Value Of Exquisite Handwork

There are more and more shopping websites in China, so when will there be a Etsy like this?

B= the Bund pictorial S=shanshan

B: when did you start making your hat?

Remember your first piece.

S: when I started making hats as a sophomore, I specialized in industrial design in my university. In my sophomore year's professional elective course, I had the "fiber" course. The first lesson was to teach "felting" (felting was made from animal hair, such as wool, through external exertion of heat, pressure and friction, and fibers intertwined into felt).

I always liked to wear a hat, so I used felting's technique to make a green hat with a strange shape, which was very interesting. So the more I did it, the more I started to set up the stall in the University.

B: when is the shop on Etsy?

How is the business?

In S:2007, I started shop in Etsy.

I have a lot of fans on Etsy, but retail business has always been very general, just as a platform to promote themselves.

However, I often receive orders from foreign boutiques.

B: do you want to order a Tinytoadstool felt hat to wait for half a year to receive it? Is it because there are too many orders?

S: in fact, it is not too many orders, but every order is too much time. I have to do it one by one, so it will take six months.

My business is very seasonal and not very fixed. Most orders are accumulated in autumn and winter.

Generally speaking, it usually takes 5 to 10 days to make a hat. Customers need to provide their head circumference or hand size first, and design and color can also be specified.

But if it's a special creation, it's hard to say.

B: can you tell me about the specific production process?

S: I will not make the sketch very clear, just a general feeling, and then make it concrete in the production process.

The production process is to form the hat from the state of wool with felting technique. After dyeing, shaping and drying, the embroidery is started, then reshaped, and the liner is finished.

The whole process is exciting and painful, and it takes time.

B: how do you summarize your writing style?

What designers / artists inspired them?

S: it's hard for me to summarize my style objectively, because I feel that I am not stereotyped.

Actually, my inspiration is mostly from some unknown artists, or picture books, picture albums, illustrations and so on.

A lot of people think of Kusama Yayoi when I see my dots. Actually, I don't know much about her, let alone inspiration.

I think girls like dots are natural, just like lace and bow.

B: where are your main customer groups from now?

Europe, America or Japan?

S:90% orders from Europe and the United States, the remaining 10% from Asian countries.

B: so far, how many products have you sold?

Which is the best seller?

S: I don't remember this.

As the basic fund, the red bottom white Beret sells a little more than it can sell well.

B: the price of the Red Beret Beret is 1050 yuan, and some styles are 2000 yuan.

Do you think your work is expensive?

S: it's a little expensive if it's only a hat, but I don't think it's expensive as a work of handmade art.

B: Recently, your work has started selling on the domestic website AliceInMod, and you have also opened Sina micro-blog.

Are there many domestic customers nowadays?

S: not many, if not including the Chinese living abroad, so far, I have fewer than 10 Chinese customers.

The values of customers at home and abroad are very different, but the customers who are determined to buy my hat are those who really like my work, because my work is not cheap for anyone in that country.

I didn't drive micro-blog to sell more hats.

Many people used to think I was Japanese, so I want you to know that these works are made by Chinese people.

Landing AliceInMod is convenient for domestic customers to purchase directly through renminbi, without needing to brush credit cards on Etsy.

How many young craftsmen from all over the world gather on B:Etsy?

S: there are many young people who create brands on Etsy.

The most successful person I know is probably Yokoo (www.etsy.com/shop/Yokoo).

He also made knitted accessories.

Obviously, his works are unique and novel, and they are cheap and cheap. They will sell well not only in Etsy.

If my work is sold for only 80 dollars, it must be sold.

B: what stores do you often visit on Etsy?

S:Vintage shops are mostly, but in fact, with Etsy for a long time, instead of focusing on specific stores, I prefer to input keyword search, which will lead to many unexpected gains.

Here I recommend several shops frequented: www.etsy.com/shop/treeandkimball, www.etsy.com/people/UntamedMenagerie, www.etsy.com/shop/AdornJewelry,

Www.etsy.com/shop/DearGoldenVintage, www.etsy.com/people/MariesVintage,

Www.etsy.com/shop/jamesrowlandshop

B: if there is a big platform like Etsy in China, will you join us?

S: in fact, there are often some domestic websites that mimic Etsy inviting me. This kind of website is not original. It may be more suitable for the "mainstream" of domestic Shanzhai.

Foreign customers will take my hat as an artwork, art work, to understand my time and energy in my work.

Many people in China see it as a lovely and expensive hat.

B: because there aren't enough handicraft artists and lovers in China, is it?

S: Japanese handicraft atmosphere is indeed better than domestic.

If I stay at home all the time, maybe I just download some beautiful pictures on the Internet everyday, and sigh if I can do it myself.

But now I will not, I will spend more time to practice, because want to make something, action is the most indispensable.

I think in Japan, at least all the friends around me are very mobile.

B: what do you think the problem is?

S: I started using some domestic websites in recent two years, such as watercress.

My feeling is that young people in China see too much and do too little.

Also, for example, I am doing textile design, but I do not often see similar works, because I do not like to be influenced by other people's works.

In China, most young people are just the opposite.

B: apart from selling your own works, you also run two retro clothing stores.

Do you have any team or fixed helpers at the moment?

S: I do all the work on my own.

The clothing store only sells clothes that I don't wear. Besides needing to take some pictures of products, they basically do not occupy their energy.

But I am really busy now. I am really thinking about finding an assistant. I am not very good at communicating with people, so I do not want to find anyone, but also look at the fate.

B: your other identity is popular fashion blogger. Is there anyone to take photos for you?

S: all my work is done by myself, including photography.

B: how do you plan for the future?

I heard you want to open a store?

S: my ideal is to be a fashionable grandma who wants to do needlework.

I want to open an antique clothing store and an art gallery in the future.

They can sell antique clothes, show themselves and their favorite artists, and have a chat about melon seeds.

I will not open my shop in Japan because I have stayed too long and want to change a new environment.

B: what accessories do you usually make besides those accessories sold on Etsy?

S: for example, making paper into thread and making cloth, called paper cloth.

Recently, I am still making some small creations with resin.

As textile artist, the field is not limited to "fabric", but will try various materials.

I launched an art project called "Hello Tinytoadstool Project", that is, let me design a hat to travel around the world, and girls from all over the world will take part in it. Everyone will take a hat to take photos, then send the hat to the next person.

In May this year, the project came to China. I call it "Tinytoadstool Says Hello To China". This theme is cooperating with young artists in China.

I will hold exhibitions every year. There will be two buying clubs and two exhibitions this year, and I will attend the Tokyo design week in November.