Creative Conversations....with Heather

click above to view larger
click above to view larger



Hello Everyone! I hope you had a nice weekend! This week I have the privilege of talking with Heather of Bebe and Alice. My favorite thing about Heather's work is that each piece is individual and original! It's so fun to check out her etsy shop and see what's new and cooking over there. I'm a big fan of one of a kind pieces, so Heather tops my list in the realm of sewing and accessories.

So here's Miss Heather in her own words!


Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Wow. I am older than I’d like to be, busier than I imagined I would be and happier than I ever dreamed I could be. How’s that for a bit? Married with 4 kids, a stubborn dog, three sewing machines and a house in the mountains.

How did you start creating the work you do now?

I suppose when my husband bought me my first sewing machine seven years ago a very present and hidden piece of me started to emerge. I always knew I should be sewing with a machine and working with textiles but had never pursued it out of fear I guess. I had been sewing by hand since middle school and done a number of things by hand for our home after marriage. I taught myself how to use my new machine and devoured a zillion books from the library on basic steps and terminology. I went from doing basic pillowcases and curtains to crib bedding and slipcovers to aprons and bags and then on to clothing for children and wearable accessories.


Tell me about your creative process. Do you work diligently and with persistence? Does it come in waves?

I think I’m probably pretty typical in that my creative process is very unpredictable. Sometimes I find myself in a creative wave without having had any prompting or specific goal in mind and sometimes I find a giant creative leap when I’ve pushed myself to finish a stack of custom orders. I may wake up in the morning and determine I am going to complete a list of pieces and lock myself in my sewing room with no excitement but emerge with creative energy, a completed stack of aprons and scarves and two new pieces I am super excited about. Is that typical?

Coffee or tea?

Both please! The more sugar and milk the better J I’m a sucker for soda and milk and iced tea and Mike’s Hard anything and really just the entire world of beverages.

When do you get your best ideas?

I usually get my best ideas while I am lying in bed trying to fall asleep. Honestly, I don’t know if I struggle with sleeping because of my tendency to start creating in my head or if it’s the other way around. One of my favorite songs by the Barenaked Ladies is all about insomnia. The problem is that I have not trained myself to keep a sketchpad next to my bed so I can jot it down before falling asleep. I wonder how many ideas are floating around in dreamland still that I have not brought to reality.

When are you most creative or productive?

I’ve discovered that I am most energetic and creative starting around 2 in the afternoon. Sometimes that lasts until 9 or 10 at night and sometimes it’s just a short 3 hour burst.
With kids around the house it can get a little bit difficult staying in the creative moments I find and it’s difficult when I am in a creative groove to set it aside to make chocolate milk or help find a lost sneaker.

I think we all have a message in our work. What do you think your message is? Does it vary from piece to piece or is their a vein that travels throughout what you do?

I think you are right that everyone has a message in their work. While the message travels through all that I do the design style definitely varies from piece to piece. Tag lines for my business encapsulate the belief my work represents: Recycle. Renew. Rejoice. Eco chic design with the past in mind. Fashion that winks at the past and nods to the future. It’s as simple as mixing the adages of our grandmothers’ time with the adages we see popping up all over the place today. Mend and make do. Keep calm and carry on. Waste not, want not. Let’s trash pollution. Green is the new black. Buy handmade. Save the earth. And on and on they go.

What is the most enjoyable part of your work?

Honestly, my favorite part of my work is that I control it. I can play with it, work at it, ignore it for a bit; all of it is possible because my livelihood is not contigent on the success of it. I am blessed to be able to use it as a therapeutic activity in my life. I don’t say that lightly, it is very very true. Nobody should discount the benefits of creative hobbies. It makes me wonder if part of the energy that children possess is a direct result from the creativity that flows through them and is not squelched. I find that I am a happier, more energetic and more involved person when I have made time to play in my sewing room. At least, that’s what I’ve convinced my husband to believe ;)

Please take a minute to visit Heather's shop and blog.

Creative Conversations....with Glow

1} A SLOOP OF AMBER SLIPS AWAY
2} A CASE OF PRAGMATISM
3} SEEING RED AGAIN
4} FOUR LETTER WORD
5} LAND AND SEA
all currently available in her Etsy shop here.

Welcome to Monday!

Here is our first installment of Creative Conversations! This morning I have the pleasure of chatting with Gloria of Industry & Angels. Gloria, who goes by Glow, creates beautiful narrative assemblaged jewelry. I was first attracted to Glow's work by it's beautiful layers and edgy patinas. Each piece is infused with history, stories, and lots of bits and baubles from time gone by.

So, without further adieu let's get this rolling!

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

My name is Gloria Greenfield. My friends call me Glow. I'm 44 and the
grey hairs are relentless... but life and all it's greys are grand!
I find myself drawn to odd balls and outcasts, underdogs and injured
spirits, homeless people and stray pets, dying leaves, rusty metal,
tshirts that are down to their last thread, small old tins, old silver
salt shakers, and a plethora of things that might not, to some, seem
lovely or worth it... I find hope there. I also find hope in anything
that sparkles... not to mention a big smile... but I must confess, I like
the grungy stuff even better!

I was born in raised in Miami, FL. Adopted at birth by a Psychiatrist
mother and psychologist father... who were kind enough to make me a well
travelled individual via twice yearly trips all over the place(Good to see
the world/thanks Mom and Dad). I had 4 siblings in total. I became the
oldest when my big brother, Glenn passed away at nine(I was seven then).
He had a brain tumor and spent his short life in a wheelchair... he also
had a terrible stutter... His life and death shaped me in many ways... My
parents career choices as previously mentioned, also played a big part in
my molding, not to mention making life interesting(even if down right
annoying at times)... I went to prep school(YUK!) and swiftly after
graduating in '83, split town...

From 1983-1992, my life was one big blur of somehow growing up... much of
which I can't keep in order at all(retail jobs, college, more retail jobs,
parties, more parties, etc.). In that time I made a nice handful of
life-long friends and memories... During those years I lived in
Jacksonville, FL and Fayetteville, NC.

Moved back to Miami in 1992 after Dad moved to Heaven... and stayed there
for longer than I had hoped... Then I was Tampa bound in 2005... Been
here ever since... I worked at Bed control at Tampa General Hospital for
about 2 years and after an unfortunate family tragedy, I quit work and
moved in with my sister(who was in Tampa at the time)... That led me to
becoming a pre-school teacher... which led me to my current "real" job as
a full time Nanny to 3 boys(been with them for 5 years)...

During all these years of mine... regardless of all else, I have been
creating things from one thing or another, writing, poetry, sewing,
knitting, whatever... gotta get those creations out of my soul and here on
Earth.... I just have no choice there...

How did you start creating the work you do now?

Like most things in my life, it has happened as a matter of course...Just a matter of timing and chance with action thrown in the mix...I have spent my life collecting old or discarded things and making other things(including jewelry) from what I found interesting or thought needed reincarnation. The first two things I remember making(in terms of jewelry like items) are a baby pine cone head wreath that I found while at a park with my highschool sweetheart, and a necklace assembled with cast off riveted washers that I collected from the floor at a Fan Factory I worked at while living on a Kibbutz in Israel. I was 15 when both of those things were made. Earlier still, I wrote and illustrated a book for my little sister, Elizabeth(9 years my jr), wrote poetry and redesigned my clothes, constantly.

My ETSY shop started as more of a whim than anything else... I never thought anything would REALLY sell. My sisiter Jackie, and some friends,had been egging me on for years in terms of my creative projects(sharing them that is)... And frankly, I was feeling bored so I just did it so I could say I tried... And again, I really had no intent on selling anything... just didn't think it would happen(which frankly, was fine by me, at that time)... I was just having fun and making odds and ends and people starting buying stuff. I made a few minor jewelry pieces and my sis kept prodding me to do more... eventually I did and slowly that became my main focus.

Are you formally trained? Where/how did you learn your skills? Are you self-taught?

I have zero formal training in any of the arts besides some theatre and dance in college. I believe that I was just born with creativity that must have been biologically passed down and was then enhanced by my travels and life circumstances... Honestly I can't really say I'm self-taught either(though I suppose I am) but to me it is more of a kind of flow, an accumulation of ideas that was already there... and most of it just comes naturally by way I what I have seen and done before... Some things of course, in terms of technique, I have read about... but really not too many. Same goes for my poetry... I never learned how to write it, I just wrote it(if you know what I mean)...

Tell me about your creative process. Do you work dilligently and with persistence? Does it vary from piece to piece? or do you work more free stream of consciousness?

ALL OF THE ABOVE! I would say that there is always a free stream of creative thought going on even while in the midst of making one piece I may be sorting out another in my head... m,aybe even stop one to start another and work back and forth on two pieces.... but most of the time I am extremely persisitent and rarely don't complete a piece in one go. There are the rare pieces that I will sit on for days or weeks... but those are few and far between and often morph into totally different designs in the end. Waves... well there are always waves... but they are usually steadily flowing for me, barring bad days, when I'm sick, or just too dern busy at my day job to pay attention to them.

Coffee or Tea?

JUST GIMME THE COFFEE AND NO ONE GETS HURT! ;)

When do you get your best ideas?

That is totally random for me! Could be anytime, anywhere... catch a
glimpse of something that inspires me and that is that!

When are you most creative or productive?

I am creative pretty much all the time... productive is another story... I work best in the wee small hours of the morning when all is quiet... but I am getting used to working all the time that I have available as I find there aren't enough hours to do all the things I want... Now I wake up and start creating things when I am off and go at it all day if need be... But indeed after midnight is my favorite time to work.

I think we all have a message in our work. What do you think your
message is? Does it vary from piece to piece or is there a vein that
travels throughout what you do?

HMM... message... I mean to me, my message is that life is beautiful
and every drop of it is to be adored in one way or another... I make what I
think reminds ME of that and hope that when someone wears a piece of
mine they feel their own idea of beauty somehow... in whatever way they
see it... I am also a fan of using old things(which I have always loved)
but to me that is just another facet of the same idea. Reclaiming and not wasting things is something I enjoy and feel good about making a part of my craft. I suppose that recycling then and now is a common vein in my work.

What is the most enjoyable part of your work?

That is definitel a tie breaker! When a piece becomes clear to
me(in my mind or on the board) there is a certain rush of excitement and joy that I really dig! I also completely love it when someone is thrilled when they receive a piece of mine... it's definitely an amazing feeling to know that you have made someone out there smile!

Thank you Glow for sharing your experience with us! Please make sure you visit Glow's shop Industry and Angels.

Creative Conversations

Welcome to Monday! This Monday brings the start of a new feature called Creative Conversation! Each monday I will be having a little creative chat with some of the artists and designers behind some of my favorite shops on Etsy. The focus will be orientated on how they came to be where they are right now, how they create, and the process that is behind those lovely finished pretty pictures you see in their shops and websites.

I hope you enjoy this new series and take away something interesting that will help you in your own creative journey.

Enjoy. First up will be Gloria, aka Glow, of Industry and Angels, who has so graciously agreed to be my first conversation.