This week Erin Makes stuff takes some time out of her busy monster making to share a little about herself and her knit bundles of fun!
Please tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Erin! I live in
Derby and used to be an art teacher. I now go to school to learn how to make
teeth! I come from a creative family and don’t know what to do with myself if
I’m not constantly making something! I like things that are colorful, fun and
well crafted. My favorite color is magenta.
What do you create? How long have you been working on your craft/art? Mostly I
design and hand-knit monsters. Since I’m often asked where the idea for my
monsters came from, I’ll tell you here! One day, many winters ago, I wanted a
new hat. So I bought a book on how to knit and figured it out. I made many
awful hats. In 2007 I decided to start figuring out how to turn the monster
doodles from my notebooks into knit monster plush. After trial…error… more
error… more trial… I eventually figured out how to make something pretty cute!
The monsters are always evolving and I usually work a pattern from memory. I
usually get ideas for new monsters while I’m working on other monsters. I’m now
a little addicted to knitting.
How did you come up with your store name?
How does Buffalo influence your work?
I travel a bit around WNY for art shows
and I can say with absolute certainty that all the Buffalo shows I do are the
best! I love the energy and appreciation people in this city have for the arts
and am proud to be a part of it. Also, I’ve recently started making Buffalo
Bills fan monsters. They’ve become a hit and I’ve shipped them to transplanted
Buffalo natives all over the country!
How do you promote your work to the world?
I am an Instagram addict! I am
always posting new photos of the monsters there [@erinmakestuff]. I think it’s
an awesome tool to easily share photos of my work with fans from all over the
world. I also have a Facebook page and a website.
What is the hardest part about selling online?
The monsters that I knit are so
soft and plush that people want to pick them up and enjoy them. Knit items are
made to be touched. When I sell online shoppers lose that experience,
regardless of how good the photos are. I also miss seeing my customer’s
reactions. At a show, almost everyone that walks past my booth cracks a smile.
And that is what is most important to me: making other people genuinely happy.
Do you have any up and coming art shows/craft shows that you would like us to
know about?
I just finished my holiday show season, but my next event is at the
Larkin Exchange Building on February 14
th. I keep the “EVENTS” page
on my website updated regularly.