micro mini interview with DanielleLaPorte

Welcome to the first ever moth and squirrel blog interview, micro mini style!
Danielle LaPorte rocks my world with her blog White Hot Truth. I go to her site for both no bull shit practical business motivation and also for soul nurturing poetic inspiration. This spring Danielle launched a vook: The Fire Starter Sessions, it's a virtual book plus e-course with a dash of multimedia extravaganza. As part of her promotion she invited anyone with a blog to interview her. I humbly submitted one question and she graciously answered. As a mama and power blogger she has chosen to keep her family life fairly private, so I was tickled that she talked about creating with her son in her response.

Libby:I see you as a crafter of ideas and inspiration. Your new vook takes even the art of writing out of the tangible traditional hand held experience. But you are also a sensual woman who very much dances in the material world. Tell us about the last thing you crafted with your hands?


Danielle:This is such a timely question because I just had a conversation recently with a Buddhist Lama and he was talking about the value of craft for wakefulness. His words were, "You want enlightenment? Tile my house!"

In order of sequence, here are the things I've done this summer that merge with art and craft -- all of which comfort my soul, stop time, and make me feel pretty handy and cool:

Yesterday: Drew picture of Captain Underpants with my kid. This is a very special skill.
Last weekend: Did some rock balancing statues by the rapids.
Last week: Brought matching sketch books to the market with my six year old boy and we drew pictures of each other and shop windows. And seagulls. While eating burritos.
Week before that: Collaborating with a jewelery designer to turn some of my old gold (my "past") into some big beautiful gold rings that reflect the power of my present.
Last month: Started sewing a felt ugly pet with the boy. Our own pattern. Our own special depiction of what it means to be so ugly you're cute.

Oh, and a few days ago I pulled some ivy out of the garden and made a head wreath to go on the sun-bleached deer skull with antlers that I just hung in the living room. Does that count? I think it does!

Thanks for the inspiration to look at the craft in my life!
With Love
Danielle

last minute gratitude

I've been too focussed sewing to take any photos, but let me tell you,good things are happening in the studio.Test Print summer caps will debut tomorrow at the Urban Craft Uprising. These are the t-shirt weight johnny caps made with awesome mishmash images from local silkscreen shop Red Boots Design. Lots of bicycles and birds and unexpected bits of type.
I should really be packing or hand sewing just one more animal,but I wanted to take a moment while the baby is napping to say I couldn't do it without steeb or sparkleface who has been hanging out with franklin so this mama can make it work.I would also like to thank the voice of tim gunn in my head all week encouraging me, designers, to "go, go, go."

tiny production line

Tiny production of bunny, anchor, and leaf bibs to get ready for the Urban Craft Uprising in July.



Working with recycled fabrics, it is rare for me to have uniform sets of materials. I spent one session just cutting out fat stacks of the hemp/cotton knit scraps I bought from Intertwined Designs. Although the unique nature of the found materials is what keeps this interesting for me, it actually delights me to feel like a miniature factory once in a while. And by miniature I mean quantities in the dozen. So really, everything is still super special.

mama, is it awesome yet?

yes yes and yes.


taking dorky photos and babies are both excellent ice breakers when you are feeling nervous about meeting your favorite artists. so borrow a camera or a baby next time you might be meeting yours.


Nikki McClure is not only an amazing artist,but also an inspiration for me as a crafty mama. She cuts images from black paper with an exacto knife that reflect the seasons and values of northwest punk/hippy life:potlucks and dandilions, clothes lines and kale.Reading her board book Awake to Nap with Franklin has been a great encouragement to me lately.The almost alphabet book was created entirely during her sons naps.If she can do it,I can do it. One nap at a time I will sew.

So naturally I was super excited when Nikki came to The Paperdoll for a meet and greet with doughnuts on friday morning. She was signing her gorgeous new book Mama, Is It Summer Yet? I waited in line while she drew a moustache on the august picture of her 2010 calendar. It really did make the image look like erin and eric kissing in the pantry with mason jars. They talked about the intention to preserve fruit and how Nikki made that picture to remind herself to really do it this year.

When it was my turn I got all spazzy "uh,hi,uh,you're so great, can I take a photo?" for a moment and then we just fell in to chatting about Franklin and her being away from her boy for the first time and needing to get a cellphone and not really knowing how to turn it off when it rang and raking your neighbor's leaves and it was just so natural and good. The way you would want it to be when you meet your heroes and they are regular folks who have been doing their thing longer or with more focus and talent but aren't all egotistical or untouchable or reclusive tortured souls. Leaving the store I felt energized and motivated by the brief encounter. Thank you for your gifts, Nikki.