Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
Hiya! My name is Meredith, and I currently reside in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. I'm originally from Lubbock, TX, a college town that is also famously the hometown of Buddy Holly. I went to his high school, in fact!
Growing up, I always thought I'd be a writer or a musician - and in college I studied Russian and Linguistics. Which is sort of how I wound up here in the Great Pacific Northwest: during an undergraduate semester of intensive Russian studies at the University of Washington, I fell head over heels for Seattle. I moved back as quickly as I could after I graduated from Texas Tech and have been loving it ever since.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
When I'm not at my web design day job at the Evil Empire or doing the umpteen bazillion things that is involved in my shop's upkeep, I try to somehow have a life with my boyfriend and our amazing friends. Phil and I met over a game of Magic The Gathering at the Penny Arcade Expo in 2007 and have been together ever since!
Besides gaming and geekery with our friends, we do a lot of "the usual" around town. We love midnight movies at the Egyptian theater, Sunday mornings at our favorite coffee shop, very slow weekend brunches at the B&O, hunting down photo booths, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.
What first made you want to become an artist?
I've always been a creative person. I was born with a heart condition and after two open-heart surgeries before kindergarten, I wasn't allowed anywhere near contact sports type activities. So as a kid, I had to learn very quickly how to amuse myself. I spent more time than I could explain writing stories and making my own little zines. In college I discovered the zine movement and formed Sweet Anthem as a zine distro (this was 2002-ish). Telling and displaying stories in a beautiful way quickly became the purpose behind everything I do. I love how stories - even perfumes - can communicate bits and pieces of everything we know about each other, where we come from, and where we're going.
Later, when I discovered that talking about perfume is like talking about music, I was instantly hooked. Perfume ingredients are called, "notes" and formulas are, "compositions" and that's only the beginning (now there are even, "scent operas" but that's a whole different story...). So it instantly made sense to me. I have been playing and learning and working with music since I was a tiny person: from piano lessons, to punk rock bands, to working for independent radio stations. It was like my life's musical endeavors had been training me for this along! And the musical theme is why I continue to use the name, "Sweet Anthem".
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
When I'm working on a new perfume, it mostly boils down to inspiration. If a perfume is based on someone I know personally, I try to think of colors that embody their personality and work from there. (If it is a famous person, like a musician, I listen to their music for scented cues, or try to imagine what sort of color their sound is.) In addition to musical notes, perfume notes can also be related to colors. I'll usually pick a note that embodies that color - lavender for purple, coriander for red, patchouli for brown, etc. - and start the composition process from there.
Once I have decided on the beginning ingredient, then I have to figure out what mood I want, what sort of setting I picture the wearer in, and all of that fun story boarding kind of stuff - and then continue building the rest of the perfume, constantly thinking about the changes it will make and the story it tells. It's actually very similar to process writers go through, but with scents!
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
My collection of zines, chapbooks, and indie comics that I've collected over the years. I met one of my best friends, Karen who runs karenlisaphoto, through her old zine "A Skyward Obsession". We've never actually met in person, but we've always been very close!
I also love my little collection of handmade perfumes from fellow Etsians and other handmade shops online! There are a surprising number of independent perfumers out there who are all very talented and they've been so much fun to discover!
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
BOOKS
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
Moscow to the End of the Line by Venedikt Erofeev
Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
The Harry Potter series
A slew of comics, graphic novels, etc. (Ghost World, Optic Nerve, Locas in Love, to name a few...)
MOVIES
Chasing Amy / all Kevin Smith movies in general
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Stranger Than Fiction
Ghost World
Amelie
MUSIC
I'll go with five of my all time favorite local (Pac NW) groups because it's just too darn hard to pin down otherwise!
The Shins
Viva Voce
Sleater-Kinney
The Decemberists
Murder City Devils
WEBSITES
Basenotes
Grain de Musc
1000 Fragrances
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics (best...webcomic...ever.)
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Know your own limits and do not be afraid to ask for help. Offer trades for services from friends and family members if you're too short on cash to hire or buy!
Don't be afraid to comment on blogs and get in touch with bloggers. Trust me, the handmade blogosphere is amazing and everyone I have met has been awesome - so don't be afraid to put yourself out there.
Be passionate about what you do, and don't do something if you're going to do it halfway. Shoppers can smell that kind of an attitude miles away and it is a turnoff. As Tyra would say, be fierce!
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
I love the many ways to connect with Etsians, especially in teams! I like reading the forums but I am usually too shy to post in them. My favorite Storque articles are Process Video, How-Tuesday, and Quit Your Day Job (because I'd love to, eventually).
I am dying for shipping calculated by dollar amount of final sale, or by weight of final sale.
How do you promote your work?
Blogs, blogs, and blogs! I was lucky enough to be on Design Sponge's holiday gift guide last year around Thanksgiving, and that one post created a lot of word of mouth and buzz for my wee brand. In turn it also connected me with a lot of other bloggers, shop owners, and even local folk that I would never have met otherwise! It sort of got me out of my shell and really let me realize the potential of what I'm doing.
I try to keep up with the regular Facebook and MySpace and Twitter and Flickr, of course, but with all the busy around here it doesn't always happen. Twitter has been crazy awesome for me, so it's usually the first tool I turn to. It's like LazySpaceBookr.
In ten years I'd like to be...
doing basically this, full time, and hopefully not in an extra bedroom in a tiny apartment. And (hint hint...) I'd be glad to be married and getting on with that whole "settling down" phase of my life! |
