Folksy Celebrities - Eyelove

Name: David Oswald
From: I’ve been living in Nottingham for the past 6 years but my hometown is the ‘dear green place’- Glasgow!
Occupation: I don’t have a regular day job as such, I do the odd bit of graphic design (mainly for print).
Favourite colour: I’m drawn to blues
Favourite animal: I love all animals, but particularly rabbits and cats!
Favourite band: I’m not really into bands as much, whatever music makes me want to dance- French dance music, and early disco! I do like Nine Inch Nails and Madonna- so my musical tastes are a bit eclectic!
Favourite book: Stories by H.P Lovecraft

Shop / Business name:
Eye Love

What you make: I make items of jewellery, mainly in resin.

How did you know you were crafty / artistic?
I was always drawing and colouring in as a child, I distinctly remember copying pictures out of books and then being able to draw them from memory; I don’t think I was conscious of being artistic, just doing what I enjoyed doing. I also remember feeling frustrated at not having double sided sticky tape so I guess that might have been an early indication of an artistic temperament!

What was the first thing you ever made?
The first big project as a 5 year old, was a cat puppet- it was basically a cat head shape that my mum helped me to sew (from black fabric) then I stuck buttons on for eyes- I think I got bored half way as I don’t remember it having a body, so it was just a head on a wooden spoon!
I also remember trying to make a different puppet using an egg carton, it was then I found out that UHU glue and polystyrene do not work (I have also just realised what kind of parent gives their child strong glue without supervision!?!)

Do you have any formal training or who taught you what you know?
I haven’t had any kind of training- I’m a great believer in jumping right in and learning from experimenting and making mistakes.

How did your craft business come about?
I used to make and sell resin pendants to a shop in Glasgow’s west end, many years ago (17 years in fact) I gave it up after a while and then ventured into making lucky hoodoo dolls (hoodoo is a type of practical magik, that I used to dabble in!), but they weren’t that lucky- as they didn’t sell! 
It was only a year and a half ago that I decided to get back into working with resin and sell online rather than in a bricks and mortar shop.

Where and when do you do your crafting?
For me it is all about the right frame of mind, there’s no point in forcing yourself to create and make something if your heart’s not in it. I like to work at my own pace than set deadlines for myself; because of the fumes from the resin and the mess I make, I tend to use my kitchen- it isn’t the most ideal or practical of places, as the area I work at is approx a 3ft x 2ft area above the cat litter box (so it isn’t just the fumes from the resin that I have to deal with!)

Tell me something surprising about yourself:
I used to make short films and videos, one of which appeared on a Channel 4 documentary as it was a bit provocative, enough said!   

Which Folksy / Etsy shop can you not get enough of?
I am not a huge consumer of things- I do see things that I like, but I always ask myself, do I really need that? Will I use that? So I end up putting myself off; in this day and age, it’s probably quite a green attitude to have, but it actually stems from not having a lot of money and being careful on how you spend! That, and the inability to make decisions!
These are a few shops that I have favourited on Folksy as I really like their work.

I do also have a liking for odd looking plushy creatures:
Monster Magic
Mamf’s Creations
I love the way this shop has used the photos and the descriptions for the products- Tiny Oyster Designs

I like the creations of:
SpoiltPig
Beautiful Skin
Come Day Go Day
Chiyo
Larios

I also like the glass work of:
Tias Glass
Glass Primitif
AmyOrangeJuice

Why is handmade / crafting important to you?
In the general sense, handmade is important because it is supporting production at a grass roots level and not giving money to huge companies who only care about profits; and who are more than likely to be wasting resources or exploiting people.
If and when I am in a large high street store, it disturbs me when I see masses of cheap jewellery and accessories that will serve it’s purpose for a brief moment, then it will be binned or forgotten about; and I think- this is just the one store out the x amount in the UK.

On a personal level, it is an outlet for my creativity and it is nice feeling when you have made something that another individual appreciates, which for me is a bit more important than the financial aspect- we all want to be loved! Also knowing that the person will value that object more than an item that is mass-produced.

Is it just me or is crafting really hot right now?
No it’s not just you, it is hot!
I know crafting has been around for years but it seems to have taken off big time. I think it may be down to the fact that more people enjoy the individuality and choice of handmade items and with the availability of materials and information now, it’s easier for people to give crafting a go.
I noticed in a recent issue of Vogue, there were a couple of feature adverts that were craft related, one was for The Bead Shop in Nottingham, one was for handmade children’s craft aprons and another was for handmade jewellery- so it must be hot if it's came to the attention of Vogue!

Tell me why I should buy something from you!
Buy something from me and you would be buying a handmade piece of interesting jewellery, it could even be called wearable art! It would be creative, unique, a talking point, and it would be something that a lot of heart went into making!
(and also because I have four cats to support and they have a catnip habit!)


Ok you’ve got me convinced!  Where can I find you?
You can find me on Folksy
And Facebook
I’m afraid I don’t tweet and my blogs are collecting dust!