The Artfully Voie de Vie Questionnaire
Can you tell us a little bit about your background before you started to design knit accessories?
I was a microbiologist for a consumer product testing company for several years. I have a degree in Biology and went to graduate school for Microbiology. After my son was born, I went back to work part-time for a few months then made the decision to be a stay at home mom full-time.
When was the moment you knew you wanted to become a knit designer?
After finishing and releasing my first design (which came about only because I couldn't find an existing pattern for what I wanted to make), I was completely hooked on designing.
I don't design things I wouldn't like to knit. It's why I haven't
done any sweater designs. I'm just not much of a sweater knitter; I like
small projects.
What
is your greatest knit (or design) memory?
I think it would be when I received my first acceptance from a
magazine. I'm pretty sure I embarrassed the hell out of my husband when I
read that e-mail. We were eating lunch out, and when I saw my acceptance
e-mail, I was really excited and I may have done a little dance. Maybe. (insert happy face)
If you
could have dinner with any three designers, dead or alive, who would they
be, and why?
I'm going to cheat and
pick 4 designers. My dinner dates would be Heather Zoppetti, Corrina
Ferguson, Katherine Vaughan (who is also my tech editor), and Barbara
Benson. We're all friends in real life, and I don't get to see them very
often, although I did see Heather and Corrina at Rhinebeck back in
October. I'm guessing our next
dinner will be at TNNA this coming summer.
Throw
or pick?
Throw.
It’s
your last object to design (or make). What is it, and what fiber do you use?
A big, epic, extremely difficult
lace shawl in a lace weight wool, cashmere, silk blend.
What
trait do you most admire in designers?
The
ability to think outside the box. You know when you see a new design and
you think it's the cleverest thing out there because the designer did
something totally interesting with the construction or with the stitch
pattern but it's not at all difficult? That.
Wilkes' latest shawl design, Brunswick, a sister design to her popular Holden shawl |
I
don't know if detest is the right word, but I have a pet peeve or two. One
of my biggest pet peeves is not using a tech editor for whatever reason. I
work at a yarn store and I have seen some patterns that have very clearly
not been tech edited, and it's so very, very frustrating to try to
convince a customer that not all patterns are as confusing, incorrect,
etc. It's hard to hear that a customer will never buy a pattern again
because of one bad experience with a pattern.
You are
recommending a design gift in response to a friend’s inquiry. Other than
your own designs (which, as everyone knows, are quite beautiful –
especially your moon shawls collection!), what would you recommend?
Right now, I'm really enamored with
Hilary Smith Callis' shawl-cowl hybrids: Starshower, Luna Viridis, and
Adama. I also really like a lot of Melissa Thomson's patterns. It's so
hard to choose. There are so many really awesome patterns out there!
I am so thrilled Mindy agreed to answer my questionnaire. I pinned her participating designs in the gift-a-long Pinterest boards, and pinning them was like catching up with old friends.
Do get on over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see all the goings on at the farm.
And, hey - deck those halls people! Preferably with DIY decorations for that unique touch.
Do get on over to Andrea's at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see all the goings on at the farm.
And, hey - deck those halls people! Preferably with DIY decorations for that unique touch.
Great interview. I didn't recognize her name but I have seen her logo while looking at patterns. Now I need to go look specifically at her patterns.
ReplyDeleteHer Holden Shawl is one of the most popular shawl patterns on Ravelry. I like her "moon" series of shawls - very lovely all of them.
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