Interview

1. Tell us a bit about yourself?

   I'm a West Coast transplant from Pennsylvania. I came to California when I was 3. My mom moved us out here to move to a place with more opportunity than the small town we come from. I'm a mother, to two boys.
   
   My Bachelors is in Interactive Media Design, which is a fancy name for web media. I've been creative all my life. I write, draw, sew, bead, sculpt. I started breeding sock monkeys in 2006, pregnant with my second son. My friends and family expected it to be a flash in the pan type thing, but I really took to it. By the middle of 2007, I had created my own pattern and my own distinct look in sock monkey breeding. 

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

   I help with fund raising at my son's school, which... actually requires some creativity. I cook. I love to bake. I usually make something yummy for the holidays. For Halloween I plan to make caramel apple bites. Same yummy as a caramel apple without the rough task of eating that giant gooey, sticky, apple. I really think there's very little in my life that doesn't involve creation in some way. And if it lacks that element, I'll find a way to make it happen. I also collect a few things... I'm into cars, football, odd comics, and classic toys.

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

   I love making stuff. I can't imagine any days in my life where I wasn't making something or thinking about something new to make. When I was really small, I was making believe, and now I constantly think of new things to make and do. I will see something that will inspire me, and I will want to take it a step farther.
   
   I have numerous ideas and not enough time, so one of my focuses was making DIY kits, so that I could still plan and create ideas, but allow my customers the ability to finish the project. I love DIY, myself. I always end up with something totally different than the picture, because ideas flow... I encourage that in my customers, as well. Let it inspire you to go in different directions. In 2007 I started selling DIY monkey kits, and they took off.
   
   Nature and life inspire a lot of my ideas. Other artists totally inspire me. I'm not competitive in any way. I want to do things my own way, but I enjoy looking at what other people are doing. How they did it... I learn a lot about techniques from other artists, and then I apply those techniques to my own ideas.

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

   The women in my family have always inspired me. Each of them has a craft they do more than any other, but they are all so skilled and creative. My mom taught me to sew when I was really young. My grandmother still does cross stitch. They got me into it, and I took it to a new level and started making my own patterns. The women in my family have always inspired and encouraged me.

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

   I'm very passionate about music. I don't personally have a musical bone in my body, but, I love music.
   
   I also feel very strongly about the issues with plastics in the ocean. I recently decided to use up the rest of my plastic packaging supplies, and then make a switch to paper. All the Sock Monkey kits in my shop, except for one, are now completely plastic free, and the rest of my kits will follow soon. If I don't need a bag at the store, I carry my items. I have a small entourage of canvas bags, and if they offer paper, I take it. We have a lot less plastic bags in our house now. And that makes me feel really good. Obviously, plastic bags are a small part of the problem, but the average consumer brings home 300 plastic bags a year. I make and sell bags from t-shirts, too. Watch out on my website, I will be putting directions on how to make them yourself. It's super easy, and they hold twice the groceries as a plastic bag and are really comfy to carry. Or you can google it. Either way, I encourage the reduction of plastic bag use.

6. What do you like most about Zibbet?

   I really like the custom-ability, and the cleanliness here. The price is right, and I feel like things are pretty straight forward. Plus, the customer service has always been very prompt.
   
   

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

   RSS feeds, so I can feed my twitter. And also, Some better custom-ability in the right column. I noticed that the images aren't transparent, so it looks weird if I change the color of the column. Coupons and Gift Certificates...

8. How do you promote your work?

   I have a presence in a lot of venues. I don't always have time to post on them... I spend a lot of time creating and planning, so I tend to really fall behind in those online things. When I first started, I just listed and listed and eventually people told their friends... and over the last 3 years, I've managed to sell quite a few monkeys thru various avenues. I think there's about 1000 of my sock monkeys in the world right about now.
   
   

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

   Certainly give it a niche. If you have multiple stores, I think the best thing you can do is to give each one a specialty. I really needed a place to host my DIY stuff. It's a good idea to carry a presence in numerous places. At this point my goal is to focus on getting each of my shops in order to cater to different types of customers.

10. In the future I'd like to be...

    ...running my own production site. I looked into overseas production and wasn't happy, at all with what I discovered. So I would really like to set up a small showroom with on-site manufacturing, by hand. It's a bit away, still, but... I've been laying down the tracks for my business plan. I hope to make it a reality soon.