Thanks to all the blogs out there like Heart Handmade that continue to inspire us and keep going. Some days are tough and you think, “No one is going to want this” but as long as there is a community supporting DIY crafting, I think we’ll be around.
Steph & Bruno
Margaritas and Mexican food are part of our lifeblood.
We like punk rock so much we started our own band, The Gozerians.
Photography is the window in to someone's pores and we know because we have a 20MP DSLR.
We own nearly every Apple product, including 2 MacBook Pros, 2 iMacs, 2 iPads, an iPod, an Apple TV and countless iPhones we upgrade each year.
What got you started crafting?
Steph: I was interested in art at a very early age. I guess my parents knew so they bought me this art easel when I was 10. I still have a picture of it in my pajamas. It was Christmas morning, or something. I'm not sure that's where it started but that definitely kept me going.
Bruno: I don't think I'm crafty, to be honest. Generally, I always imagined people who crafted as people who played with wicker baskets, or something. I think I just like art and music. I grew up drawing and painting but that evolved in to graphic design over the years and now I'm what many would call a "pixel pusher".
What is your source of inspiration?
I think we just draw on our own personal style and tastes. We don't know what is trendy or hip and I'm not sure we care very much. I think when you're crafting or doing art or music or whatever, you have to stay true to who you are - not what you think other people want. It's difficult though. It's a gamble and it doesn't necessarily mean people are going to buy. I think we're just hoping there's other people out there like us. We started out inspired by Day of the Dead honestly. We had this idea to fashion iPad covers after dead celebrities who we sort of admired, at least, from a fashion sense. We're still working on that but we're getting there.
What have you made recently?
Well, Bruno made french toast yesterday morning for Steph. It was Mother's Day. Bruno is a terrible cook but you can disguise things easily with powdered sugar and syrup. In all seriousness, we're working on a few new iPad covers that include some new Day of the Dead prints with sugar skulls and the like. Every design for an iPad cover is a blank canvas for us. We usually start at a fabric store and try to find materials that inspire us in some way or aren't very common. Fabric is key to us. After that, we really try to feel out everything and put ourselves in the shoes of someone who might own one. If we can identify with it, we believe someone else can, too.
Where do you sell your crafts presently?
We sell them on Etsy.
Ultimately, we want to expand and sell our iPad covers at art fairs or craft shows. We really just want to be part of the community more but doing it online is where we're starting. It's our jumping off point. The most important thing to us is keeping it small and not mass produced. We want people to feel like they're getting something unique and completely handmade.
Why are handmade crafts important to you?
Handmade is honest. It's also incredibly diverse and the options can be endless. Plus, people buy with their emotions and when you buy handmade, you're really buying a piece of someone's style or esthetic. It's far more personal. If the item was mass produced in China, the relationship just isn't as intimate, I suppose. We're artists, not business people. We love creating things with our hands. We have to be able to keep doing that. The minute it becomes more about business than art, we're dropping it.
Find Me
LocationMurrieta, California
Email Address
Steph & Bruno
Personal Website
http://www.etsy.com/shop/DayoftheThread
Store Website
http://www.etsy.com/shop/DayoftheThread
HeartHandmadeRocks
@DayoftheThread
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Day-of-the-Thread/157397977634264