Knitimals Plush Exclusive and Interview!

Danamarie of Knitimals fame came to Plush You! the first year that people seemed to really make the treck out to see the show.  I was so honored and humbled to have folks come out from far and wide.  Ironically her little brother was with her, fell in love with the city and moved out here and now works across the street from little old Schmancy.  The world is small and full of good surprises.  This is only one of many surprises that Knitimals represents.  We will be releasing these adorable little guys on Sept. 15th.  In the meantime, let's see what's been up with the artist.

S- What was your inspiration behind this exclusive?

K- I knew I wanted to do something colorful & bright (which is pretty easy for me), and it had to be soft and snuggly (so I decided to go with uber soft fleece). The Knitimals always have a red heart on their chests, and the OoAKies always have a heart on their cheeks, so a heart SOMEWHERE seemed inevitable. I started thinking about love and the way we carry love around with us. Being 7 months pregnant, these day I am carrying MY love around in my belly! So, it all kinda clicked for me--- my exclusives would carry love in their bellies & sort of commemorate the way I'm feeling right now.

S- Did you do anything fun and exciting this summer?

K- I did! Aside from a few road trips to Boston & Maine, which we love, and catching up with friends all up and down the east coast, I was super busy with art shows & craft fairs. We saw some great concerts & went to the farmer's market a lot. AND my husband and I got to go on the first REAL vacation we've had in a long time. We spent a week at the beach in Delaware & played skee-bal and ate fries with vinegar and watched the fireworks over the ocean. It was like being 10, but with more freedom & extra pocket money for the boardwalk. I didn't bring any work with me (and I NEVER do that) and we spent our evenings reading to each other. It was fantastic. Then at the end of August, I shared a booth with some of the other gals in the Baltimore Etsy Street Team, at the Buyers Market of American Craft and got to introduce my work to a new group of retail buyers... different from a beach vacation, but still pretty fun & exciting.

S- Where would you like to see your plushies on vacation?

K- Ooh, all this vacation talk is making me want a summer do-over. Well, *I* would like to go to Hawaii, so, I think it would only be polite to help them plan a trip there. I could see these guys enjoying a good luau. I imagine they'd be good surfers and I know they like pineapple. Then, of course, there's Germany. I've always wanted to go and my brother just got back from a trip there... I was jealous, and I could sense the Love Bellies were jealous too. And Iceland! Sweaters and green hills and Sigur Ros? Yeah, I think the Love Bellies would enjoy a three pronged vacation. Can we set that up?

S- If your little guys could talk, what do you think they would talk about?

K- Mostly they'd make small talk. They're friendly & generally open to learning about new things. But when they're left alone, to talk amongst themselves, I think they'd talk about baked goods. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into my studio and been convinced that I had just interrupted a colorful debate over brownies versus cookies. Some of them strike me as staunch banana bread types, while others have cupcake written all over them. It's not my place to get involved. I think they're all right.

 

 

S- Any exciting plans for the rest of the year?

K- um, yeah... what was it again? something pretty exciting... but what was it? what was... oh yeah, a BABY! We're less than a couple months away from finally meeting our little boy and I am SO excited! I am, admittedly, a little bummed that I won't be able to come out for Plush You this year, but otherwise the timing is really great. I'm doing one more big show and then I'll be putting my shop on vacation so my husband and I can just focus on our little dude. We're looking forward to just being at home & soaking in all the sweetness. He's due a week before our anniversary and we can't think of a better present. Plus, we'll have all that extra love around us for the holidays (and we won't have to cook!). I've been making him some pretty awesome dolls and blankets & stuff too and I can't wait to finally have an "excuse" to KEEP the *really* cute stuff I've made. I'm in full on nesting mode-- painting a mural, sorting the tiny little clothes we've been given, preparing our dachshund for his new brother and just generally getting ready for all kinds of  awesomeness. And I've heard that Scorpios are super cool people (right, Kristen?). (kristen says "hahaha YES!)

Knitimals Interview

I met the lovely Danamarie at a Plush You show a few years back. She was one of the first people to come out for the show where I thought "Holy Crap, You came out all this way????" I was touched. She's coming again but now has more of an excuse as her brother now lives here and works right across the street from Schmancy. Let the games begin.



S- What have you been up to this summer? I know you have participated in some events, how did those go?

GS- I tried something really novel this summer... I went on a vacation! I never do that, so that as a big deal. Family reunion of sorts, in Pigeon Forge, TN. I knit in the car, on the way down but otherwise, I didn’t do any work for a whole week and it was great. I came back the day before my first summer show and just slid right back into action. I’ve added a lot of new stuff to my catalogue, so I was really excited to share everything with everyone. I love doing shows; getting to put names with faces and see who reads your blog and hear stories about reactions people have had to getting your work as gifts. It’s so much fun. Plus, art can be a lonely business if you spend all your time in the studio, so actually getting to hang out with kids & adults who love what you do do is a really wonderful gift. My whole business is centered around art being FOR people, public, accessible & affordable, so getting the chance to talk to people about my murals or to demonstrate how to knit or just to watch a couple of kids making up a Knitimal show right there in the booth, that’s just awesome.



S- What made you start knitting animals?

GS- you want to long story or the short one? well the first thing I ever knit (other than the scarf I taught myself on) was a gift for my then “just friend” (now my husband) when we were in college--- he’d always lamented that they didn’t make dolls of Hobbes (from Calvin & Hobbes) when Hobbes was the stuffed tiger, because he really wanted one. So, I taught myself to knit and died my own yarn to get the perfect shade of orange, and knit him the first piece of plush I’d ever made, as a “I don’t know how to tell you this, but maybe this plush realization of your boyhood dream might indicate it, yes, I love you” gift. And it worked.

The first Knitimal™ I ever made came not too long after that. It was almost 11 years ago, and I was in college and my roommates had gone home for fall break, and had a terrible flu. I was basically sequestered in my room with no one around, feeling awful and totally lonely. I had done this painting at the beginning of the school year, of this little flying cat character, just to be silly and it was hanging across from my bed, so I was basically staring at it 24 hours a day. So, maybe it was a fever dream or just some lucky stroke of coincidence but I remember thinking “I wonder if I could knit that”, and I just went for it. I knit for hours and just kept going until it was done and my fever broke and I had fell asleep with this weird, wonderful thing in my arms. That was over a decade ago and the plush boom hadn’t happened yet & it never occurred to me that a.) I’d ever make another one, b.) that anyone else would want one or c.) I’d even be interested in doing it again. But after the break I showed BeeCat to a good friend who flipped out over him and insisted that I start making them for profit. For the first few months he was my only customer... then word got out, and next thing I knew I was the go to person for interesting gifts and Knitimals were official. I was studying Children’s Illustration, so my goal had always been to make art for kids; it just didn’t occur to me at the time that that art would be fiber based. I think the Knitimals continued to appeal me and got the attention they got from others because they blurred the line between childhood & adulthood/ art & play; and that’s what I’d always wanted from my work.



S- What would you like to see for knitimls in the next year?

GS- You mean besides being the art doll of choice for all celebrity babies?:)
Well the Knitimals will keep being Knitimals... I don’t use any patterns and I never repeat a design; I’ve made over 600 of them in the last 11 years, and I’ve got no shortage of ideas! I use local materials, compost whatever wool I can’t knit with or felt & don’t use extra electricity ( I sew by hand), so the Knitimals already have a teensy weensy footprint, but I’ve also found some great new yarn options from some local farms, and will be doing more 100% organic Knitimals, as well as experimenting with some different fibers for people who have wool allergies— like cotton and bamboo! Last year the Knitimals welcomed a new cousin to the family: Recyclimals, which are Knitimals made out of donated knits, like sweaters and baby blankets. People can give me their kids’ grown out of sweaters and I’ll re-purpose them into friends. Those are extra eco-friendly, because they’re using existing materials & are sewn by hand (not a sewing machine). But they are wallet friendly too, so they’re making it easier to own handmade plush. And this year, making their west coast debut at Plush You, are the OoAKies, which are hand drawn & hand painted plush pieces. Each one is signed and numbered on the back. I designed a Kokeshi for a big show in LA in July, and working on that piece got me thinking about how I could bring that aesthetic off of something wooden and onto something soft.



S- What are you excited for this year for Plush You?

GS- I’m excited so show off my new work; I’ve been working on 3 very special pieces especially for this show. I’m really excited to meet some of the designers I haven’t gotten to meet in the past, and to reunite with others I have. I had such a great time the last time, and left feeling totally honored to be a part of such an incredibly talented group. aaaand, I am excited to shop... of course! You can’t have all that amazing plush around and leave empty handed. I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with THIS year!