Have you missed me?

32 Weeks

Well, I have been busy. I feel GREAT, enormous, but great. I just finished an interview for another blog about my shop on Etsy and thought I would post it here, since many of you have no idea I have interests that go beyond my uterus:


Tell the world something about your self and what you do in life?

I am an artist, teacher, wife, soon-to-be mother, collector and mini-entrepreneur. I have been an artist my whole life, well, since I was able to pick up a crayon and draw. I teach Fine Art in a high school, so I have plenty of materials at hand. Most recently, I have been working in wool sculpture felting, but I also dabble in polymer clay, watercolor, drawing with almost anything and working with found object sculpture. I have my masters in ceramics, but have a hard time focusing on one media, as you can tell.

I have been an avid collector of pottery and glass for over 10 years. I collect vintage pottery and ceramics because I appreciate all of the effort involved in making a piece. There are so many points in the creation process where things can go terribly wrong, even in commercially produced items, that I admire pieces that ‘survive’ to become little gems.

Glass, on the other hand, is simply amazing to me. I have never had the chance to create with it and so even the most simple pieces look like wondrous miracles in my eyes. My favorite era for both pottery and glass is from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. There is look and feel to pieces made during this time that is hard to find in things made commercially today, even by smaller companies. They have a feel to them with little flaws and irregularities that make them seem more real.


What current entrepreneurial efforts consume your time?

My Etsy shop, Vintage4Vintage, has become my new venue for selling vintage collectibles. Many of the items I sell come from my personal collections as I try to refine and sometimes redefine a grouping. My husband and I live in a lovely Art Deco era lake house built in 1930 and my collections can be found throughout our home. Every time I sell something from one of my collections, I consider it to be making a new space to fill with something else I will find in the future, and that I am passing on a treasured object to someone else to enjoy.
Currently, I have been buying and sorting though lots of vintage buttons. Buttons are like little pieces of history and sculpture wrapped into one tiny package. The range of colors, textures, shapes and historic connections are endlessly fascinating to me. And again, I love the look and feel of these older items.


Why do you do what you do? What inspires you? When do you get most excited?

Being ‘green’ is really trendy these days, but my passion for vintage items has made me ‘green’ for a long time before it became popular. I really enjoy the thrill of the hunt when looking for things to add to my collection or my Etsy shop. Garage sales, tag sales, junk shops and flea markets are among my favorite hunting grounds. I often feel like I am saving things from being tossed in a trash heap. Many of the pieces I buy are rough, dirty, unidentified and often classified as ‘junk’. I spend time cleaning and researching each piece to learn about its history, maker and origin; I really enjoy the researching part it makes me feel like a true treasure hunter.


What one thing made the biggest difference when getting started?

I have learned that it is important to not try to do everything at once. A little at a time and everything will get done in time.


What is the last thing that made you belly laugh?

We have a Great Pyrenees, Bella, who is such a funny dog. When we are watching a movie in the evening, she bounces around the room with a toy, flipping it in the air and catching it all by herself. Our two cats, Jack and Hunter, just sit and watch her; I swear they are shaking their heads thinking that she looks like an undignified fool. I have laughed until I cried watching the three of them together.


Have you ever been in business before?

I have had other shops in ‘online antique malls’ and on auction sites, but I felt lost in the crowd. Etsy has a much ‘smaller town’ feel to it, which I really enjoy.


At what point do you consider yourself successful?

I love what I am doing, so I already think I am successful. My shop supplies my ‘slush fund’ to buy goodies that I would feel a little guilty buying normally.


Where do you do your best thinking?

Insomnia is a frustrating thing to deal with, but lying in bed at night in the dark provides a great place to think. It’s quiet and I am never interrupted. The only problem with coming up with a brilliant idea at 3am is that I occasionally forget it by the time my alarm goes off.


What does your average daily work / life balance look like? How much time do you work, play and sleep?

Being a teacher, I am on a set schedule 10 months a year. I get home at 3:30, I check emails, do some Etsy stuff, make dinner (or reservations) and by 8pm my husband and I wander to the couch to watch a DVD. Weekends are more creative, fun and often filled with treasure hunting. During the two precious months I have off in the summer – all bets are off!


If I could introduce you to anyone, who would it be?

I am 7 months pregnant and I can’t wait to meet the little girl that has been kicking me! I am looking forward to showing her all of the things that fascinate me and getting to see the world through her new eyes. My husband and I both value quality over quantity in most everything in life. Although objects are just things, often the most simple things are the most ‘real’ as well. Things that are ‘real’ do not have an end to their usefulness, or to their lives, they just need someone to find a new purpose for them and they will become valuable once again. This doesn’t work so well with all the stuff people buy that is manufactured in mass quantities today. We will try to instill these values in our daughter, I can’t wait to see if it works!


What stops you from giving up when you are frustrated?

Every time I sell something and get a message from the buyer about how beautiful it is; I feel like I have done my part in saving one more item from the trash. It seems like this happens at just the right time and I want to go on and send more beautiful, vintage pieces out into the world to be loved again by others.



If your are interested - please visit my shop Vintage4Vintage on Esty. CLICK HERE.