Me and my nephew...

So I realize that I didn't post all 100 things I'm thankful for...(last week was insane!) But here it is, the final 20!!

81. My mommy!! Happy Mothers Day Mom!!
82. My new iPhone!!
83. Getting a great present from my sister...thanks sis!
84. Getting lots of jewelry made this weekend...(again-thanks sis!)
85. A new haircut!
86. A talented mom who is able to sew!
87. My cousin's safe delivery of her third baby last week (after numerous complications).
88. Getting to go to the Cubs game this week (for free!)
89. The special birthday song that was sung to me by my nephew...cutest thing ever!
90. Getting my Etsy orders in the mail...it' like Christmas!
91. The month of May!
92. Getting pampered :)
93. Getting flowers.
94. Design magazines, books and blogs (I've found so many inspiring things reading others' blogs).
95. Being totally caught up on my laundry.
95. Going to the movies with friends.
96. My Dad...thanks for the fun time this weekend!
97. The fact that the Sex and the City movie is only two weeks away!!
98. My bloggin buddies!
99. For every day that I am given!
100. The fact that I have been so blessed by God with a terrific family and fabulous friends!

This weekend is Mothers Day and I plan on celebrating with my own mom (love you mommy!!)...I thought it fitting to do today's flickr find on mothers and children (or grandmothers and children). I even added a little extra something in honor of my own mother and grandmother. Happy Mothers Day Mom!!! I love you so much!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

I've been a busy little bee lately in my own shop, getting ready for my upcoming show at the end of this month!!

I've ordered a ton of supplies which I will be feverishly turning into jewelry and I've taken some time off at the end of the month to be able to concentrate on new pieces! I've got a number of new designs which I will be introducing at the show (and hopefully posting to my Etsy shop after the show-right now, all my inventory is going toward the show!).

I've also been working on setting up my display and have had my table set up in my living/dining room for the last month. It's almost there...I've just got a few more necklace and bracelet displays coming...

I just ordered my vinyl banner which will be going on the front (or behind) my table, I'm not quite sure what sort of set-up I'm going to be dealing with but I'm prepared to "Make It Work"!!! I should be receiving it next week and I'll be sure and post a picture of it when it comes! Here is the design...I'm super excited about it and can't wait to see it!! It's going to be 42" Wide x 24" High...

Last but not least, I received my Amy Butler fabric which my mom is making into a table skirt for me! Hopefully we can figure that out this weekend and get it done (right mom?).
Here is the fabric!

I'll definitely post pictures of the show after it's taken place so stay tuned for that! Wish me luck!!! I have a feeling I'm gonna need it!

Well, last month I was so busy that I skipped posting the designer of the month!! This month I want to make up for that in a big way! I decided to post my most favorite and, arguably, most influential modern design firms practicing today. Shelton Mindel and Associates is comprised of Lee Mindel and Peter Shelton, two architects whom I greatly respect and admire. All one has to do is look at one or two of their interiors to see why they deserve so much respect.

Their interiors are clean, uncluttered and distinctly light and inviting. Their signature look marries seamless architecture with incredible furnishings and art by design greats such as Prouve, Perriand, Royere, Kjaerholm, Jacobsen and Kahn (just to name a few). I think the reason I admire them so much is for this very reason. It's quite hard to find a design team which is so well versed in both the architecture of the house as well as the elements that go into the home. Shelton and Mindel seem to do this effortlessly. This incredible talent goes a long way in assuring that one is left with an overall sense of the space as a whole rather than the individual items that make up the space.

In addition to their design projects, Shelton and Mindel have also produced a plumbing line for Waterworks and a furniture line for Knoll. I'll do a post in the coming weeks on each of these lines and companies, but today, I wanted to focus on the beautiful architecture and interiors.

Here are just a few of the projects this incredible duo has produced throughout their partnership, and, if you are left wanting even more, I highly recommend visiting their gorgeous website.











































images from Architectural Digest

Congratulations to our winner in the JAC Jewelry Weekly Win It:

CINDY!!!!

She is the lucky winner of the beautiful pair of Biwa Stick Pearl Earrings from JAC Jewelry!!

There were six entries in the JAC Jewelry contest.

Thanks again to Janna for taking the time to do a wonderful interview and share a little more about her fabulous pieces as well as offer up a special prize for JLC Studio readers. Don't forget to check out her Etsy shop!! You're the best Janna!!

So I've been spending so much time at my home computer lately that I feel it's time to break down and purchase a new desk chair. Unfortunately, I have (as my dad would call it) "champagne taste" on a beer budget. If I had all the money in the world, these are a few of my favorite choices (a girl can dream, right?):

Of course, my all-time favorite has got to be the Herman Miller Aeron Chair (which I use at work). This is by far the most comfortable desk chair I've ever used!

The Axess Plus chair designed by Antonio Citterio for Vitra.

The Meda Chair designed by Alberto Meda also for Vitra.

Saarinen Executive Chair for Knoll.

MV9 Swivel Chair for HBF, I used this when I worked for them and it was actually very comfortable.

Eames Aluminum Group Management Chair for Herman Miller.

Eames Soft Pad Chair for Herman Miller.

Hudson Swivel Arm Chair for Emeco (this doesn't look that comfortable but is surprisingly not bad-one of our clients has one).

Fortunately for me, there are some great, affordable options from various companies. Some are pretty blatent copies (Target?) but others are cool original designs. Which one to get...this is my dilemma!

Chicago Office Chair from Target.

Gregor Desk Chair from Ikea.

Swivel Leather Desk Chair from West Elm.

Studio Office Chair from CB2.

Patrick Arm Chair also from Ikea.

Surf Office Chair also from CB2.

Tiburon Office Chair also from Target.

My Dad and me (way back when...check out that plaid chair baby!)

61. Getting to see my grandparents on Friday when they stopped while driving through to Michigan from Arizona (and the fact that they had a safe trip).
62. My new sofa (which was delivered Saturday) and the cheap (but good) movers I had deliver it!
63. Fun and challenging projects I get to work on both at work and in my side businesses.
64. My best friend (and her husband) who I soooo do not get to see enough!
65. My church and the great people who belong to it.
66. The smell of fresh cut grass.
67. Watching my niece and nephew play at the park, and playing with them (which I did today!).
68. Electricity!
69. A new haircut!
70. Having weeks of vacation saved up that I get to take off very soon!
71. Magazines...one of the restaurants we designed is on the cover of Chicago Magazine right now!!
72. Any music I can dance to (and some that I can't!).
73. A new little addition to our extended family...Congrats Derek and Lisa!!
74. Backpacking through the Appalacian Mountains (an experience I will never forget...
75. The amount of money I just saved on my most recent bead purchase (I got like half off a huge order!).
76. Finding a great bargain.
77. That I'm happy with who I am but have the ambition to improve and strive to reach the crazy goals I set for myself!
78. The fact that I've actually managed to keep in touch with some of the friends I had in high school...
79. My parent's dog, Cubby (I guess he's mine too...they had him when I lived there)!
80. My organizational skills.

Erin from Design for Mankind has done it again! Check out her fabulous E-zine (much along the lines of a great flickr find!) Kudos girl!!!

So this week has been crazy! My sister and I have had a lot of work in our shop, Wildwood Girls, so I've fallen down on posting (and reading other blogs!). I'm exhausted (but in a good way!).

Today's Flickr find could be titled: "What Is That"? These photos definitely made me look twice...so cool! Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

41. Getting a seat on the el! (espcially nice if I get one both ways on all four trains that I ride every day!! I have to switch from the brown to red and vice versa)
42. Amazing architecture and the fabulous engineers that figure out how to build it! (I'm totally amazed at highways, who plans and builds these things!!??)
43. Chirping birds (unless they're outside my window when I'm trying to sleep!)
44. The smell of lilacs...my parents used to have a tree in their back yard and I could smell it from my bedroom window!
45. Wildwood Girls!!!
46. polaroids
47. Birthday Cake!!
48. holidays
49. white out
50. graphic design
51. salad
52. sarcasm
53. architectural scales and tape measures
54. fabric!!!
55. facebook and myspace
56. bead stores (dangerous places!!)
57. paisleys
58. the internet
59. re-usable bags being sold at grocery stores (ban plastic!)
60. great movies and t.v. shows

Today's Weekly Win It artist is another fabulous jewelry maker (and also a JLC Studio sponsor)! I'm so excited to introduce you to Janna from jaC Jewelry!

Janna makes one-of-a-kind, absolutely beautiful pieces featuring a number of different materials. She specializes in making custom pieces and really enjoys creating jewelry on request for any occasion! I absolutely love her pieces and am very impressed with the delicate quality I see in everything she has to offer!! My favorites are the items she makes using gorgeous and unique pearls (that's why I'm super-excited for today's give-away!!). Let's take a look at how Janna got into making jewelry and learn a little bit more about her shop and her inspirations!

Your jewelry pieces are absolutely gorgeous, how long have you been creating your fabulous pieces? In 2004, while on vacation visiting family, I went to a bead store with my aunt, and walked out of there with a big bag of beads… I came home and made my first piece from those beads immediately.

I made a few more pieces after that, but did not get absolutely addicted to jewelry-making until a year and a half ago, during my (now) husband’s first deployment overseas. Now, I’m hooked and don’t plan on stopping any time soon!

Where did you learn your craft? Have you ever taken any classes or had any training? I have not taken any classes – I started with a strand of beads, beading wire and a clasp, and just went from there, much the same way I learned how to crochet. Back in college, I was in Barnes and Noble once, and saw a beautiful afghan on a cover of a crocheting book. So, I said to myself: “Oh, that looks neat – I am going to make one!” I bought that book and figured out how to crochet an afghan. It would have been much easier to start with a scarf, but I made my first scarf after I made six or seven blankets. Unlike crocheting books, I have yet to own a book on jewelry-making. I learn the best by doing, so I am constantly experimenting with different techniques and continuing to hone my jewelry-making skills!


What are your favorite materials to work with? Favorite type of jewelry to create? I make my creations with gems and semi-precious stones, freshwater pearls, sterling silver, and gold-plated and brass findings. Freshwater pearls are my most favorite (especially keshi and biwa stick pearls). I have pearls in every single shape, color and type that you can possibly imagine! However, I use all types of stones to be fair to the other beads. :)

Also, I absolutely LOVE Bali sterling silver beads (especially frame beads) and toggle clasps!

I don’t really have a favorite type of jewelry – I love making all of it! I started with necklaces, moved on to bracelets, and then finally earrings. I like to wear everything equally; maybe that’s why I like making it all!

You create customized bridal jewelry for the entire bridal party…when did you start offering this service and how did you get into it? After designing and making wedding favors, place cards and thank you cards for my own wedding, I thought it would be a great idea to offer customized bridal accessories to match a wedding theme. With encouragement and sage advice from my wonderful husband, I created a website and started selling both “regular” jewelry and my wedding creations! One of my objectives is to create versatile designs that people are able to wear with multiple outfits, styles and occasions. Specifically with bridal designs, my goal is to create versatile pieces that the bridal party will be able to wear long after the wedding, and this aspect appeals to the brides, as well as bridesmaids. My latest bridal order will be traveling to Canada for the wedding!


Do you sell your jewelry at places other than Etsy? Yes, in addition to Etsy, I sell my jewelry on my personal website (jacscreations.com) and home parties. I also take the jewelry to offices around the winter holidays. Several months ago, the owner of the beauty salon I go to generously offered me to have a show there, and that was great! I also do custom orders on request. Whenever I work on jewelry designs, I always imagine them a part of an outfit, so I thought it would be great to make pieces on request for people who want them to match certain outfits or colors. As it turns out, sometimes it works the opposite way - one of my friends is a huge fan of jaC jewelry; she buys necklaces from me first, and then buys outfits to match them!

Where do you get inspiration for your beautiful designs? Most of the time, I buy the beads and findings that I think are gorgeous, without any idea for a design in mind. Combining several colors is as far as I will go when coming up with ideas for designs. Then, I put them together and discover that the most unexpected combinations look the best together!


This is fabulous!! I'm always interested in finding out a little more about a fellow jewelry maker! I'm very impressed with Janna's wonderful jewelry (and totally wish I could enter this weeks give-away!). What is the give-away, you ask? It's this beautiful pair of pearl and crystal earrings!!!! They're absolutely stunning!

This weightless pair of earrings is so fantastically summery! They are made with white Biwa stick pearls (my favorite!), sterling silver components and Swarovski crystal bicones in clear, two shades of yellow and two shades of blue. They measure 2.25" from top to bottom (1.75" without the ear wires).

In order to enter to win these fabulous earrings, leave a comment on this post!!! Check here for contest rules and regulations.

Janna is also offering free domestic shipping for 10 days, beginning today, to any buyer that mentions JLC Studio! Just drop a note in the notes to seller section that you saw her creations here to take advantage of this offer!!

Thanks soooo much Janna for participating in the give-away as well as being a terrific sponsor! You're the best and so sweet too!

My niece and nephew

21. Kind and generous people! Thanks for all your comments everyone...you're the best!!!!!!!!
22. The smell of baking chocolate cookies!
23. Art and those who create it...
24. Being able to talk to my closest friend's about anything
25. Having a sense of humor
26. Terrific parents who have been married 32 years and have raised my sister and I to be well adjusted human beings!!
27. Getting two tax refunds...Whooo Hoooo!!! (I usually don't even get one!)
28. Great music and even better musicians
29. The ability to laugh at myself when I do something stupid
30. My new printer!!
31. The terrific people who have participated in my Weekly Win It series...you guys rock!
32. The sound of a baby or little kid laughing (especially when being tickled!)
33. My love for grammer and writing
34. Drawing and sketching
35. Shopping
36. Etsy!!
37. My great relationship with my Dad and the fact that we know what each other is going to say when we make fun of things we see on t.v. (we're a couple of smart aleck's-same sense of humor!)
38. Coffee!!!!!!
39. My handwriting (architecturally inspired!)
40. The fact that my mom and I have grown closer over the past few years and have a lot more in common! She got me into jewelry making!!

Congratulations to the winner in the Rik Rak give-away!!!! The lucky reader is:

MATILDA SUE!!!!!!!

Yay! I'll be sending you an email to let you know you're the lucky winner!

There were 20 entries (less two for Rik Rak and myself!)

Be sure to check out this week's give-away!!

So it's officially my 100th post, I can't even believe it! I've been blogging since December of 2007 and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would enjoy it so much! I've met some truly amazing people through this great community and look forward to the many more I hope to come in contact with! In honor of my 100th post, I decided to list 100 things I'm grateful for. I'm going to post twenty per day (in no particular order) so as not to overwhelm you lovely readers! So sit back, relax, and join me in thinking about all those things/people/thoughts you are most thankful for!

One Through Twenty!!
1. GOD!!!
2. Family (especially my niece and nephew!)
3. Friends and acquaintances
4. My job as an interior designer
5. Creativity and ambition
6. My apartment!
7. Delicious food.
8. Jewelry!
9. A good book
10. My city!!
11. My car
12. My blog (and my lovely readers...LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!)
13. My sister who is my best friend and also my business partner
14. AutoCAD!! (Yes, I'm wierd!)
15. Living in a place where there are four seasons and being gratful for each new season to arrive!
16. Flowers, gardens, plants, trees, NATURE!
17. Sleep (my bed! Thanks Opa!!)
18. My grandparents (miss you Nana!!)
19. The beach
20. Health and happiness! (maybe this should have been near the top!?)

Ahhh...bed, how I love you...and sleep, sleep and I get along really well. These photos make me want to curl up for a long nap (which I wish I was doing right now!). Have a great weekend!!!

A while back (okay, quite a while!) the lovely Jennifer Squires contacted me to see if I'd be interested in doing a post featuring her fabulous contemporary photography. After looking at her Etsy shop as well as her website, I was more than elated to share her great pieces with all of you! She has a great eye for composition and is also very adept at capturing gorgeous still life images! I was also happy to see that she has a section on her website featuring portraits of babies ('cause I'm a sucker for the little ones-I actually think this is my favorite series from her!!). Here is just a small collection of my favorites! Be sure to check out her shop as she is currently running a promotion (Buy one 8" x 10", get one FREE)for Earth Day! Check it out soon though because the offer ends tomorrow!!

This week I'm sooooo excited to welcome the Weekly Win It Etsian for a few reasons! First, she was the Etsy featured seller yesterday (what timing!). Second, she makes sustainable items using repurposed fabrics (perfect for Earthday Week!) and third, I am the lucky owner of one of her fabulous pieces so I can speak from first-hand knowledge when I tell you how terrific her items are. Please help me welcome Kristal from Rik Rak!


I absolutely love Kristal's colorful and graphic designs and her sewn pieces are beautiful...the stitching is perfect and so neat and tailored (trust me!). I love the creativity she seems to have in spades and it seems that her son has taken after her as well! Kristal uses repurposed fabrics to create new, one-of-a-kind wallets, clutches, bibs, blankets, cards, the list goes on and on...Let's get to know Kristal a little bit better, shall we?

How did you learn your craft and how long have you been sewing? My wonderful grandmother was a master quilter & craftsperson, so I was always surrounded by her beautiful work when visiting her as a child & young adult. I'd count her careful construction of materials as the seed for my own work. When she passed away several years ago, the fabric I inherited from her collection became the first materials I used for my early rikrak projects, and really helped me to push my sewing - which I had been doing on and off for the past few years - into a wonderful new realm.

Where do you do your crafting? How much fabric do you have “collected”? Oh, my poor husband! Our home is seemingly lined with shelves stuffed abundantly full of vintage fabrics and crafting gear. I work from home, when my son's away at school, and I also spend many evenings a week with my sewing machine at the dining room table, designing and creating while my wonderful husband reads books aloud for us both to enjoy!


You have such a great eye for fun and bright colors as well as composition and design in your shop as a whole…tell us about your background? Thanks so much! As I mentioned, my grandmother's traditional work was really my initial inspiration, sort of a blueprint for how a quilter - or craft maker - works. So, I suppose my designs come out of a respect for an old-fashioned sensibility, but mix in my love of simple lines and bright flashes of colour that I’ve long loved in Scandinavian and Japanese design in particular. I just love being able to showcase the amazing, historical fabrics that I’ve come across in fun & functional wares for everyday use! Seems to me that a tiny, well-place detail will always mean more in a design than a complex pattern. And I think beautiful vintage fabrics lend themselves so well to that!

My artistic background was fostered from a young age by my fabulous & amazing parents. They taught me a wonderful appreciation for handicraft (they cherished antiques & the stories behind handicrafts) and making things ourselves. I’m so thankful that they gave me the room to experiement with my own creativity and space to think & problem solve creatively.

You use a lot of vintage fabrics in your designs, what do you like best about vintage fabric and how do you find these fabulous patterns? (I’m not asking for sources…just how you came to be interested in using them and how you search them out!) By being steeped in old crafting traditions, I came to really respect the wonderful age-old ideal of repurposing, re-using, and re-inventing materials born once upon a time out of economic need, but now used as more of a kind of ethical statement, I suppose, on the value of respecting where we've come from, and where our materials have come from. This sense of history and nostalgia is important for me in my work, and it allows me to apply older materials and historical methods to new designs and new aesthetic approaches. I am lucky to have friends and family who keep an eye out for great vintage fabrics, maybe their aunt’s apron, or a nostalgic bedsheet – and send them my way! Thanks, nicies! Sometimes folks that I create custom works for will actually have special, nostalgic fabric that they’d like me to incorporate into a project for them. I just adore doing that!


I absolutely LOVE the photographic cards featuring photos taken by your already talented 3 year old! He takes better photos than most adults! Tell us a little about them... Thanks so much, JLC! He just loves taking photos! From a very young age, he seemed particularly interested in using the camera and being careful with it. My husband and I are both keen photographers, so the fact that we always have a camera on us seemed to encourage his avid love of it! Since he is so little, his wonderful, unique angles, and the objects he was interested in recording were of great fascination to me. I just love seeing his fun ideas and what appeals to his own artistic eye! And since digital is so prevalent – he can take 100s of photos with such minimal cost, so he can experiment and play with the camera for hours! I think it’s safe to say that his fun angles & look on life have inspired me in my own creative photography!

What is your favorite item to make and what is your best selling item? I really love making a wonderful range of quilted items. I think doing a broad range of projects is that part I love most! I’d have to say that my best selling items seem to be seasonally dependant. I’m lucky to also sell to over 40 brick and mortar stores now, and in general, I’d say my quilted vintage bibs, my quilted vintage wallets and my custom-designed baby playmats are my most popular items. And for the Holidays, certainly my rikrak felt stockings are my best sellers. It’s an exciting mystery for me what might come next!


I love it!! I absolutely love her fabulous pieces and highly recommend anything that she offers in her shop! Kristal has graciously offered one of her Sustainable Quilty Wallets in an array of fabric choices for one lucky JLC Studio reader to win!


I own one of these and, let me tell ya, they're absolutely gorgeous and the perfect size to hold business cards or that extra change floating around in the bottom of your bag!! The winner will get to choose their fabric from the group of available fabrics in her listing. As always, shipping will be free to winners in North America, international winners will have to pay a small fee...Please check here for contest rules and regulations!

Thank you so much Kristal for your fabulous interview and great give-away prize!! You have been soo nice to get to know!!

I totally have to post this fabluous site I came across on A Cup Of Jo! One of our client's has an art series based on this idea but I like this site even more! It's called Young Me-Now Me, it's a great site where people can upload a photo of themselves as a child along with a matching photo of them taken in the same pose as an adult...this is such a great way to capture how a person (and photography) has changed over the years! Check it out for yourselves but here are a few of my favorites!

Congratulations to the winner in this week's Weekly Win It give-away from our featured shop Awkward!!

JAE

Jae will be receiving a beautiful hand-knit wrist cuff in her choice of color!!

FYI-I entered in the number of entries (less one for Melissa, last week's winner and a double-for some reason) into the Random.Org integer generator.

Thanks again to the lovely Bran from Awkward! Thank you so much for your generous gift and taking the time to tell us more about your shop and your beautiful items!!

That's right! I'm doing a give away on a fellow Etsian's blog. Check out Texas Tesla's blog to enter the contest!! It runs until this Friday! I'm also running a special promo during the contest but you need to check out her blog for details!! Here is a sneak peek of what is being offered up!
Giallo Sun Earrings

Thanks Texas Tesla!!!!

I must admit, I'm not much of a swimmer...but I do love to be in or around water. I love to hear the soft splash of it running through a brook or river and I am totally mesmerized by water lapping at my feet whenever I visit the ocean or lake. I could sit all day and listen to waves crashing against the shore, there is something so peaceful and relaxing about that sound. It makes me feel closer to God to see the awesome power and breadth of a huge body of water and to remember how small we are, yet still so important to Him!

On that note, today's flickr find is about water...it seems like there are endless photos of water and people enjoying water posted on flickr but these are just a few of my favorites! The way people capture this pure and natural element on film is breathtaking and amazing...and I think that's proven in these photos! Have a fabulous weekend everyone and thanks for reading and all your wonderful comments! They really make my day (even if I don't get to comment back right away!)!!!

I absolutely LOVE music...I can't live without it, and, as you can see from above, I listen to all types! I don't really even think I can work, design or create without it...my mind wanders too much when it's completely quiet (I don't think my boss gets this about me!). When I saw a post by Rachel on Black Eiffel about "spring cleaning" her iTunes, and her request for people to share their top five songs, I was inspired to do the same here! So, here are my top five (from my most played list):

1. Sand in My Shoes-Dido (Hani Num Mixshow-Dance Mix)
2. When the Dawn Breaks-Narcotic Thrust
3. Starlight-Muse (I don't know why this isn't my top-I listen to it constantly!)
4. Seven Days in Sunny June-Jamiroquai
5. Stranger Than Fiction-Bad Religion

(Yeah, the top songs are a combo of dance music and alternative...that's just how I roll...)

Okay, I want to know what all of your top fives are! Leave a comment with the five most played songs from your iTunes list so we can all see what sort of music everyone listens to!! Don't be shy!

Today's fabulous Weekly Win It Etsian is Bran from Awkward! Bran makes amazing knit pieces that I only wish I could create! They are absolutely ethereal and beautiful!

I haven't the patience for anything involving needles, be it embroidery, crochet, needlepoint or knitting. I'm not sure what it is but my mother has tried to foster that interest in me to no avail. Fortunately, there are plenty of artists out there who can work some magic with a needle and Bran happens to be one of them. Her delicate scarves are my favorite and I am in awe at the beautiful hand spun yarn that she offers in her shop (makes me wish I could knit!). Let's meet this great artist and learn a little more about her and her craft!

Where did you learn how to knit? How long have you been creating your beautiful pieces? I taught myself to knit in 2001 or 2002, because I wanted to make my baby sister a Harry Potter scarf. The bad bit about learning from a book was that I learned to do it almost completely backwards, and somehow, for months, I could only knit in the round, with double-pointed needles (that’s the technique used to make things like hats without any seams), because otherwise I would twist every stitch.

After I took up spinning, I had a much wider assortment of wools and silks and exotic fibers to work with, which inspired me to create more elaborate pieces. I’ve never been comfortable knitting from patterns (something I’ve only learned to do recently), but I’m very enchanted with learning new techniques and then using those techniques to create something on a whim, or by memory.

You sell yarn in your shop…do you make this yourself, and, if so, tell us a little bit about the process? All the yarn up in my shop currently is handspun, and made by me. For the most part, I spin from commercial top and roving, which is prepared fiber—washed, sometimes dyed, and combed. Sometimes I make my own blends with handcards, which is intensely time consuming. And even when the wool is commercially blended, it still requires further preparation by hand before it’s ready to spin.

I often make plied yarns, which means that in order to make a 100-yard skein of handspun, I have to spin 200 yards of singles and then put them together—the same 100 yards passes through my hands two or three times before it’s done!

As a final step, I gently soak the yarn in a wash to relax the fibers and set the twist, which leaves the finished yarn fluffy and ready to knit with.



I have to ask, what was the inspiration for your shop name? When I was first learning to spin, I was extremely concerned with the quality of the yarn I made, and very interested in getting yarn that would knit and wear well. I noticed that other spinners who felt that the handspun yarn in knitting shops wasn’t up to their standards would describe it as “young” or “awkward,” and was completely mortified at the possibility of drawing that sort of criticism—so I coped by spending two years refining my skills before offering my own work, and then adopting “awkward” as my business name, so that someone could remark “This is an awkward design” without being disparaging at all, and in fact responding to it positively. Apparently I was hoping to create as much confusion as possible.

What made you decide to start selling your items on Etsy? After refining my craft to the point where I felt comfortable with it, I became smitten with the idea of mitten-funded travel. Etsy seemed like a good place to develop a microbusiness without neglecting the professional aspects of running one—or compromising the nonsense and idealism that motivates it.

As I’ve gone on with Etsy (I’ve only been there for a couple of months) I’ve become really fond of it, and of the community there, and the excitement of all the different shops working together to show each other off—things like treasuries and independent ideas such as your weekly contest.



How long does it take to finish one of your pieces?
Anywhere from about an hour to ages and ages. The scarves I make can take several hours to knit—the handspun ones can take more than 10-12 hours to spin and knit, because I design the yarn that goes into them.

What is your favorite thing to make and why? I like making open lacelike scarves, because they’re such a purely tactile process. Handspun yarn behaves differently from commercial yarn, often having more bounce and energy than comparable millspun yarn, and I like sneaking in any opportunity I can to spin for my own designs just so I have the excuse to knit with fine wools and tussah silk. Aside from scarves, my favorite thing in the whole wide world to knit right now is anything made with ridiculously tiny needles and little stitches.



Wow! So talented!! I just absolutely love the lace like quality of her scarves!!

Okay, Bran has graciously offered one of her beautiful hand knit Single Button Wristcuffs and the winner gets to choose the color!! So cool...these would look fabulous with a funky jacket or even with a short sleeved shirt! I love it!!!



Shipping on your prize will be included if the winner is in the U.S. There will be a small fee if the winner is international. Please check here for contest rules and regulations!!

Bran is also offering $5.00 off handspun yarn (excluding samplers) and scarves to all the JLC Studio readers. Just mention this blog contest in your message-to-seller space!! Don't forget to check out Bran's Etsy shop, Awkward, maybe you'll see something for Mother's Day!! Thank you so much Bran for your lovely interview and offer for this week's give-away!!

Sorry! I'm a little bit late with my post for the Weekly Win It winner for the free banner from Rio Oso Designs!!! Busy, busy!! But the lucky winner is:

ELASTIC WAIST BAND LADY!!!!!!!

Congratulations EWBL (I'm gonna call you that!). You will be receiving a totally custom made banner from Angie's shop! I will contact you via email so you can collect your prize...



FYI-I entered in the number of entries (less one for Melissa, last week's winner) into the Random.Org integer generator.

Don't forget to enter this weeks give-away!! Thanks!

As promised, here are the before and after shots of the project I posted about yesterday. I love how this space turned out and the client actually had a lot to do with the colors and furniture that was added (while I love what she went with, it's not typically our firm's style)...the architecture, however, is all us! I love the white mill work and trim against the dark wood flooring and crisp white stonework. And check out those lake views!!!!! This is one of our favorite buildings to work in (I think we're up to ten projects in this building alone!). Be sure to check back as I post more of the work I do at my "day job" and thanks for reading!!

Kitchen Before


Kitchen After