Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
Hi! My name is Meghan Willis. I grew up in Toronto, Ontario, where I went to school for fashion design. Five years ago, I moved here, to Columbus, Ohio, for a job and decided to plant some roots and stay awhile. I live with my adoring and adorable husband, Aaron Driggers, and our trouble-making cat, Mushaboom Mew Mew. Slowly but surely Aaron and I are trying to start a Tsuru Nation - filled with art, creations, music, and bicycles.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I work full time as a technical designer, which is like an engineer but for clothes. Any time not spent there, or working on TsuruBride, is spent reading, watching movies, travelling, going for tandem bicycle rides and chilling out with family and friends.
What first made you want to become an artist?
My mom first taught me to sew when I was 6, where I made some pretty horrific looking Barbie clothes (in hindsight, I feel really bad for Barbie). Even before that my brother and I would always spend time drawing and creating things. We made these paper crafts we called "stuffies" - 3D paper sculpture of animals and superheroes, which is probably where I got my pattern drafting skills, and the ability to translate 2D sketches into 3D items. My whole family is really creative and my mom was always, and continues to be, super supportive of my artistic leanings.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
When I'm getting ready for craft shows, or am putting together a large order, I do things in batches, linings, eyeballs, etc. I hate cutting things out, so if I cut stuff out one day, then the next day I get to skip that step and just create.
For my regular products, I usually start with an animal and then figure out what to turn it into. Once I know what I want to make, I draft a pattern to get the details and dimensions right. Once I'm done sketching, I'll hold it up to my husband and get his reaction - when he does a particular "awwww" face I know that I have the design just right! I usually sketch during the week, and do most of my sewing on the weekends. Some of my designs have also come from custom orders, where someone has requested a particular animal and then I created a pattern for it. Google images is my best friend for that!
I've always been enthralled with folk tales, and so for my new line of Artisan Purses I am drawing inspiration from those. The first one, The Crane Wife, is from my namesake, the Japanese tale and Decemberist album of the same name.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
My husband is a big music fan, so for our wedding we made mixtapes - well, mix cds. This is probably one of my favorite handmade items since it was a labour of love for both of us: from choosing the songs, to creating the cover art and putting it all together. Whenever I'm having a bad day I can pop the CD in the car, or select it on my iPod and immediately feel better.
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Books:
Can't pick 5 books to save my life...
Anything by Haruki Murakami, Roald Dahl and David Sedaris, a plethora of children's stories and fairy tales in their many incarnations...
Other faves include:
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Movies:
Amelie
Iron Man
Roman Holiday
All incarnations of Pride and Prejudice
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Music:
Feist
Decemberists
Nina Simone
Madeline Peyroux
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Websites:
tsururadio
lol cats
go fug yourself
pajiba
google analytics
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Be patient! Nothing will happen overnight. Post often, even it's just refreshing items. Promote yourself, no one else is going to get excited about what you're making if you're not. Join a group of crafty-minded peeps. That way when you talk about making a purse shaped like a snake digesting an elephant they don't look at you like you have two heads. I am very privileged to be part of Etsy Team Columbus (http://etsyteamcolumbus.blogspot.com), and am also worming my way into the Columbus Crafty Cotillion (http://cbuscraftycotillion.blogspot.com), whether they like it or not.
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
I love searching through other and my own favourites. I also love all the Etsy extras that others have created, like Craftopolis and Craftcult. I'm excited to play around some more on org-ing my shop feature, but I worry that it may become addict forming.
I would love to be able to offer discount/promo codes without discounting through paypal. Also, any way to create new listing fasters means more time for sewing and less time on the computer (like being able to add all the images at one time).
How do you promote your work?
I have a blog, and I also use Facebook to promote. My husband is always pimping me out on his site and the forums that he frequents. I try to always carry something that I have made when I am out and about. My friends and family who have some of my creations, always carry stacks of my business cards with them to hand out when people ask about their purses. I also sell at a couple of craft shows each year. It was definitely a hump to get over, learning to promote yourself without seeming arrogant.
In ten years I'd like to be...
Still making stuff, one way or another, and being one step closer, no matter how small, to Tsuru Nation domination. ;) |
