Consequently, I still have the interviews I did with some of Folksy's finest male sellers! It seems a shame not to use them somehow so I'll be posting one every Sunday on my blog until they run out!
So without further ado I give you, Mother's Ruin!
Name:
Age: 24
From: Middlesex
Favourite colour: Green
Favourite animal: I’m a huuuuuge animal lover, but I guess if I had to choose it would be dogs. My pooches are my world!
Favourite band: I don’t really listen to any bands. However, I am (somewhat controversially these days!) Whitney Houston’s BIGGEST fan!!! Is that a little tragic?
Favourite movie: Ermm… tonnes. Anything with Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore……. And ‘The Bodyguard’ for Whitney. Of course.
Favourite book: ‘The Hours’ by Michael Cunningham. It’s a beautiful, yet strangely (exquisitely) painful read.
How did you learn your craft?
Which one?! I seem to have picked up quite a few now! My ‘almost’ Mother-In-Law (who funnily enough runs her own Indie dyeing business at artisanthreads.co.uk) taught me to knit when I was staying with her over Christmas a few years back. Indeed, several months later she showed me the basic crochet stitches too. Most is self-taught though. Once I have the basics I’m pretty happy to research everything else on my own. I have a voracious appetite for books and often (am I supposed to say this?) I enjoy reading about crafting more than the crafting itself, so it becomes pretty easy to pick things up. My latest craft is sewing and I am definitely a newbie in that particular arena!
Your eureka moment - tell us about your favourite thing you have ever made?
You know, I don’t think I have a favourite. I always have a totally different relationship with each item I make! Funnily enough, my interest in knitting and crochet originally developed through a desire to make my own clothes, but I never really got around to making anything for me!
While I was honing my skills I tended to make small gifts for other people (that’s before I stumbled across Folksy, of course, and the opportunity to make some pocket money!). I do have one ongoing project (it may well outlive me!) which is a crocheted blanket of hexagon motifs. I am using up lots of leftovers from other projects, so it will be a nice trip down memory lane when it’s all finished. I think, in time, it could become a favourite, simply because of the associations it will have with my crafting history and the fact that I am actually going to keep it for myself!!!
Your "D'oh!" moment - tell us about your biggest crafting disaster
Oh, I have these all the time! You must understand – I’m not a professional! As I said before, I’m largely self-taught, so I frequently find myself going about things in a totally illogical way! I’m pretty tenacious though, and have found that making mistakes is a much better way to learn in the long run.
I’m currently working on several menswear designs that have caused me all sorts of problems! It can be hard to balance disaster and success though. I mean, I love the Victorian lace collar that is on my Folksy shop right now but that would never have existed if I had not completely messed up the original project (a headscarf/band type thing!) and decided to utilize some other materials and turn it into something new. There are other times, though, when it is better for your own sanity to just admit defeat, rip back the stitches and start again!
Is crafting what you do full-time or do you have a Clark Kent style alter-ego?
Nothing quite as glamorous as Clark Kent, unfortunately! I have a day job that pays the bills (just!), but I’d love nothing more than to craft full-time. That said, I already find myself neglecting friends and family in order to spend time crafting so it’s probably best that I am forced out of the house for a few hours every day!
Where do you do your crafting?
I’d love to be able to give you a really exciting answer to this but, alas, I’m the conventional armchair crafter! There’s nothing better on a cold autumnal evening than slipping into some comfortable clothes, pouring a glass of red wine and stitching away while watching a favourite film or listening to music. (Yes, I am 24, not 84, before you flick back to check!) I occasionally take projects into the office with me so that I can get a quick fix during lunch. Sometimes, reading about all these people that take their knitting projects on the bus or train makes me wish that I had a proper commute to work, but I only have a 20 minute car journey and my driving skills are already under-developed to say the least, let alone with needles in hand!
Tell us a bit about your crafting philosophy (e.g. environmental, heritage, family, therapy!)
I don’t know that I have one! I notice that you mention ‘therapy’ as possible crafting motivation, but I always find this to be a laughable misconception (on a personal level, at least). I’m sure there are thousands of knitters out there that would be able to expound the virtues of knitting for relaxation, but I find it to be anything but therapeutic! Almost as soon as I begin one project or design I find myself thinking of the next one. In the end, the actual making process just becomes a marathon rush to finish! I’m all about the end product!
Tell us why you think there are far more female than male crafters?
I think there is still a stigma attached to crafting. Certainly, knitting was always synonymous with little old ladies in rocking chairs and shawls around their shoulders. I think until recently this perception was enough to put even women off of the craft, let alone men. Not only that, but (and I’m getting on my favourite topic here!) there are SO FEW knitting/crochet/sewing patterns available for men. Furthermore, those that do get published demonstrate such an enormous lack of imagination that they become, frankly, insulting. Why, oh why, I ask myself almost every day, do the knitting faculty assume that men only want cabled jumpers in various shades of beige, black and brown?! Take a look at the publications you have laying around, or online, and I can assure you that cables and stocking stitch are all you will find available for men. Admittedly, I have a relatively flamboyant personal style – many of the things I would like to wear would not appeal to ‘the majority’. Nonetheless – please, designers, let’s have some colour, some asymmetrical detailing, some interesting collars or closures! Another boxy v-neck jumper with 2x2 ribbing and I swear I’ll gouge my own eyes out with a crochet hook…. That’s why I am currently working on some of my own designs (you’ll have to be patient though – I get distracted easily!).
Tell us something surprising about yourself (non craft related)?
Oh God! If you knew me better then I doubt much would be considered surprising, but I guess if you want something really, really stupid then I suppose I could confess to having an almost preternatural ability to break vacuum cleaners! I’m on my fourth this year (and no, they aren’t cheap ones and my house isn’t that dirty!).
What's the manliest thing you make?
Right now – nothing! As I said, I’ve been compelled to start designing my own menswear clothing but prior to that I’ve tended to focus on women’s accessories. I like quick return projects and struggle to commit to anything that takes longer than a few weeks (goodness, I have a fabulous work ethic!). Furthermore, I’ve always been attracted to vintage styling and it distresses me (I guess ‘distress’ could be overstating the matter, but still!) that we seem to have lost the glamour of previous eras. If it were up to me we’d all still dress for dinner and hats/veils/wraps and corsets would be compulsory – not something that I anticipate being of much interest to men though! This is the dilemma I currently find myself in – do I make the items that genuinely appeal to me, or give in to the indignation that I feel about men being under-represented in the crafting community?!
What's the least manly thing you make?
All of it! Even the men’s items that I am working on now are really designed the bridge the gap between outright masculinity and outright femininity. I’m fighting the perception that plain clothes are ‘manly’. They’re not – they’re just dull! (Am I turning this interview into a personal rant?!)
What would you say to encourage more men to craft?
Go for it. You cannot comprehend the joy that it can bring to your life. There is a great crafting community too – I’ve met tonnes of lovely people along the way and I’m only really at the beginning of my journey! I really don’t know what else to say (for once!).
Where can we read more about you?
Feel free to check out my blog. I love my blogging space as it is a great way of organizing my thoughts and keeping a record of my work, not to mention a perfect opportunity to get in contact with likeminded individuals! Mind you, I could be doing myself a major disservice here as I run the risk of exposing myself as wholly unqualified to have answered the questions in this interview!
This has been fun – let’s all get together again sometime?
Fantastic interview!
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