With great excitement we introduce you to a very talented artist this week. Nicole Angell of Enchanted Craft possesses an amazing talent for fine art painting.

She operates her shop with her mother Gigi and the combination of both their talents in one shop gives you so much to choose from. Fine art, paintings, sculpture, knitting, crochet, sewing all under one roof. Be sure to also see her website showcasing her wall murals.

Please enjoy the interview, leave Nicole (Nick) and her mother (Gigi) a comment, and then use the Share tools to Spread the Zibbet Love!

1. Tell us a bit about yourself?

   We are a daughter (Nick) and mother (Gigi) team living, creating, working, and traveling together. Gigi is originally from Austria and came to this country in the 60’s looking for a new life. She taught herself English from everyday life. As a child in Austria Gigi was a ‘tom boy’ but also learned all the ‘appropriate’ skills for a girl in post World War II Europe. She is a skilled knitter, crocheter,  and cross stitcher. I am astounded at her skill at these fiber arts. Within our shop you can see her knitted and crochet creations. Often I chart the original design and then Gigi brings it to life. Mother (of course) taught me many of my first skills.

   I (Nick) was born in California and was defiantly a ‘Tom Boy’ right from the beginning. My Dad let me ‘help’ him working on cars, woodworking, electronics, as soon as I was able to toddle around the garage. My wonderful mother taught me to love crafting, sewing, and all the skills she knew. Both parents encouraged me to try everything at least twice. And my Dad always said ‘practice makes perfect’. I started getting ‘serious’ with my painting while I was in high school- but my always practical parents insisted on my majoring in Biology while in college. But like ‘kids everywhere’ I not only focused on my studies but expanded into another area of the arts- Theater. I still adore the theater- where else can you use every skill under the sun in just one place? Those skills I took with me to all of my jobs. One place I used every one of my skills was building Mardi Gras Floats in Mobile, Alabama.  I worked for A & V Mystic Builders for 14 years, until I moved away.

2. Apart from being ‘creative’ what do you do?

   I am the ‘man of the house’ (haha) so I take care of everything around the house. Actually I am a certified teacher (Biology, Life Science, English, Reading) and taught for 3 years in Florida, but cutbacks laid me off. We moved then to Dahlonega, Georgia which is in the mountains. Here both Gigi and I spend time hiking, gardening, and traveling. I also love building out of wood. Last year I built a queen sized platform bed that has drawers and storage underneath. To make it easier to move it breaks down into 3 separate ‘benches’ on wheels!

3. What inspires you to do the kind of work you do?

   We both are inspired by the ‘natural world’- but if you look at our home and shop you would see that fantasy, magic, and science fiction pop up everywhere! Popular culture influences what we have in our shop, but our home reflects more of what we love. My painting skills allows us to have themed rooms. The craft room is Egyptian, my bedroom is the inside of a castle, Gigi’s bathroom is Chinese and my bathroom has a sunken ship. We sometimes say ‘Everything inspires us!’

4. Do you look up to anyone? Who? Why?

   Each other! We are a funny pair- each of us look up to the other. I admire my Mom (Gigi) because she has not only taught herself, but me as well. I also adore her tenacity, strength, and humor. Gigi says ‘I look up to my daughter- because not only does she seem to know it all, but she can explain it as well.’

5. What other passions do you have in your life?

   We love the ‘great outdoors’ and history. I pull a small Travel Trailer and we use it to visit historic sites and parks. We love the beauty of our State and National parks- you never know what wonderful creature, flower, or view one might spot. Last year we once again visited Colonial Williamsburg and fell in love all over again with America’s early years. Neither one of us like the hurly burly of cities or amusement parks, so our vacations center around nature and history. I wish we could spend more time traveling, but when you are on the road in a very tiny trailer with a cat and a bird you can’t spend more than 2 months out at a time.

6. What do you like most about Zibbet?

   I love the clean, user friendly aspects of the site. The staff is right there as part of the site and the community. Zibbet acts as a family- the perfect ‘Christmas Card’ family. You see it every day. The kind and happy ‘grandparents’; the hard working cheerful ‘parents’; the crazy ‘kids’ and of course the family pet. The range of skills and abilities ensures that if you need help, a smile, a laugh, or some odd bit of info you will find it within our community. Our community is what sets us apart from all other venues.

7. What ‘new’ things would you like to see added to Zibbet?

   I would love to see a ‘mini shop’ app that we could imbed into other websites such as Facebook or our private sites. I also am looking forward to the ‘guest checkout’- too many people are sick of having to sign up to use sites and turn away before purchasing when they have to have an account. Gigi wishes for a cleaner tracking of item views, and how people favorite our items or shop. If we could see how each item is viewed as ‘day & month’ we could follow the trends within the store easier.

8. How do you promote your work?

   I stay active online promoting not only our work, but Zibbet as well. I am active on Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon. I also have my own website that I update fairly often. I am active in the Z-Box- in fact I just had one sent to my friend in Alabama as a ‘pick me up’. This past year we attempted a few ‘give-aways’ in some blogs, but they didn’t give any return. For this upcoming year I am also scouting out some local clubs to become active in and hopefully generate business for not only our shop, but Zibbet as a whole. I also hand out business cards locally to people I meet- often in craft stores.

9. How would you recommend other Zibbeters make the most of Zibbet.com?

   All Zibbeters need to be active in the Zibbet community- our community is there to give ideas, help with problems, be inspirational, and keep everyone at the front of new culture. Keep updating your shop, either move things around or list new ones often.

10. In the future I’d like to be…

    RICH… just kidding. Money isn’t everything in life. I would truly love is to be recognized for my abilities- including my teaching.

Tags: Enchanted Craft, Featured Zibbeters