Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
Er, OK, this is hard :) Bear with me, reader.
My real name isn't moo, contrary to popular belief, it's Siobhan, and despite originally being from South London, I've lived in Liverpool for about the last 15 years (came here to university, met a man, never left!) We live in a veryveryvery small house containing lotsandlotsandlots of yarn. Nick (for such is mr moo's name) often complains that I am either attached to a pair of knitting needles or my laptop. Which is true actually. Sometimes simultaneously (I can multitask).
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I work for a medical diagnostics company as a process improvement analyst, and since I can hear the sound of a thousand brains shutting down, I'll explain in plain English what that is... in simple terms, I visit NHS pathology laboratories all over the UK and Ireland, and look at the way they process patient blood samples. I then make recommendations on how they can become more cost effective. My work takes me away from home for at least one night per week, often more, so while I could say I get to travel a lot, I mostly see the inside of my car, airports, hospitals and hotels (oh the glamour!!). OK you can wake up now.
What first made you want to become an artist?
I don't think I ever wanted to be an artist, it's more something that happened by accident. About 3 years ago I had to take 6 months off work to recover from major surgery, and one of my district nurses, Sheelagh, who used to come in a couple of times a week, used to tell me about going to a stitch n bitch group down the road. Bizarrely, my mum (Hi mum!) has knitted for as long as I can remember and I wasn't the slightest bit interested, but for some reason the fancy took me and I went into town and bought a single ball of wool (blue, in case you're interested) and a pair of needles, and that, as they say, was that. I owe a lot to Angie and the gang at Liverpool snb, although I never seem to be able to get there these days :(
Anyhoo, I seem to have stumbled upon a hobby that hasn't ever lost it's fascination, so for Gods sake no-one introduce me to another one or I'll never get anything done.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
First, I lie in a field of wild flowers and visualise textures and patterns, then I express my creative ideas through the medium of modern dance. Well OK... that's not strictly true. In fact I can't honestly say that I have a creative process - It starts with a yarn, continues through random knitting, usually followed by some un-knitting, re-knitting and pondering, and finishes with something that looks like I planned it all along (at least I hope it does). As you can see from my *ahem* workspace (for 'workspace' read 'sofa'), I knit in my spare time (which is any time I'm not working) and normally the trend is for brainless easy stuff on weeknights (so i can watch the telly) and more complicated stuff at weekends. On the advice of one of my lovely customers I have recently invested in some luxury yarns made from completely natural fibres like alpaca which are just unbelievably gorgeous for a treat or a gift, but I'll always try to have good quality cheaper alternatives for those wanting a bit of affordable luxury. I like to think that emporio moocow has something for everyone.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
Well now, let me see. The problem with this is that I tend to buy gifts for other people from etsy, and rarely treat myself, but I do have a couple of things that I couldn't resist and love to bits, including a pretty cupcake top from the lovely katie at birchtreeboutique, a little ron burgundy from the more or less ferocious kezzaroo (for when I'm stuck in those hotels with nothing but a wheel of cheese and a bottle of scotch), and a 'hanne' skirt from abibansaldesign which was made especially for me and fits beautifully. I'll wear it till it falls to pieces. And then buy another one. I also have a beautiful bracelet from sakurajewellery, a monkey badge from siansburys (everyone should have one) and I have a stunning photomanip that was done for me by bunny. That girl has some serious talent. I write notes to everyone on paisley notecards from paperandcloth, and last but not least, a little owl from yumptatious adorns my bedroom door handle. I love them all.
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Books: Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre (my comfort book, read it a gazillion times), The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry (ditto), anything by Dick Francis (strange but true), Jean de
Florette and Manon Des Sources by Marcel Pagnol, both of which are sheer brilliance.
Movies: Kenneth Brannagh's Much Ado about Nothing (orginally by Shakespeare, natch) - the music is fantastic. To my eternal shame and ridicule from my nearest and dearest; Independence Day and Starship Troopers (I LOVE big silly over the top american blockbusters). Braveheart, cos it's good. Top Gun: a truly excellent piece of cinema :D
Songs etc: oh dear, dare I confess? No, I think not. Suffice to say it may involve things I can belt out when I'm alone in my car. That's all you're getting.
websites: Flickr, majaba (for my narcissistic streak), UKhandmade, icanhazcheezburger (got to get my lolz) and photoshopdisasters.
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Er... far from feeling that I'm qualified to offer this kind of advice, here goes: Take the best photos you can, in natural light if possible. Inclusion in treasuries is the name of the game here, they're SUCH good advertising. Get involved in a local street team or chat thread. I am an active member of the fairly bonkers UK chat thread and it's made me the moo I am today. Promote outside etsy if possible, like on Flickr, and join groups there too. I would say blog regularly, but I won't, seeing as I haven't updated mine in *mumblemumble* months. Enjoy yourself! Everyone has lean times, they're part of the deal, but you'll always find a friend here. And cake talk. Which is important.
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
I love the treasury, it's such a brilliant idea, particularly now that the front page rotates much quicker - it's a great window to the inside of etsy. To be honest, I don't sweat it about features that aren't here. Etsy is what it is and you can focus too much on what you don't have instead of being glad of what you do have.
How do you promote your work?
Um... yeah. I'm really bad at promoting. I am part of the community at UKhandmade, and while I'm not as active a member as I should be, it's a great forum for exhibiting some of the fantastic talent we have in the UK. I regularly update my Flickr, not just with knitting pictures, but other things about me and my life. I must admit to the occasional shouty post in the UK chat going 'BUY MY STUFF' lol but it doesn't work. Don't try that at home kids.
In ten years I'd like to be...
a bit more sensible. |
