Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
Hello everyone! My name is Hine [hee-neh] Mizushima. I'm an Illustrator, a slow crafter and a puppet-based stop-motion animation video artist who doesn't usually wear a Camera camera case on my head. I was born and raised in Japan. I majored in traditional Japanese painting at university, and worked as a paper product designer/Illustrator in Tokyo. After I met my husband (Canadian), we decided to move to Rome, then Paris, then Brooklyn. Two and a half years ago we moved to Vancouver, Canada, with our lovely son (we are not actually fugitive criminals on international wanted lists or anything, we just move for fun). Then I discovered Etsy! At first I was just a buyer, but Etsy inspired me to create handmade things. So now I'm an Etsy seller as well, and have been for a year and a half. My Camera camera cases wanted to be in the photograph of my studio with me, so here they are!
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I create things almost all the time, but I also love the Internet (addict level), reading, watching movies, shopping & window shopping, listening to music (especially when I'm sewing and doing illustrations), and going to cheap but great local restaurants on the weekends.
What first made you want to become an artist?
As a kid, I always wanted to be a girls' Manga (comic) artist, but unfortunately I didn't have enough talent for that.... Then I wanted to become an Illustrator, and I did. I have always been creating something, but I never thought of myself as an Artist. When I finished my first stop-motion animation work about two years ago, I decided to call myself an artist for the first time!
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
I always have a spiral sketchbook on my desk, and I write down or draw any interesting ideas or designs that pop into my head in the sketchbook, because I forget easily. When I start to make new designs for my Etsy shop, I usually make a prototype first based on the things in my sketch book (usually the first one doesn't work well...). If it works, I make a pattern (I'm probably the only one who can read my messy patterns) and write down the process for making it, using sketches, for myself. Then I start to think about the colors. Thinking of the color combinations for the felt, thread and buttons is a very important and enjoyable part of my creations.
I make the cases all by myself, with needles and thread, from start to finish, and I'm a slow crafter, so it takes long time to make them. Sometimes my shop is empty, but please be patient, I always make more! I wish that some tiny craft-pixies would come to my studio when I am sleeping so that, the next morning, I would find new cases shining on my desk.....
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
A hand-stitched, realistic, fish-shaped zipper case made with beautiful silk Kimono fabric, which I purchased at a Japanese craft shop in Vancouver. And I also love all the handmade stuff I got from talented Etsy sellers, like screen printed things, softies, pouches, accessories, etc...
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Books.
I read everyday, mostly Japanese books. Luckily, I can borrow many Japanese books from the Vancouver Public Library! These are my favorite Japanese authors.
Kotaro Isaka
Minato Shukawa
Miyuki Miyabe
Giro Asada
Aki Misaki
Movies.
There are a lot! I prefer comedies and documentaries.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Amelie
Persepolis
SuperBad
Born into Brothels
Music.
They Might Be Giants (my favorite band and my best client ever! I created three official videos for them.)
Belle & Sebastian
The Decemberists
Between Cathedrals
Brigitte Bardot
Websites. There are too many!
Flickr (addict along with Etsy)
ALC (English Japanese online dictionary. I use it heavily everyday -- in fact, I'm using it right now!)
Google
Laughing Squid
Salvia (A Japanese graphic designer, Yurio Seki's work & shop)
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Try to make things that you love, and make things that nobody else has ever made! Take beautiful photographs of your work, with sunlight and love! If your photographs are a bit dark or blurry, you can easily retouch them with any of the applications that come with your camera, or with things like iPhotos.
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
My favorite features are Treasury, Storque, Favorites, Handpicked Items on the front page, where I always discover new talented sellers, and subscribing to shop feeds, so I can find the newest items when my favorite sellers update their shops. I also like to see the photos in the Featured Seller's work space.
I have always thought that, if buyers could choose languages for shopping (translated versions of menus and so on), it would be much easier for people who don't speak English as their first language to shop on Etsy.
How do you promote your work?
I only promote my work on the Internet, and I don't do much of that. I often upload pictures of my new products and artwork on my Flickr page and my Japanese blog. It seems that many customers come to my Etsy shop from Flickr and end up buying. I also have an art work website and a stop-motion video website. I once made a video ad for my Camera camera cases and my Etsy shop.
In ten years I'd like to be...
We are not sure which city we be living in, but hopefully we will own a house, and I'd still like to have needles, scissors, a mouse and a camera in my hands, and still be creating and living a happy and healthy life with my family. |
