Featured Seller: kove

kove

Story by kove

Published on Sept 22, 2010 in Shop

Photo by kove

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Kyla Leslie and I was born and raised on the West Coast. I have a big bright umbrella that gets me through the rainy season, which I completely forget about as soon as summer arrives. I live and create in a little apartment in an eclectic part of Vancouver, right around the corner from my favorite craft and coffee shops. Every year, I wish for snow.

Educated in journalism, I worked in communications for a few years until I decided to hit the reset button and wander around for a while. When I came home from Asia, the world was a very different place. In the midst of a sluggish economy and job market, I rediscovered my love for crocheting and found the handmade community that includes Etsy.

kove is inspired by my surroundings; the name simply sounds to me how I want my pieces to feel — like cozy and Vancouver, love and home.

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Apart from creating things, what do you do?

When I’m not crocheting, I work as a freelance writer for a wide mix of clients, from small business coaches to traveling dinosaur exhibition companies and waxing salons. I’ve always enjoyed a lot of diversity in what I do.

Off the clock, I love cooking (usually gluten-free), reading, spending time with friends and family and practicing yoga. I’m a certified yoga teacher, but right now I find I’m focused on my own practice. I’d also really like to garden, but so far most of the plants I bring home meet a bitter end.

What first made you want to become an artist?

I grew up in a family of makers. My parents and both of my grandmothers surrounded me with endless talent and inspiration growing up, so making things was just a way of life. I spent my childhood crafting everything from daisy chains to Fimo beads and selling hemp friendship bracelets at holiday craft fairs.

My mom taught me to knit and crochet when I was pretty young, but I never thought of it as an art form. After a hiatus of about ten years, I wanted to make a slouchy hat and had to re-teach myself. It all kind of took off from there. When I realized that my designs could be more than just a hobby (thanks, friends!), I launched kove and the support has been greater than I ever expected.

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Please describe your creative process.

I’m someone who wears wool in the summer and flip-flops in the winter — to me, it’s all part of adapting to this rainforest climate. I love accessories that you can wrap, twist or fix around yourself and snuggle into. That’s what I always have in mind when I design for kove.

I’m big on textiles and materials that feel really good to the touch. The yarns I use are usually acrylic blends, so they’re super soft and don’t itch. Most of the time, I’ll start with a texture or shape in mind and create little swatches with different materials until I figure out the right combination.

From there, I work on mini versions of the design to see how it will drape or sit. Knitting and crochet are labor intensive, so I try to iron out the kinks of before I create a full size piece. It doesn’t always work out that way, but I usually learn something in the process.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?

Definitely the hope chest my dad made me for my sixteenth birthday; it’s lined with cedar, smells amazing and is filled with memories. Besides their home, I think it’s one of the most beautiful things he’s ever made.

I also treasure the little things around my home that my grandma made, from big quillows and Christmas ornaments to handwritten notes. I like remembering her through the things she was so talented at creating.

Name your top five books, movies, musicians, and websites besides Etsy.

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Margaret Atwood
Dave Eggers
Chuck Palahniuk
Bret Easton Ellis
Gregory David Roberts
Rohinton Mistry

Movies:
St. Elmo’s Fire
Slumdog Millionaire
Almost Famous
Up
Gone Baby Gone
Water

Musicians:
Bon Iver
TV on the Radio
The National
Florence + the Machine
Cat Power
The Temper Trap

Websites:
A Cup of Jo
Laineygossip
FFFFound
design*sponge
Poppytalk
Copyblogger
Granville Magazine

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

Be hungry for information. As a new seller myself, I’m constantly reading books and blogs about running a handmade business. You never know when you’ll stumble across a tip that could transform your shop. Books like Craft Inc. and The Handmade Marketplace are goldmines of information for new sellers, as are websites like Craft MBA, ScoutieGirl and the Etsy Blog.

Be your best, right now. Know that everything you create can be better — your products, your photos, your packaging — and strive for that, but don’t let that keep you from putting your best out into the world at this moment.

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

The Treasury is my favorite. The lists make for such delicious eye candy and are amazing collections of talent from around the world. The Etsy Blog and weekly emails are essential resources for every seller and are always full of useful information.

I would love to be able to organize my Favorites into categories, and it would be nice to have more options for shop display and customization. A coupon code feature would be great, too.

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How do you promote your work?

I have a blog where I share behind-the-scenes details about kove as well as things that I find interesting or think my readers would enjoy. I personally find that there is so much value in being able to find out about who made your item, and the process/time/inspiration they put into it.

I also have a Facebook page and Twitter account, which allow me to participate in the handmade community and hear from crafty thinkers on a daily basis. This fall, I’ll be advertising in some new places that aren’t specific to handmade, so we’ll see how that goes. It’s all a big adventure, seeing what works for your business and what doesn’t, so I try to have fun with it.

In ten years, where would you like to be?

Running a successful business and supporting myself by doing what I love — writing, teaching yoga and creating things. If that could happen in a cute little house with a boxer puppy at my feet, that would be lovely too. More traveling is also on the list. My trip to India in 2009 had a profound effect on me, and so I hope to return in the next few years to volunteer and study yoga.

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