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Great Color Combos, Fun Details

in Bags, Featured Crafters, Handmade on

I make it because I enjoy it, and want to share beautiful things with the world. I buy handmade because the items are unique, made with love, of great quality, usually customizable and often save and/or recycle resources. Plus, you meet so many nice people!

Rachel Runyan

Random Facts About You?

I've been knitting since age 8.

I am a stay-at-home mom to two teens with Asperger's Syndrome and other issues.

I have BAs in Journalism and English.

I believe it's better to be crazy than to go insane.



What got you started crafting?

My mom crafted and talk me embroidery, crocheting and knitting when I was young. I was raised in a single-parent household with 5 kids and no money. I always had an artistic bent and an active mind. I crafted out of love for being creative, boredom, and lack of money.

I spent the last 15 years caring for two special needs kids, and a husband who had a brain tumor for 10 of those years. I lost all my hobbies, and my sense of self. Now that things are a bit less chaotic on the homefront, I can indulge my creative side again.



What is your source of inspiration?

Environment concerns, great colors, great textures, fashion magazines, random things I see in life, my kids, flowers, my own aesthetics and need for visual stimulation. A little bit romantic, a little bit fun, a little bit weird, a little bit goth.

I use what I call "rescued yarn" as much as possible. I buy up all those leftover skeins and ball of yarns from thrift stores, destash sales, garage sales, etc. It's fun to see what colors and cool yarns I get, and figure out how to use them together to make a great bag. I feel good that I'm saving yarn that has already been made, and giving it a home and a purpose. I keep it from languishing in a bin in someone's basement, or worse...going into a landfill.

Nothing goes to waste. I even saved all my little yarn clippings, and I have someone making it into handmade recycled paper to make greeting cards for my shop.



What have you made recently?

Inspired by latest fashion trends, I recently made an awesome eco-friendly reusable market bag with great colors. I used shades of neutral blush pink and variegated khaki with pops of shocking pink. It was so fun to make, especially the handle details and the big jungle flower I crocheted for it. I was sorely tempted to keep it for myself, but I did list it in my shop for that special buyer.

As with all my bags, I wanted to give the average person an easy way to go green. It's hard to fit going totally "granola" with today's busy lifestyles, but we can all do a few things. Use energy conserving light bulbs. Recycle. Use less plastic shopping bags.

I help people take that first step in an easy, fun way. My bags look good, have a very strong one-piece design (no handles popping off! yay!), and expand big enough to hold a full load of groceries. They are durable and clean up easily. A plus for us busy moms!





Where do you sell your crafts presently?

I just started selling on Etsy on Jan. 22, 2011.



Why are handmade crafts important to you?

So many reasons. I make it because I enjoy it, and want to share beautiful things with the world. I buy handmade because the items are unique, made with love, of great quality, usually customizable and often save and/or recycle resources. Plus, you meet so many nice people!



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