Interview with Loriann of Plumevine

I have been a huge fan of the exquisite Plumevine jewelery for some time now. Each one is not just beautiful, but also a small reminder that there is magic all around us.

So when Loriann agreed to do an interview with me, I was eager to learn more about her!
Here it is!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico to a third generation family of Spaniards with some Irish strands in the mix.

My childhood memories involve mostly long hours in offices. Being surrounded by desks, typewriters, photocopy machines, paper, tape, pens and all sorts of office paraphernalia. You'd be amazed just how quickly a child finds ways to entertain herself with such things.

I suppose having so much time to myself also became a wild breeding ground for the imagination. But there are also plenty of memories in sunny beaches, coastal islands and fishing trips.

It was a charming boy that got me to the other side of the world, here in the surreally beautiful land of trolls, dark winters and midnight suns.



Where do you find inspiration for your work?

A misty dream world where all majestic creatures imagined reside. Something very abstract and undefined that is very akin to nature, and those qualities about nature that make us believe in magic, such as rainbows, stars, the aurora borealis, crystals, iridescent sea creatures and flowers.

Antoni Gaudi has been a massive inspiration for me as well as the Art Nouveau period, and films like The Neverending Story and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.



How/when did you get started creating your unique jewelery?

I started working with wire and beads about six years ago. I did a series called "Elemental Necklaces", which was a collection of necklaces with colours, materials and symbols that were akin to each of the four elements. I wanted to make a bridge between faeries and nature, and items of power that people could wear on a regular basis. To act as a sort of reminder of the magic of life.

Later on I took a sculpting course to try out new things and get my hands in the earth. I did some pottery until I learned about other types of clays and the wide variety of things you can do with them. That's when I started to work on the technique for my current jewellery, but the concept took about a year to put together. I wanted to present something that I absolutely loved and I suppose that took a bit long. Then Plumevine was born in 2006.


What do you enjoy doing when not making jewelry?

In order to photograph the jewellery I got a really nice camera and have really enjoyed experimenting with it. Going around and just taking pictures, feels like bringing home a goody bag, for free!

I also love delving into raw food preparation and have been enjoying yoga lately. Just recently I started to work on dolls which is really addictive! And as those who read my blog might've noticed, I have a long-standing affinity for astrology.


You may find Plumevine on the web at: Plumevine.com
My blog "Naiad Dawns" can be found through: Naiad Dawns
Plumevine is also on Facebook for quick updates, at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plumevine/69710423366

Stamp Carving Class

I'm super excited to be teaching my very first stamp carving class at Pleasant Memories in Dublin, CA next Friday! The class is at 11am. And, if anyone is interested in joining in there are a few spots open still.

I've created kits that include everything you need to get started carving your own stamps (I'll soon have the kits available in my Etsy shop too!)
A select few of my stamps (a couple of my best sellers) are also available at Pleasant Memories now too!

!!Winner!!

I had planned on accompanying this post with photos of myself cutting names out, folding them up, and having my oldest son pull one out of a jar.
All of that did happen, I assure you, but the batteries in my camera ran out of juice and refused to let me take even one last picture!

None the less, the winner of the giveaway has been chosen!

And the winner is........Wabisabinaturals

Thanks to everyone who left such kind comments. They were really appreciated by both myself and Mary Ann!

And, If you didn't win, not to worry! This was just the first of many giveaways I plan to do on my blog!!

Fairy Garden Update

Now that Summer is in full swing my little garden has transformed a bit. I thought I'd share a few pictures I took a couple of weeks ago (yes, a couple weeks ago! With moving and trying to keep up with orders I hadn't found the time until now to share these! Thankfully this garden is actually located in my mother's yard, so the move didn't effect my keeping up with it!)

The Chamomile has taken over the space and seems to be really happy in this shady little corner of the yard. They've turned into giant bushes of delicate, fragrant flowers. And, although it's not visible from the photo, I'm happy to report that the maidenhair fern has begun to grow. Which tells me that my uprooting it, chopping it down to just a few stems and replanting over a few feet didn't kill it! Sadly, I can not say the same for the passionflower vine. It died soon after I transplanted it.

So, I didn't get as much planted here as I'd hoped. I wanted to add some ferns in the back, and maybe a stepping stone or two. I'll call it a work in progress, as are many things in my life....

Interview with Mary Ann Hudson of Rumpos (and GiveAway!)

I am delighted to share this interview with a very talented designer of childrens playscapes. Her creations are unique and inspire the imagination of the young an d old alike.



Tell us a bit about yourself

My name is Mary Ann Hudson and I am getting ready to celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary with my nerdy husband, Matt. We have a hilarious two-year-old son, Gus, who inspires us to use our imaginations every single day. My husband and I are originally from the midwest, but consider ourselves pacificwest for a a few years to complete graduate programs and are planning to return home to the rain and sea afterwards.

How did you get started creating your unique playscapes?

A dear friend wanted one for her super magical daughter, and though I had been making mostly clothes and quilts up to that point, her request really resonated with me. It makes sense, really--as a kid I was always making tiny worlds. I created dioramas, built elaborate fairy houses and bird cemetaries outside, made things for my dollhouse that I would spend hours with, collected minatures. As a "grown-up" I got an MFA in poetry--another way to make tiny worlds. That first playscape I made for my friend's daughter, in many ways, wasn't my first at all--it was just the first one using the materials and skills I had available to me then. I love to plan and imagine the little playscapes, and in my head there are always particular inhabitants and kinds of magic associated with each one. Then, when I give them away or someone acquires one for their family, I imagine that they make themselves new, waiting for their recipiants to imagine life into them all over again.

As far as the creation of them, specifically, I am able to reinterpret quilting, applique, and softie-building skills. I love that I can take skills that I've learned and then, in a way, free myself from those skills by "playing" in the making of these little worlds. For example, I love piecing and creating quilting designs, but it's very precise work that requires adhering to a certain skill set. However, in the playscapes, I can free-cut designs in both two and three dimensions, put everything together as I go, and free-motion quilt according to whims of texture and organic shape. So, those good skills got me started, but the playscapes go their own direction.

What most inspires your work?

Nature and the outdoors. I feel pretty strongly that I want these items to represent what we can find in the out-of-doors and to remind children of all ages how much possibility and play there is just outside our doors. I do incorporate the human and magical-being made into the playscapes, but with a light hand. For example, I love creating a pastoral/farm scenes because all of us have a connection to farms for our food and it is something important to teach our children about--but the emphasis is still on the natural world and the water, mud, and plants. I think that it's no wonder that children and children's poets and authors have populated the natural world with magical creatures and talking animals and adventures and quests--the outdoors is the normative backdrop for big ideas, possibility, imagination, and magic. Trees and fairy rings and flower-covered hillsides are infused with beauty, possibly, and real magic simply by being what they are. I would hope that the idea that we are all gorgeous and meaningful and magical simply by the virture of being ourselves would be something every child everywhere can learn.

What are you up to when you're not creating playscapes?

I am a full-time graduate student in a pediatric nurse practitioner program--from an MFA to a science career! I found this path via volunteering and realizing, with the help of some amazing mentors, that there was a calling I couldn't ignore in service to mamas and papas and their kids. I am also a mama, a writer, and walker/explorer. Anything else you'd like to share.

I really appreciate the opportunity to share what I do and to participate in a culture of handmade. I feel really passionately about keeping my family's resources local, handmade, repurposed, recycled, and low impact and I know that more and more families feel this way everyday. I think that kids "get" these kinds of values instinctively and that every time we reinforce those integral values by introducing a handmade toy into the playroom or making something ourselves or making (beautifully) do, we are giving our kids room and love to take care of their planet and each other.

I am giving away, in honor of the opening of the camping season, my lakeside campsite playscape (pictured above)! My lovely blog hostess will explain the raffle rules and get your info to me for shipping. Even if you don't win, please visit my shop and enter 'Whimsy' in the "notes to seller" and get 10% off of your order until the end of June (or convo me for a custom listing that reflects the discount if you're not fond of paypal refunds)!

Thanks!

Please enter a comment at the bottom of this post to entered in the drawing. The winner will be chosen on June 8th at random. I will post the winner on the blog that day!

Non-Blogging

Just wanted to write a quick update as to where I've been lately.
I have had good intentions to blog, taken many photos of my boys and my crafting, made up blog entries in my head, but just haven't had the time to get 'em out here!

My family and I are unexpectedly moving this weekend! It's been a whirlwind for the last couple of weeks.

So, I'll be back at it as soon as I'm settled in our home :-)