interview with anastasia of birds in chandeliers
My second interview is with the lovely Anastasia of birds in chandeliers. I love the minimalistic simplicity and pops of color in her Etsy shop items.
Living with Water Cushion by birds in chandeliers
What kind of legacy do you want to leave, and how are you working toward it?
For the longest time I thought the best legacy was to never be forgotten. There’s some kind of immortality in leaving something behind, for being kept alive through memories. All the artwork you study in school is someone’s emotions, someone’s life, and here hundreds of years after the artist’s death you’re making them new memories in your life. But now, looking at what we do to the planet, all of the things that we leave behind, I think my best legacy is to not leave anything when I’m gone. To go back to the earth, to give back anything I can to the planet that made me. It may sound grotesque, but my greatest wish is to just be buried in the ground and have a sapling of a willow tree planted above, so that I may be able to help it grow. No embalming, clothes or anything; just me, how I came into this world.
Rustic Plumage Fiber Pin by birds in chandeliers
Did any of your childhood interests have to do with anything you’re doing now with your business? Please explain.
I grew up learning crochet (I do it quite badly), knitting (still enjoy it immensely, I just finished knitting two hats), cross-stitch (I’ve gone on to embroidery), and machine and hand sewing (which is how I make my cushions and pins), from my mother. She instilled in me a love of creating tactile things with my hands. Barbie would need a new dress, or a bed in my dollhouse needed a blanket, whatever the case was, so she would help me sew or knit something wonky but fabulous. I don’t think I would be drawn to all things fibre, or have a really great ability without her showing me at such a young age when one is absolutely certain that nothing is impossible.
Stroll in the Night Cushion by birds in chandeliers
Who is your favorite person on this planet, and why? (If you need to say more than one for fairness’ sake you can.)
Hmm, the parental unit most definitely. They provide unconditional love. I’m 27 and they still support me, emotionally and verbally, in whatever I do, even if it turns out I’m a failure at it. They’ve never once lost faith in me, are always encouraging of new pursuits and have never told me that I was a bad investment, even if at times I felt like I was.
Anastasia’s fat quarter collection
Tell us about your living space, and how you arrange things, or perhaps set things up differently than most people.
I’m surrounded by four walls painted a rich turquoise blue green accented with canary yellows and white. There’s a connecting bathroom that’s a bright white with light pinks and hot pinks along with cool blues working as accents. I definitely have favorite colors I’m most drawn to; pale robin’s egg blue, bright pink, baby pink, canary yellow, grey. I like my fabric, buttons, thread, paints, gemstones, anything I have more than one of really, arranged in the color spectrum. For the most part I’m very organized; with such a small space I’d go quickly bonkers if things didn’t flow well. It can get pretty crazy when I’m working on something, because everything is stored and I have to pull it all out to get to things. I wasn’t always so neat, I was one of those kids that cleaned once a year and jammed everything under the bed so the room looked clean at first glance. It’s funny, the older I get the less I like chaos in my surroundings.
Anastasia’s dollhouse living room.
What is your favorite thing that you’ve made?
My dollhouse and everything that’s in it (Well, my sister put it together, but everything else is my doing). The soft furnishings, wallpaper, textiles of my dollhouse. I’ve probably spent the most time on this one thing, years really. It’s like my miniature masterpiece.
On the Shores Fiber Pin by birds in chandeliers
When you are looking around for handmade items to buy, which do you tend to look for? What draws you to those items most?
I’m usually most drawn to original paintings that are whimsical, colorful, and peculiar. Maybe it’s my teenage passion for Japanese manga and anime coming to the forefront of my mind, or maybe it’s that these colors make me feel happy when I look at them. I really like work that has pastel and lighter shades with bursts of vivid color rather than those pieces that are solely of bold colors. I’m also drawn to embroidery and textile wall art, for the texture and tactile qualities they have. Some of my favorite artists are Aya Takano, Kat Macleod, Mark Rothko, Kay Nielson, Jennifer Davis.
Tags: anastasia, artisan, artist, birds in chandeliers, cushions, dollhouse, interview, pillows, pincushions, pins, ribbon
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