Guest Blogger Week 24 Genuine Mudpie

I would like to say a huge welcome

to Trish

 from Genuine Mudpie

·        Trish Could you tell us something about you:

I live in Toronto, Ontario with my husband 

and an ever-growing number of houseplants 

and plush creatures. 

I crochet, paint, sew, take photos, 

and love to try different kinds of craft.

·        How did you decide on the name for your blog?

I attended a youth event a long time ago 

and one of the exercises was to find an object and try to advertise it, 

or sell it anyway we can. 

This guy beside me picked up a ceramic piggy bank 

that was made by this company called “mudpie” , and he said, “now, this is a genuinemudpie piggy bank, a limited edition...” or something like that. 

Somehow the words “genuine mudpie” stuck with me, 

and I decided that if I ever have my own business I’d call it genuine mudpie.

 I guess it reflects what I do. A lot of experimenting and having a lot of fun doing it. 

The blog records the experiments and processes of learning and having fun.

·        How long have you been blogging and why did you start?

I started in March 2010. 

I was doing a lot of crocheting at the time 

and was posting lots of pictures on Facebook, 

explaining my process and such. 

So I thought, why not start a blog for my craft? 

It was also a way to help me keep crafting. 

Somehow knowing that there’s an audience out there helps motivate me. 

And I hope what I post can help motivate others to explore their own creativity too. 

I sometimes post patterns/tutorials as well, to spread the joy of crocheting and crafting!

·       Where do you get your inspiration from?

Small things that go unnoticed most of the time. Like a fallen leaf, or a group of mushrooms at the foot of a tree. And ridiculously cute things.

·        What is your favourite thing to do in your spare time?

It’s a tie between visiting museums and crocheting while watching CSI: Los Vegas reruns.

·        What do you have on your blog at the moment that you would like to talk about?

Currently I’m in the middle of a painting project called “square-a-day”,

 in which I paint a roughly 4”x4” square of canvas a day for 30 days. 

I got really discouraged about painting after graduating from art college, 

and I haven’t painted for a long time. 

So this is a way for me to reacquaint myself with paint. 

You can see what I have done so far here:

http://genuinemudpie.ca/2012/08/01/square-a-day-update-3/

http://genuinemudpie.ca/2012/07/24/square-a-day-update-2/

http://genuinemudpie.ca/2012/07/18/square-a-day-update/

http://genuinemudpie.ca/2012/07/11/square-a-day-project/

·        What made you start to sell your items?

I’ve been making too many plush creatures 

and I’m running out of room in our small apartment to store them.

 It also helps pay for new yarn (to make more plush) 

and I’d love it if my plush creatures can brighten someone’s day like they do for me.

·        What is your favourite item in your shop at the moment?

I mainly sell what I make in my friend’s shop downtown. 

I prefer selling in a physical shop.

 It’s hard to pick a favourite! 

But here’s what I have in the shop at the moment.

·        A couple of pictures of your favourite items:

I love thrift stores, and harvesting fabric from old clothes to make new ones. Ginkgo is my most recent pattern, it’s part crochet and part sewn. The fabric part comes from an old skirt. You can see the pattern here:

http://genuinemudpie.ca/2012/07/19/ginkgo/

The young kraken is also a recent creation. I’m pretty proud of him. Pattern here: http://genuinemudpie.ca/2012/06/26/make-a-young-kraken/

·        What would be the one piece of advice would you give to a new blogger or a person setting up their own craft shop:

For me I’ve found that it’s really important to make things that are meaningful to me. 

Because the blog and shop are so public there’re often concerns 

about how other people will think of me based on what I make 

or post, or whether certain items will sell, etc. 

When I first started the blog, right before I hit the “publish” button on my first post, 

I hesitated and said to my husband, “what if people think this is stupid?” 

And he responded, “you do it because it’s fun.” 

And that really puts things in a clearer perspective for me as to why I blog. 

For me it’s realizing that not everyone will like what I make 

and not every post will get positive responses, 

but being true to myself is how I can keep making things and enjoy the process.

Blog: http://genuinemudpie.ca/

Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/people/genuinemudpie

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50105214@N04/

Instructables: http://www.instructables.com/member/genuine+mudpie/

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/genuinemudpie

Instagram: genuinemudpie

Thank you, Sue! Love your blog. Thank you for having me!

Thank you ever so much Trish!

I love the things Trish makes

The faces on her plushies always make me smile.

I hope you'll check out her sites & see more of

her wonderful work!