Artistic Process: What inspires you?

"Color. Mixing colors, seeing how they work together, seeing if they create a lot of contrast or just accent each other. It's all about seeing combinations. Color inspires a lot of what I do in any creative medium. I tend to gravitate towards brighter, more lively colors because I believe it's nice and easier to add a "pop" of color to something simple (say an outfit, room, etc.) than it is the other way around.

When it comes to knitting, the utilitarian aspect is the 2nd characteristic that inspires me. I want to use a fiber that is useful to the recipient so that they can get the most use out of it for as long as possible. In this case, a 100% wool yarn is perfect because it keeps you warm and has high durability in the Fall/Winter. Cotton is awesome for warmer Spring times. The 3rd would be texture and quality. A lovely, soft skein of alpaca yarn just screams to be stroked and you know you want it close to the skin. It's why I love making alpaca knit items when I do get the chance (alpaca can be pricey so that's a con)."

-Jen
mellowbeing

Artistic Process: What are some influences on your work?

"My work is influenced by economy - small "e" - not "THE Economy," but economy of use. I try to incorporate vintage and discards into my pieces - hence the penny earring, the focal point of which is our much-maligned but lovely smallest denomination; and the decoupaging with bits of old magazines and catalogs.

The packaging for my cuff links - tiny little hand painted canvas paper with a snippet of paper back collage - was born after I took a painting class and had some pretty bad art work suitable for slicing and re-using. In tiny tiles as backdrop for jewelry, my paintings were finally lovely.

The overriding influence really is summed up in my business name - roughly translated, wabisabi="beauty of imperfection." I see parallels between this and the "one man's trash is another man's treasure" ethos, and it has had an enormous influence on my work."

-MaryAnne
Wabisabi Brooklyn

Artistic Process: What inspires you?

"Inspiration....
Everyday objects.
Typography & letterforms.
Shadows & outlines that appear when I close my eyes.
Motivation.....
I just want to make simple things but make them in my own way. Great
design at a fair price.
I can't sit still... I'm always designing something even if its not
feasible to make at the moment. (I have my heart set of large felt
rugs i just need to find a way to cut them)."

-Jen
Peppersrouts

Artistic Process: How did you learn the discipline you work in now?

"I learned the bulk of my skills between the ages of 8 and 18 from the women in my family. My mother taught me how to sew from Simplicity patterns. My Chinese grandmother taught me how to crochet (there's a way to break a language barrier). And my mother, girlfriend, and I struggled through many a knitting patterns to figure out fair isle and cables. Embroidery is something I picked up in middle school. I have a wall at home covered with my samplers; one dates back to 1978. I love the idea of traditional skills passing down from one generation to the next. Although the next generation in our household is more concerned with conquering another level of the latest Pokemon game. Is there a Sewing Mama game for the DS?"

-Simone
Groundsel

Artistic Process: What are some influences on your work?

"Fashion and interior design, I look for color of the season to create some of my masterpieces and of course style. In terms of people, places and music. I create to jazz I love a lot of things about Kates Paperie, William Arthur and most style magazines."

-Alton

Alton Weekes

Artistic Process: What inspires you?

"I get inspired a lot by nature and architecture. I find the use of stone, glass, metal and wood to create structural elements a fascinating thing, and I try to replicate the juxtaposition in my designs on paper. Oftentimes I will be walking along on the street, especially in NYC where there are so many beautiful buildings, I will see stonework or some design element that would intrigue me and take a mental picture of it."
-Lisa
Pretty Stationery for Beautiful Souls - Fubabee