Friday, July 27, 2012
A chat with me :)
Hi everyone! I know it sounds ridicolous but I interviewed myself for the blog. No need to say more, so here you are. :)
Who's the creative mind behind beejoux?
My name is Teresa and I am 31 years old. I am italian but I am based in the Netherlands since 3 years and a half. I work as a freelance curator for contemporary art and I have a slight obsession for cuteness and handmade stuff. Besides art, which is my biggest passion, I have always been into music and I recently discovered roller derby. These things make my life pretty exciting lately, in all possible ways :)
My passion for handmade made me try this adventure: the temporary handmade shop Oplà. So far it's been a lot of fun and I really look forward to seeing if it could be something for me to consider as a “real” business.
When did you start creating and how did you discover your passion?
I think I have always been crafty, as far as I can remember. I started by crocheting with my granma and painted ceramics with my mother. But if I have to think about being conscious that I needed craft as an (almost) daily practice in my life, this happened around 2005 when I was studying visual arts and needed something playful to do in my free time. I started making lots of stuff with fimo when I was busy writing my thesis, to relax at night after a whole day of writing in front of my computer.
Which are your favourite materials?
Definetly resin and polymer clay. The possibilities with these materials are endless, especially when mixed with other materials like pigments, glitter, glass beads, and so on. Every now and then I get obsessed with something else, like crochet or shrink plastic, but so far my real long lasting relationships with materials are definely polymer clay (7 years) and resin (4 years). It's really exciting when you realise you improve every time when using a certain material.
How would you describe your creative process?
I would say it's really random. Sometimes it all happens really spontaneously. I find a little figurine in a flea market or vintage shop and think about making a jewel out of it. Sometimes I make a plan, writing exactly what I want to do on a notebook.
Where does your inspiration come from?
Art, movies, illustrations, cute stuff I see on the internet, songs, comics, nature, candyshops... the sky is the limit :)
What is craft for you? A hobby? Your profession? And are you happy with your current situation or would you like to change something?
I would say it's something more than a hobby, but not even close to a part time job. The time I spend on my crafty activity is not enough to make more out of it at the moment. And this is something I really want to change in the future, because I see a huge difference when I am able to dedicate some time to it. I create more, I sell more, and above all, I'm a lot happier. I sell online quite regularly, but not a lot. OplàMinishop is a great opportunity to deal with the handmade world in a professional way, not only with my own practice, but supporting other talented people. And I am loving every minute of it!
How would you describe your style?
Playful, colorful, happy. With some vintage touch.
Do you participate in crafty markets/fairs or do you only sell online?
I participate in crafty markets throughout the year, but I started being really selective about it. My items are really cheap so I need to choose markets which do not require a lot of initial costs to cover and which I know can be successfull. I tend to stick with a few markets a year that I know well and that have always been successful. Being on a market is always a lot of fun, but especially in winter it can be pretty intense, so I prefer to choose carefully.
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About
- Oplà Minishop
- Oplà is the next Minishop at Roodkapje, running from july 20th to sept 2nd. Oplà offers a selection of i(ndie)talian craft, to bring in Rotterdam a bunch of talented creative minds all the way from Italy!
Roodkapje
Oplà
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