Featured Designer

Gemma Rodrigues

of

Amor and Stitch

I interviewed this fellow Etsy designer after i fell head over heels with her wonderful designs. Here is the interview:

Gemma, When did you open your Etsy store and begin selling?

I opened my store mid June 2009, I began selling straight away (could not wait! Still loving it!)

How did you select your shop’s name?

I moved from UK to Spain 7 months ago, so I decided to have a change of career from Art Psychotherapist to artist so that is when I started this journey on Etsy I chose my name which linked the two things that were important at the time Love (Amor) of my family and stitching my art so Amorandstitch was born!

What do you create and sell in your Etsy shop?

Hand Embroidery art pieces in locket's, pillow's, in frames and canvas's. I use vintage material, threads, beads to make my pieces just a bit extra special.

How did you become involved in your craft?

I have been creating art since I was a child, my mother taught me to sew and knit I went to college then university where I trained as a illustrator. I then worked as an art psychotherapist for 8 years. In that time I discovered the magically link between emotions and art on a much deeper level. I am now enjoying being a mum of two little people and creating my art.
Explain your favorite part of the creative process.

I love researching vintage images, them creating my own designs from them but I think my favourite part is seeing it come to life when I start to embroider the design.

Do you sell in another Etsy store or anywhere outside of Etsy? If so, where?

Gosh! One is enough for the moment but I would like to start approaching local shop's and other online store's to sell my work in.

So far, what project are you most proud of?

I am not sure I could choose just one, I am proud of all my designs but the feet pillow is very special as I designed this piece for my husband and used our youngest child's to model the feet. Great idea for storing a memory of your newborn.


Any other places we might find you (Flickr, blog, MySpace, etc.)?

Yes, can be found on Flickr, facebook, twitter and my own website:

www.amorandstitch.com

Besides making the Sterling Silver pendants and pillows, Gemma also makes candle cuffs, art pieces in frames, Russian dolls, Elephants and Hearts.

Here is her Etsy shop: AmorandStitch

So go have a look at her other beautiful embroidered creations!