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!
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!
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| ©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.
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| ©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).
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| ©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.
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.
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| ©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!
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!
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| ©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.
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.
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| ©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.
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 :)
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 :)
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| ©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 ^^.
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 ^^.
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| ©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!"
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!"
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| ©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.
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.
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| ©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.
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| ©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 :)
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| 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!)
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!)
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| ©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.
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| ©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.
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)
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| ©murasaki.me |
20. What is your dream project?
Design clothes for a Doll company! dreaming is free, right? xD
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| ©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.
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| ©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.
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| ©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.
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| ©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!
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| ©murasaki.me |
