In Stitches
In honor of May Giveaway Day on Sew, Mama, Sew!, I have paired together with Olive Manna to bring you an awesome giveaway! What is May Giveaway Day?? Well, it’s your lucky day. It means boat loads (we’re talking hundreds) of sewing, knitting, handcrafted related giveaways. And because I love hosting giveaways (and winning them too), you just know I had to participate~!
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Natalie from Olive Manna is one of the most amazing bloggers I have met. She is a mother of three, designer of textiles, and a shop owner. You will be so impressed by all the things she sells in her shop, I sure was!! Some of the things you can find in there are journals, travel mugs, packaging goodies, melamine dishware, and FABRIC~! And you are in LUCK, we have paired together to bring you a FABRIC GIVEAWAY, but first, let’s get to know this amazing woman just a little bit better…
{Interview Questions}
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started Olive Manna?
I was a customer support rep for years, in retail, and in the office environment in various administrative or service positions, so it’s in my nature to make things happen for people. I started designing for the web in 2004 when someone saw my website and said, “Hey, you should DO this!” So I did.
In 2007 I was designing seamless patterns for website designs when someone said, “Hey, you should SELL these!” And I did. Then, in coming up with examples of how people could use the patterns, someone said, “You should MAKE these!”
The same thing happened with packaging supplies as I began ordering in bulk for myself and discovered other people who wanted the same things but didn’t want to pay the bulk prices. It all kind of snowballed for me.
The name was a curiously happy accident. It turns out my daughters’ names spell it out: Olivia (Olive), Emma (we call her M for short), and Audrey ANNA.
2. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I don’t really draw inspiration – it draws me! I think Jeffrey Zeldman said it fantastically recently in a brief [public] twitter conversation with Todd Dominey
> JZ: The conscious mind deals with what is in front of you, the unconscious processes what has yet to be behind you.
> TD: Unconscious mind also processes what the conscious mind can’t solve. Love those early morning eurekas. 🙂
> JZ: Too true! My few good ideas have come to me in a flash (i.e. the unconscious solved them and hid its rough drafts from me).
See, my unconscious mind deals with all that stuff for me and just doesn’t let me see the work at play, then one day, BAM!
Travel Mug | Shopping List Notebook | Melamine Plates
3. What is a day in the life of a twin mommy + shop owner like?
I wake up as late as I can because to say I’m not a morning person is to say there are a lot of blogs on the internet. I get Audrey Anna on the bus for school and then take some quiet time to read or check email and orders that came in overnight.
Then most of the day is picking up toys, playing peek-a-boo, puzzles, a little toddler wrestling, picking up toys, cleaning, preparing meals, picking up toys…
During naptime I process orders and get them in the mailbox before the mailman comes, and if there’s time I work on new designs or make more product to stock.
AJ comes home from school around the end of naptime. We have an afternoon snack and do homework together just before the twins get up. Then we play till Dad comes home.
Then it’s dinner, baths, and goofing around till the kids’ bedtime around 7:30, 8 on weekends. Later, I either run out to do late errands, groceries, etc. and stay up late designing new stuff, ordering supplies, and checking email one last time. I watch a late movie after Dad goes to sleep, and if I’m lucky, I go out early around midnight (hence the early morning angst)!
Divine Twine | Folded Notes | Clothespins
4. In your mind, what is the perfect way to decorate a package?
These days, with all the beautiful bright designs in gift wrap, a simple package really stands out. A plain white or kraft wrapping paper becomes a beautiful backdrop for decorating in other ways, like with colored or patterned tags and ribbons, or I like to experiment with different textures too, like jute twine instead of basic cotton. It’s how I started selling them.
There is no perfect way to do it, just something that’s different from everyone else. At showers, weddings, birthdays, I remember there was always one gift that seemed to be wrapped differently and I was always more curious about that one, couldn’t wait to open it, or didn’t want to open but just stared at the pretty packaging. I like to give that reaction now.
I especially love the look of a translucent paper over a pretty gift. It just begs to be opened!
Journal wrapped with Translucent Wrap + Orange Gingham Ribbon + Folded Gift Tags
Note Cards wrapped with Translucent Wrap + Ric Rac + Gift Tags
Melamine Platter wrapped with Gingham Wrap + Navy Twill Tape + Note Card clipped on with Goldenrod Painted Clothespin Clip
{Giveaway Details}
And now… here is the lovely dark purple FABRIC, which was created by Natalie, that you can win!
TWO full yards of eggplant pennants fabric on two loose conditions:
1. You have to use it! Don’t let it sit around in your fabric stash, afraid to touch it. 🙂
2. Share by blog or email to Natalie what you end up making with it.
{To Win}
1. Leave a comment with ideas for what you might do with the fabric if you win.
2. (For additional entries) Blog, Twitter, or Facebook about this giveaway and leave a separate comment with each link. If you Twitter, please use @sandyalamode and @olivemanna in your tweet so we can track them. And to make things extra easy, feel free to use this tweet: I just entered the @olivemanna totally sweet eggplant pennants fabric #GIVEAWAY on @sandyalamode! Now it’s your turn! http://bit.ly/dmXEPy
Will ship to U.S. and Canada. Giveaway ends on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 11:59PM CST. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be announced on this blog on Friday, May 21, 2010.
Thanks to all that entered this giveaway! Entries for this giveaway have been closed!
