Saturdays are seriously my favorite day of the week! Not only do I get so sleep late, but I LOVE putting together these handmade weekend posts featuring amazingly creative artists from around the world. Today, I'm really excited for you to meet Melody from Homespun Accessories who is a girl after my own heart (coffee inspires her too!!!) She creates these adorable crocheted toys, patterns, and baby blankets. Have you seen her little crocheted unicorns?!

Q. What is the first craft project you remember making?

A. I grew up with an extremely crafty and creative Grandmother who did everything from pottery and baskets to embroidery and quilting.  When I was in high school I worked with a Youth Apprenticeship Program and mentored in a local elementary school, the first craft project I remember making was a gift for my YAP teacher.  At the time, my grandmother was making a quilt with folk art appliqué animals on it; I picked out a bunny appliqué and make a cute small pillow.  My grandmother taught me how to hand appliqué during this project.  I was proud of it and wish I could find that book again, it had super cute stuff in there.

Q. What inspires you? 

A. Coffee… lol, it’s true.  Most of my “work” time is done overnight while all the kiddos are in bed.  I am obsessed with crocheting and I tend to think about projects during the day or sometimes even dream about color patterns, craft fair goods, etc.  My kids make special requests too, one of my boys has been requesting a dinosaur which I have yet to figure out. 

Q. Can you describe some of your creative processes?

A. I just do it! :)  (with the aid of coffee of course.)  I think of something and I work until I am pleased.  Crocheting is a forgiving craft and easy to take apart and put back together while working.  I have a composition book where I write my ideas down and just go with it.

Q. What is your most prized handmade possession?

A. My most prized handmade possession is a basket my Grandmother made; she passed away in 2007 and was the light of my life.  Earlier that year the Shooting Creek Basket Guild had a booth set up at the Georgia Mountain Fair in Hiawassee, I went while she was not working that day and bought a basket from her.  I love it so much because she got so mad at me for purchasing an item of hers; she tried to pay me back for it and kept trying to give me other baskets.  It was one her last projects and has a high sentimental value to me.

Q. What was the hardest thing about starting your Etsy shop? 

A. I started my Etsy shop September 2012 and it was full of hair bows and a complete fail for me, I made a less than $20 up until January 2014.  Absolutely awful! I was about to become discouraged and give up until I discovered the art of crochet, and I have been fairly busy since. 

Q. What's the BEST thing about running your Etsy shop? 

A. I love my Etsy shop.  I am a stay at home mom and haven’t worked in the past 2 to 3 years so for once I can support my yarn addiction!  :)

Q. How do your customers find out about your products?

A. I post a lot of information on social media, I also decided to start a “free” blog where I offer crochet patterns and more info about my projects.  My blog is new and pretty bare but I think it helps. 

Q. What are a few of your favorite items in your shop? 

A. The loveys!  I love the loveys.  They are my favorite, the unicorns especially…I am a little obsessed with unicorns and it is known throughout the house.  My youngest boy told me about a week ago that he wanted to be a unicorn, I laughed and asked him what he wanted for lunch and he replied, “A rainbow sandwich”. LOL!

Q. If you could give one piece of advice to a new Etsy seller, what would it be? 

A. Don’t give up!  Research and join a few really good Etsy teams that help promote your products and offer good advice.  Also, I would highly recommend finding a team that talk about listing titles, tags, etc.  They explain all the technical mumbo jumbo.

Q. Where can we find you (etsy, facebook, twitter, etc.) 

Etsy:  http://www.homespunaccessories.etsy.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Love-Homespun/173854286063711?ref=hl

Twitter: @homespuncrochet

And I have a small blog at:  http://lovehomespun.weebly.com

Q. Finally, tell us 3 fun facts about you! 

A. Geez…everything about me is fun! LOL no but seriously if I have to list 3 facts:

I am a thrift store junkie; a wannabe chef inspired by The Chew and extremely scared of spiders!  (That last one is not fun for me but for my kids, they get a kick out of my spider freak outs)

Thanks so much, Melody! It's nice to "meet" a fellow coffee addict! :)

I hope you enjoyed this interview and a little insight into another fellow artist. Please stop by her shop, Homespun Accessories, and show Melody and her Unicorn Lovies some love! These would be perfect for all the little (and not so little!) Unicorn lovers in your life! Have any baby showers in the near future? The little crocheted blankets would be a wonderful gift for the new baby and family to treasure!!!!

If you are a handmade artist and would like to be featured, or you know know a killer artist that I should feature, send me an email at aprilbern@gmail.com or leave a comment in the section below!