"Weaving sort of found me..." - inside of skiingweaver store...

Hello all!

Today I wanted to share the story of a talented weaver from New England, US - Kristin Kelley-Munoz, the owner of the Store skiingweaver

I hope you enjoy our interview with Kristin as much as we did!

 Kristin threading her little Harrisville loom at home

(picture taken by her daughter)

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Your location

    I live in Chelmsford, MA (about 30 NW of Boston) and my studio is at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, MA (http://www.westernavenuestudios.com/) - the building used to be a textile mill and it's on a canal!).

Random Facts about You?

I'm a former lawyer (IP litigation, but please don't ask me about copyright issues). I'm much happier now. :) I found out *after* I learned to weave that my Quebequois maternal grandmother was a mill-girl weaver here in Massachusetts in the early 1900s! I really am a fanatic skier - Stowe, VT and Alta, UT are two of my favorite places to ski (hubby and I downhill, cross-country, snowboard and telemark - and the kids are following in our tracks...). I envy my daughter's gorgeous red hair. And my hubby, Carlos, is my best friend in the world.

Kristin and her daughter on the last ski day in 2010

How long ago did you start weaving?

I taught myself to weave in 2001 - I bought a little 4-harness loom form Harrisville Designs and built it over a weekend with much swearing and banged thumbs. (Harrisville, BTW, is a really pretty town in NH, and their intensive workshops are supposed to be huge amounts of fun.)

What got you started weaving?

I just knew I'd like it... A college friend taught me to knit and I enjoyed that, but I picked up a book about weaving one day and knew I had to get my hands on a loom. I bought that first Harrisville loom when I was still working as an attorney and I'd never woven before then - I'd never even seen a loom in person at that point!

Any particular technique(s) that you enjoy the most?

Hard to choose... When I was learning to weave, I was a structure person. Now I think I'm more interested in how color affects structure and vice versa. But true to my structure roots, I love designing new patterns. Fiberworks PCW is such fun to play with! Most of my designs never get woven at all, and the ones that do are usually just one-offs that I weave for fun and that never make it into my Etsy shop or a show booth. I'm also getting back into dyeing now the my kids are getting beyond the toddler stage (finally!).

What part the process makes you the most passionate?

Oh, all of it. I love it when a design surprises me - when something looks very different after wet-finishing than I expected, e.g. I actually love warping, I really enjoy the feel of the fibers running through my fingers and threading heddles. Selling is probably my least favorite part, though I do enjoy talking with people that come to Open Studios at my studio building and explaining how looms work (everyone is interested when they see my two big looms at my studio - a 60" 12-shaft LeClerc Colonial and a 48" 16-shaft Weavebird/compudobby).

What is your source of inspiration?

I just keep my eyes open. Kids put colors together in amazing ways, they're fearless. I also think it's really important that the finished fabric be appropriate for its intended function (scarves should drape, rugs shouldn't). I also tend to group cones of yarn together in interesting colorways and let them sit there for a couple days, to see if I still like them, or maybe swap out a color or two... Design ideas seem to strike when I'm throwing the shuttle - I keep a little notebook in my loom bench to jot ideas down. Too many ideas, far too little time at this point.

Where do you sell?

I started selling only online but that's by far the smallest piece of my business now. I sell at a couple of large local shows every year, through Open Studios in my studio building on the first Saturday of every month, through a couple of galleries in New England and through the deCordova Museum store (by invitation). I participated in my Guild sale for a couple of years, too, which is a great way to get your feet wet!

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I'm a board member of the Weavers' Guild of Boston, and I teach classes and lead seminars for area weaving guilds (I'll be leading three seminars at NEWS - the New England Weavers' Seminar - at Smith College this July, in case anyone is in the area!).

Outside of the weaving world, I'm a stay-at-home mom of two (our daughter is 7 and our son is 4 - so, in other words, I'm done with diaper duty and starting to feel like a chauffeur instead), an avid newbie gardener (I'm over-run with arugula and spinach at the moment! tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and broccoli are getting planted soon) and I love to bake bread. We ski in the winter and surf, kayak and bike in the summer. We love to travel and are planning to spend a year abroad about 5 years down the road, if things go according to plan (Spain or France - hubby Carlos' first language was Spanish, and I speak very poor French... Though we love the UK and Italy, too, and I would love to take a jacquard class at Fondazione Lisio in Florence... Hmm. Maybe a couple months in each!)

Kristin and her kids from two years ago

What first made you want to become an artist?

Weaving sort of found me... In high school and then at MIT and later in law school I didn't have time to take art classes and since I can't draw my way out of a paper bag, art school was never really a consideration for me. I've always loved working with my hands though - probably a legacy from my father, who was a baker (and made the best doughnuts ever!). I got my independent streak from my dad, too, I was never particularly happy in an office environment. I enjoyed the intellectual challenge of my legal practice, but the billable hours grind was awful (I worked for two very large firms). Making the leap into being a weaver was a pretty huge decision for me. Thank goodness for my very supportive husband!

Please describe your creative process: how, when, materials, etc.

One nice thing about weaving is that you can stop and start - which is pretty necessary when you've got two little ones to take care of! I try to spend two mornings a week in my studio, while my son is in preschool. And I often spend one weekend day over there as well, if I can manage it, though I do miss my hubby terribly when I do that.

As for materials, I lean towards luxury fibers, and fibers that don't make me itch. (Although the fact that cashmere makes me itch like the devil makes me want to cry. It's such lovely stuff.) Tencel and silk both take dye just gorgeously, and I like working with bamboo, too. Zephyr is another favorite of mine (50/50 wool/silk blend, made by Jaggerspun). Stainless steel/wool, paper, glow-in-the dark yarn, silk ribbons - all intrigue me and are on my (long) list of fibers to experiment with.

older shot of part of Kristin' studio in Lowell

Process-wise, I like playing around on Fiberworks PCW. I *love* browsing through the huge library at my weavers' guild meetings. And I like looking beyond the weaving world for ideas, too - the artists in my building are amazing (there are about 200 of us at this point). On the weaving-process front, I warp at most three scarves at a time - only about 9 yards. I've found I lose interest when warps are longer than that (short attention span, I guess). I play around a lot with things that never make it into my shop - just because I enjoy making a project once doesn't mean I'll want to weave a bunch of them for my shop or a show, or that it would fit with my current shop aesthetic.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

A linen cut-work tablecloth that my grandmother not only embroidered herself, but also grew the flax, spun the linen and wove it herself. That's pretty intense (processing flax is difficult work!). I've also got a quilt that she made from remnants of fabric from the textile mill she worked in that I really love.

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

Don't get caught up in the numbers game! I see so many people get caught up in how many sales they have... I'd much rather have one $75 sale (and one trip to the post office) than five $15 sales... Besides, as weavers, it's hard for us to keep up with the sheer volume that other types of sellers can put out. Apart from that - Etsy is a very different place now than it was when I joined back in the dark ages. It's a lot harder to get seen now. I think that local shows and marketing are even more important now to start to build a customer base... Otherwise, great photography, excellent workmanship and a unique product are all important! Learn to develop a critical eye for your work - you don't have to put *everything* you weave in your shop, and I've found that having a coherent look really helps - both for your shop and for show booths. On the photography front - do a search for items similar to what you make, then really take notice of which thumbnails attract your attention (in a good way!) and why. Take all advice with a big heap of salt (including this advice! lol!). What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for anyone else. Figure out what works for you and be happy doing your own thing. And also know that you can step back from it whenever you want - if things get too crazy, it's ok to take some time off.

What do you like about Etsy?

It's so easy! You post things, people buy them. Neato. I also love that my work lives all over the world thanks to Etsy. And I've met some really interesting, kind, generous people through Etsy - and I found my studio thanks to an Etsy-friend who has a studio a couple doors down from me.

trio of bamboo scarves

How do you promote your work?

I don't. I sell at local shows, which helps a lot, and always hand out tons of cards and postcards. Having the monthly Open Studios helps, too. I seem to get a lot of first-time buyers on Etsy, and a steady trickle of custom work through Etsy as well (people find things they like in my sold items quite a bit, so I'm happy I keep good notes on past designs). Sooner or later I'll get coordinated and start a mailing list and follow all the advice in books like "I'd Rather Be In The Studio" and "Craft, Inc." but for now I sell basically everything that I can manage to weave (and then some, it feels like sometimes) so I haven't focused on promoting much at all. I am really picky about what shows I apply to, though, which helps.

What weaving activities or guilds to you participate in?

I'm a board member of the Weavers' Guild of Boston. I'd love to join a smaller guild or two, but I just don't have the time right now (having a high tech startup-founder hubby means I'm focused on the kids for the most part!). This past January I took an advanced weaving class at the John C Campbell Folk School in NC - what fun! An entire week thinking only of weaving, what a treat. (We worked on dyeing and creating crimp cloth using polyester yarn and woven shibori techniques, which I had played with for dying but not for crimping - sooo much fun!)

Do you have a website, blog, Facebook page, or other online endeavors?

My website is:    http://www.skiingweaver.com (I don't update it as much as I should and have yet to put a shopping cart on it...)

I've got a shop on Cargoh and get lots of views but no sales yet. My blog is pretty much defunct now. I spend too much time on Facebook (trying to cut back)! You can find me as myself and I have a Facebook page for my weaving, too:  http://www.facebook.com/handwovenbykristinkelley 

picture of a shawl that the Store @ the deCordova Museum featured on its website

Meet Aimee Radman from FiberFusion

This week we continue our trip through United States. We have landed in Hampton, Minnesota (45 minutes south of the Twin Cities) to meet with the owner of the FiberFusion store on Etsy - Aimee B. Radman

You will learn allot about Aimee from her interview. I personally love everything about this unique and artistic lady.

Meet Aimee and visit her store FiberFusion as well as her website: http://www.mnartists.org/Aimee_Radman  

Random Facts about You?

I grew up partly in the Air Force, so my family moved around quite a bit until I was 10 years old. I live on a small hobby farm now, I like to call it the “Fiber Farm”. We have a small flock of sheep and a guard llama.  I use their wool for spinning and weaving. I also like to dye some of it for felting. I have my weaving studio in our home.

How long ago have you started weaving?

I began weaving when I was nine years old. I became serious about it in college and have a bachelors degree in Broad Area Art emphasizing in Fiber Art.

What got you started weaving?

I saw a rigid heddle loom at a store when I was young and wanted it so much. My mom surprised me with it later as a Christmas gift. I’ve been weaving ever since- I think it was fate!

Any particular technique(s) that you enjoy the most?

I really love to do a lot of fiber techniques: weaving, dyeing, spinning, and felting. My favorite weaving techniques  are shadow weave and tapestry. I like to use hand dyed variegated yarns with shadow weave, I think it creates an interesting movement within the patterns.

What part the process makes you the most passionate?

I love choosing the colors and fibers to work with, designing a pattern to weave, and the actual weaving process. I have been known to have a stack of items that need their ends finished, which is my least favorite part of the weaving process.

What is your source of inspiration?

I get a lot of inspiration from colors and shapes found in nature. I also like to look through fashion magazines at clothing designs, fabrics, and color trends for each season. I cut a lot of these photos out and put them into an art journal for later reference. It really helps me out with my design process.

Where do you sell?

Besides online at Etsy, I sell at a few local galleries, art fairs occasionally, and Fiber Fair (Weavers Guild of MN sale).

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I’m a wife and a mother of two high school age children. I also teach weaving and dyeing classes up at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota. I am a shepherd to a small flock of sheep, I like to read, cook, and travel.

What first made you want to become an artist?

I’ve always loved making things, but when I was in college I knew I wanted to be an artist. Being submersed in so many fiber techniques and surrounded with so many artistic people made me realize how passionate I am about what I do. I have such a strong need to do something creative every day.

Please describe your creative process

I am a night owl and get a lot of my ideas worked out in the evening but I prefer to do the actual creating in the late morning when I have the most energy. My stash is ever growing and changing. I like to look through it for color and texture inspiration. If I don’t have a shade I need I will dye some yarn to go with what I have on hand.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

My most cherished handmade item is a tapestry I made when my children were young. I wove it with all hand dyed wool yarn, some of it handspun. I love the colors and theme. It took many hours but was very therapeutic during a hectic time in our lives.

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

Stick with it! I think it takes a few months if not more to get yourself known and seen. Good photography is also very important. I am still learning new things all the time. It has helped so much to read the advice of others and to keep up with what’s new.

What do you like about Etsy?

I like that you can reach people all over the world with your art on Etsy. There is so much more potential for exposure on the internet and Etsy makes it much easier than creating your own website.

What weaving activities or guilds to you participate in?

I am a member and teacher at the Weavers Guild Of Minnesota. I also belong to the Handweavers Guild of America and the Textile Center of Minnesota.

Meet Jennifer (JD) from JDStar

After couple of weeks of silence (sometimes silence is much needed to regain the sense of direction) I wanted to take you all to Oklahoma City (Oklahoma State, US) to meet the owner of JDStar Ltd. Co., the JDStar store on Etsy.

10 days ago Oklahoma City lived through the series of tornadoes (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/24/national/main20065840.shtml). I see the sign in having this interview done now, and not a month ago when I first contacted JD.

Oklahoma City is a beautiful city that went through a lot: tornadoes, bombing, flooding, wildfires…

At the same time it is only 1,5 hours from one of the most sacred places on Earth - Arbuckle Mountains, Oklahoma.

Arbuckle Mountains

Collings Castle

The place helps us to become who we are. This place makes full-hearted people who have seen so much and understand like nobody else how to live NOW, not tomorrow. One of those people happens to be among us.

Meet Jennifer (JD) McCoy!

Random Facts about You?

I'm OCD*, I feel more productive and creative after dark and I'm WAY introverted (not shy). I also hate to leave the house but love road trips.

What got you started weaving?

I started weaving about 9 years ago when I saw someone doing it in a fiber class I was taking.

Any particular technique(s) that you enjoy the most?

What part the process makes you the most passionate? (Choosing the right materials, the actual process, the end result, the sale, etc.)

Choosing colors is my favorite process closely followed by seeing the colors come together in the weaving.

What is your source of inspiration?

I find weaving to be so therapeutic. That's mainly what inspires me to do it. It's repetitive and productive so it works for me.

Where do you sell?

I sell online on Etsy and in real life in several stores around the United States. I also do craft shows occasionally.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I take care of my one year old. That keeps me pretty busy these days. I also run a craft show with my BFF (“Best Friend Forever”)called Deluxe Indie Craft Bazaar. It's a one day show once a year but there are always little things that need to be taken care of around the year.

What first made you want to become an artist?

I've always loved making things and drawing. It's either in my blood or deeply ingrained in my DNA. Either way, it's just something that's as natural as breathing for me. I didn't find weaving until adulthood but it's become a huge part of who I am now and I like it that way.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

Definitely my inkle loom. It's the loom that I use almost all of the time so it's pretty important to making my bracelets but working with my mother to build it really makes using it something special!

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

List, list often, renew when you can't list, keep your shop full and your customers happy.

What do you like about Etsy?

I like that it gives everyone a chance to put their work out there without a huge investment.

Do you have a website, blog, Facebook page, or other online endeavors?

 Website www.jdstar.net

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/JDStarLtdCo

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* OCD - anxiety disorder (from the author - for our international readers who are not familiar with the term)

Treasury Contest - 2 winners!

Today, on the first day of May, we wanted to celebrate 2 winners of our April Treasury contest:

TheHermitsLoom presenting absolutely stunning Serenity treasury:

and tisserande with its Unique ideas for Mother's day - treasury called Something Special

Congratulations to both of you!

Alvant

Captain of Etsy Weavers team

Interview with Mirella - Mireloom store

On a gorgeous day like today, a Happy Friday for many of us, I would like to take you on a tour to Turin (Torino), Italy. Here we’re going to have a delightful time with our weaver Mirella from Mireloom store.

Mirella’s story is full of magic, artistry and inspiration.

About a month ago Mirella was featured on Etsy Blog called “Open Studio Tour”

Random Facts about You?   

I live with my husband in a little town near Torino, in North Italy. My grownup daughter lives in downtown Torino by herself. Our house is situated along the river Po, near a wonderful park where I often take walks and pick plants for my hand dyeing. I always wanted to live in the woods, but my husband is a city person, so this is a good compromise for both of us!

We are passionate travellers and our best travel experience was in South East Asia. There I got to know a few prominent weavers who were also very nice people. That trip made me fall in love with Thai weaving. I was inspired by those textiles where weavers play, in such a creative way, with their ancient geometric symbols! In my artistic textiles I get play with some of those symbols like hooks, spirals and so on.

From my childhood I was an art lover because of my parents who were always about finding beauty in everything. So I grew up thinking to become an artist or find some creative work in my life. But I never could distinguish between an artist, a designer or a hand-crafter. So the final decision of “who to become” was never made. It's so difficult for me to separate those three things... I'm - all of it together! Luckily I was supported by my family members, still helping me to grow my work, even though they do different work from mine (she is a translator and he is a geologist)

How long ago have you started weaving?   

Almost thirty years ago, after getting my anthropology degree, I went to a weaving school....my parents weren't so happy about that! ;-)

What got you started weaving? 

When I was a teenager I went in Stockholm where I visited the crafts museum, and there I had a sudden inspiration! There I saw the fiber-art that captured my imagination! But the most important thing was ….. Love! I fell in love with a Dutch boy when I was nineteen.  He educated me about an ancient weaver and her big loom, as big as a room... The image of that loom and beautiful work on it is still vivid in my mind...

Any particular technique(s) that you enjoy the most?   

Even though on Etsy I list my simplest work, I very much love intricate techniques, double weaving, warp and weft substitution, often combined. Even more I love tapestries.

What part the process makes you the most passionate?

Hmm... If I make a tapestry I like every phase of the work, (the warping - not so much ;-)))) from the idea to the result. But making scarves or a shawl - after the first 3^rd one I'm already thinking – what’s next!

What is your source of inspiration?   

Many! Colours of nature, art, some accidental ideas from films, magazines and (why not!?!?!?) sometimes after looking at the work of another fiber artist I jump with a new idea of my own!

Where do you sell? 

Hand craft markets for shawls, bags, and scarves; at an art gallery, and naturally on Etsy.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?   

As I told before I'm a passionate traveller, even around my own house, where I always discover a new hidden corner!.. I also love drawing and looking for wild herbs for eating or dyeing….I know so many of them! Even more I love to read, to take walks, to meet with my friends and have entertaining dinners with them!!

What first made you want to become an artist?   

Perhaps the art books that I had seen in my parent’s house from when I was a child, and also the fact that we have so many artists in our family!

Please describe your creative process: how, when, materials, etc.  

Materials are a big source of inspiration! Sometimes I think for a long time with a ball of yarn in my hand, trying to create some work specifically out of this yarn!

Sometimes it’s a sudden idea, just when I am about to fall asleep, or during the night, when I can’t sleep...

Which of your creative knowledge do you cherish the most? 

Definitely the tapestry technique

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

Don't get discouraged, but don't become slaves to Etsy!!!

What do you like about Etsy?   

I like it for many reasons! It is beautiful aesthetically, and most importantly it gives me the chance to get  in touch with many people who love craft and weaving, and more because it is like a game where you can win sometimes and have some success!

How do you promote your work?   

I have a gallery that promotes my fiber art works. I also go to art and craft markets. I do more on Etsy, for example by creating a treasury…hoping for the FP!

What weaving activities or guilds to you participate in? 

I’m a member of Coordinamento Tessitori http://www.coordinamentotessitori.it/  - the Weavers Association that gathers weavers from all Italy. Every year it organizes a very beautiful meeting in Torino. I’m also a part of a fiber art group that helps me to participate in many art shows.

Do you have a website, blog, Facebook page, or other online endeavours?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mireloom/;

 http://www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/1716163

http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/open-studio-tour-mireloom-7427/

http://www.mirtextiles.blogspot.com/

Interview with Greg Newham

Hello Team,

today I wanted to present an interview with someone who has been weaving professionally for ... over 40 years... What you're about to read and see is guaranteed to blow your mind...
Additionally Greg has been a great supporter of Etsy Weavers team from the day one. He has offered great advices and serious critique (I do appreciate both!) out of passionate effort to make Etsy experience a worthy one for all of us.

Greg is located in Kinston, New York ( Hudson Valley region )

Please visit his Etsy store:  fitchstudioweavers

I proudly present to you Greg Newham and his story.

Random facts about you: 

I live and work in the Hudson Valley of New York State with my partner of twenty-seven years, Jay Halpern and our newest charge, a five month old, five pound Yorkie named Percy. I am the fourth generation of weavers from my father’s side – my grandfather and his father were lace weavers from Nottingham England. My current studio is a historic brick church dating from 1884 – stained glass windows and all.

How / when did you begin weaving?

It was quite accidental - I was working on a Masters in Music, studying clarinet. A friend wanted to change careers and was interested in pursuing a craft – weaving was mentioned. Since I was unfamiliar with “weaving”, I went to the library and borrowed several books for my friend, but I ended up reading them. In trying to encourage my friend, I ended up becoming consumed by the discipline. Soon we were purchasing a loom in NYC – in 1973. The saleswoman asked what we would do with it and I said, “Start a business weaving rugs”.  She asked if we knew how to weave…?.... No….well she taught weaving….and so it began. My partner’s brother was a noted interior designer in NYC. I spent a whole summer in an apartment in NY teaching myself to weave, and taking lessons from Johanna Laurie who had studied in France and Scandinavia. That fall we presented the “new samples” to his brother and he referred us to another designer who made a call which put us in the offices of one of the most prestigious interior design firms in NY. The first rugs I wove on commission were for the weekend home of Carter Brown, at that time the director of the National Gallery. With these orders in hand we relocated to Woodstock, NY where I studied with Iona Plath - a noted weaver and author. Time flew by; now it is nearly forty years later – and I still create custom textiles to order for the interior design trade. I like to say in that time I have woven “to the Moon and back, at least several times.”

Any particular techniques you enjoy the most?

Since most of my technique is “self-learned” from many years of hands-on work, I will say it is difficult to choose any one aspect. I hand dye yarns, creating space dyed coloring since nearly the beginning. I weave very large “constructed” area rugs – i.e. woven in panels and hand seamed so patterns match meticulously over 25-30 feet in length; I also weave throws and upholstery fabric….and I like to create scarves too! In truth, I enjoy the range of processes necessary to produce the finished textiles, whatever it may be.

What part of the process makes you the most passionate?

Again, this is really hard to differentiate for me, because the whole process is a continuum – meaning you begin with the concept be it the design and/or coloring, continuing on to choosing and preparing the necessary materials. Once they are secured it is on to the physical steps of warping and setting-up the loom and then the weaving. (I find warping the loom very satisfying ….and the actual weaving has been my life’s work. Assembling and finishing these large textiles gives the sense of completion. )

(area rug hand-woven by Greg)

What is your source of inspiration?

This is another question I cannot pinpoint a succinct answer.  Ideas come to me at any time, many I do not act on for years. I am a very visual and tactile person and there is inspiration even in mundane daily tasks. Finally, my clients over the years have provided a stimulus that is unfathomable. I have worked for many of the most noted American interior designers and architects. These extremely talented people are constantly providing their input.  I many times feel that I am most creative at “solving a problem” given very specific limitations – that is fulfilling the desires of a design professional so that my textile is compatible with the whole concept of the room.  These are generally very high-end projects.

Where do I sell? 

I think the above answer explains where the bulk of my work goes – into residential interior projects. I have sold my hand woven scarves in boutique stores and a few craft shows. An assistant suggested, and actually set up my Etsy shop – Fitch Studio Weavers just over a year ago. It is now the only venue for the sale of my scarves. 

When my assistant moved back to his home state, I had to take over managing the shop. I have to say that at this late stage in my career, I have to acquire a lot of new “techniques” regarding marketing on the web….and I am still learning. But in this process I have met other weavers across the world through the Etsy Weavers Team and had some very nice interactions with purchasers on Etsy. We are all still evolving – both the shop owners of Etsy and the site itself. I find it challenging, but also kind of fun.

Inteview by Alvant,

Captain of Etsy Weavers team

Meet our Team - Interview with Leslie

Doing interviews with my members brings me so much joy... I always get such a thrill when see it finished. Every single member of our team is so unique and amazing...

Please meet Leslie Maltby Burdzy, located in South Windsor, Connecticut.

Leslie represents the store called “Coffee Break Designs”

Random Facts about You?

I have a BA in English, and MS in Education but I’ve only ever tutored. I was a nanny at one time. And a trade show coordinator (not at the same time). I am fascinated with the past, in that I would like to travel back in time. I have been teaching myself to play guitar for the last year and I love to write songs and sing. The jury is still out on that, though. I’ve done one open mic back in February and plan to do more!

How long ago have you started weaving?

I’ve been weaving since 2006.

What got you started weaving?

This is a long story but it has a point (and an ending). I’ve wanted to weave for a long time. I learned to knit from my grandmother and aunt when I was very young, did that for a while but dropped it until maybe 10 years ago. By then there were so many luscious and interesting yarns that I really became addicted to yarn. I still wanted to learn to weave but the whole loom, weaving thing seemed so big and complicated (where do I get a loom, they seem expensive, where do I put it, how do I do it, what if I don’t like it?). So, I decided to try spinning (seems like such an obvious alternative, right???). I purchased a drop spindle and fiber kit.

Tried it. Dropped the spindle. Tried it. Dropped the spindle. Tried it. Dropped the spindle. Repeat. You get the picture. So I put it on the shelf for a couple of months.

Then I looked at it and thought, “That stupid thing is not going to get the best of me. How can I NOT not learn that?” So I spent a weekend and learned. A few months later I bought a wheel.

In the meantime, my passion for fiber grew. The differences among fibers, plant, animal, man-made, among breeds of animals, fascinated me.

It was then that I decided that I could learn to weave if I took some classes to demystify the process. So I did and here I am.

Any particular technique(s) that you enjoy the most?

There are many I have not tried or have only tried a couple of times. I’d have to say that I am in love with the undulating twills. They seem to move, especially when using complementary colors.

What part the process makes you the most passionate? The part(s) I love best in the weaving process are setting out possible yarn color combinations and textures and looking at them to see what they might yield. And taking the end product off the loom. Sometimes the results are better that I see during the work-in-progress.

What is your source of inspiration?

Mostly my inspiration comes from possible color combinations. However, one very early morning I was watching something on CPTV about some artists in Central America and a civil war, I think. The show was in Spanish so I didn’t understand it. There was one picture, though, of the side of a barn or some wooden building. It painted red long ago, but weathered to gray and shadows of black. It mesmerized me and I wanted to recreate that in a scarf. I made two or three that came out wonderful.

Where do you sell?

Apart from my Etsy store, I have a few things on Artfire. I sell in some boutiques in Connecticut. I also attend the Coventry Farmers’ Market several times during the summer and fall. And last year I joined a small, local women’s artisans group and we put on an art show each June (this will be our second year).

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

That’s basically what I do now.

What first made you want to become an artist?

I think I always have been an artist, ever since I can remember, although not in a “That’s my job” sort of way. My belief is that everyone is creative. My husband’s education is in chemical engineering and while it is common to differentiate creative types (traditional artists like painters, musicians, etc.) from scientists, I have witnessed the development of an idea/solution from the most basic creative question, “What if . . . ?” To me, it is like breathing. I think if you took away all my yarn, paper, pencils, my camera, I would try to make something out of paper clips and sticks, no matter how weird it looked.

Please describe your creative process: how, when, materials, etc.

Sometimes it feels like my creative process is constant –When I’m driving; when I’m out shopping with my husband and he is looking at some plumbing supplies and I am bored and wondering what I could make with all those fittings; in the middle of the night – you get the idea.

Sometimes I sketch out ideas and color combinations with colored pencils, but only if it’s something I’ve never tried and even then it often changes in the middle of the project.

I always feel very uneasy when I’ve completed a collection and I have to start a new project (or set of projects). I don’t know what I want or should do next because it’s always more than one thing.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

My grandmother seemed to be the most prolific knitter/tatter/crocheter but that could have been because that’s just the way it was back then. I never owned a store-bought sweater until I was in my teens. I’d have to say that anything I still have of hers is most cherished. I have a couple of tatted tablecloths I use at the holidays. I also have an afghan and a sweater she made for me when I was about 11.

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?

Be patient. You may or may not make your first sale in the first two weeks or even the first two months but don’t give up.

Take GREAT photographs! Partner with someone who is a good photographer or learn as much as you can. (I’m still learning loads!) Emulate the photography that you love – what makes you want to look at the item for sale?

Variety. By that I mean, put new things in your shop as often as you can.

What do you like about Etsy?

I love the uncluttered look. It feels very pleasant to me, like a brick and mortar store I like to visit. Also, the sense of community.

How do you promote your work?

That’s always a challenge, in that I could, literally, spend an entire day on the internet trying to do that. This is an area where I am still learning. Right now I use Twitter, my own Facebook page, my Coffee Break Designs Facebook page, Ravelry a little bit. I blog. I have a link to my Etsy shop on the bottom of my emails, a link on my YouTube page (which has nothing to do with weaving), on my MySpace page, which I haven’t gone to in months. I think that’s it. Sometimes it becomes a jumbled mess in my head.

What weaving activities or guilds to you participate in?

None now. People always ask. Maybe I should.

Do you have a website, blog, Facebook page, or other online endeavors?

Yes!

http://coffeebreakdesigns-lamb.blogspot.com/

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/coffeebreakdesign

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coffee-Break-Designs/104877405218

http://www.facebook.com/gardensgallerygifts

Linked In

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You see what I mean?! Great talents! I wanted to wish Leslie lots of success with everything what her hand, mind and heart touches.

Alvant
Captain of Etsy Weavers team