to and refuse to allow me to just give them the pieces they like best!

amy// my grandma is my inspiration.  she was a professional craftsperson all her life and has taught me almost everything I know.  I have definitely inherited all of her ‘creative’ genes!  and I am lucky enough to be living near her again in Portland.

17.  What’s the next hottest thing you think everyone should be checking out?
misha// Old school film photography!! Polaroid photos, cross processed photos, lomo cameras, twin lens cameras. FILM’S NOT DEAD!!!

amy// well, I don’t know if I’m the best person to answer this question, but I’m really excited about community supported agriculture, community gardens, and farm shares.  there are so many options out there as far as price ranges, proportions, and what you would like to receive that it has become easy for everyone to either grow their own food or be able to support other local farmers in the area.

18.  What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
misha// Do what you love, oh and to always remember the Rule of Thirds.

amy// to be honest, I haven’t received too much advice in my life, but I’ve always believed in what Misha said- do what you love!

19.  What is your most treasured possession?
misha// my 24-85mm macro lens for my nikon f100. I love abstract detail shots, especially when people cant figure out what the full images really are!

amy// oh dear, this is a hard one as I have so many lovely things that are so beautiful to me.  one in particular is my great great great grandmother’s Singer sewing machine.  it’s truly exquisite.

20.  What’s next for Portland Loves: local?
misha// Personally, I am very excited for some of our upcoming week long reviews. Portland Fashion Week is coming up and we have so many wonderful fashion designers, make-up artist, models and fashion photographers here in Portland. It will be so hard to choose who to feature!!

amy// I’m really excited about a variety of guest bloggers that will be writing on our blog as well as promoting different events around the city.

21.If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
misha// Other than EVERYWHERE, I would have to say Malta is at the top of my list right now.

amy// you know, I haven’t been overseas yet, but I’ve always dreamed about visiting Paris as I know I’ll fall in love.  but, at the same time, if I could go anywhere tomorrow I would go to Boston because I really love Autumn in New England.

Thank you to Misha and Amy for the great interview!  And make sure to check out Portland Loves: local!

You may remember Laurent from a piece that I did on his ethnic photography a little while ago.  He was kind enough to answer some of my questions and allow them to be shared here with my readers.

1.  What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Nothing exciting to tell you the truth, plain rice and a banana. I’d rather keep it safe especially in a country like India.

I know this is going to sound patriotic, but everything inspires me in Paris. I could never get tired of the place. I was born and raised in this city, it’s home! But strangely I don’t really find any particular inspiration in terms of street portraits, unlike I would in exotic countries for instance. Life is strange, or maybe it’s just me.

Well I am very much into Nine Inch Nails, Baraka soundtrack, Placebo, Smashing Pumpkins and many more!

I’ve always love photography, ever since I was a little child, looking at my great grand fathers photo from the early 20th century. I just got naturally into it for traveling here and there… I came up to the point that I had to leave my mark!

Watching TV documentaries, looking at McCurry’s shots and many other reasons. I am very conscious that tribe cultures are quickly fading away meanwhile time is passing by. Nothing will ever be the same in a few years from now on. When you get to travel to some exotic places and come across extraordinary faces, you just feel like you want to freeze the moment forever, at least that’s what I feel.

The usual: Canon 5D with primes. 35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8. Lightroom and CS3.

The very same as I’m doing right now. There are so many cultures to explore and faces to shoot in this world. I want to do them all. And the good thing is that its getting better and better every time.

All the great photographers such as Avedon, McCurry, Doisneau etc. The movie Baraka was also a big shot in my photographer’s life.

I’m great at sleeping. This is something I do really well :)

I would say the movie Baraka for sure… No words needed, just watch it.

Nothing that crazy has ever happened to me, can you believe it? Dull life ehh!

Anywhere with no tourists.

A 30 Euros plane ticket from Delhi to Ahmedabad… ain’t that sweet?

Traveling all across the globe as much as I want to. Now that would be nice!

An empty bottle of water, a truck wheel and a chair.

Never judge someone at first sight.

A leather bracelet that my mama gave me when I was a child.

A cat and fishes. My place is indeed a world of antagonism.

I would just be traveling I suppose.

Take a guess… :)

Many thanks to Laurent for this interview!  If you’d like to learn more about him, his blog is here, and his website, here.

Stacy has been one of my very good creative friends for years, so I was excited when she agreed to do an interview!  Here it is, for my dear readers:

1.  What did you have for breakfast this morning?

A bowl of oatmeal with organic milk, wheat germ, golden flax sprouts, and sliced apple bananas with a dash of cinnamon and vanilla extract for good measure.

2.  What do you find most inspiring about where you live?

Our little house and our garden makes me HapPy. And that keeps me inspired everyday in countless ways. Everyday I stare out my windows and see the beautiful green and colorful lush garden outside. Oranges, reds, purples, pinks, shades of greens, chartreuse, silvery whites from the plants and flowers. Dark grays, chocolate brown, white from the homes outside. Terra cotta pots, light green lichen on the trees, light pale gray white from the hanging Pele’s hair. Curling ferns, spiky leaves, long straight leaves, short round leaves…so many shapes too numerous to count. And this is only from my back garden.

3.  What kind of music are you into lately?

I’m more of a TV DVD Movie watcher versus a music listener. If I don’t have the TV on, most of the time I’m just listening to the minah birds, doves, and other birds outside my home singing or talking to each other from one branch to the next while I’m tapping away at my keyboard. Not to mention my little lovebird chirping happily away in our home. When I’m in my car, the radio is on and this is the only time I really have music playing but for the life of me I couldn’t tell you what songs were playing.

4.  Is etsy/creating your full time business?  If not, what do you do in real life?

No, Etsy is not my full time business.  I recently quit my full time job which was being an attorney with the Prosecutor’s office.  I’m not practicing law at the moment but perhaps in the future. Right now, I’m doing a little of this and a little of that. So, along with Etsy, I’m doing real estate with my mom, helping with my relatives’ “marketing design”, and I have other projects waiting in the wings.

5.  What is your favorite craft venture and why?

My favorite and so far only craft ventures are my Etsy shops…Stacy’s Designs 88, Blue Lovebirds, and Lilikoi Cottage.  Yes, I have 3 shops. Crazy yeah?  Stacy’s Designs 88 is my first shop and I recently opened the other 2 shops to start specializing.  I’m still working on this “specialization” process which is taking a bit of time and energy. I love creating and then seeing my creations sell. It’s a thrill. I love communicating and working with my customers on their custom orders be it bridal parties, gifts, or for themselves. I really find pleasure when my customers love the jewelry I have created. It keeps me going.

6.  Was there someone in your life who was a creative inspiration for you?

When I was growing up, my Dad and my Aunty Dorene were my creative inspirations. My dad is talented and can draw very well. He loves to sketch and doodle. He used to  draw up blue prints when he first started working. I think he would enjoy painting but he’s color blind and I think that’s what stops him from pursuing it. My Aunt got me on the road to creating. When she was attending the university and getting her teaching degree, I was her guinea pig at a young age. So, I remember her teaching me how to make puppets with felt, and other art activities.

7.  What else do you make other than art that you’re great at?

Hey, everything I make is art even if it’s not “art art”. I Love to bake desserts—my current favs are Red Velvet cupcakes. I decorate the cupcakes with cute cupcake tins, white white frosting, and different colored sprinkles. For our family dinners, I’m the one always assigned to create the salad. I love to make it both tasty, healthy, and colorful. My salads are more like fruit vege salads…like salad extravaganza! In my cooking/baking, I’m really into not only how it “tastes” but how it “looks”. My friend Laurie once told me she likes to cook bc it’s like creating art. Years ago when she said this, I couldn’t comprehend this because I was not into cooking.  But, now that I cook, I totally get what she means. And besides Cooking, presentation of the food is also an art in itself.

8.  When did you first start creating things?

My earliest memory of creating something was when I was in 1^st Grade. I still remember a poem I wrote about a bunny rabbit. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I also used to have a favorite yellow bunny that I used to carry around everywhere. Was that poem an Ode to my Bunny?
9.  What is your creative process like?

It’s hard to describe. Sometimes, I look at things and then an idea will literally pop into my head.  Other times, a lot of things will be running through my head, I’ll play around with my materials, and then I get it into my head that I have to do “X” and then I start doing it.  I like to complete a project and go with the flow until it’s done. But, I find it hard to stick to doing the same old thing. So, I’m always working on a new and different project. I can be creating a necklace, then move onto earrings, then start creating a Tag or card.
10.  What’s a cool thing that you think everyone should know about?

I don’t want to sound corny but I think everyone should check out Etsy because there are so many cool handmade items to be found there created by artisans all over the world. I constantly meet people who know nothing about Etsy and I just have to tell them about it and get them hooked.  It’s amazing, or maybe not so amazing, the number of people who haven’t heard about Etsy.
11.  What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Okay, I don’t know if I’ve had “crazy” things happen to me.  But this happened to me when I vacationed in Paris by myself.  On my way to Paris, I learned 5 words/phrases in French to get me by. Like “Can you speak English”, “Thank You”…you get the picture. I’m terrible at languages.  Now, this was my first time visiting France and the first time being by myself in a Foreign country where English was not their primary language.  I was a bit nervous about surviving my week in Paris alone.

While I was at the Louvre Museum, I was getting a bite to eat at the museum’s café. This was probably like my 2^nd day in Paris.  From the corner of my eye, I noticed one of the museum café’s waiters trying to explain something to this Chinese National couple but they weren’t getting it.  But I understood what the waiter was trying to say to them in French! So, I stepped in and explained in English to the couple what the waiter was saying to them in French. Luckily, they spoke some English so they were able to understand me.  In the end, I had a happy couple and a happy waiter. It was at that moment that I knew that I could survive my vacation in Paris alone.  I was so happy!  Who would’ve thunk?

12.  Where’s your dream vacation spot?

I have so many…I want to revisit Italy, England and France with Jimmy.  Let’s see there’s also Spain, New Zealand, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Hong Kong…
13.  What’s the last thing you bought online?

I’ve been trying to be good and not buy too many things. But, recently I bought some gemstones for a custom order, more Swarovski crystals, more Sterling Silver charms getting ready for the Christmas season,,,hello, my name is Stacy and I’m a online shopaholic…stop me please!
14.  In a perfect world without the constraints of reality, what would you be doing?

If I could do anything and money grew on my tree, Jimmy and I would travel to wherever we wanted to first class and live it up wherever we went. We would go to all the top events like the Olympics, the Oscars, the Super Bowl.  I would have my own craft show sorta like Martha Stewart but locally based in Hawaii.  We would live in different places in the world like Tuscany, Provence, New York.  And, then we would sometimes just sit by our eternity pool in our backyard overlooking both the Pacific Ocean and the mountains and enjoy the company of our family and friends.

15.  Do you make a signature dish?  What is it?

I think I make a mean Red Velvet Cake and a pretty sloppy (in a good way) Lasagna.

16.  What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Never go back, keep moving forward.
17.  What’s your most treasured possession?

If there’s one thing that I can just stare at and feel happy that I “possess” it, then it would have to be my Grandma’s Miriam Haskell necklace.
18.  Do you have any pets?

We have our one and only Tobey. She’s a Lovebird. But she thinks she’s acts more like a dog with feathers. Never a dull moment. My husband Jimmy can understand Lovebird chirps now.  This means “open my drawer”, that means “hey, did you hear me? Open my drawer!”, and then that non-stop shrieking means “Hey Mom, don’t you know you need to open up my drawer!?!”  We LoVe her like nobodies’ business.
19.  What’s your best garage sale find?

My Best:  Okay, I don’t have “Bests” but I do love the sewing box full of Vintage buttons, a Queen Sized chenille white bedspread, a Japanese Lacquered tea set…

The Thing that Got Away: I still mourn the loss of the Le Creuset deal of a century that I walked away from and regret til this day. The gal was moving and wanted to sell at least 5 different pots in different colors and sizes for only, get this, $75.  I was young, naïve, not much of a cook, but I loved the look and the colors…didn’t even know what the brand was until later.  My dream is to one day own a great set that I love.  And, if I can find it at a garage sale for a steal that would make my day. Sigghhhh….
20.  What are you most passionate about?

My passions come and go like the wind! Right now it’s trying to get down to a decent body weight and eating healthy. I’m even writing everything down in a Food Journal. And, I saw a dietitian.  My mantras…Portion control, more veges and fruits, more exercise!

As a bonus, Stacy has offered 15% off any item in any of her 3 shops until September 20th!  Just add “fan of the craft begins” in your note to seller and she’ll refund you via paypal.  Thanks Stacy!

I’ve been admiring Vicki’s blog for some time now, and she was kind enough to answer some of my questions.  Make sure to check out her site, Simply Hue, for lots of inspiring color palettes and articles with a special focus on artists and designers.

1.  What did you have for breakfast this morning?
A leftover chicken enchilada.  :)

2.  What do you find most inspiring about where you live?
We live about an hour from Seattle in a small rural town.  I love that we’re surrounded by farmland but can drive to Seattle if we need our fix of the city.
3.  What kind of music are you into lately?
I’m pretty boring when it comes to my music.  I like a lot of the old artists like “The Eagles”, “Elton John”, “Fleetwood Mac”, and “Jim Croche” (sp?)  I also enjoy Jason Mraz and Colby Caillat and I listen to most of my teens’ music as long as it’s not Rap.

4.  You are a color consultant – how did you get into that, and what exactly does that entail?
I’ve always loved interior design and architecture but my degree is in Recreation Leadership.  At 44 I didn’t have the energy/motivation to go back to college, so I took a color consulting course and began looking for clients shortly after I completed it.

5.  What got you into blogging?
I was online doing a search for decorating websites and came across several popular decorating blogs.  To be honest, I didn’t even know what a blog was until that time!  In high school I always enjoyed essays because I could draw or paste pictures onto the pages and blogging brings me that same satisfaction.  It’s like putting together one long essay and working on it a little bit each day. (more…)

Sorry, the name just had to be capitalized, it’s that exciting.  Meagan and Sasha, the dynamic duo of Wonder Thunder, were kind  enough to answer some questions for me.  It gets a bit silly, but for me, that just makes it that much better!

1.  What did you have for breakfast this morning?

8 grains. Home brewed yogurt with honey. Coffee.  Blood of the innocent!

2.  What do you find most inspiring about where you live?

Mountains and the ocean.  Flannel.  Nirvana.  No, we mean nature, salmon, and eagles!  Deserts, volcanos, and soft pine forest floors. Combine demolition derbies!

3.  What kind of music are you into lately?

We could go all day on this question!  Tallest Man on Earth, Loney Dear, Dr. Dog, Alela Diane, First Aid Kit, Tom Petty, The Band, Handsome Furs, Paul Simon’s Kodachrome, M83, Animal Collective, Built to Spill, Fleet Foxes, A.A. Bondy, Blue Oyster Cult.

4.  Is etsy/creating your full time business?  If not, what do you do in real life?

No, if only our dreams were real.  Maybe one day.  But our day jobs aren’t too bad.  Sasha works in the art department of Sub Pop.  Meagan makes jewelry for a local designer.  We like what we do.

5.  What’s the story behind your awesome shop name?

This is a hard question.  It just sort of appeared in the brain and stuck.  We like that it rhymes, evokes wonder and unexplainable forces of nature, and we noticed people like to yell it at us as a collective name for two.  WONDER THUNDER!

6.  Was there someone in your life who was a creative inspiration for you?

Our parents!  All four of them have some creative bones.  Sasha’s dad makes screen-printed ceramics and his mom spins, knits, dyes, and weaves.  Meagan’s mom is a metalsmith and her dad builds things like houses and contraptions.  We also had great art teachers in high school which is a rare thing these days.

7.  What else do you make other than art that you’re great at?

Food. Pickles, yogurt, sauerkraut, lacto-fermented vegetables, immmaculate conception of taco salad.  Other than food, fossil and herb research, the pythagorean theorum, stick and rock collecting, tea making, and sinning.

8.  When did you first start creating things?

It’s hard to say really, we’ve always made things, it’s just what happens as we live life.  We could say that it started as kids, but all kids are creative.  We just happened to keep doing it.

9.  What is your creative process like?

Bacteria growth is a good example.  It starts as a little cell and soon enough you’ve got an infection that no known antibiotic can cure.  We started with one idea of a mischievous carrot and before long we had a handful of buck toothed trouble making characters.  We usually draw on napkins while eating to get some ideas.  Once we find something that is funny to both of us we match that image to an item we’ve been wanting to make.

10.  What’s a cool thing that you think everyone should know about?

You can get water stains out of wood floors with tooth paste.  Insomnia and stress can be cured by drinking valerian tea, an herb that smells like old dirty socks.   Pistachios are a poor substitute for cat food.

11.  What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you?

When we moved to New Hampshire, the thrift shops were even better.  And there were church and fire department rummage sales, which were not only fun, but like digging for vintage gold.  I started selling finds on eBay and enjoyed it.  I added a booth in a flea/antique mall.  But the market changed drastically after 2001 and so did the eBay community, ruining all the fun and ending that era for me.

In 2003, at age 9, Scout serendipitously created these adorable monkeys.  I became inspired to teach her how to start a tee shirt business, ‘Monkey’s Way’,  with her designs.  That’s when we trademarked the joonbeam name.  I made a video of our trip to the state house.  (She was adorable.)   We wanted some lower priced items and she was making those sweet Peek-a-Boo matchboxes.  I’d gotten a new sewing machine and started making some small paper & fabric crafts out of recycled things.  We did a few small holiday shows.  It was nothing much, but easy & a good experience for her.   We also made our ‘famous’ caramel popcorn and granola bars.  We met nice people and made new friends.  Good memories.  My current creations and the launch of my Etsy venture began here.

In Boston people throw away obscene amounts of everything.  The sidewalks are stacked all the time.  We even got our beautiful couch ~ A classic 1960s red pleather Castro Convertible off a sidewalk, where it had been put out for the trash truck.  One family, all those years.  The woman was ecstatic we were taking it. We surprised her with a photo Valentine of it in use.  She surprised us, too … handmade us one and sneaked it through our door mail slot.  You can’t buy experiences like that.    A lot of it is fate, chance, luck.  But, most of my finds involve hard work, diligence & patience.  You have to know vintage and when to say no.  You have to spend time digging through a lot of junk to find the treasures.  I enjoy that because it’s all about curiosity to me … who owned these things, where have they been, what have they seen, how did they get here, and most of all, who loved them and what are their stories?  Having OCD tendencies doesn’t hurt, either.

9.  What is your creative process like?
I cannot describe it.  It’s beyond spontaneous.  Most times I’ll be mending, clipping, straightening up or organizing and something catches my eye, springs an idea and off I go.  Everything is a total surprise to me.  I do wish I could jot things down in the shower because God only knows how many of my ideas are now alligators in the sewers.

* Your library internet reserve and loan system.  You will need this for cool things #6 & 7.
* Yes! Paste.  http://www.amazon.com/Gane-Yes-All-Purpose-Stik-Flat/dp/B000S10SNU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1236866724&sr=8-1
* Junior League Cookbooks
* That Walgreens has organic cotton socks for 2.49.
* The Watts Towers.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_Towers
* Reading Rainbow from whence hundreds of cool things like The Watts Towers can be experienced wonderfully. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Rainbow
* The Wuggie Norple Story by Daniel M. Pinkwater & Tomie Paola.  It’s a rare OOP little book. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/44/113283337_60071c4011.jpg%3Fv%3D0&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/japanamanda/113283337/&usg=__BlgoOuNfITL0kw-bXm4VkUwp1LQ=&h=294&w=400&sz=53&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=i6s2xcl7dMQBwM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DWuggie%2BNorple%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
* making your own vanilla
* craftopolis search to see if you’re in treasuries or gift guides  http://craftopolis.com/

* At age 5, I needed a tonsillectomy.  I had a boyfriend, Jeffrey Grant.  A few days before my surgery, my brother accidentally fractured Jeffrey’s leg playing neighborhood football in our yard.  A while after I arrived at the hospital – in those days you were admitted the afternoon before, left there, alone, in a crib in a giant ward, no less – a kind nurse came and said somebody wanted to see me.  So, we went hand in hand down the hallway and into a private room and there was my beloved, in traction.  Previously playing with Tinkertoys but now like the cat who swallowed the canary because they’d brought his favorite person to him.  He knew I was coming, but his was a total surprise to me.  It’s a crazy, but sweet, memory.  I can still see his smiling face.

* My family went to Disney World in Florida the first year it opened and I happened to turn Sweet 16 that day.  The entire (packed) population inside the Crystal Palace Restaurant started singing Happy Birthday to me.  Naturally, I embarrassed myself by sobbing from embarrassment.  (It’s a vicious circle.)

* My son, Dusty, was attacked by a cougar when he was 2 years old.  This happened at a trade show.

* I have moved 30something~ish times and am now residing in my 9th state.  We once lived at a Holiday Inn for 2 weeks.  The boys started school from there.

* I must preface this by saying I now adore NYC .  But in 1989 both my life and this trip there were oddly uncomfortable.  My peers had business tasks and I really wanted to make the best of the situation so I mustered up all my courage and I asked a hotel maid how far it was to Macy’s and if it was safe to walk there.  She was a petite, cute, shy, woman, with a voice to match.  This seemed to tickle her to death.   What can I say, I lived in the country and probably watched too much TV.  Well, skeptical, in a trusting way, off I went.   Hours later, while on one of their classic wooden escalators going up, I’m staring off into space, most likely fretting about walking back and what do I see?  That adorable woman on the down escalator!  WHAT???  And she just smiled that sweet amused smile.  I always thought she had to be an angel.  I mean, honestly.  How in the heck?

* A few years later, and at another a rough time in my life, I went on a spontaneous road trip with a friend to visit his North Carolina family for the weekend.  We met some relatives for breakfast at a local favorite Mom & Pop restaurant.  At the end of the wonderful meal, everyone was pleasantly chatting.  His niece, who was about 5,  I think, climbed up onto my lap, took my face in her hands and said ‘You’re a miracle.’  She was so delighted.  Of course, I thought I misunderstood her so I said, ‘What?’ and she was just happy as a clam and said ‘You’re just a miracle.’  My friend and I stared at each other.   ‘There you have it,’ he said.

But it gets better.  Part B: Shortly thereafter and overlapping this friendship,  Evan and I fall instantly, madly in love. … which is another crazy connection and story in itself, but long story shorter, fast forward ahead: now we’re married and have the boys and Scout and decide to move from Virginia to Oregon.  I collected Coca Cola things since age 14, so a colleague of mine said ‘You have to go to Atlanta and see the Coke Museum before you move so far away.’  So, on a whim, we decide to go for my birthday weekend.  Scout was 14 months old.  Off we go, tra la la.  She winds up being ridiculously ill in a matter of hours (image: inconsolable, endlessly screaming, burning with high fever baby) and we have to find a doctor.   On a Saturday morning.  In Atlanta.  We did.  And that’s another great crazy story.  Scout had strep and a nasty virus, both.  It was horrid.  But that woman was another angel.  She actually kissed Scout on her cheek.  A total stranger who just diagnosed the child with two contagious illnesses.  So — Atlanta is it as far as I am concerned.  But, I digress.  So, after a bizarre and exhausting weekend, we’re heading home and it’s getting dark.  At dinner time we’re looking for a small diner-ish place as we always do.  We leave the interstate and go into a small town and stop at a perfect looking place and I say something like ‘This looks familiar, but that’s impossible.’   After we’re inside for a few minutes I realize it’s the restaurant I was at with my friend on miracle day.

OK.  That’s enough crazy for now.

I made a keepsake for my oldest son when he graduated from OSU.  I wrote to everyone I could who had played a role in his life – not just friends and relatives, but our family physician & dentist, all of his elementary teachers, some of his HS teachers, etc. -  and requested they send along a memory of him, photo, or even one line. I  received an overwhelming supply of surprisingly creative and touching responses, which I gathered and assembled into a huge binder.  It’s not as fancy as I’d like because I was recovering from surgery, but it’s still an achievement.  My favorite part is that I wrote to the doctor who delivered him.  This doctor was already in his 50s in 1977 and had been the small town’s sole OB doctor until shortly before we met.  He sent back a beautiful handwritten letter, detailing specific memories of Kristoffer’s delivery.  Mind you I had no contact with this man other than sending him a Christmas card that first year.  (We moved 5 weeks after I had the baby. ) This doctor, long retired, walked down to the new hospital, searched the microfiche files, found Kristoffer’s birth records – his apgar score etc. (which I didn’t even know existed) – made paper copies and included them in with his letter.  I’m not sure it gets any cooler than this.

Once upon a rummage sale,  I found this groovy little pottery decor dish.  It was $4 which was way too pricey to me.  I was buying things for 10 cents each.  Well, on the bottom was this absolutely adorable little donkey and a signature.  I couldn’t resist so I said ‘Oh, what the heck.’  I researched and found out it was a mid~century Italian designer piece.  I sold it on eBay for over $400 and it went to a gallery in LA.  I could have gotten much more for it but I kept hanging on to it because I couldn’t decide if I could part with it and the market was already sliding.  But it’s still a cool story.  And a great return!

I am overly sensitive to everything in my environment and it’s a mixed blessing.   Noticing and being affected by practically every single aspect of my surroundings can reveal delightful wonders.  It also can present overwhelming challenges.  But, apathy is a sad, sorry path.  One of my least liked cultural axioms is ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff.’  I absolutely believe the small stuff is exactly the place to start.  It all matters and if you take care of the small, there will be nothing big that isn’t better.   Large problems do not spring forth out of nothing.  Their foundation is built on many small neglected ones.   Besides, there is so much joy in little things.  Why overlook them?

Visit my shops often for updates.
joonbeam.  we put the heart in art.
joonwalk. one small step for handmade. one giant leap for mankind.
flying housewife.   from me.  to you.  with love.

saving the planet through art. one step at a time. …because environment is everything.

Thank you to Joon for being patient and answering all of my questions!

The lovely Ms. Teske set a follow up yesterday to her interview.  She had demurred from answering one of the questions, saying that too many crazy things had happened to her (!) but she came up with a story, and I think it was a good one!  Her story follows below.

Here’s Tiffany’s craziest thing!

“In 2002, while traveling in a VW bus in Australia, which they call Kombi vans, I may have had the craziest thing that has ever happened to me happen (although I had three other stories I could have told you….). I was traveling with Andre, my then boyfriend, now husband, and our friend, Dan. If it was not crazy enough to agree to live in a van for 8 weeks with, at times, stinky and annoying boys (although I was also both of these things at time) I had no idea what we were in for. After traveling up the east coast of Aus, over about 5 weeks, we decided to head into the Outback. Here kangaroos are EVERYWHERE (3 million kangaroos are killed LEGALLY in Australia each year by Roo hunters), and sometimes it is 250 km between towns on a one lane road. When cars meet they each have to put their two outside wheels off into the ditch, or get off the road completely when meeting a tractor trailer, which can be a “road-train” with three containers! Well, on one of these lovely roads, in the middle of no where, or actually specifically somewhere between Longreach and Jundah, a truck passed us, completely in the ditch, then came back in front of us, and as it got back on the road, it threw a giant rock into our “windscreen” (or as we say in North America, windshield). Now, in vehicles made today, it may have cracked it, or even shattered it, but it would have stayed intact… not so in a 1970 something VW van. The windshield literally shattered, in a million cracks we could not see out of and then stayed that way for about 5 seconds at which point blew into the van. Dan, who was driving, thankfully had “sunnies” (sunglasses) on, but had to pick bits of glass out of himself, and even though I was the furthest in the back I had to, too. We were now in between two towns with VERY LITTLE traffic…. and we had already been through Longreach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longreach,_Queensland), gone to Jundah, had van trouble, changed spark plugs in a dirt lot in Jundah, headed back to Longreach to go to a garage, and were now headed back to Jundah to continue our trip. Since we knew there was not a garage in Jundah that could work on VWs, we knew we needed to go back to Longreach FOR A THIRD TIME. We drove something like 90 km, without a windshield, which is NOT a picnic, in fact, there is a good reason we have windshields. We had to drive really slow, and at one point we almost hit a calf which could have flipped up into the van… the sun went down during all of this… I was never happier to reach a destination. Long story short, and it is a long, funny, and agonizing story, we spent 8 days in Longreach… a windscreen needed to be sent from the coast, and they only make two types of windscreens, but we got the wrong one sent to us the first time, and needed to wait something like 6 days for the right one to arrive! In the meantime, we befriended most of the town. The first day we got there, no one would talk to the crazy hippies in the Kombi with surfboards strapped to the top, and no windscreen, in the middle of the Outback. But, by the end of the 8 days we had befriended the VW mechanic, all the kids who played in the local park, and most of their parents who hung out at the biker bar in town. I went to every little hole in the wall museum in this 4,300 person town. We had little money, but did spend one night in a motel so we could shower, eat take out pizza, and watch movies. Our last night, to top it all off, was also pretty crazy… we went to the biker bar to see a band called The Lees. The bar was crawling with locals, including little kids. And The Lees (http://www.thelees.com.au/bandHistory.php) turned out to be a family band much like The Partridge Family. Mom played bass, Dad played guitar, brother, about 14 played the drums, sister about 17 sang, sister about 12 sang, and sister about 7 sang, played, and worked the lights…. it was crazy, awesome, amazing, and when the oldest daughter sang Alanis Morissette, a fellow Canadian to the guys (I am from the states) we decided to started talking to them on a break and told them our sad story. They hung out with us into the night, and even gave us one of the rooms attached to the bar, which they were staying in as the featured band. The next day, they gave us their coordinates in the town of Broken Hill, along with an invite to come and visit AND our new windscreen arrived! It was Andre’s birthday, and Dan’s birthday the next day…. Happy birthday, guys! The mechanic installed the screen, we headed to Broken Hill, and stayed with the family band for 3 days before heading home to Canada. Steve and Tracey, and their 4 kids, Raechel, Jarod, Faith and Savannah, are still friends of ours, and have come to visit us in Canada. Nothing could quite be crazier….

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Now, I should take a class on how to write true life stories without rambling…”

Today’s interview is with one of my great craft friends, Tiffany Teske.  In addition to doing some excellent Polaroid transfers, she is a wonderful photographer and a great crafty inspiration.  I loved getting to know more about her – now’s your chance!

1. What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Homemade crepes with butter, lemon, & real Canadian maple syrup. Crepes are a favorite in our household. My 2 1/2 year old likes hers with pecans, cinnamon, & syrup. Hubby likes them with just butter & syrup. Fresh berries are always nice, too. If you would like the recipe you can get it on my blog at this post, http://tiffanyteske.blogspot.com/2008/11/our-classic-crepe-recipe.html.

2. What do you find most inspiring about where you live?

I live in Banff, in the Canadian Rockies. It is a tourist mecca for people from all over the world. The mountain landscape is very inspiring in a way I can’t really pin down. You just feel good when you see all that beauty. And I love that most of the people who are visiting are on holiday, either for R&R or to work here, so they are happy to be here. And they are walking around seeing what I see each day, with fresh eyes. It is fun. There are lots of venues for creativity, galleries and shops, movies, library, plus the world reknown Banff Centre for the Arts, so we get lots of great artists, musicians, dancers, comedians, etc, who come to perform and show their work there.

3. What kind of music are you into lately?

I feel like I have been in a bit of a musical rut. I used to keep up on new music, but have always loved all kinds of music, so old music is as good as new to me. I recently borrowed a copy of a friend’s Turkish Grooves, which is excellent. I love world music. Hard question…

6. Was there someone in your life who was a creative inspiration for you?

Growing up it was my Aunt Helen, my dad’s sister. My parents are not terribly creative. They are both in the dental field. And my living grandparents were pretty much “buyers” not ”makers”. My dad’s mom was said to be eccentric and creative but she died when I was under 3 years old. Helen is her daughter, and she never had kids, actually doesn’t like them much, but we hit it off from my birth. She took me everywhere as a kid that kids don’t go; galleries, plays, the ballet, fine restaurants. She also took me to lots of kid places, like fairs, libraries, art groups. She is awesome! However, I never really had someone who taught me anything hands on artistic. No one taught me skills. But being with Helen inspired me to learn.

7. What else do you make other than art that you’re great at?

Oh, you are so kind. I try to make everything. I love to cook and bake when I have enough time to enjoy it. I love working with papers and with fabrics, although I am not very good at sewing. It is something I want to concentrate on in the near future. I studied ballet for about 12 years, and sometime I still teach it to preschool kids.

8. When did you first start creating things?

I think I have always had that in me. My daughter is the same, she always asks “what are we making today” or do we have a “project”. As a kid I was given lots of kits for making things, and took a lot of classes. My mom didn’t really do the things with me. As for photography, I was bit by the shutterbug at 7 years old. I was given a 100 camera to document a family trip. I have loved making photographs ever since.

9. What is your creative process like?

Hmmmm, this is a difficult one to put into words. I spend a lot of time kind of brewing or percolating… ideas come to me like breathing. I can come up with millions of things I want to do. But then I need time to think on them, to process them. It is not even a conscious thing all the time. Sometimes I feel like I forgot about an idea, but then it comes to me all ready. Poof. A lot of my process is mental. Living with the idea. If it is photography, I may then make the images, and then work in the process I have chosen for printing, displaying, etc. Or I may have made the images years ago, so I find them, then work with them in mixed media. Most of my artwork is photo based. As for something I am making that doesn’t use my photographs, I may collect the materials, then experiment. I am not really much of a planner for making art. I just kind of start making. The exception to this would be if I am using some kind of technical process for printing, something that needs to be done an exact way, such as some darkroom processes.

10. What’s a cool thing that you think everyone should know about?

Etsy. And Spoonflower is pretty darn cool. You can design and print your own fabric! How cool is that? I want to try it sometime. http://www.spoonflower.com. Ah, so many cool things in this world… I also like the Craft Daily newsletter, because it keeps me up on art, craft, food… sign up here, http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2007/02/get_craft_daily.html. I also think blogging is a cool thing everyone should know about because everyone has something to say and that they are interested in, and you can meet amazing people via blogging.

11. What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Well, I have traveled the world so many crazy things have happened to me…

12. Where’s your dream vacation spot?

Everywhere, no seriously… ok, I will try to pick. Fiji, Alaska, Scotland, Italy, Greece, Belize, The Galapagos, Kauai, Egypt, Morocco, Japan….

13. What’s the last thing you bought online?

A hardbound photobook of a photo essay I worked on.

15. Do you make a signature dish? What is it?

If you can’t tell by now, I am more scattered than focused and embrace change, so I cook all the time but can’t really come up with a signature dish. They are always changing. When I think of things people request for me to make they are crepes, veggie burritos, and these oatmeal ginger cookies that people go CRAZY for.

16. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Listen to your heart, follow your dreams, trust yourself, you can be anything, but you need to work for what you want, nothing will be handed to you on a silver platter.

17. What’s your most treasured possession?

Is it weird that I had to think about that one? I would have to say family photos and books and cameras. But, I strongly believe that as much as I love objects, that if I lost everything but still had the people I love, I would be fine. No object can last forever, and I think maybe I am a bit superstitious that if you hold on tightly to something you will lose it.

18. Do you have any pets?

No but have had fish, a bird, a gecko, a turtle, a hamster, cats, and dogs. Never trust someone who doesn’t like kids or animals…

19. What’s your best garage sale find?

Oh man, I am a collector, there have been SO many. Between garage sales, thrift shops, and Freecycle, I have found some amazing things. I guess the things I love to find most are very old photographs and slides, cameras, and vintage books with illustrations.

20. What are you most passionate about?

Making art, helping others (I have been to Haiti and Nicaragua on humanitarian missions, as well as working in the communities I have lived in), for all women to have the choice of natural child birth (I gave birth under the care of a midwife in a birthing center with my daughter and have a planned homebirth with a midwife for the second daughter), our environment, good health.

If you’re interested in learning more about this lovely lady, you can check out her etsy shop here.  She’s also showing on trunkt, and has her own website for her photography business here.  If you want to get more in-depth, she has two great blogs – one about “going green” and one about art and her life.  They both feature awesome ideas, great recipes, wonderful pictures, and awesome insights.  So stop in and say hello!