FAST Member Interview- Steph of Lunabud Knits

If you’re a member of FAST and would like to be featured in the weekly interview, visit this thread in the yahoo group to get the questions, then send your answers (and a picture or two if you’d like) to me at merigreenleaf[at]yahoo.com (or a convo to merigreenleaf). These will be posted in the order I receive them.

What is your name?
Stephanie Stratton, but I like Steph cause it’s short and sweet:)

What is your Etsy shop? Does your shop name have a meaning?
My little piece of Etsy is: http://Lunabudknits.etsy.com When I signed up for he internet over 15 years ago, I just couldn’t think of a name to use that would suit me as well as a combination of my two furry pals Buddy an Australian Shepherd mix and Luna a Timber Wolf mix. They are no longer with me, but I like to think that a little piece of both my pals will be with me forever through my screen name.

Besides your Etsy shop, do you sell anywhere else? Do you have a website or blog?
Occasionally, I will list on Ebay, but only when they have those 10 & 15 cent specials. Outside of that I just do Etsy for all my fibery goodness sales:) I do have a blog: http://lunabud.blogspot.com and a website for my photos: http://www.weedofdreams.com

How long have you been making art/crafting? What was the first thing you remember making?
HA! Funny you should ask this question. I was thinking just the other day about when I was 3 or 4 in San Francisco visiting with my Great-Great Grandmother and Greatest Grampa….. Mom and I had stopped by a spinster relatives very proper and luxurious home. Well, they left me to entertain myself for quite sometime and for some reason the beautiful and overly expensive persian carpets caught my eye as they flowed down the hall and trickled down the stairs. The ornate and brightly colored flowers were ever so beautiful but so very flat. So me being 3 or 4 with no TV or toys to play with. I took my fingers and began to brush up very carefully the fibers of the flower petals. It gave them a great deal more life than before and I thought they looked so pretty that way. An hour later, I was half way down the hall and to my surprise no one thought my improvements on the rug were as pretty as I did……lol

What kind of fiber arts do you do? If different from the previous question, what was the first fiber art thing you made?
I’m a fiber junkie Queen! Gosh, I could roll in fiber all day long. I’m definitely not a fiber snob. I love the feel of wool from merino to the coarse stuff. I think each and every fiber has a place and a use in my little furry world. I adore camel, silk, firestar, cashmere, bamboo, glitz, wool, angora, alpaca, mohair and pretty much anything I can get my grubby little fingers on.

What’s your favorite thing to make?
Why hand painted fibers of course. There is nothing better than the almost instant gratification after you have slapped on your color combos and watched them develop into a thing of beauty. Not to mention knowing that if I don’t turn them into something fabulous then my customers will!

(Click the below link to read the rest of the interview and see more pictures)

What do you think is the strangest or most unusual fiber arts item you have made or been asked to make?
Honestly, I’m a little bit on the ‘weird’ side myself, so unless it’s something vulgar, I’m probably not going to remember it…lol

Where is the craziest or most interesting place you’ve ever crocheted, knitted, felted, spun yarn, etc?
Hmmmm……Plane, Train, Automobile, Boat, Beach, Honey-Moon is there a place you shouldn’t knit or spin?

What is your favorite place to work?
At home.

What inspires you? Where does your inspiration come from?
I’m not sure that I get inspirations really. I’m always amazed at folks that can take a picture and pic 3 colors out. I sit there and over think things while place the colors together in my minds palette before I paint. I guess you could call it a mental picture show of color. And well, let’s face it, I do like color!

What is your favorite color? Do you tend to work with that color, or do you find yourself working with other colors?
I wouldn’t really say that I have a favorite color. I like all of my colors and tend to have a favorite color of the moment. Right now it’s pink, but I think tomorrow it might be green!

Do you prefer a specific type of fiber?
Protein based fibers are my fibers of choice.

Is there any other kind of art (fiber-related or not) that you’d like to learn?
Tatting. I find the beauty of these simple knots stunning as they make such intricate patterns for my eye to lovingly follow.

Tell us a bit about yourself- where do you live, what’s your job, do you have a spouse/children/pets, any other hobbies, that kind of thing.
You know I could write a book about my life that would make you laugh, cry, hate me and love me all in the same minute. To keep it short though, I live in Central Ky and I never dated anyone over 1 month until I met my husband in 2005. We have a beautiful Newfoundland dog and two kitties, but none of our critter are allowed to play with the yarn and fiber. Luckily, none of our furry pals show any interest in the fibers:)

Tell us one quirky thing about you (or one thing no one knows about you).
Just one quirky thing? Gosh, I’ve got a million. I have a tendency to say it like I mean it which can some times land me in hot water.

Do you have any advice for other fiber artists? Have any craft room, storage, or other tips?
My best piece of advice is: Your customer must come first. I’ve seen it happen in companies I have worked. No customer service equals some ticked off customers and the old adage is true that “What goes around comes around”. You can have the best product in the world but if your customer does not come first, then your never going to get your feet off the ground.

Tags: etsyfast, member interview

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 8:19 am and is filed under featured member. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.