Friday, May 1, 2009
Organic Quilt Company Featured on Etsy
Becky Stone, owner of Organic Quilt Company, one of our favourite indie suppliers of beautiful organic receiving blankets and sleep blankets was featured on Etsy today. The interview is transcribed below:
"Tell us a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
My name is Becky Stone and I live in Hudson, an idyllic small town just outside of Montreal, Canada. I share a cozy little bungalow with my very supportive husband, our three charming kids, and our two old, fat cats. After many, many years of travelling for my husband’s studies, we are finally settled for a good long time.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
My full time job is being a mom to E, E, and P (who are 9, 7, and 5 years old). Being a mom brings such great joy and purpose to my life - but it is also really nice to balance it with running a small business where I am not only someone's mom! I also teach quilting classes at the local quilt shop. My teaching brings a welcome change of pace and a fantastic source of inspiration - it is also a great excuse to get out of the basement and away from the computer, and talk to real (adult) people!
I have the great fortune to be surrounded by my wonderfully fun, intelligent, and inspiring group of friends with whom I try to spend as much time with as possible. I love to read and I belong to two book clubs, which ensures I read at least two 'good' books a month.
I also have a lovely vegetable garden from which I love to coax yummy, home-grown tomatoes, broccoli, basil, beans, zucchini, pumpkins and potatoes. There is nothing better than preparing (and eating) food that has just been plucked from the garden!
What first made you want to become an artist?
Well, I am not sure I would describe myself as an artist, maybe a 'maker of things' would be more accurate! I am unable to remember a time that I was not consumed with the need (compulsion?) to make something -- whether it be a particularly intricate piece of appliqué, a pair of socks, or a life-sized replica of E.T. made with glitter, coat hangers, and paper bags (I think I was about 8 when I was at work on that particular project...)
I began quilting thirteen years ago because I really wanted to own a quilt and couldn't afford to buy one. My first attempt was a huge, very difficult quilt that I did finish (and did keep) but 'primitive' would be a very grand compliment for it. Fortunately I have learned a lot since then and my passion for quilting has only increased. A few years ago, as I became more aware of the impact the cotton and textile industries have on the environment, I began to feel less enamoured with conventional cottons and went in search of alternatives that would not compromise my environmental principles. Organic Quilt Company is the result of that search.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
Fabric and colour are the main sources of my inspiration. I am addicted to fabric and all of its tactile glory. I am so lucky to have such beautiful fabrics to be inspired by (thanks Harmony). Being a quilter means that I have a 'life list' of all of the quilts I still need to make stored in my head. There are many nights I lie awake thinking about the next project! I have so many plans and ideas swarming in my head but, unfortunately, I am limited by time. Right now, I have about 20 completely kid-free hours a week and during that time I work like mad trying to keep caught up with orders and maintaining an inventory. The rest of my work gets done in bits of pieces in between making meals, helping the kids with their homework, and trying to do housework (which usually gets put off – unless I have visitors!). More often than not, I spend a few hours each evening prepping, sewing, or pressing.
I do firmly believe that I sleep better when I am snuggled under a beautiful quilt. When my babies were born, they loved being wrapped in cozy quilts and snugly blankets too. So when I am making blankets and quilts for other people's babies, I always think back to how lovely it was to hold my own little, warm bundles wrapped in their soft, cozy blankets!
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
Last year, my husband and our friend/next-door-neighbour decided to stretch their photographic skills by taking a picture every day for a year (of course they never took just one picture each day, but they had to narrow it down to one image for each day). They put their images to music and presented their images side by side to all of our friends. The resultant DVD is such a poignant memoir of a year in our life in all of its beauty and banality that watching it brings me to tears. I will treasure it always. I also have lots of kids’ artwork that I cherish. And of course, I love my hand-knit socks!
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
Top five books:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
Top five musical groups:
Wilco (especially Sky Blue Sky)
Matthew Barber
Diana Krall
Keith Jarrett
Jack Johnson
Top five movies:
The Sound of Music
Once
Love Actually
The English Patient
I know it isn't a movie, but I have really been hooked on Battlestar Galactica lately!
Top websites:
This is where it gets really tricky for me! My kids have 'screen time limits' and they find it completely logical to hold me to similar standards! So, as you can see, besides checking Etsy obsessively, I really don't spend much time on the internet!
epicurious
boingboing
cbc.ca
environmentcanada.ca
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Before I set up my Etsy shop I read every Storque article I could find and, as a result, learned a lot about pricing, creating and running a small business, merchandizing, photography, and customer care. The articles are well written, concise, entertaining, and directly applicable to Etsy. They are also far more interesting than most books on running a small business (with, perhaps, the notable exception The Boss of You by Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears (April's note: I concur with this - fabulous book!)). The Etsy community is full of experts who are willing to share their knowledge and experience so learn as much as you can. Now that my shop is more established, I continue to read as many articles as I can. I am particularly fond of the Business section of the Forums and the "Quit your Day Job" series.
Other than that, be prepared to work hard and do good work because you will only get out of your business what you put into it. Make sure you enjoy what you are doing (or else you will resent it and your work will suffer. Besides it is way more fun to do something that you actually like to do!). Never be satisfied with the way your shop is right now – you can always tweak something to make it a little better. Always, always, always treat your customers well – the way you would like to be treated.
It also helps to have a strong, unconditional support group behind you to encourage you when you are down and want to quit (because you probably will want to quit at some point) and celebrate your inevitable successes with you (because if you work hard enough, they will happen!). Oh, and take really, really good pictures. I am extraordinarily lucky that my talented husband takes my photos (and edits them too) because I don't even know how to transfer the images from the camera to the computer!
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
I tend to be snoopy and so I really enjoy checking out other people's Favorites lists! I also love the front page picks. As far as new features, in a perfect world it would be really wonderful to have the option of rearranging my shop without having to relist items.
How do you promote your work?
I am mostly indebted to Etsy for leading people to my corner of the Etsy universe! (Thank you, thank you!) I know I should probably start a blog but I also know it would languish untouched for lengthy periods of time. So until I am ready to commit to it, I prefer to depend on the kindness of others who are far more dedicated to blogging than I am! I have had the very good fortune to have met many lovely people who have said very nice things about my work. (April's note: Becky, we LOVE your work! And you're such a pleasure to work with, next time I'm in Quebec, we'll have to meet for tea!)
I have also joined a couple of teams. I spend some time promoting on the Team EtsyBaby promotion thread (although I could be better at that) and I have just participated in the Etsy Organic Team promo swap and I am interested to see how that works out. This year I will be participating in my first craft show. I have also had the extreme good fortune to have many of my products in a number of brick-and-mortar and online boutiques.
In ten years I'd like to be...
Still happy and healthy, enjoying my family, and doing what I am doing right now! Although it would be nice to spend a bit more time digging in my garden and whittling down my long 'life list' of quilts!"
Way to go Becky!
- April
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