Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Patty Benson and I live in Alameda, Ca which is actually an island located in the Bay Area. I swear, it really is an island (google map it)…. and I love saying things like “On the island there’s this really great restaurant…” or “We stayed on the island last night and watched a movie….” as it always sounds so romantic to me!

I’m originally from Southern California but moved to England with my family from the ages of 10 to 16, then settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have a love for all things English, and Irish (my dad is from a small town near Dublin) and Mexican (my mom is from Guadalajara), so it was quite a mixed bag growing up in my household. I love potatoes just as much as I love tortillas and there was always plenty of both!

My husband Chris & I have lived here in Alameda for 5 years now and really love that we can walk to just about everything we need… it has a Mayberry sorta feel. We live in a small apartment that’s the upstairs part of a house built in 1905. Fortunately the kitchen is large enough to double as my work space, which also means working right next to the refrigerator and this can sometimes be a problem. Thankfully this means tortillas are always close at hand.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I work part time restoring antique rugs and it’s something that I never thought I would be doing. Before this, I had a full time job as an assistant designer for a large clothing company but was never very happy. So as I started to build my small business I decided to leave that job and find something part time that would be close by. It sounds so cheesy but I feel that the stars were aligned just so when I found the ad for working with antique rugs and everything fell quickly into place. Working with my hands has always been important to me and I’ve always loved any kind of needlework and working with tools, so learning restoration work has been such a cool and unexpected thing in my life. I also work with a lovely group of women, many of whom are artists themselves, so they are constantly giving me advice and moral support on my business.

So all work aside, I love to travel with my husband to the point where I can easily get just as excited for someone else’s travels if I’m not able to go anywhere for a while. I would love to call myself a Urban Explorer (even if it’s my own town) and one day want to check out the Parisian Catacombs in Paris and the Capuchin Catacombs in Italy. I love photography, hiking, reading, and geeking out on wool, yarn and needlework and beautiful books on wool, yarn and needlework.

What first made you want to become an artist?

Hmmm…. I’ve never been too comfortable with the title of artist as I’ve always thought of myself as a designer. So on that note….. I loved anything musical and creative from a very young age. I remember sewing with my mom and sister as a young girl, digging Mozart when I was 6 and loving all my art classes throughout my school years. I studied fashion design in college, and worked as a store interior designer for many years, all the while knowing that there was more to come. I’ve never really been able to explain it and it’s even hard for me to pinpoint when I thought that I would become a designer. I think after working so hard for several years for other designers, I had the realization that if I worked just as hard for myself, that the outcome could be really amazing.

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

I get most of my ideas really late at night, sometimes when I’m lying in bed trying to fall asleep around 1 or 2 am. I’m learning to be ok with this but sometimes it’s hard to calm down when the ideas start to flow. At night, it’s usually shapes and forms. I like thinking of something that already exists in say, ceramic, but translate it into a felted design with the same purpose. Or thinking of the flow of an 60′s style chair and wondering how I can mimic those lines in a way that has a dual purpose other than just a visual object. During the day, I’m most influenced by colors and they usually pop up when I least expect it. Anything that causes an emotional response can just start all sorts of new things – seeing two colors next to each other in a magazine that clash beautifully, someone walking in front of me whose coat looks amazing next to a wall we just passed, or sometimes some of my yarn laying across another color.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

Ok, I have a few… An afghan my mother-in-law made for our first anniversary, a shadow box my sister-in-law made of wedding mementos and 3 simple silver bracelets from my mom that are not handmade, but she wore them my whole life and just gave them to me a few years ago.

Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.

Books:

Fall on Your Knees – Ann Marie MacDonald

Tales of Female Nomad – Rita Golden Gelman

Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut & Slaughterhouse 5 (they’re both so good)

Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel

The Pilgrimage – Paulo Coelho

Movies:

The Quiet Man

A Room With a View

It’s a Wonderful Life

Once

The Triplets of Belleville

The Sting

Songs/Musical Groups:

Morrissey (The Last of the Famous International Playboys is my all time favorite song)

Pulp

Sometimes I’ll get stuck on a song for weeks or even months….lately it’s been Kissing the Lipless by The Shins, It’s a Hit by Rilo Kiley or something as cheesy as You Are by Lionel Ritchie. If that comes on in the car, I feel sorry for whoever my passenger is.

The Bends album by Radiohead

Websites:

thesartorialist

This Artist’s Life (The lovely ceramist Whitney Smith who was also a featured artist a while back!)

style-files

dooce

poppytalk

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

I know it’s been said before, but photos, photos, photos. So much can be portrayed in regards to your designs and your overall shop aesthetic with great photos. So this means good clean shots, nothing blurry, nothing too busy and distracting in the background and keeping your pics consistent throughout your shop. This sends such a strong message to customers that you’re shop is professional. Also, writing good descriptions about each item you’re selling is key as well. I know it seems obvious but I’ve seen so many shops that don’t list dimensions, fabrication or things of interest to really inform your customer. It’s nice giving people a glimpse into your world so writing up a good profile and keeping your shop active with news and updates always helps too. And finally, the most important, treat your customers like your best buds – always respond in a timely manner and throwing in a little thank you note with every purchase is such a simple way to grow a customer base.

What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?

I really love the forums. Whenever I’m stuck on something in regards to my business (and it may not even be Etsy related) most likely I will find it posted somewhere in the forums. As for new features, a way to do shipping based on weight would be great!

How do you promote your work?

I write a blog, have a website and just started to send out newsletters via e-mail to promote any trunk shows or sales. I also participate in virtual marketplaces such as poppytalk handmade and try to stay active with blogs that I read, sometimes e-mailing them to let them know of something new in my line. I also showcase my work through other online marketplaces and galleries such as Trunkt and I sell my designs throughout stores in the U.S. I’ve been fortunate that stores have contacted me and even luckier that some of those stores gave me some great press through magazines and newspapers. Last year I did the America Craft Council show in San Francisco and this year will participate in other retail shows.

In ten years I’d like to be…

happy, healthy, creating and designing pieces that I still love in a beautiful cottage with my husband, somewhere in Ireland.

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