28 January 2011

A Conversation with Ria from Maisie-Moo Creations



 
"Sharing with you my new found love of felt and the joy of giving handmade gifts" is the tagline of Ria's Maisie-Moo blog. Borne out of decorating her daughters nursery, Ria is now a full time mum and creatrix of these vibrant pieces of nursery art. Cute cottages, whimsical owls, giraffes and fish created from felt make unique heirlooms for the new baby in your life, a treasure to be saved. I have pools of admiration for her clever use of colour and, her recent decision to be a stay at home mum and create more of these beautiful pieces for us all to buy ... Carol
Lets meet Ria ...
Who is Maisie-Moo Felt Creations?
My name is Ria, my daughter Maisie was born on New Years day and Maisie-Moo Felt Creations not long after.  It was only decorating Maisie’s nursery that I discovered I had the ability to create what I wanted.  It started with a name banner and some framed felt houses and then friends and family put in orders and it was them who convinced me to create Maisie-Moo.

What’s your “handmade groove?”
Felt!  I just love it, such a tactile material.  I use wool, wool mix and synthetic… for me each has its merits and the brighter and more vibrant the colour the better.  Pretty cotton fabrics make an interesting contrast to the block colours.   I seem to have a thing for birds, owls and fish… I really enjoy creating personalised items, working with a soon to be or new mum to make something extra special for their wee ones room.

What’s on your bedside table right now? (hey, no tidying up or censoring)
Two books, a trashy romcom I have never got around to reading and Baby Love as I was recently looking up the latest baby rash, a photo from my wedding day and more than an acceptable amount of dust!

Who are your creative role models? What music, books, images, poetry spark your creative fire?
Sounds ever so cheesy, but my mum is my role model in all things crafty.  I grew up knowing my parents made wooden toys, puzzles, knitted dolls, all sorts of creations back in the 70’s to sell at ‘hippy’ markets.  I however had never been interested or remotely ‘creative’ until very recently when as I mentioned before, I had a nursery to create and it was my mum who encouraged me.  I love reading, I used to read at least a book a week… mind you now however I have no time.  The Indian Bead tree outside our bedroom window… to be honest inspiration is found in so many things.

What could you talk late into the night about with like minded people?
Haha.. Babies!  Seems to be my life’s focus now… I do however remember travel being my greatest love.  Until recently I was the eternal backpacker and to find someone who has been to the same places and experienced similar adventures is always exciting. 

If you could go to three free workshops/creative events this year which ones would they be? What are they about?
Tauranga is a beautiful place to live but is quite short on the ground for creative events although there is the Garden Art Festival in November that I can’t wait to get to… just like my garden can’t wait for me to get to it!!  All the big centers seem to have wonderful markets and events that I yearn to get to. 

How do you balance your creative life with your family, life commitments?
Family comes first, I work around that at the moment.  Maisie is 10 months old and I love the fact that I can experience her everyday… so many clichés come to mind, but being a Mum is the best job in the world.  Creating means that I can live the dream of being a stay at home mum…. just a bit of juggling is needed, and a very accommodating Nana and Poppy.

What is your favorite creative screw-up?
Gosh this is where my past work life crops up and says ‘make your negative into a positive!!’  To be honest though I have never had a major ‘screw up’ maybe a few manky looking critters that have not made the cut though.

Kitchen table or studio?
Studio… well, I call it the basement.  It is the rumpus room really, so plenty of space to make a mess, it is nice and bright and best of all the gate on the stairs mean no little fingers getting vegemite on just finished Owl Families!!

Do you have a wish list? Can you tell us what’s on it?
That I will continue to enjoy what I am doing.  I feel so lucky to have something I love doing that means I can spend more time with the ones that I love…. Mmm and I said I did not want to sound too cheesy!!


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