What inspired you to go into the craft business & do you still have a day job? I am not a 9-5 person so having a day job inspired me to figure out how not to have a day job! Having a day job also showed me that I wanted, more than anything, to get back into writing. Though I now certainly work much longer hours than a 9-5, I’m thankful I get to work from home and, for the most part, pick my own hours. I’m even more thankful that work outside of home takes me to great places (Cal Academy of Sciences, Outside Lands Music Fest, Maker Faire, etc.) where I get to meet many wonderful people.

Are you constantly experimenting with new ideas, or do you stick with what is successful? I wish I could stick to what works but I like new ideas and I am always in need of trying to make a profit as a poet, so diversifying my product helps. So far my experiments have been a success. <phew!> I’m especially grateful to collaborate with an illustrator, some photographers and Bug Under Glass. Turns out poems and pictures and drawings and bugs make great art!

What has been the major influence in your creative process? Obstructions! Most everything I write is written in 3 minutes or less and inspired by the person requesting it (which in and of itself is an obstruction because I never know what the request is going to be and the request is always different). When I’m making poetry art pieces I’m also inspired by the artwork the poem is being written on. Basically, I never know what’s going to happen until it happens. So my creative process is part collaboration, part meditation, part paying attention to the moment, and letting come what comes within the constraints.

Describe your creative process when designing/making your product line. When I’m not working an event in which the person requesting the poem is telling me what they’d like it to be about and choosing the paper the poem will be written on, I’m usually sitting on the floor of my apartment, hunched over my typewriter with frames, images, and poetry books scattered around me, while Sean Hayes, Joanna Newsom, or Sufjan Stevens fills in the background. I choose what I’m going to make based on what seems to go together best in the moment. To date, I don’t think I’ve ever made a piece that was an idea in my head which I then made tangible. Sometimes I look at an image and no words come to mind, so I thumb through my favorite books of poetry for inspiration (right now that means Dean Young, Gary Soto, and Denise Levertov). Once words are typed onto a page, I pretty much never revise anything. I hope for the best and feel super lucky to be witness to, and part of, such a free and of-the-moment creative process.

What’s the best advice you have been given about your craft? “Never compromise yourself. Make what your gut tells you to make, what you think is beautiful and you’ll find people will respond to what truly comes from you.”

Anything else you’d like to share? Yes–gratitude to every single person who has supported me and my work. I couldn’t do what I do without every single one of you. A thousand baby whales of gratitude to all of you!

my website!: http://thepoetrystore.net
and my etsy site: http://thepoetrystorepoet.etsy.com

What inspired you to go into the craft business & do you still have a day job? There was a time in my life when I used to make nerdy crochet for living. Right when it was taking off, I got scared. Apparently, wasn’t ready for the awesomeness. But when I started making nerd gifts to entice certain adorable-looking hipster boys, I saw the look on their faces: Pure Geek! That’s what reminded me of what I wanted to do & what I wanted stand for. It even became my mission statement: Inspiring Smiles One Geek at a Time. I’m a caregiver to my 81 year-old grandmother (Lita, for short), 18 year-old cat and 33 year-old boyfriend by day. I’m a crafter that watches too much Netflix on my Wii by night. My grandma helps with “product quality control”; I hold up a new creation and by the pitch of her giggle, I can tell whether something will be cute enough to be part of nerd JERK. :) I love the fact that I can be with those I love and make things that make people squeal in far away places.

Are you constantly experimenting with new ideas, or do you stick with what is successful? I love love LOVE coming up with new ideas and I even have a journal I keep with me for just such an occasion. It’s just making the time to get these ideas made and then photographed that I have trouble with. So in that respect, the items that I’m known for (Bob-Ombs & Kirby) will probably always rule the sales. But when someone buys a Convo Calculator Cover, my heart really sings. It was the only thing I’ve ever had on the Etsy Front Page and even had to make a tutorial for CRAFT magazine, so it’s one of the things I’m most proud of.

What’s the best advice you have been given about your craft? I’ll never forget the night that I was at the Museum of Craft & Folk Art in San Francisco for an Etsy Panel Discussion and Meet-Up. I heard some really important people were going to be there and that we could bring examples of our pieces to possibly show ’em. When I dared to show some of my pieces to a Museum employee, I was stoked about how much they loved my items. When I was asked how long it took to make and the price of the item, I sheepishly gave my answer. I was, then, chewed out for 30 minutes about paying myself a living wage and how much these items really were worth! I’ll spare you the 30 minute session, but I’ll tell you this: Paying yourself what you know you’re worth and really believing in your product will get you everywhere! I can’t tell you how much success I owe to that simple principle. If I hadn’t been yelled at, I’d probably only be making one sale a month and think that people were over video game nostalgia! And since we all know gaming is bigger than ever & geek chic lives on, I’m glad I listened.”

Bob-Omb – http://www.etsy.com/listing/62015786/holiday-sale-bob-omb-inspired-by-super
“hello” Convo Calculator – http://www.etsy.com/listing/58388011/holiday-sale-convo-calculator-cover
Etsy Shop: http://www.nerdJERK.etsy.com
Blog: http://www.nerdJERK.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nerdJERK
Email: nerdJERK@gmail.com

Debbie Huey is the artist and writer of the all-ages comic book series, Bumperboy, which includes the Xeric Award winning book, “Bumperboy Loses His Marbles,” and “Bumperboy and the Loud, Loud Mountain,” which was named to Booklist’s Top Ten Graphic Novels for Youth in 2007. Her graphic novels and minicomics have captured the hearts of both kids and adults with their whimsical characters and clever plot lines. But her creativity doesn’t stop there. When she’s not writing, Debbie is creating new Bumperboy merchandise inspired by the stories, as well as handcrafting unique goods, such as needlefelted characters and collapsible purse hooks.

What do you like best, coming up with idea, creating product, or sales? Wow, I really like all of those steps, honestly! Coming up with the idea is the most difficult part because the process can be very frustrating. But once you find that “Ah HA!” moment, it’s a lot of fun. Creating my products is probably the easiest part because in a way it’s when my brain can relax. I usually feel like I know what I’m doing and tend to just crank the item out, whether it’s with drawing comic pages, or needle-felting my latest figure. I love having the finished product in front of me. Sales is can be a little stressful just because I’m generally a shy person, but I love interacting with people who enjoy my work. That feedback is what really keeps me going.

Have you been involved in the D.I.Y movement for a while? I’ve been a DIYer ever since I was a kid! I remember making my own hand-stapled “books” that had my illustrations and jokes when I was very young. As I had grown up, I continued to make my own birthday cards, sculpted figurines, learned how to knit, and drew, drew, drew. This eventually lead to my drawing my own comics and reproducing them at the copy machine, hand-screening the covers, and stapling them all together. It wasn’t until recently that I feel I’ve been involved in the crafty side of the DIY movement with my needle-felted figures and purse hooks. Who knows what I’ll be making next?

Do you ever need to recharge yourself to inspire you, and how do you go about it? I constantly need recharging! Back in the day, playing a video game or watching cartoons was what inspired me. These days, I just love seeing what’s new in the comics and craft world. Sometimes I recharge by reading books from the library, or just by hanging out with my creative friends. Going to great conventions and shows like San Francisco Bazaar is always inspiring and pushes me to think of new ideas!

You can find out more about Bumperboy at:
http://www.bumperboy.net
http://bumperfriend.etsy.com

What inspired you to go into the craft business & do you still have a day job? I used to work in the film industry (I was a movie-trailer editor) and I started making comic strips on the side because it was a fun way to do something creative that wasn’t subject to the whims of a client. Many years of toiling in obscurity later, someone wanted to buy a book of my comics and since then I’ve developed a line of books, greeting cards, apparel, art prints, and strange novelties that manages to precariously support me and my family. So technically I do have a day job — it’s just one that’s way harder and more complex than anything I ever did for an employer. But, much more rewarding as well.

What’s the best advice you have been given about your craft? Make something that jerks would like, and you will attract an audience of jerks who will make your life miserable and negative and unsustainable. But make something that nice people will like, and nice people will find you and support you and your life will be filled with smiles. Meanwhile, the jerks will be bored by you and leave you alone.

What is your workshop/workspace like? My workspace is a constant flurry of activity as I rush from one mad project to the next, one trip to the next, one half-completed prototype of something to the next. My list of things to do grows faster than my list of things done, which someday will be a problem and I will be crushed by teetering, top-heavy stack of projects full of pointy ideas and deadly ambitions.

Have you ever developed a great idea, which has wound up on the editing room floor? I’ve developed a ton of horrible ideas, and some of them wound up being made, so I’m sure some of the stuff that never got done must have been brilliant. Occasionally my most brilliant-but-pending ideas get thought up and made by other people eventually, though, so while I curse my tardiness I’m also glad that the ideas manage to get out there into the culture. The music-video-made-of-infomercial-footage-showing-people-doing-things-wrong was MY IDEA DANGIT. But I never got around to it and someone else did so HAVE AT IT WORLD.

site: http://wondermark.com

What inspired you to go into the craft business? Do you still have a day job? It has much to do with my dad & his print shop – I began to grow familiar with paper ephemera & the entrepreneurial spirit at a young age. I knew that I loved to design & make, & I ended up moving to Los Angeles to study architecture. I didn’t go forward with graphic design until a couple of circumstances: my friends Kristen & Jonathan getting married (I had the pleasure of designing their invitations) & a slowdown in architecture (I had some newfound time on my hands). And with that I set out to establish a presence in this new direction & put a name – Paper & Type – to the pursuit.

I do still currently have a day job in architecture, part-time. I work with a very smart woman at her boutique design firm on residential & mixed-use projects, planning spaces, designing interiors. She’s also entrusted me with the design of any collateral or portfolio that leaves the office. It’s great. This experience continues to be an enriching one, learning to balance both crafts!

What is your workspace like? Do you work better during the day, or night? I typically start work in the early morning at the desk in my bedroom. I really love the light at this time – it’s soft & diffused, perfect for planning out the day, photographing my work, drawing, and lettering. My walls are posted with artwork, postcards & flowers that inspire, & my desk holds all the supplies I might need (paper, pens, printer). From there, my work is pretty portable! When I need a change of scene, I just pack up my laptop & bring my design work downstairs or to a favorite cafe or to friend’s dining room table. Lately my fellow creative friends & I have been meeting up for dinner/work parties – it’s helpful having folks around now & then to share ideas or solve problems with, to be in productive company, & to partake in a collaborative meal. I don’t often work late into the night (since I prefer to wake early) but I certainly shall if I’m on to something!

What do you like best: coming up with idea, creating product, or sales? I enjoy aspects of all 3, really. I love the process of devising a collection around an idea or drawing, & churning out ideas for a one-of-a-kind design for a client. The actual production – seeing the stacks of my designs printed, putting together & packaging the final product – is incredibly satisfying (& comes relatively quickly with print design) & it’s fun to have dear friends in on the assembly. And lastly, when it comes to sales, I find it interesting getting to know what different kinds of people will connect with this or that piece of my collection. At the Renegade Craft Fair this past summer I was pleasantly surprised to witness the number of boys/men who picked up the fabric hearts cards! It was endearing & sweet.

For more, see here…
Website: www.paperandtype.com
Blog: paperandtype.tumblr.com
& Shop: paperandtype.etsy.com

How did you get started with the DIY scene? My regular job was in a bookbindery, and I was always making journals from the left over scraps. It got to the point where I was making more journals then I could give away. I wanted to sell them, but could never find the right method or venue. Really, what changed everything was Darcy Russell’s Feria Urbana. She would arranged to have vendors show and sell their items in a cafe. Once I discovered how much fun that was, I was hooked.

What segment of your craft business do you like best? I like every bit of it. First, getting the book covers. It is like a treasure hunt. Most libraries have hundreds of books they need to get rid of. Picking the right cover to use on a journal is great fun. I use to use left over paper, and I never knew what I was going to find. Now I am having to buy paper, which has really become a lot of fun. I mostly look for stuff that is no longer needed or wanted. Of course gettting it cheap is important, but I also weight my concern for the enviroment into my decision making. Selling is probably he most fun. I love talking and chatting, meeting people. No better place to enjoy the company of people then at a craft fair. I guess production is the place where I get into that work mode. Counting how many journals I created gives me that level of satifaction.

Are you doing anything new? Yep. One day I was looking at the interesting art on a book’s dust jacket, and I was wondering how I might be able to use it. Then I thought of gluing the dust jackets onto book boards, and use this as a journal cover. It took me a few attempted to figure out how to ahere the paper book jacket down, but once I did I was so pleased with the results. I just started selling my new product at fairs and they have been well received.

website: http://www.recoveryourthoughts.com/
email: doug@recoveryourthoughts.com

What inspired you to go into the craft business & do you still have a day job? I grew up in rural Virginia and was always exposed to many home crafts, plus I was constantly fascinated by the antique spinning wheel that belonged to my aunt. The wheel was for decorative purposes only – no one knew how to use it. One Christmas I found a toy spinning wheel under the tree, but again, it wasn’t really a wheel that could be used for actual yarn spinning. However, my grandmother taught me to knit, crochet, and embroidery so I have had my hand in the fiber arts since I was about nine or ten years old. I did only these crafts until I was about twenty-six. Around that time someone gave me a copy of that fondly remembered publication, Whole Earth Catalog, in which I found an article about a resurgence of the fiber arts of spinning and weaving. Along with this article were suggestions of where to buy books on the subject, and even more importantly, wheels!  It took me awhile to find someone in my area to teach me how to actually spin, but once I learned it became an obsession. I have been hand spinning now for thirty years!

I do still have a day job, but have been able to cut back to a four day work week. Hopefully in the near future I can cut it further to three days a week, but we’ll have to see.

What do you like best, coming up with the idea, creating product, or sales? Well, all three of these things are exciting to me. I am the sort of person who likes to come up with ideas and seem to have many more ideas than time to actually implement them.

Creating the product is a joy for me because it involves many of my senses. Because I’m involved with fiber from raw product to finished yarn (and sometimes garments), I have the very earthy experience of seeing wool as it comes right off of the sheep complete with the sheep smell that I love so much. Dyeing the fiber provides a smorgasbord of visual delight as I pull the fiber and yarn out of the dye pot. The actual spinning is an extreme tactile experience as the fibers slide through my fingers.

Selling is a lot of fun and I love to meet people who love fiber and who will take my yarn and make something unique. I enjoy talking to people about fiber and I have learned so much from my customers over the years!

Do you ever need to recharge yourself to inspire you, and how to you go about it? Absolutely! This is especially true if I have been hunkered down trying to produce as much as possible in a short period of time. I get overloaded and have to step back from production or else I will lose my creative ability.

To recharge I do several things. Going to museums is relaxing and also often a great source of inspiration for new yarns. Sometimes I surf the web looking for new materials to use in yarn construction – doing this gives me a breather and helps to bring back the creativity. Seeing beautiful fibers inspires me and makes me think of ways to use them in a new yarn or project.

Finally, I just put fiber aside for a short while and do things totally unrelated to the craft. Hiking, reading, and watching movies – all are ways to relax and recharge.

Describe you creative process when designing/making your product line. Although I spin many different kinds of yarn, my specialty is Art Yarn. My ideal art yarn is representational – it reflects a concrete object or person, or just as often a concept, such as, say “serenity.” Typically, I try to think of things, ideas, or people that interest me. For instance, I went to Silent Film Festival in San Francisco this past summer and saw the fully restored Metropolis, the magnificent Fritz Lang silent movie. I knew instantly that I wanted to create a yarn in honor of the movie. Now, of course the colors in that movie are black and white, but if you look at movie posters from that time, the robot is always gleaming gold. So, for the base of yarn, those were my colors, black, white, grays, and gold.

Metropolis is a movie about the struggles of the working class and it involves machines and the idea of mechanization. So, I included in this yarn lots of little charms I found, such as gears, pliers, coils, and springs. The finished yarn then reflects the grays of the film itself but also represents the gray space of a factory along with the things found in the factory environment. The only color is the gold of the robot, one of the focal points of the movie. Please see the photo included in this interview.

Website: http://www.pansgardenyarns.com/

do you ever need to recharge yourself to inspire you, and how do you go about it? I think most people turn to retail therapy in times of high stress. I do the same but it’s a little more ridiculous and impulsive—I buy plane tickets. I’m a nomadic addict who can’t stay in one place for more than six weeks, and it’s taken me from San Francisco to Los Angeles, across the country to New York City, and over the Pacific Ocean to Southeast Asia where I lived for 7 months. These trips aren’t solely vacations however; I’m working too. As I meet people & travel, I collect materials for my plush, sketch the surrounding scenes, and write down my adventures to use for later projects. Then, when I come home, wherever that ends up being, I work furiously until I run out of steam and have to leave home again. It’s a wonderful cycle and how I work best.

what inspired you to go into the craft business & do you still have a day job? Hands down the best thing that’s ever happened to me was getting laid off from New Line Cinema, my first and only 9-5 job. The combination of unemployment checks, severance & money saved from the past two years provided me with a comfortable, financial cushion to launch my business. It was a very slow process, and I honestly didn’t envision it becoming a business until much later. All I knew is that I wanted to draw & sew.

Currently, I have no day job. I’ve been living solely on my creative income. I’ve never worked as hard in my life & for that reason I don’t think I can work for anyone else. I see where I can go as an artist and compromising my time and energy doesn’t seem worth it, even if that means living without a steady income and risking going broke.

what has been the major influence in your creative process ? In January 2010, I volunteered for a week at an elephant sanctuary near Chiang Mai, Thailand. The experience itself—bathing & feeding the elephants, chopping sugar cane & corn with a machete, shoveling poo—was incredible but what I learned about pursuing passion is what stays with me to this day. I discovered the rare, pure satisfaction and bliss that comes from doing what you love and nothing else. I was isolated from the world, internet & phone service-less, and only existed to care for the elephants & draw them. I saw how powerful combining intent & passion can be, and how it can change & affect a community. It’s easy to feel discouraged when pursuing your craft as a profession, but then I remember the sanctuary & its example of simple intent blossoming into a project that moves beyond a single person. it gives me patience to continue with my craft.

what is your workshop/workspace like ? Now that I’m back in the states, I’ve converted my old bedroom into an office & use my car as a traveling studio. When I visit Los Angeles once a month, I load up my car with my laptop, printer, paper, wacom tablet, sewing materials and painting supplies. I have a handy-dandy power converter so I’ve been able to print my artwork to prepare for craft fairs from my car. I love working in my car, and painted most of the illustrations for the Le Petit Elefant & {paper & type} 2011 calendar while in my car listening to old school R&B or NPR. I also love working outside in playgrounds and parks because I’m surrounded by the energy I’m drawing. I’m just so grateful my work is portable.

Contact:  Genevieve@lepetitelefant.com

Websites:
www.lepetitelefant.com
www.lepetitelefant.etsy.com
www.lepetitelefant.blogspot.com