Interview with My Bearded Pigeon from Etsy – Associated Content
There is lot of searching for vintage maps and then, sewing. Answering emails and packaging orders How do you want your craft and business to evolve? I am not sure. I never really had a business plan. Obviously I would like to reduce my (other) work
Mary Ciske of Dolls by Mary creates these wonderful classic Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, as well as traditional styles and custom orders. Her handcrafted dolls are available in two sizes – 15″ and 20″, and they are very reasonably priced at between $15 and $30. They’re available with different embroidered faces, skin and hair colors, and all of the dolls’ clothing is also handmade of crisp cotton fabric. My favorite thing is that they all have the traditional heart embroidered on their chests, just like the pair my mother made for me as a child.
Mary learned to sew from her mother when she was about 7 years old and she enjoys using those skills to make some extra cash. She takes orders for dolls on her Dolls by Mary website and she travels to nearby craft shows to display the dolls that creates at home in “a terrific sewing room.” The independence to make what she wants and work when she wants to are the best part of self employment for Mary, but she tells us her least favorite part is the unpredictable income. She wants to “keep the business small enough that I can handle it alone but large enough to make a little bit of extra $$” and says she’ll “continue making the dolls as long as doing so makes me happy and brings me some income.”
I am honored to have been asked to do the first video interview on Mommies Cafe, the community site where mommies get together online for a coffee break.
The interview goes into detail on how I got started in business and as an author, and includes some advice for other work at home moms. I had a lot of fun doing the interview, and I hope you’ll check it out.
Hi I’m Hannah Stevenson from While They Sleep Designs. I am wife to a great guy named Jeff (the handsome man in the green). And I am “Momma” to three little girls all under the age of two: Twin girls Laurel (green skirt) and Maisy (blue skirt, scowl on face) and our newest little one, Norah Jane (the sweetest cherub of a baby). Life is crazy over at our house as I’m sure most of you can imagine. But there is NEVER a dull moment and that’s the way we like it.
I love to sew, crochet, paint, bake. I look forward to learning to knit someday. My mom taught me how to sew on her old New Home sewing machine, but I never really had a passion for it until my babies were born. Now I can say that I am certifiably obsessed.
I love to create..but find it hard to do while my little munchkins are underfoot so I have learned that the three words “fast”, “easy” and “affordable” make me and everyone else around here very happy. That’s why I created my blog “While They Sleep“. It is the place to go for inspiration and projects you can do while your babes are sleeping (or destroying the living room).
I believe that everyone has within them the desire and ability to create. My goal is to inspire and encourage especially women to do just that! It is also my goal to help those who are new to sewing say to themselves “I can do this!” and learn a new skill or two along the way.
I also have an Etsy shop where some of my original patterns are sold. My goal is to produce projects that are beautiful and practical but also all fall under the rules of “Fast, Easy and Affordable”. Things you can actually get done “While They Sleep.”
I’m proud to introduce the newest pattern available in my Etsy shop: The Pod Swaddler. You can go to my shop for more details.
I do everything I do from a little corner of the kitchen. My husband is working full time and going to school at night so I usually get a lot of what I get done while he’s away and the girls are asleep. I look forward to someday having a room just for creating and doing projects with my girls. I also look forward to doing a lot more with creating patterns. My dream is to have my own pattern line someday. But I am happy with the pace of my shop and my blog right now. It keeps me busy but not too busy to enjoy these precious, fleeting years with my girls.
Here’s a sampling of what you can find on the blog:
The Table Runner Apron
