Creating success around the world

Welcome to
Creating Success around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour, that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the globe.

Every Wednesday our hosts on each continent will introduce you to someone new whose creativity is inspiring!

Here's how you can take this worldwide tour with us:

You can follow all the hosts to support them and keep up to date with the fabulous posts they will share every week.  Then if you are inspired to join, just link up your own blog to make some new international friends.

Remember to leave us a comment when you follow us so we can follow you back! And of course we'd love if you added our button to your site to help spread the word!


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Here are your hosts:
Make sure you visit them all to see the inspiration and creative people every continent has to add to our community.
Australasia - Jill @ Creating my way to Success
Europe - Yaga @ The Shiny Bubble
The Americas - Suzy @ Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
Asia - Janelle @ Of Pinks and Fairytales
Africa - Adepeju @ Peekadot

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At this point, there should be the banner that shows which part of Europe our guest is from. But today, this is the place for my little walk of shame... I have been so keen on inviting Angela to this interview that I totally missed that she acutally lives in the U.S.!!! Oooh, bear with my confused head, dear world! There I go, walk of shame, walk of shame. 

I could never not have her though, she's just so inspiring and I've been so excited about this that I will -in the best sense of creativity- bend the rules a tiny bit for this week. ;o)

Angie's blog is called "Sew I thought" and shows tidbits of her personal life and projects, and an inspiring load of her projects of making and remaking clothing. She makes beauties out of old thriftshop finds or takes her sewing machine to a piece of fabric so expertedly that one wonders if she shouldn't just open a boutique... after all, she can't be wearing all those clothes, can she? Our hopes are not idle, for you can actually get to wear stuff from Angela, have a look around in her online shop!

Tell us a bit about your trade: What do you create, how and where do you sell your things,

how long have you been doing this?

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Well first off I’m Angie and I blog at Sewithought.com,  I work a full time job as a nurse but my real passion is for sewing and remaking clothing. I love to take a giant dress I thrifted for a dollar and turn it into something completely different. Right now I sell vintage clothing on my Etsy shop (sewithoughtvintage) and I also sell handcrafted items locally at craft fairs and farmer’s markets. I’ve been doing this for about 2 years.

 

Please, tell us a little bit about the place and the country that you live in.

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I live in Scottsdale, Az. Its the southwest deserty part of the United States. Right now it is upwards of 110-115 degrees. Yucky... but it’s a great place with mild winters and a great mix of arts, food, and culture .

Do you think that your surroundings influence your creativity? How? 

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The Phoenix area is really turning around into a place where people are passionate about creating and people here really appreciate locally made and handmade goods. Of course some areas aren’t so open but if you know where to look its a great source of inspiration.

How and why did you 'pick' your creative outlet of choice?

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I have always loved clothes but always wished I could tweak them to be a bit more of my own style. So one day I just bought myself a sewing machine and started to experiment. Over the past few years I have taught myself everything I know about sewing mostly through trial and error. Sewing has been such a wonderful outlet.

 

 Why did you decide to sell what you are creating?

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Eventually once you’ve been sewing long enough and thrifting for good deals you will run out of space. I didn’t want to stop creating or shopping so the natural next step was to start selling.

How did you start your business?

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I started selling vintage clothing on Ebay a few years ago and then transitioned to Etsy a year or so ago. I still sell my vintage wares there. I also make bags, accessories, and other sewn goods to sell at craft fairs and farmer’s markets.

What, in your opinion is your biggest strength in your creative life and how does it

influence your work?

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I think my biggest strength is my real passion for sewing. When you truely enjoy and love what you do then it doesn’t really feel like work. I think that other people can really sense when an item is made with real care and love. On top of that I am able to have a good sense of humor about the mistakes I make. You can’t take yourself too seriously.

What would you regard as your greatest weakness in terms of your creativity and how do

you deal with it?

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Ugh, my weakness would definitely be procrastination. Thus far i haven’t been too good at handling that but using calendars and setting deadline for myself has helped.

How do you stay motivated and inspired?

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It is easy to stay inspried by reading other sewing blogs and browsing sites like pinterest. It’s amazing to see all the creative people out in the world.

Where do you see yourself and your creative life in two years? Do you have any plans?

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I’m currently working on designing some basic and fun patterns and plan to create a line of refashioned clothing to sell online. I hope to launch this within a year.

What are your 5 hottest tips for people who want to be more successful with

creating?
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1.      Be realistic. You can’t expect to start making bunches of money right away from any business. It will take time and real work. Set goals and make timelines to keep yourself on track. It’s also a great idea to meet soemone who also crafts to sell. They will be an invaluable resource.

2.      If you are going to be selling crafted items to make a profit be very mindful and keep track of the cost to make each item and the time spent as well. You don’t want to pour hours and hours into an item you will only make a couple of bucks on. This isn’t a fun part of creating but trust me it’ll be worth it when you can track profits and know your time is worth it.

3.      Try sponsoring blogs that you find inspring. This is a great way to get your name and product out there. Try finding a blog that would appeal to someone who would buy your products. It’s usually not too expensive and it promotes a lot of traffic.

4.      Know when to take a break! Getting burned out is a really quick way to ruin your business and all the time you have put into it. Make sure you set time aside to relax. I find this especially important since crafting is something I do on top of a full time career.

5.      And lastly have fun, It’s obvious when someone really has fun with what they do. True passion is catching and when people see that in your wares they will have no choice but love them as much as you do!

Thanks so much for letting me participate!! 

- Billions of thanks to you Angie, I've really been looking forward to your answers and found them very inspiring!

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I often find my guests through our linky list. Link up your blog and you might be the next artist featured in our interviews!

Now it's your turn! Link up your posts: Inspiration, craftsy blahs, tutorials, tips or business talk: We wanna know!

Have fun hopping, reading, linking, connecting... take some time to share your love and inspiration by following, leaving comments and visiting each other.
Happy Wednesday! ;o)

New to the world tour? Check our previous tours here!