I have been making things since I was small,
following in the footsteps of my incredibly creative mother and grandmother. I
have ideas for projects all the time, but lack enough time to complete them
all! My Punkinhead designs sprang from a love of vintage and repurposed fabrics
– I couldn’t just keep piling them up, so I started making things as gifts… now
I make them for EVERYONE. I sew on a little drop-leaf table owned by my
great-grandma and my favorite materials are vintage curtains and linens, with patches,
lace and buttons thrown in for good measure.
What do
you create and what do YOU love about your products?
I make Snowfolk out of old blankets and sweaters,
tote bags from vintage linens, and hip bags and aprons from repurposed belts,
sweaters and fabrics. I also make drink coasters and lapel pins out of
repurposed bits and pieces. I create hanging lanterns from antique glass
insulators and wire, and art from whatever I happen to find that says “use
me!”. I love that I am making things that become useful or beautiful or
smile-inducing out of things that may have gone unnoticed in corners or piles
at sales and thrift-stores.
Where do you find inspiration?
The materials themselves inspire me, usually, but I also love shelter magazines like Domino (RIP!) and Elle Décor for color inspiration. I also follow a number of blogs and am addicted to Pinterest. I tend to pile up things I’ve found and eventually find a way to use them even if I had no idea what they’d become when I first brought them home.
The Alliday Show believes that everyday should be celebrated as a holiday! That being said, which holiday do you wish were everyday and why?
I am torn between Halloween and Christmas. I like them both because I love to decorate for them, but I also like Christmas because I enjoy giving gifts to people I love. I try to find gifts that speak to me about that person – especially handmade ones, either made by me or purchased from other artisans. They’re my favorite kind of gifts to receive as well.
I think we should have a holiday to celebrate the new moon each month (maybe Wiccans already do??) that requires us all to gather in empty fields full of fireflies and lawn chairs and stare at the night sky. Looking at the vast black of the Universe on a regular basis is sure to keep our humble little lives on this blue planet in perspective.
My mom, the original creative force in my family, created lots of traditions for us. She probably didn’t know it at the time, though. I have to listen to a Firestone record of holiday songs that belonged to her while baking for Christmas, we have to put out the stockings that I made each of us (and mine made by mom), and the advent calendar she created has to be hung. Supposed to happen the first day of December, but it’s been known to be forgotten until around the 20th… I have also started reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to my kids on Christmas eve.
Repurposed, Practical, Unique
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