Judaica is so dear to my heart so to find someone who creates beautiful Judaic art is a joy. Renee from ReneesNeedle does just that, create beautiful Judaica from the heart. Here is her interview.
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Renee, and I live in Astoria, New York. I can look out our kitchen window and see magnificent views of New York City. We're apartment dwellers, so space is limited, but sometimes my 'stash' takes over the place.
What are your favorite materials? I love working in fabric -- both silks and cottons. I used to do lots of embroideries, but that was far more labor intensive than quilting, so I made the switch about 15 years ago. I still do some embroideries, but not much. Beading is also great, because it's so tactile.
What is your favorite color combination? my favorite color is RED. But my favorite combination changes from time to time. Lately it's been corals and plums. Look for something on my ETSY shop soon in those colors.
What is the first thing you can remember making by hand? How and why did you make it? When I was about 6 years old, I remember doing embroidery -- cross stitch -- hand towels -- in our Brownie Troop. My mom was the Troop Leader and her mother, my grandmother, taught six of us how to embroider. She had infinite patience, but demanded perfection.
What inspires you? Two differant sets of inspiration. For the Judaica -- it's the texts that inspire me when I create the Atarah(neckband) for the Tallit (prayer shawl). For the beaded mezzuzahs and yad, I was seeing so much beaded jewlery that it seemed like a natural extension to create beaded Judaica. I'm not a religious Jew, I'm a cultural secular Jew, but I enjoy studying and learning about Judaism. For the quilts and fabric art, it's the color first and patterns second.
Where do your ideas come from? I'm constantly looking through fashion, decorating and travel magazines. There are great ideas for color combinations in advertisements and editorial spreads. There are great color combinations in paintings, and all around you in life.
Who is, or was, your greatest inspiration? My grandmothers were independent women for their time. One emigrated from Europe at 14 with her older sister, started as a sewer in a garment factory and became a coat and suit designer. She travelled to Europe after World War I to cover the Couture Fashion Shows in Paris. My other grandmother, the daughter of immigrants, took many classes to expand her world view. Although she only had a high school education, she was a legal secretary, and a bit of a rebel -- she wore a bathing suit without stockings at the beach and was arrested, believed in abortion in the 1930's, and introduced me to the poetry of Kahlil Gibran. Both of them were classy ladies who inspired me to do my best at whatever I attempted.
What is your favorite thing to do with your creativity? I love to make things and give them to family and friends. (unless they want to purchase them, of course..)
Why should people buy handmade? Because creative people create the heirlooms of tomorrow. Invest in something of quality and use it with pride. If you don't deserve the best, who does?
Any tips of wisdom on selling handmade items? It takes time to build a brand. Don't be sensitive when potential customers don't purchase from you. Learn from them. Learn how to make your product more saleable.
What have been the most valuable lessons learned from other artists? Have no ego -- share with others.
Apart from creating things, what do you do? Right now I'm looking for a new job -- as an office manager or Executive Assistant in New York CIty. (I'm offering a free lap quilt to the person who gives me the lead to the job I take -- convo with me on Etsy for a copy of my resume.) Aside from that, I enjoy reading, going to museums, spending time with extended family.
What are the Web addresses for your work? My website is under construction -- it should be up within the next week.
http://www.reneesneedle.com/
Are you offering my readers any specials? Free shipping -- for the months of May and June. Just put the code "goof" in the message box.
Check out ReneesNeedle. Beautiful handmade work from the heart.
