Welcome to the very first of many features & giveaways to be hosted on the
PuNk rAwK pUrL Blog! I must say, that as much as I enjoy answering interview questions,
I am ecstatic to finally be sitting in the interviewer seat.
So, without further ado, let's get to know our first guest...
I am so very pleased to introduce you to the super awesome Julie from the fabulous vintage shop, Restless Hearts. Julie is also one-half of the perpetually pretty blog, Yonder! Julie and I met on the terrific Twitter, and it was an instantaneous mutual-funny-girl-crafty-blogger-etsy-shop-crush. She is an über sweet and multi-talented lady! I hope that you enjoy reading about Julie, her shop, blog, & enter to win the pretty pretty prize that Julie is offering.
T:: Yonder /Restless Hearts... Tell us a little about the people /shops behind Yonder the Blog.
J:: Yonder is made up of Megon and me. Megon and I met when we lived in St. Louis together. I think at the time I was 23 and Megon was a few years younger. We've been friends since and have worked together on different projects through the years. In St. Louis, we had a zine called "what's up bra?" when we were both involved in the punk/hardcore scene there. In Austin, we both worked together as Juggernaut, which was an accessory line. Today, we live 1,222 miles apart and we started Yonder as a way to keep in touch. The blog has become something bigger than I ever imagined it to be. In my head, I thought, "oh yeah, it'd be cool to have something to keep in touch visually" I never imagined we'd be doing features and giveaways for amazing artists. The whole process is something I love. I love using the blog as a tool to meet new people and as a tool to reach people. I try to blog everyday. It keeps me grounded and focused. I started restless hearts when I was living in Austin. I'd always wanted to have an Etsy shop and originally my shop was handmade items for people who rode bicycles. I didn't have a car and I made bicycle influenced accessories like belt pouches and top tube pads. I didn't have much success with it, and started to get more streamlined in my approach to Etsy. The handmade items I have in my shop now are more sophisticated and I'm happy with that.
☛ Yonder is now offering super affordable sponsor spots. ☚
J:: I'd have to say a big cat or a giraffe. I've always been attracted to animals from the safari and I LOVE cats!! If I could have a cheetah and it wouldn't kill me, I would. They are so cute!! The idea of having a cheetah kitten that has paws bigger than my hands is just too much!!
T:: You've lived in a lot of different cities. Take your favorite thing about each place that you've lived & create your ideal city. Tell us about it. What would the name of this awesome town be?
J:: Wow, that's hard! Well, to start off with, I've lived in St. Louis, Austin, Boston, Orlando and Columbia. The thing I loved most in Boston was the transportation. It was easy to get around, which was nice. I loved the friendly southern mentality of Austin. It was such a joy talking with people there because they are so laid back and easy going. Orlando had AMAZING weather. It never really got hot there and when you did get hot, there was a nice breeze to cool you off. I also loved the hanging moss trees and all the water. St. Louis has a lot of history and old, old buildings. They are actually pretty great about not tearing things down too quickly which I love. Columbia is small and I like that. It's easy to get around, it's safe, it's clean. I think the name would be the hardest to come up with--I'm so bad at naming things! In Florida, there is a place in between Tampa and Orlando called Orlampa and we always used to think it was funny to try to come up with new city names by combining them. So maybe, St. Loustinbosandombia, haha?
T:: Next lifetime.... who, what, and where do you want to be?
J:: Whew, let's see. I want to be everything I am now, but better. It's scary to think that my next lifetime would be in the future, but it might be. I've always thought of going back in time, but never really had a desire to go into the future very far. I would definitely be a woman, but perhaps instead of getting as many tattoos next time, I could try a life without any. Maybe I could try a life totally opposite of my own. No tattoos, no college, no travelling. Wait a minute, this is sounding boring. Or what if I could try a life that is mine, but amplified? Extreme tattoos, brick and mortar shop, travelling like crazy. I don't know. I have a lot to learn, but I don't know what aspects of my next life would help me to learn those lessons. It's hard to say.
T:: You are quite the crafty lady... who runs a vintage shop on Etsy. You've been sneaky with a few handmade goodies in your shop (recycled map garland and some adorable bunting napkins). Tell us about you as a craftsperson. & Might you have any plans to expand your handmade talents into a similar entrepreneurial venture?
J:: I'm what you call a dabbler. I was in art school for 8 long years and my major is, are you ready for this...fine art. Which means, I didn't have to pick any emphasis. I loved this, but of course, it just perpetuates my inability to focus on making one kind of thing. That's really my biggest battle right now; focusing on one kind of craft. Ever since I graduated from school in 2006, I've been trying to figure out what kind of crafting will allow my attention to flourish. So far, I've tried a lot of things, but I get so impatient so quickly that it's off to another project soon thereafter. This month, I'm forcing myself to focus on an idea I've come up with. The hope is to create a project that I won't lose interest in, and one that will be able to provide a portfolio strong enough with which to create a new shop. The whole reason I wanted to get into Etsy in the first place was to sell MY creations to the world. I've loved selling vintage, don't get me wrong, but I really wanna get back to making things again, and I want to be successful at it.
T:: Tell us 6 things that you are grateful for right this very minute?
J:: my health, the amount of love in my life, my experiences, my friends, my family and the opportunity that every day holds.
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| Golden Brooch w/ Perfectly Peach Pearl Center- 2.5" diameter |
Additional entries (please leave a separate comment for each)::
- Copy & Paste this Tweet:: { Enter the @restlesscrafts Giveaway on @punkrawkpurl to win a vintage brooch: http://bit.ly/lM1t6N }
- Facebook it
- Blog about this giveaway & include a link to your post here in your comment.
Check out both Restless Hearts Crafts & PuNk rAwK pUrL on My Girl Thursday this month!
