Michelle Moode ... California, USA

Artist: Michelle C. Moode
Business: michellemoode on Etsy
Web sites: michellemoode.etsy.com and millionsofpeoplehappy.blogspot.com
Location: Los Angeles, California

What do you create?
Primarily small mixed media works on paper. My work usually combines two or more of the following: paper, ephemera, drawing, etching, silkscreen, Xerox transfer, tea, ink, typing, watercolor, acrylic medium, sewing, beeswax. I also make books, shrinky-dinks, little woolly things and sculptural things.


Where and when do you do your creative work?
I recently moved into a wonderful teeny-tiny studio apartment, which is also (rather appropriately) my art-making studio. I tend to have pieces in various states of being: works-in-progress arranged on the wall so I may consider them as a group, used tea bags drying on heavy paper in the kitchen, and little bits being stitched together over near my Ikea sofa-bed. Sometimes I work on the floor, sometimes at my table. It sounds pretty chaotic, but I have a master's degree in arranging little things in little spaces.


Do you have another "day job"?
I currently teach part-time: non-major drawing and printmaking at Loyola Marymount University. I finished grad school less than a year ago, so needless to say I am still figuring out what I'm doing, and what I want to do. And how I will pay for things.


Where and what did you study?
I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts from Murray State University in Murray, a wonderful little town in Western Kentucky. At MSU my focus was Drawing and Printmaking. I fell in love with Printmaking because of my instinctual attraction to repetition and process, but also because of the sense of community I found working in the MSU printshop. It was a crazy-fun time.

I received my Master of Fine Arts from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia (an hour south of Pittsburgh, PA). Technically my MFA is in Printmaking. However, my time at WVU was hardly limited to printing editions. My artistic research and obsessive tendencies led me into sewing, bookbinding, sculpture, installation, collecting teabags and thread, and taking watches apart.

I’ve also spent time studying at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina and Frogman’s Print Workshops in Vermillion, South Dakota. I whole-heartedly recommend both experiences. I also recommend the long cross-country drives that will get you there.


Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration on the ground, and also in the sky. I find inspiration in a good cup of tea, a thoughtful walk, or a wander through an antique store. My older brother’s robot drawings, good science fiction, distant ferriswheels, familiar songs, Muppets, flowers, and rainy days are all sources of inspiration. Signs I drive by in LA inspire me. Businesses including “Coffee & coffee”, “Hollywood Star Muffler” or “Celebrity Quality Cleaners”...maybe these don’t inspire my art directly, but they make me laugh.


What motivates you?
I find Etsy to be very motivating. Like most twenty-something artists, I am motivated by deadlines and a need of money. I am prolific by nature. My obsessive tendencies are mostly a blessing, as I only feel productive if I have a pile of things in progress. I am not a one-at-a-time artist; I make art in “crops.”

When did you start doing this?
I've been making work that looks or feels like this since I was an undergrad at Murray State University. My work has progressed, and become more refined (more "crazy" some might say...) but the imagery and marks I draw have been popping up since before college. As for Etsy, I opened shop in September of 2007, so close to six months ago.


Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Yes, I have been drawing my entire life. My mom saved and dated all my early work. One of my favorites is a whimsical outer-space crayon drawing with transparent garden “capsules” as part of a space station. “Michelle in Space!!!!!!” is the title at the top of the piece. In retrospect, I see this drawing as a logical combination of what I knew from my youth: I spent most of my time playing in our amazing garden and orchard, and I was also exposed to my big brother’s “boy” interests, like Star Wars and Star Trek. My interest in gardening and space continue to inform my work.


When and why did you decide to start your own business?
In school I sold art when the opportunity presented itself. At conferences, workshops, open portfolio events, and gallery shows, I discovered that people were actually interested in owning my work. Last summer a friend at the Penland School of Crafts suggested that I check out Etsy. Since moving to LA I have also tiptoed into doing craft shows, which has been a fun, friendly, positive experience.

How did you choose the name for your business?
Well, when I selected my Etsy username I went for simplicity. I want my art to be associated with my name: Michelle Moode. Maybe I’d be more popular if I had a cute “brand,” like “sunshine crumpet” or “princess polkadot surprise,” but that’s not really me. However, my Etsy shop and blog are named “Millions of People Happy.” This is a quote from the original Muppet Movie. The possibility of making millions of people happy is suggested to Kermit-the-Frog by Bernie-the-Agent, prompting Kermit to leave his swamp and move to Hollywood, where he and his friends sign a “standard rich-and-famous contract.” It’s a simple, sincere, wholesome goal.


What do you love most about creating your work?
The meditative mind-wandering that comes with repetition. Arranging piles of paper. Drinking cups of tea. Filling a space with things I create. The satisfaction of sharing my work with those who love it.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Hazel, a small town on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. On afternoons when I needed a break from the hustle and bustle of slightly-larger Murray, I would drive eight minutes south to Hazel with Paul Simon blazing and the windows down. Hazel is full of antique stores housed in antique buildings. Hours would slip away as I explored the musty spaces. I’ve made so many discoveries there: beautiful broken time-pieces, blue typewriters, the dress I wore to the opening of my thesis show. But more than these purchases, it’s the time spent exploring that makes it a fascinating place.


A book you love:
Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
Probably exactly what’s coming across in this interview: the things I make, the things I think, the things I collect, the things I know-by-heart. I’m really not much of a conversationalist, but I have a lot of cool stuff in my apartment and in my brain.


What achievement are you most proud of?
My Master's Thesis, “Pieces of the Universe.” The written thesis with images of the installation can be found here. I had a sinus infection the week before installing my show, the Southern Graphics Council conference a couple of days after the opening, and I took down the installation a couple of days after that. Besides the silly time-line of events, it was a huge space, and I filled it with innumerable little tiny things. Writing has never been my strong point (although I’d take writing over talking anyday!) so I will always be proud of the written portion of my Thesis.


What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Honestly, I think I am still in a position of needing some advice. How about: “Remember who you are and where you were born.” My aunt has been telling me that my entire life.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
I just hope I can make my work....work! You know? I hope that my success continues, and that I can continue to be an almost-full-time artist. I am good at staying motivated, and making things. My challenges are all business-related. I need to become cleverer with my computer, and I need to get up earlier in the morning. Like everyone.


What do you love to do in your free time?
I like to hula-hoop when I need a break. But honestly, these days I am working on trying to have less free time!

What are you working on right now?
I have pieces to post in my Etsy store. I am working on submissions to juried shows and galleries. I have stacks of works-in-progress. I would really like to make more books.


What do you hope to achieve next?
I’ve been saying this for a while, but I hope to list some things for sale on Etsy besides my small scanner-friendly mixed media works-on-paper. I’m also itching to have a show. I love selling things on Etsy, but scattering my art one-at-a-time across the world is not the same as filling a gallery with my work. Both are good, though. I want to do both.

Still Room Studio ... Florida, USA

Artist: Jen Renninger
Business: Still Room Studio
Web sites: pleasebestill.com, pleasebestill.etsy.com, jenrenninger365.blogspot.com, pleasebestill.blogspot.com
Location: Tampa, Florida, USA

What do you create?
Mixed media illustration and artwork.


Where and when do you do your creative work?
Oh, that is such a good question! I try to keep regular working hours. I get up when my husband does (he's a teacher so he's up at 5:30am) and I'm usually working by 6:30am. I try to stop working by about 3:30, when Bill gets home from work. Now, that doesn't always happen! There are plenty of nights when I'm in the studio after Bill's fallen asleep... The studio is actually the second bedroom in our place. It's a good size and I have my desk right next to the window where I can look out at the goings on. Since I do about half my work on the computer I often sit on outside on the front patio and work there. Wifi is nice isn't it!



Do you have another "day job"?
Nope. I left Graduate School to pursue illustration nearly a decade ago, and I've been lucky enough to have been doing it all along!

Where and what did you study?
I studied photography at RIT in Rochester NY (Rochester Institute of Technology) and then fine art photo at University of Miami for Grad School. I left before finishing though... to start working.


Where do you find inspiration?
I spend a lot of time at the bookstore, looking at magazines and books. The internet, of course. But being outside is really good for getting the creative flow going too. Nature is good for the soul!

What motivates you?
That feeling that appears when I've made something and it feels complete. Oh, my dog Barley. I have to get things done so he can go out for a walk. He's a loud motivator!


When did you start doing this?
As a career, about 10 years ago. In reality I've been working and thinking the same way since I was a kid. I have some cards I made for my Grandmother when I was six. In many ways they are similar to the sort of things I do now.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I've been a stuff maker for as long as I can remember!


When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I was in grad school and not terribly happy with the program. My undergraduate degree was actually in commercial (advertising) photography and my grad school program was fine art. I'd always loved looking at the images is magazines (and really didn't like the whole gallery scene) so I started spending a lot of time at bookstore magazine racks, thinking I should be sending my images to these people rather than galleries. After a few month of looking, looking, looking... I made a few images, sent them to art directors and was working right away. Oh – I started out with photo illustration (collage) and then over the years moved into painting.


How did you choose the name for your business?
I really liked the saying 'please be still' and wanted to use it for a website. It didn't feel right as my business name though. So the business name is Still Room Studio. I really like how you can play with it (please be still... still room for more... ) and it's connected to a business my husband and I are working on together: Picture Distillery.


What do you love most about creating your work?
The thought that people enjoy it.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
I'd have to say Alaska.


A book you love: Anything by Judy Budnitz, and most recently (non-fiction) The Omnivores Dilemma. Oh: and Edward O Wilson. Anything he says instills awe. I know... that's more than one. I have serious book problems!


What is the most interesting thing about you?
This is tough. I think I'm pretty average. I asked my husband and (this is going to sound funny but would make sense if you knew me) he said: My sneeze! I know... how can a sneeze be interesting? Well, I'm a fairly quiet, soft spoken person but I have a sneeze that is uncontrollably loud, nearly deafening to anyone with in my immediate area. Seriously, it's deafening. So there you have it: complete normalcy, except for the sneeze.


What achievement are you most proud of?
That I'm able to balance work and being as available to my family as much as I can.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Just believe you can do it, with all your heart. Be positive. Smile when you answer the phone.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Paperwork.


What do you love to do in your free time?
Spend time with my husband and family and friends. Get outside.

What are you working on right now?
I am finishing up a job for Food + Wine magazine today, doing another illustration for my 365 series (updates for February will be on Saturday!). Those two things will fill my day today.


What do you hope to achieve next?
I promised myself that this year is all about the immediate. I'm doing an illustration every day for a year (jenrenninger365.blogspot.com) and I'm forcing myself to play and not think about what comes next for a little while. I'm a pretty notorious over-planner (yep – I heart lists!) so this has been good for me.

The Dangerous Mezzo ... Nova Scotia, Canada

Artist: Nina Scott-Stoddart
Business: The Dangerous Mezzo
Web sites: dangerousmezzo.etsy.com, operatic.etsy.com, trunkt.org/dangerousmezzo lunenburgartist.blogspot.com, lunenburgartist.com
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

What do you create?
Original multi-media collages and acrylic paintings. I also make costume jewellery for myself (and sell a few pieces via Etsy, under the name Operatic).


Where and when do you do your creative work?
Usually in the evening, in my office/studio upstairs in my big old house in the historic town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Sometimes I take some of my stuff down into the nice, warm Red Room downstairs (where the t.v. is) and I'll collage while hanging out with my guy. In good weather (or on vacation) I'll take my clobber outside and paint en plein air.


Do you have another "day job"?
I left my last regular "day job" (library technician) about 15 years ago to pursue my principal art, which is classical singing. (I'm a mezzo soprano, hence my user name!) I am now a professional singer, opera producer and opera director and am pretty busy with it. But my husband David and I moved to Nova Scotia five years ago, which has given me more time to do visual art, which was my first love.


Where and what did you study?
I did a two year college diploma course in library techniques, then went to York University in Toronto for Music and Visual Arts. I have a BFA as a result of that excursion into higher education.


Where do you find inspiration?
I love old black and white glamour photography, as exemplified by photos of opera diva Maria Callas. I also have always loved typography, so I enjoy starting a collage with pages from old books or music manuscripts. For my paintings, I'm inspired by the landscape of Nova Scotia – rocks, sea, trees and old houses.


What motivates you?
Selling my work has been fantastically motivating, for which I thank Etsy. Beyond that, I have two modes of operation, artistically. 1. I plan something carefully, with sketches and studies, and execute it (this generally works for paintings). 2. I start to fling things together and something interesting (or disastrous) emerges (this generally works for collages).


When did you start doing this?
I started collaging about a year ago. I picked up painting again (after a long absence) about five years ago.

Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
Oh yeah. My mother self-published her own text books all through my childhood, so we had, literally, reams of paper lying around. My father's father was a professional artist (an engraver and painter), and my mother's father, my mother's uncle, my mum and dad all painted, to one extent or another. I was surrounded by original art, and it was natural that I start creating my own.


When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I've always been the entrepreneurial type (I've started a few opera companies in my time) so setting up as a freelance artist seemed to make sense. I had been selling some of my work in Nova Scotia, but the principal demand here seemed to be for pretty sea pictures and I was sick to death of doing those. I investigated Etsy because I bought a painting by Heather Murray on Etsy, and it seemed like a perfect venue for me.


How did you choose the name for your business?
Dangerous Mezzo Productions is the name of my opera production company, chosen because of my voice type (I'm a mezzo soprano). My artist website is lunenburgartist.com, but when I signed up on Etsy it was as a buyer (to buy art, natch!). I didn't even think about opening a shop there, at that point, so I just used dangerousmezzo as my user name. About two weeks later, I thought, what the heck, and signed up as a seller. I'm really, really glad that my Etsy shop name is dangerousmezzo – it sums me up much better than lunenburgartist, which is a little too dull.


What do you love most about creating your work?
Getting really messy and sticky! I also love the sense of exploration I have while collaging – there are almost infinite ways the darned things can turn out, and I like trying to feel my way towards when I should stop or when I should keep going. I often get it wrong, but it's a lot of fun!

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Southwold, on the Suffolk coast of England – I could spend weeks there. It's just a little seaside town, but so relaxing and attractive.


A book you love:
This is really hard, because I'm just about addicted to reading. Okay: Jane Austen (especially Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice); E.F. Benson's Mapp and Lucia books; mysteries and thrillers by Minette Walters; fantasy by Terry Pratchett.

What is the most interesting thing about you?
I'm not terribly interesting, I don't think. I'm either very funny in person or a complete wallflower.


What achievement are you most proud of?
Starting and running the Halifax Summer Opera Workshop.

What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Just do it. Yeah, do all the planning and so forth, but don't let your fears (or the opinions of other people) stop you from trying something. We all need the courage to just jump in with both feet and risk failing at something. Failing isn't a big deal – but letting fear hold you back from even trying, that's very sad.


What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Keeping myself organized enough so that I spend time on all the things I want to do.

What do you love to do in your free time?
I love to sail: my husband and I have a very old, beat up 30-foot classic full keel Alberg sailboat (I demur at calling it a "yacht") which we sail all around the South Shore of Nova Scotia, generally with a drink in one hand... I also ride and teach riding to a few young friends of mine (I fell off my horse a year or so ago, and broke my upper arm, which has set me back a bit). I knit like a mad thing (but no socks, damnit!) and I can't stop reading.


What are you working on right now?
Bigger collaged works – 8 x 10 inches and up. I'm also planning my fourth annual Opera Workshop in Halifax and I'm preparing to sing Carmen in June, which is a huge deal.


What do you hope to achieve next?
I want to get started in encaustic – that's a technique that's fascinated me for some time. One of my favourite Canadian artists, Heather Murray, does some amazing work in encaustic and I really want to explore it. (It's the ancient technique of painting with hot coloured wax – mmm... hot wax...)

Lucie Summers Designs ... United Kingdom

Artist: Lucie Summers
Business: Lucie Summers Designs (Lusummers at the Blu-Shed Shop, on Etsy)
Web sites: lusummers.etsy.com and blu-shed.blogspot.com
Location: Mildenhall, Suffolk, UK

What do you create?
I mainly make mixed media paper collages that find themselves made into a couple of different products... sketchbooks, sketches for customers to frame, and paper quilts. The paper quilts are generally created for exhibitions.


Where and when do you do your creative work?
Well, the 'where' used to be a garage, but was converted into a room by the previous owners of our house. Although I'm lucky to have a space to call my own, it's certainly no homage to high design. It's also the family dumping ground; I share my space with several hundred half-used tins of paint, unused furniture, a million magazines and books, and old toys waiting to be taken to the charity shop.
The 'when'? Whenever I can! I have two small boys (aged two and five) so my time is precious. I've actually only realised that since having children! I do the bare minimum of housework, just enough so we don't all collapse from some hideous illness, so I have more time to create. (As I type, the ironing pile is perilously close to the ceiling and if I get up I risk serious injury from treading on some form of toy tractor/truck/car.) I literally snatch any five minutes I can; while I'm waiting for the potatoes to boil, after the boys are in bed, when my youngest has a nap. It's amazing what you can get done when your time is limited. I also couldn't do this without my mum and my husband; mum has my two-year-old every Thursday and my husband has both boys on a Saturday so I can get a good run at it!


Do you have another "day job"?
Nope – mother, terrible housewife and mixed media artist, that's me! Although I do write articles for Quilting Arts magazine sometimes.

Where and what did you study?
I studied 'design crafts' at Norwich School of Art and Design, a small city art school in Norfolk, a million years ago.


Where do you find inspiration?
Oh, everywhere. Leaves are a big thing for me, and flowers. I also get very excited by text and fonts, particularly old handwriting. Architecture, patterns on old teacups, old printers' blocks, the insides of envelopes, vintage bits, everything! I made a series of small paper quilts for an exhibition in the States this past September all inspired by the stories I wrote at school when I was five or six. Colour combinations are also a great inspiration; bright pink and red, turquoise and blue, red and white. I find living in the countryside a massive influence on my work.


What motivates you?
I'm actually quietly ambitious, and that really motivates me. One day I'd like to have a whole range of products (paper goods, textile designs, house goods) available both in the UK and worldwide. I want to be a household name! So I'm not setting myself up for a fall or anything... wanting the best for the boys motivates me too. Just wanting to create something everyday motivates me.


When did you start doing this?
I started by having a simple website made and tried to sell my personalised name wedding and birth samplers two years ago. I literally sat back and waited for the orders to flood in because I knew I'd got a good product. The trouble was, they were too expensive on their own... and I didn't sell one. Not one. So I decided to design and make smaller personalised 'plaques' for kid's rooms and opened another 'shop' on a UK site called notonthehighstreet.com this time last year and did much better. Then at the end of august this year I opened my Etsy shop selling completely different products which has worked much better for me, so I've dropped the other site. I'll probably add the personalised stuff to Etsy early next year.


Do you remember getting into art as a kid?
I come from a long line of women who sew, so I grew up with fabric around me. I can't specifically remember getting into art, it was just always there. I had a doll's house that didn't have dolls in it (I'm scared of them) but I used to change the decor all of the time. My boys actually still play with the little bits and bobs I made, vintage fabric covered beds, and funny little curtains made with matchstick poles.


When and why did you decide to start your own business?
Just after my youngest son was born, so two years ago. I must have been mental, what a ridiculous time. I blame the hormones! I've made tons of mistakes, some of them quite costly, but I've learnt a lot. I decided that if I was going to be a stay at home mum, I was going to have to find a way of earning some money that used the skills I knew I'd got that didn't take me away from the kids. And it sort of works, most of the time.


How did you choose the name for your business?
Erm...well, my name is Lucie Summers, and I design stuff.
'lusummers at the blu-shed shop' came about because we have a blue shed in our garden that I can see while I work at my laptop, but I decided that it should be 'blu' rather than 'blue' because it was more like 'lu'. Complicated, huh?


What do you love most about creating your work?
The weird inner peace I get and the little funny fuzzy feeling of excitement in my tummy when a piece is working well. I almost have to remind myself to breathe.

What's the most fascinating place you've been?
Ohhh, good question. I've loved lots of places, but I've just come back from a weekend in London and while I've been there lots of times, this was the first time with the boys and I suppose I saw it through their eyes. It's an incredible place, around every corner is something new to see and experience. It's so full of history, it's amazing.


A book you love:
Oh, crikey. Just one? Probably Echoes by Maeve Binchey. I first read it as a teenager and I must have read it ten or so times since. I was so in love with Gerry Doyle. I get sad when I finish a really good book, it's like friends leaving you. What a sap.


What is the most interesting thing about you?
Hmmmm... I've known my husband, Sam, since I was about five years old. We went to school together and (according to my mum) one day I came home and told my parents that there was a boy at school with the most lovely name, Sam Summers, and I was going to marry him. He lived on a farm and, aged five, I quite fancied being a farmer's wife. Then I did marry him 20 years later and I am now the worst farmer's wife in the history of farmers' wives.


What achievement are you most proud of?
Apart from the obvious answer of my boys, who I'm soooo proud of, this year I had two big achievements with my paper quilts. One, called Revealed 2 won a big award at The Festival of Quilts exhibition in Birmingham, UK. Also, a series of five paper quilt collages (boringly called 20/20, 10/10, 5/5, 2/2 and 1/1) made it through to the final of Quilt 2007 at the same exhibition. It's a huge, huge honour just to chosen. That was amazing.


What advice would you give women starting their own business?
Do what you love. If you put your heart and soul into something, it will shine through. Don't give up if you know you've got a good product. I was so low before I joined notonthehighstreet, but I knew I'd got a good product, so I modified it, made it more accessible and they sold well.

What's the biggest challenge you face in your work?
Probably getting enough time to do everything. I feel terribly guilty that my children don't live in a perfect home, with perfectly ironed clothes and a kitchen floor so clean you could eat off it.


What do you love to do in your free time?
I try to spend Sundays with the family and we'll go to the park or swimming or visiting friends. If I get time completely to myself, I love to shop!

What are you working on right now?
Right now I've got more sketchbooks to make for Etsy. I've also got an exhibition with a group of other textile artists in Ely Cathedral next year...I've not done much so far, but that's at the top of my never-ending 'to do' list.


What do you hope to achieve next?
Ohhh, so much! My short term goal is to get to 100 sales on Etsy. (I'm at 98 at time of writing!) I've also got plans to do a collaboration with another paper goods artist that I'm really excited about. Next year I'd like to start supplying my sketchbooks to indie and lifestyle shops. My long term goal is really as I mentioned previously; I'd like lusummers to be a household design name.