Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Aspiring Artisan: Sewingseed


Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Tina and I live in Jacksonville with my husband and our two children. I’m a stay at home mom, so I have time to devote toward my craft and my Etsy shop. Although I did work outside the home for years as an office manager, I am fortunate that I don’t have to anymore. I love music and one of these days, I will actually learn how to play a song on a real instrument. Until then Rock Band and Guitar Hero will have to do. I’m a classic introvert, but am quite silly once you get to know me. I love to laugh and try to add humor in my designs when I can.

gnome
Chubby Gnome Pattern pdf or Kit

Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I have to admit, I spend a lot of my free time creating and stitching. It’s what I love to do. Other than that, I spend a lot of time listening to my daughter talk about her life at school, and trying to get my son to talk about his. He’s a teenager now and tends to be quiet anyway, so that can be challenging. I also love to watch comedies, cook and do all sorts of crafts.

What first made you want to become an artist?
I decided to start creating my own patterns years ago when I just couldn’t find what I was looking for. Many things were just really too involved or just too old fashioned. Don’t get me wrong, there are some great patterns out there, but I don’t want to take 2 years of my life to finish one. I’ve found that many stitchers get overwhelmed because there are too many colors and the stitches are just too spread out. I mean, who really has time to complete a project like that? So I wanted to create simple but awesome things that people would really be able to finish somewhat quickly.



Please describe your creative process.
Many times, I will get a vision in my mind for something and I will sketch it out. I work with a program that allows me to scan in my drawings. They are a big ole mess once they are imported, so it takes time to clean it all up. Sometimes, I find it’s easier to just draw it out on the screen from scratch. I’m uber picky, so I am definitely my biggest critic. A stitch that nobody else notices will bother me to no end. I always stitch my patterns myself to make sure they look good in real life and are actually fun to stitch. I’ve found that sometimes what looks good on a computer screen, doesn’t necessarily translate to looking good on fabric. Even still, I enjoy the process of creating. It’s cool when you start with nothing and then end up with this really cute design that stitches up fabulously.

Little Sleeping Owl
Little Sleeping Owl Pattern pdf or Kit

Please tell us something about your subject matter, a little background into why you make art about what you do.
My subject matter is mostly animals because I love nature so much. I also am inspired by music and my faith, so you will see song lyrics and bible verses thrown into the mix.

handsome buck
Handsome Buck Pattern pdf or Kit

What specific steps you are taking to grow your Etsy shop?
I’m committed to creating new patterns to keep my shop fresh. I think it’s important to offer new things on a regular basis, no matter what you are selling. My goal is to add a new pattern at least every two weeks. It does take time to stitch each pattern, so that plays a big role in how quickly new patterns are added. I’ve also joined this amazing team, with the hopes of learning new ways to promote and grow. Facebook and twitter have never interested me, so I’d like to find other avenues.

Shoehuahua
Shoehuahua Pattern pdf

What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
The first thing I would say to a newbie is don’t list all your items at once, but spread them out over a period of time so that your items don’t get buried. Secondly, join a team. It’s a great way to meet other great artists, learn new things, and promote your shop. Lastly, sell internationally. I have a wonderful base of international customers and it is great to see how far your product is reaching around the globe.

How do you promote your work?
I am terrible about promoting. I don’t really promote, but I am hoping to learn effective ways.

In ten years, where would you like to be?
Hopefully, in ten years, my husband will be retired and we will be living in the Florida Keys, which is our favorite place EVER! I would love to continue creating and who knows, maybe by then I will have achieved global cross stitch domination :)
You can win one of Tina's awesome "You are my Sunshine" hoops!

You are my sunshine

To Enter:

1. Visit Tina's shop and leave a comment below letting us know which piece is your favorite.
2. Blog/Facebook/Tweet about this giveaway
3. Purchase something from Tina's shop

You can enter in as many different ways as you want!
Leave a separate comment below for each entry.
I will select a winner at random on April 19 using random.org

One comment per entry and don't forget to include your email address so we can let you know if you've won!


And the winner is.....

Viola!

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who entered


26 comments:

  1. I love that you rock out to Guitar Hero! Awesome :D

    My favorite piece of yours is the Pig kit.

    Congrats on the feature!

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  2. I do too! So cool see you, and to read about your home life and creative process. After reading that you were introverted, yet silly, I had to check to see if you were also a Cancer, like me, but see that you're not. Congrats, Tina. I really enjoyed reading about you.

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  3. Haha. Betty is me, Mari (frighten). I must be signed into the gmail address that I use for Twitter. I don't like giving my real email to some websites. Sorry for the double comment.

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  4. Love Tina's work! Everything is always so cute and her presentation is the best!

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  5. This is completely wicked and you are so cute!! Well I like the you are my sunshine! Probably would want everything though!

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  6. I am Junkyard Glitter by the way!

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  7. So nice to be able to put a face behind the patterns I've been drooling over... your work is totally wonderful - so simple and sweet.
    Congrats on the feature.
    My favorite is little blue bird.
    Blessing and magic,
    Donni (Fairyfolk and DovieMoon)

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  8. So nice to learn more about you!! My favorite is the handsome buck :)

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  9. Tweeted about it here: http://twitter.com/#!/TuckooandMooCow

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  10. Hey Tina!! such a great interview! Nice to know more about you! :) I love your work!

    Have a great day!

    Guisela@underanewlight

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  11. I loved this, so nice to have a face to associate with all the awesome crosstiches! Great advice for etsy newbies, too, I pretty much did the opposite of all your suggestions when I first started, ha ha!
    Also, the Florida Keys are awesome! Which one would you choose to live in?

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  12. It was fun to get to learn more about Tina here! My favorite item in her shop is her "Woodland Winter" Cross Stitch kit.

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  13. I love the Woodland Winter cross stitch kit!

    urchiken at gmail dot com

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  14. I loved learning more about you, Tina!! I love all your work.

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  15. Wonderful! Loved the interview... and I really like the "handsome buck" featured here... :-)

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  16. I LOVE this Handsome Buck pattern!! So sweet :)

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  17. I've loved reading about you and your work!!

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  18. Oops...meant to leave the link ;)

    http://www.etsy.com/listing/57462163/diy-cross-stitch-kit-handsome-buck-by

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  19. I love the ''little red bird''. It's so cute !

    vioalasboutique@gmail.com

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  20. Seriously just pick one? They are all so sweet. I love the red bird, her avatar and therefore always reminds me of her. The gnome is so cute as is woodland winter. I was going to say the black horse though!

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  21. posted on my FB!

    https://www.facebook.com/#!/icorr

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  22. the sunshine one is really my favorite - i said it to my son once. and when he got mad at me he said he would take my sunshine away if i didn't let him do whatever it was he wanted to do - eat candy, watch cartoons, not take a bath - the usual! so i think i really need to hang this in his room :)
    alexpetryna[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  23. Sweet interview, Tina!! It is great to get to know you better! :)

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  24. great interview!! I'm glad know a little more about you!!
    Love "remember me" that elephant is so cute!!

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  25. Hi,

    I just heard from Tina, I have won the giveaway!I'm so happy!Her work is awesome!Thanks so much:))

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  26. Late to the party but just wanted to say I enjoyed the interview. Oh and that Shoehuahua is so darn cute!

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