Getting to know Strawberry Luna

Inspired By Nature is filled with beautiful art, but ever wanted to know a little more about your favorite designers? This week we interviewed Strawberry Luna, a new addition to our market whose whimsical designs immediately caught my eye.

1) How did you get started with your shop (www.strawberryluna.1000markets.com)?

In mid-December 2008 a good friend, Sara of girlscantell http://www.1000markets.com/users/girlscantell, who had just opened her own shop recommended 1000 Markets to me as a new and very well-laid out venue. I took her advice, came over and lurked around for no less than 10 minutes before I agreed with her and signed up right away. I started adding a few items that night and applied for an account. Happily I was accepted and started adding products and inventory over the next week. I have my own website (http://www.strawberryluna.com) and also maintain a shop at another selling venue, so it was easy for me to set up shop here. I really like the layout and the control of the shop set up here as well.

2) How has your shop/goals changed since you began?

Well, since I still have yet to make my inaugural sale here, my goals are still basically the same. But I would love to grow my shop’s success here, especially once 1000 Markets goes “live” or public and is no longer purely in beta-mode.

3) How do you get inspired?

What a great question. It changes in some ways, because I am often inspired by something when I am least expecting it. Many times I am inspired by art and design from other artists, of course, but I can just as easily be inspired by a textile pattern that I see in a thrift store, or the play of leaves and light while walking my dog. When I do go looking for inspiration, I usually thumb through some of the vintage children’s and/or design and art books that I seem to keep collecting or find my way through flickr’s rabbit hole of photographs. Naturally, there are about 1000 other ways that I get inspired too, as I leave myself open to being inspired by anything that strikes my attention. I take loads of photos when I stumble onto something intriguing so that I can try to tease out what drew me in at a later time.

4) What's next for you?

Hmmmm, well I hope that 2009 is my biggest year yet. I’m working on a few new art prints currently and hope to do a lot of new rock posters too, and will be featured in 2 books coming out this year, so that’s pretty exciting for a self-taught girl. I would love to try some pattern design projects this year, as well as book jacket design too, so fingers crossed.

5) Any good childhood memories of crafting?

Oh heck yes! I seem to have always been drawing, playing with crafting supplies and building things with modeling clay and Legos. I used to try to build forts for my gerbils with clay and Legos. Amazing, right? I think that I was most fond of the goofy Christmas crafting projects that I used to be do while watching TV with my parents, like using Styrofoam shapes, pins and sequins to make trees, unicorns, and etc. That was a good time. Not really crafty, but I also loved using lima beans, a cup and wet cotton to germinate seedlings. I was and still in love with the colors and shape of the newly germinated curves of seedlings. Beautiful.

6) When someone asks you "Why Buy Handmade?" what do you say?

It’s funny, because I am very lucky to be from a family where hand making art and crafts has been a normal part of life and a tradition for generations. In my family we have painters, weavers, knitters, crocheters, printmakers, potters, jewelry makers, quilters, excellent sewers, the list goes on. So to me, it’s almost a question more of “Why Not Buy Handmade?” And I like to turn that around to people who aren’t as familiar or comfortable with the amazing variety and loveliness of handmade goods. I think that it is amazing to be able see the craft of the maker in an object that you can hold in your hands or wear, o hang on your walls. I love that feeling of connection with someone through simple and beautiful objects.

7) Who do you have a craft crush on? Oooooh fun! I have two craft crushes here on 1000 Markets: Sara of girlscantell of course www.1000markets.com/users/girlscantell and also my (mostly) e-friend Frank Chimero www.1000markets.com/users/frank. Both are the awesome! Both are great inspirations and good peeps. Totally crushable.