rabbitwhiskers

Shop Story~

Rabbit Whiskers was never something I’d intended to make happen. It didn’t exist even minutely as a thought in my mind! Imagine my surprise when my son told me that I had a week to think of a name for the website and Etsy shop he’d just created for me to sell my dresses from! Unbeknown to me, it began as an idea in my son’s mind when the children’s shop where I’d been selling my hand smocked and embroidered dresses suddenly closed.

Not only had I never thought about having an online shop, I knew nothing about the internet. All that I'd ever done on a computer was type letters. Having my own shop online was a huge adjustment and I’m still trying to learn how everything works but I’m happy to be here and hope you enjoy looking through my shop.

I opened my shop with the idea of selling my handsmocked, hand-embroidered children’s dresses. As time passed my interests grew and I’ve been adding to my shop as I find new items that I love to create. The first thing I added to the dresses were my photo notecards. My daughter gave me a new camera and I discovered that I love photography! I decided to use my photos to make note cards and found them to be something I love making. They became the first item added to the dresses in my shop.

I love to knit and have been knitting since I was 13. I’d never tried knitting stuffed animals but I love the ones that I’ve seen so I decided to try making one myself. I enjoyed it so much that I couldn't stop at one. Now one of my favorite things to create, I've been adding them to my shop over the past few years. Each one is unique and has its own personality. I never know until I’ve finished, what he/she will look like- or who they’ll be. I don't usually have an exact image in mind when I begin, I just know basically what animal I’m making so it’s always exciting to see who will emerge. I love the whimsical feeling the animals bring to my shop.

Last year I began needle felting and found that I love doing that too! As I finish the felted animals, they join the knit ones in my shop. I also love to embroider and will embroider where I think it will enhance an item and make it special. While the products I make vary, the main “thread” that ties everything in my shop together is my appreciation for uniqueness, detail, and quality. Everything I make is one of a kind. There will never be two things exactly the same. I love to create things that have lots of detailed work on them, whether it be the smocked dresses with the highly detailed, " thread-painted" scenes embroidered on them, or the eye of a hand knit bunny that is painstakingly hand embroidered; a process usually taking several hours to embroider one eye- I appreciate quality-made items and strive to use the best quality items in my products so that with proper care, they will last for many years and may be passed down as heirlooms to the next generation. What I love about "Handmade" is the ability to create unique things that come from my heart. The highest compliment I can receive is to hear that something I've created resonates with someone else and they feel like they just have to have it! And I find it exciting to know that whatever I make, will be the only one of its kind- in the world!

Creating the things I sell in my shop takes anywhere from several days , (sets of notecards,) to a week or more, (for a knit animal or a small child’s outfit-) to two weeks or more for a smocked, embroidered dress or pillow- This is how I choose to spend my time. I love creating special one of a kind, works of art!

In concluding; I cannot talk about my shop, my life and my love to create, without giving just recognition to the ones whose constant companionship, love and support sparks my imagination and motivates me to follow the creative path I've chosen; my two wonderful bedlington terriers; Pascal, who shared my life for 13 years, and now Pippin, my spunky, adorable three-year-old! They are the spark that brings my work to lifel