She was so incredibly kind to interview me for her blog. She posted the interview you see below on her blog - Clay Space: Art Engineered. And be sure to check out her shop on Etsy. She has some truly beautiful pieces!
Although I hosted my very own giveaway and knew that any legitimate company would follow through on it, I suppose I never imagined that I myself would win a giveaway. Jen worked with me while she was designing my wreath, she certainly is a pleasure to work with! Here is the yarn wreath that Jen crafted up for me:
What is it that you make? Why? How did you get started doing it?
Babee Crafts started long before I had babies. I’ve always been a crafter. I come from a long line of crafters. When I was very little, my mom would have me clean the gallon milk jugs we collected for her mother, my grandma. Grandma would use the plastic handles to create kitchen dish washing scrubbies, which she sold in craft fairs all over western Michigan. My mom sewed. She sat me down at a sewing machine when I was eight to stitch my first skirt, and I’ve been crafting and sewing ever since.
Before my first son was born (he’s now 2 1/2), I painted the walls of his nursery with woodland animals – bears, birds, and bees. The name Babee Crafts comes from his room, from painting that room with my husband in preparation for his arrival. My son loves the smiling bee that greets him as he walks into his room. There was something so creative, so personal, so fun in hand painting the walls of his nursery that I was inspired to find ways to help others share that gift. I strive to find creative, hand-crafted ways to celebrate the arrival of a new life.
Recently, I’ve gone organic, focusing my attention on creating baby gifts that are not only adorable but created using organic cotton and eco-friendly dyes. What better way to welcome a new little life into our world than by doing so with a gift that is better for our world.
What is it that drives you to create?
There’s something so satisfying about working with your hands, about seeing a project that you’ve imagined come to life before you. My shop is not my full time job. I am a high school English teacher, and I absolutely love my job. But teaching can often be very intangible – you don’t always know if and how you’ve helped a person grow. Crafting is tangible. I made this. And I can help someone else bring joy, celebrate a special moment, by passing this craft along. How cool is that!
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
In addition to crafting and teaching, I’m also a technology junkie. I twitter. I Facebook. I blog. But I don’t think all these interests are separate. I think they all are rooted in a similar need to create. I began teaching English because I love to read, and more so, love to write. I love technology because it gave me an audience for my writing. Writing is a craft. Ultimately, I see myself as a crafter. I just have a number of different ways that I share my crafts.
Where do you envision yourself 10 years from now?
I hope in ten years that my life is not all that different than it is now. I know that it might look different, but I hope that my priorities are the same. I look forward to sharing my love of crafting with my sons, now 2 1/2 and 7 months. My older son already loves to build and shape his world. He’s got an “art” table in the corner of our dining room with a crate full of finger paints, play dough, markers, feathers, and his favorite, fluffy pom-poms. He loves to declare that it’s time for “art class,” meaning time for me to grab a seat with him at his table and draw. I hope that I can nurture his creativity and that of his younger brother in the coming years. I hope that in ten years my boys still love creating, love music, love taking risks and not being afraid of mistakes in order to create something magical.
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