Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Interview with Kuraikawai from Murasaki.me!

Welcome to Day 2
of a Murasaki.me extravaganza!

We are going to partake in 3 days of fun!
Day 2: Interview with Kuraikawai, the talent behind Murasaki.me
Day 3: GIVEAWAY!!!! (It's so cute I don't want to give it away ;_; )
Today is the interview!!!

You can find more from Kuraikawai on Facebook:

and on flickr:

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Here's a little background info on her, and her website, first:

 Who is Kuraikawai?
I’m a cheerful Spanish girl born in Croatia, that loves everything related to Japan xD. Kuraikawai is a nickname I have been using for a long time now. At first I started with Kurai only. I took it from a character that appeared in a manga called “Angel Sactuary”, but I found out that when I tried to subscribe to web pages it was taken in many occasions, so I added “kawai”.

Why Murasaki.me?
I didn’t have to think too much about the name of this blog, I love purple color, and I like how ” murasaki” (?) sounds (purple in japanese). Unfortunately the domain .com was taken, and I randomly chose .me ( me ? means eyes),  which turned out perfect for the meaning “purple eyes”. So this is why its called Murasaki.me :)

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©murasaki.me
1. Are Dollfie Dreams the only dolls you collect? I also collect PVC figures, but regarding dolls I only collect DD for now. I have one Azone and one Pullip, but don't plan to collect more.
2. Your father made your cosplay? That's so cool, is he a tailor?
My father is skilled in many things related with handicrafts, hehe, so he knows how to sew and he made all my cosplays when I was younger. Now I think I would make them myself, but never tried!

©murasaki.me
3. What inspires the clothes you create? I always get inspired when I see a lolita style dress, I love them! frills everywhere, cute skirts, ribbons. I have a lot of projects in mind and on paper, but didn't make them yet.
©murasaki.me
 4. What inspires you, in general? 
I like to get references from anime, I pay attention specially to cute dresses and seifuku (a seifuku is a school uniform).

©murasaki.me
 5. Who inspires you?
My first inspiration was Chun-san! I saw Danny Choo's Aoi wearing a knitted jersey by her and I rushed to youtube to learn how to knit xD.

©murasaki.me
6. Any advice for folks interested in sewing their own doll clothes?
My advice is to be constant and patient, sewing requires a lot of testing, and you can get frustrated easily... but don't give up!
 
©murasaki.me
7. Do you have any tips on product photography?
I think product photography has to show the product as good as possible, front, back, details, I recommend to use always a clear background... so potential buyers can see it from all sides. 
8. What do you do for a living when you aren't making doll clothes or tending to your website? I work in a laboratory. I majored in Biology and finished my PhD last year. 
©murasaki.me
 9. What does your workspace look like?
hm...messy? :p haha. I have a desk with two sewing machines, one normal, and one overlock. I have a headless/naked DD near to try the dress I am sewing and I use the ironing table to cut the fabric. The room is small, so it gets messy really fast xD.
10. What is your daily routine like (for dolly stuff).
When I make shirts, I make them in bulk (3-5), then I take pictures for the web site or for reference and prepare them for shipment. If it's a dress then, it takes more time, so bit by bit, I usually start with the top as it is more complicated :)

©murasaki.me
 11. What are your goals for the future, for Murasaki.me?
I would like make more dresses and have them in stock, so have like a real store, not only make one, and sell. I wish I could make enough to work only at Murasaki.me ^^.
 
©murasaki.me
 12. What do you enjoy most about creating doll clothes?
What I like the most is to plan a dress, create it, I enjoy picking up fabrics and details for the design. When I finish it I feel very satisfied, but a bit sad at the same time, the end feeling is always, "it was fun!"

©murasaki.me
13. What do you enjoy most about the doll hobby?
Apart from making their clothes, to enjoy how cute they are! take pictures in different places and hang out with friends with the same hobby.

©murasaki.me
14. What is your favorite material to use? For me, the best fabric to sew is cotton poppelin type fabric, behaves really well under the sewing machine.

©murasaki.me
15. What are some sources that have helped you hone your skill? 
 Google is your friend! there are a lot of tutorials, patterns, videos around, you just have to adjust the size of it for the doll. My father also gives me good advice :)

Another great resource is Kuraikawai's own Tutorial Page!!
16. How do you get such awesome collaborations? (puppy52, Danny Choo, charuca) Ah! I feel very lucky about it!
First collaboration was Charuca, I mailed her about my project and she was very excited about it, so she gave me permission to use her designs. Puppy52 also let me use her cute puppy on my t-shirts, she made some for her dolls before and I always thought it was a perfect design for tees! And as for Danny Choo, I thought about logo tees with his corporative colors and sent him some samples. Looks like he liked them! Now I'l will be making the tees that Smart Doll Mirai will be wearing when released. I am very happy about this opportunity :). He also gave me permission to make Moekana tees :). I will also make My Littel Pony tees soon in collaboration with an artist I met at Deviantart :)
 
(Kuraikawai is in the middle, Charuca is on the right, the lovely lady on the left is in charge of the cake shop!)
©murasaki.me
 Kuraikawai just put up an awesome blog post about her work on Mirai and meeting up with Danny Choo!
Go HERE to check it out!
17. Do you have a "business plan" for the year, or do you just plan as you go? I try to make a bussiness plan, like, seasonal clothes, long /short sleeves depending on the season too :). I like to release special things for events like Xmas, Valentine's or Easter.

©murasaki.me
18. What is your favorite thing to make? I love to make lolita kimonos!

©murasaki.me
19. What was the first item you ever attempted to sew for your girls?
Was it a success? I still keep it! I was a top and pleated skirt I hand sewed. It didn't look bad for the first time, but with room for improvement hahaha.
 (just a note, this is just a photo of one of her pleated skirts, not *the* pleated skirt! XD)
©murasaki.me
 20. What is your dream project? 
 Design clothes for a Doll company! dreaming is free, right? xD
©murasaki.me
 21. How long  have you been running your website and sewing for DD girls? 
 I started when I got Nia in 2009, and opened the blog in April 2010.
©murasaki.me
 22. Do you have any equipment recommendations for beginners?  
Sewing machines, tools, etc? I think it's important to know how to sew without a machine first, and then practice bit by bit with a sewing machine, just making straight lines, draw a circle and try to follow it, etc.. As for brands, I really don't know much which one is better, I started with an ELNA, now I use a ALFA electronic machine. Overlock I think it's BERNINA.
©murasaki.me
 23. Do you have any advice for folks looking to learn how to sew for their dolls? 
Start with a small bust xD. Then adjust the pattern to bigger ones once you mastered the smaller one. Elastic fabrics (not 100% lycra) like cotton ones with some % of lycra or elastane, are maybe easier to work with in the sense that the fit doesn't have to be 100% accurate, you can stretch it a bit if it doesn't fit. 100% cotton fabric that doesn't stretch will wrinkle if the fit is not good, which means the pattern has to be very well adjusted.
©murasaki.me
 24. Do you have any advice for folks looking to create a great blog? 
 I think what readers like the most is looking at pictures. I like to spread the text in between them so it's not very boring. A good picture always draws more attention!
©murasaki.me

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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Interview with Nommy! Miniatures!

Welcome to Day 2
of a Nommy Miniatures extravaganza!

There are three days of fun!
Day 2:  Interview with Darlene Dallas, the talent behind Nommy Miniatures
Day 3: GIVEAWAY!!!!
Today we're going to interview the creative mind behind
 
©Nommy Miniatures
 
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I was *SUPER* excited to find out that Nommy Miniatures is based right here in Michigan!
  I am always so excited to find fellow 1/6 enthusiasts in the state!
Also... you're just in time to get in an order of some of her super cute Valentines Day items!

©Nommy Miniatures

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All photographs in this post are ©Nommy Miniatures
and used with permission.
If you're wondering where you can find the fantastic miniature work of Darlene (aka, Nommy Miniatures),
check out her Etsy Shop!

 
She is available for custom work,
and did a fast, speedy job with my special requests!
 
Nommy Miniatures is a shop that specializes in delicious, realistic looking 1/6 and 1/12 scale food!

©Nommy Miniatures
1. How did you get started making miniatures?
I am a member of a contest site for artists. Years ago a friend and I each had a small amount of clay sitting around. She challenged me to a head to head contest where we had to make something from clay that was smaller than 1 inch in size. I made a little platter with a burger, fries, and a drink. After that I started working with clay regularly, competing often. I found that I enjoyed making things miniature in size.

 
©Nommy Miniatures
2. What inspires you?
Food itself inspires me. It always has. I have a long culinary background. I started culinary education in high school and went on to college learning culinary arts. After that I worked in a bakery for a couple of my instructors doing specialty cakes and wedding cakes. I left that job several years back when I moved across the state. I still do specialty 3D sculpted cakes from home. Food is a beautiful thing, not just to eat but to look at. When I’m not cooking or baking, I’m making miniature food.

 
©Nommy Miniatures
3. Who inspires you?
When I had first started making miniatures (and figurines, not yet fully into mini foods), I had come across a photo of Tanja Jensen’s (Sugar Charm Shop) miniatures and I was blown away. Her work is absolutely incredible and so realistic. Her work inspires. When I saw it I said to myself “I need to learn how to do that!” I have actually just discovered she has tutorials, I expect I’ll be spending some time looking for some tips and tricks to take my work to the next level.

 
©Nommy Miniatures
  4. How long have you been making miniatures?
I have been making stuff from clay regularly for around 5 years. Mostly figurines or other random things. I also do custom wedding cake toppers. I’d do random mini food from time to time through those years, but only the beginning of 2013 did I start doing food daily and decided to open up a shop.


©Nommy Miniatures
5. Why playscale? So many miniature artists make 1/12 scale,
so why did you decide to go with 1/6 scale?
I do both 1:6 and 1:12 and sell both in my shop. When I work, I’m doing both sizes at the same time. I much prefer making the 1:6 scale though. It’s easier to work with and I feel that there can be better detail. I started with the 1:6 because I would make things for my daughter’s Barbies. Not to mention that it seems everyone does 1:12 only, 1:6 dolls need food too!

 
©Nommy Miniatures
6. Where did the name of your shop come from?
Nommy! Came to me back when I was thinking about what I would call my cake business. Nommy is a word that people often use to describe something that tastes/looks good. Nommy, or Nom, nom nom nom ;) So I decided I wanted that to be the name. My business is registerd as Nommy! By Darlene Dallas. When creating an Etsy shop, I wanted the shop name to include my business name, obviously, but also something that would tie into what I was selling. So it became NommyMiniatures.

 
©Nommy Miniatures
 7. Do you have any advice for people interested in learning to make miniatures?
No way, you have no need to make miniatures. Come to me and I”ll make whatever you’d like! Haha, just kidding! Get some clay, pastels and get to work! Using food, or photos of the food as references. Keep the photos at your work area and look at it so you can see how your texture and colors are supposed to be. Searching online for tutorials is always a plus if you just can’t figure out how to get it right. Play, play, play, and keep playing with the clay.

 
©Nommy Miniatures
8. You take great photographs of your product. Do you have any advice for folks on how to take good photos of small things?
I am also hobby photographer. I LOVE food photography (who would have thought right? haha). You can see a sampling of my work at http://darlenedallas.foliodrop.com/ The most important thing you need to get a decent photo is GOOD LIGHT! If you have good light, you can get a good photo. You don’t need anything fancy, get near a window. Natural light looks best. Stay out of direct sunlight, or harsh lighting because it creates ugly shadows that hide what you’re trying to show. Get close, as close as your camera will let you while still being in focus. A macro lens works great if it’s very small, but might be too close for larger sizes like 1:6. My camera is in need of repair at the moment so I’ve been having to use my phone. Again, as long as you have good light, even a phone camera can work for you.


©Nommy Miniatures
9. What does your workspace look like?
I use a small desk that is built into my kitchen. It’s not fancy, but it works. I’m left handed so I keep my supplies, clay, pastels, and tools to the left of me. There are built in drawers that hold more supplies like paints and cutters, or other random things I don’t use as much. On the right I have corkboards where I hang up my inventory of finished items, ready for shipping. I used to have them stored in a box, but it was becoming a hassle to find items and there was too much. Hanging them up lets me have quick easy access for packing them up to ship. I have a dry erase board on the wall where I make note of what I need to restock or ideas of what new things to make. It’s also handy for when an order comes in, I write down who and what so it’s easier to keep track of.

 
©Nommy Miniatures

10. Tell us a little about yourself... do you have another job other than making miniatures? Hobbies? Interests? Family? Pets? etc.
I work for myself. Doing the miniatures and the specialty cakes. The minis are the main thing I do now. Cakes come in randomly, mostly from word of mouth as I haven’t been advertising, it’s been put on the back burner. I enjoy doing cakes, but they take a lot of time and don’t bring in as much profit as you’d think.
I have two daughters, I’m lucky enough to stay home while one kid is in school and the other is home with me (until this fall when she goes to school too).
Photography is the other passion of mine. I love it. Back in highschool when figuring out what I wanted to be ‘when I grew up’ it was between photographer and chef. I thought it would be awesome to combine the two things with food photography. I have made that a reality as a hobby. I would love to do it professionally, but haven’t branched out there. There are too many things I enjoy doing and don’t want to stop any of them!

 
©Nommy Miniatures
 11. What is your miniature making work routine like?
Once I get the oldest kid on the school bus, I get to work. I figure out what I’m going to do that day and do it. There isn’t much of a routine as just ‘doing’. I can never work solid until it’s done because of the needs of the younger kid. Plenty of distractions It seems I stick to an 8:30-3:30 working schedule. Once 3:30 hits I’m finishing up to get my daughter off the bus. I don’t generally work after then because there are other things to do, like dinner and spending time with the girls. There are nights when I will spend time working, but that’s generally when I have a custom order come in. I love custom orders! Being able to bring to live someone’s ideas to life is awesome. I’ve had some pretty cool custom orders that were a blast to make.

 
12. What do you enjoy most about making miniatures?
Seeing my vision come to life. I picture how I want it to be in my head, and it’s just a pleasure when it turns out how I saw it. One of the downfalls of real food is that your ‘masterpiece’ gets eaten and can’t be seen anymore until you do it again. With miniatures, it’s there to stay. It’s relaxing, and so much fun to create tiny food. I very much enjoy what I do. Not many people can say they love their job, but I love mine!

 
13. What are your goals for Nommy Miniatures in the future?
I haven’t really thought about that. I take things day by day to see where it goes. I have thought about how nice it would be to have to take a bag for packages to the post office to carry all the orders. (I’ve never had that many orders at once). I strive to be someone people come right to when they have a thought of something they have a need/want/vision of.

 
14. What are your favorite materials to use? (clay types, accessories, etc)
I use Sculpey brand clay. The colored clay I use is Sculpey’s Premo. They also make colored Sculpey III, but I don’t like it. It’s much too soft to hold details and handling. Premo holds up nice and is firm enough for my taste, but soft enough not to kill your hands kneeding. The clay ‘pasta’ roller is the best thing EVER. It makes working so much quicker, kneeding, mixing colors, rolling out sheets as needed. I also use random things often, like foil and toothbrushes for texture and toothpicks.

 
15. What are some sources (for the reader who might be interested in trying to make their own miniatures) that have helped you along the way?
I don’t really have any to list. Googling, or any internet search, for help when you’re stuck is truly helpful; whether it be photos of food or a tutorial.

 
©Nommy Miniatures
 16. Do you collect dolls, or have doll houses? If so, what kinds of dolls?
I actually don’t collect any dolls! There is one dollhouse though, and it’s one that I made for my girls for Christmas a couple years back. I had given them a huge box of Barbies, Barbie clothes, Barbie furniture etc, that was mine when I was a little girl. They wanted a house for them. So crazy, craft loving me decided to make one for them. I made the whole house (a 3 story house with an attic), all the furniture and appliances, all the decorations, everything. It turned out really awesome! Their Barbies have a nice supply of food though, for sure! I’ve made them special items, but mostly when I make something I’m not happy with I give it to them to play with. My little one comes to me often while I’m working making requests for her Barbies, so cute! While I don’t collect them, I still yearn for the imagination that I had for a long time playing with Barbies. My imagination has changed and comes out in ways of art and making things for Barbie instead of pretend play now. I even have an urge to sew clothing for them. I want to, I just haven’t gotten around to actually doing it. I even did a 30day photography challenge where I used Barbie as my model. That was fun as I got to ‘play’ with dolls again. If you’re curious you can see the photos here - http://ddallasdd30dcjan12.blogspot.com/ . There are a couple photos from inside the Barbie house! I know you said your readers like to do photostories, I guess that counts as a series of photo stories with a Barbie. I can totally relate to doll collectors and the want of creating these really cool room scenes with them.

 
©Nommy Miniatures
 17. Do you plan everything out in advance for the year, when it comes to holiday items to make?
Not really. I think about ideas for seasons/holidays as they approach, but definitely not for the year. Once one holiday passes I start thinking about what comes next and go from there.

 
18. How far in advance do you start making holiday items to prepare for a holiday?
Depends on the holiday. Smaller holidays, maybe a month before. I’d like to have them listed a month prior since that’s about when people start thinking about that holiday and shopping for items. For big holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, I start a couple months ahead. I believe I started in August last year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, to be sure I had what I needed done and ready for when people would want them, and to stock up on popular items. Christmas time was actually my slowest time of the year, shockingly.

 
 Nommy Miniature's First Mini Ever!
©Nommy Miniatures
19. What was the first miniature item you ever attempted to make? Was it a success?
My very first miniature was this burger and fries *picture attached* It turned out cute for a first time. Kind of a cartoony look to it. I didn’t use colored clay, it was all done with Super Sculpey (which is a flesh color). Once it was baked I painted it. My first works were don’t with painting the items. Then I went on to coloring my own clay. That was a pain, took way too long and the clay ended up way too soft. That’s when I dived into working with purchased colored clay. It saved my sanity.

 

©Nommy Miniatures
20. What is your dream project to work on?
Doll related? I’ve wanted to create individual foldable rooms for Barbie for the girls to play with and that I can use for some photos. It would, of course, probably feature foods too. It seems like a lot of fun. I just love making things! Baking, crafting, sewing, building, sculpting, photographing, miniatures…everything. I love it all and want to do it all, if only there were more time in the day!

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A HUGE thank you to Darlene for taking time from her busy
schedules to answer my questions!

**NOTE**
International buyers, if you're interested in buying from Nommy Miniatures,
send her a message on Etsy.
Her shop says she doesn't ship Internationally,
but it's not true, she will...
she just wants to work out the details of International shipping with you first :) 
 
If you're interested in ordering from Nommy! Miniatures,
please visit:
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