Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
My name is Anna. I am 24 years old and live in Brooklyn. I attended Parsons the New School for Design, majoring in Fashion Design. After school I worked at a fashion clothing company and also worked as a freelancer. Then I decided to make clothes with my own two hands when I found out about Etsy. I named my line ‘Lemonstory’ because the color lemon usually makes me feel bright and warm when I see it. I wanted to give smiles and happiness to people who wear Lemonstory, whose styles are structured with touches of femininity and unique twists. When I make clothes I like to think about the customer opening up a package, trying on a piece and loving it for ever and ever.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
When I am not designing or making clothes, I watch movies, go to bookstores, play with my fiancé and my dog, talk to friends, draw, paint, etc. I love learning. I am currently learning about screen-printing so I can make my own fabrics someday!
What first made you want to become an artist?
I guess since I was really little. I just loved to draw, make things, and paint. I studied fine arts when I was in middle school and high school. Once I painted a portrait of my grandmother. She yelled at me because I tried so hard to paint her realistically that I even drew her fine wrinkles instead of making her younger and prettier. Ha-ha. Then I decided to focus on fashion since my favorite object to work with was fabric and clothing is the piece of art that we position closest to the human body. It changes the look, the character and the mind of the person who is wearing it.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
My creative process always starts from a piece of art such as a song, a painting, an artist and so on. Then I get inspired and try to create unique forms, colors, and silhouettes. In order to get a finished piece I make several prototypes. These days I focus on making my pieces well made and more beautiful, while thinking of a performance of Ryuichi Sakamoto.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
There are so many! Necklaces that I bought from other artists at Etsy, my clothes that I made for myself, etc. I am trying to make as many things as I can for my apartment like pillowcases, curtains and sofa covers.
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Books-The Tipping Point, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Paris to the Moon, The Secret, Harry Potter series.
Music- Nouvelle Vague, Stevie Wonder, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Keith Jarrett, Sergio Mendes.
Movie- Howl’s Moving Castle, Atonement, Camille Claudel, Cast Away, The Terminal.
Websites- Youtube, style, burdastyle, NYT, Pandora.
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Don’t make customers bored. Update as often as you can and don’t stop creating things! If you add one piece at a time, you will have a beautiful collection!
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
Convos would be my favorite. It is easy to talk to customers and friends and it shows past convos on one page! I love it!
How do you promote your work?
I really don’t promote my work. I just tell people if they ask me what I do and explain about Etsy and Lemonstory! People who are not familiar with Etsy get really excited and love the concept of it!
In ten years I'd like to be...
I want to own my work studio/store to create more and more beautiful things hopefully earlier than ten years!
|
