Meet the Boomers!

Our next interview is with a new member Uyen, from AsianExpressions.

1. What is/are the name of your shop/s?
AsianExpressions

2. What kind of items do you sell?
I sell custom made kimonos for men and women, fabric origami peace cranes and butterfly ornaments and some jewelry.

3. How long have you been engaged in your art/craft?
As long as I can remember. When I was 12 years old, my father bought a sewing machine for me along with 9 yards of fabric, sent me to a tailor shop for sewing classes. I learned how to design and make garments from measurements. However, I remember ruining a lot of fabric. Back then I did not know about "measure twice, cut once", lesson learned!
My mother taught me how to make fabric origami and flower ornaments to decorate our home during the holidays or special occasions just as she was taught by my grand-mother.

4. Do you consider yourself a hobbyist or a professional crafts person?
I see myself as a person who likes to create. I like art and crafts or whatever I can get my hands on.

5. What inspires you?
I see beauty in everything and everyone around me.

6. Please share with us what a typical day is like in your workshop or studio?
Coffee in the morning is a must! I usually get on my laptop, check my email, finish some project I've been working on. I try to list a few items in my Etsy shop or renew some. If I have time, I watch the news on CNN, Read the paper, get some breakfast and work again until time to make dinner. I found it is hard to balance between creating and make time for family.

7. What keeps you company while you’re working on a project?
My music and my 2 kitties.

8. What is your favorite 'task' related to your art/craft?
I love it when I have a customers inquiry about something they have in mind. After the communication, I can come up with the product for my customers that they are pleased to purchase.

9. What is your least favorite 'task' related to your art/craft?
When I make something, if I find a flaw, I have to start over, I'm totally anal about perfecting my craft.

10. What are some of the venues you use to promote your shop/ware?(Do you blog?
I have Flickr, IndiePublic, Facebook. I don't have a blog.
(To which teams do you belong? Do you use other sites? Which ones? etc.)
BBEST (Boomers and Beyond Etsy team), Montana BigSky Etsy team, Interior Design Etsy team and Japan Maniac Etsy team.

11. Related to your craft,tell us about a funny, strange or unusual situation you found yourself in.
I had my kimonos displayed in a local bank lobby. One day I was grocery shopping and a lady commented about how lovely the kimono was. I told her they were my kimonos. She went back and bought 2 for herself and ordered 3 more for her sisters.

12. Tell us something about you that we wouldn’t necessarily know by talking with you in the forums.
I've been disabled since 1996. I went from a healthy person to quadriplegic in 24 hours. It's was a long hall for me and I'm walking with a cane now. It is a blessing that I can walk. I can not jump or run even if my life depended on it.

13. What’s your favorite book and why, favorite movie and why, favorite kind of music?
I just finished a book, "Fall Down on Your Knees" by Marie Mcdowd, wonderful book. I read hand me down books from my sisters-in-law, both are avid readers.
I have many favorites: Little Women, Price and Prejudice, Moby Dick, Madame Bovary, The little Prince, poetry by Beau de L'air, The river Runs through it, Young Man and Fire....
I love classical music, rock and roll, the Stones, Beatles, Fleet wood Mac, Nirvana, Jones Town Masacre, Pearls Jam, Sting, the Who, the Water Boys, Evanescence, Metallica to name a few!

14. Would you care to share any 'words of wisdom' with other aspiring artists or crafters?
Keep creating, making things that you enjoy. Don't seek approval. Make time for family and friends. Be honest, be happy!

Please leave a comment for this wonderful artist/crafter! She would love to hear from you!