Friday, February 27, 2009

Weekly Favorite--Ripper Arts!!

This week I had the good fortune to meet Talina from the etsy store, Ripper Arts. I fell in love with this adorable baby hat and think the baby is equally gorgeous. So, I had to ask her a few questions.

Q. How long have you been knitting/crafting?
A. My earliest memory creating was as a young child, when my grandmother taught me to crochet. I would make clothes for my dolls. Then, as a preteen, I remember drawing, designing, wanting to be a fashion designer. As a young adult, I basically taught myself to sew after my mom gave me a quick lesson. I started to sew clothes for my son when I became a mom myself. I then sold custom clothing/dresses mostly to girls/women at church and in the family. I tried other various arts and crafts in the meantime, until I fellow nurse/coworker introduced me to scrapbooking about 12 years ago. My paper scrapping obsession turned digital after I taught myself web design/graphics to make my church web site. I then made my son's elementary school web site. Soon thereafter, I made the connection between web and print and worked as a digital scrapbook designer at scrapgirls.com. I love photography and playing in Photoshop. I did that for several years, abandoning paper scrapbooking/crafting all together. I only recently picked up my crochet hook again. I think I missed physically creating with my hands.

Q. How long have you had an etsy store?
A. I stumbled upon Etsy back in the Fall of 2008, after my husband and I did an arts and crafts show. I saw the cutest upcycled children's knit hats at the show, and I later did an internet search for them. I stumbled across Etsy and fell in love. My husband and I didn't set up our own Etsy shop until December 2008.

Q. Where do you get inspiration?
A. My husband, boys (we have four) and I love the outdoors. We enjoy hiking and camping. Most of my inspiration comes from nature, my family, everyday events, and other Etsians. I just love the whole idea of handmade!

Talina also shared with me that her and her husband will soon be starting their own brick and mortar store. Her husband is a custom furniture designer and maker and after quitting his day job will be working in a studio full time. Talina plans to keep her day job as a registered nurse and also work in a gallery.

"Hopefully, this gallery will become our own in September of this year. The studio is in the same building as the gallery, right behind it actually. We are working together with a fine artist, an oil painter, Cindy Saadeh http://cdsaadeh.etsy.com. We are making a big shift/change in our lifestyle. We are ready to make our dreams come true, moving into a downtown loft, living the urban life, working together, raising our children in a creative/artistic atmosphere. We will soon be living our art!"

Please visit Talina's store at: www.ripperarts.etsy.com

4 comments:

Ripper Arts said...

Thank you for the opportunity to share a little about myself. :)

KayzKreationz said...

This was a great post. Thanks for sharing. And I hope their B&M store does well for them. That hat AND baby are adorable.
http://KayzKreationz.blogspot.com
http://KayzKreationz.etsy.com

Unknown said...

Great interview. I've been "following" Ripper for a while now and it's great to see them getting their due.

Jennifer White Designs said...

I'd like to thank Talina for allowing me to ask so many questions and allowing me to feature her and her store this week!