01 September 2011

A Conversation with Melanie of Little Peanuts


Creator of Little Peanuts, Melanie, enjoys creating boutique style items for babies and children that are fresh, functional and fun.  This is evidenced by her use of gorgeous fabrics and finishes with a large range of super cool children's suspenders, toddler neckties, taggy giraffes, grab-n-go nappy clutches, shoes, tote bags and much, much more.  Read on to learn more about Melanie and Little Peanuts...

Who is Little Peanuts? 
Melanie Greenfield

What’s your “handmade groove ?”
Creating boutique style baby & toddler products (and the occasional product for mum too : )

What’s on your bedside table right now? (hey, no tidying up or censoring)
 Radio, lamp, baby monitor & a lot of dust :)

Who are your creative role models? What music, books, images, poetry spark your creative fire?
My two children are my inspiration (and models) for all my baby products, if it doesn’t work with them I won’t use it for anyone else. I enjoy browsing through sewing blogs on the internet and admire the quality and creativity of work that is out there, as I know how long it takes to create and make a new product. When I find a bit of spare time to myself I love nothing better than settling down with a cuppa and a good book (thriller) to get lost in and often stayed up past bedtime just so I could finish it.

What could you talk late into the night about with like minded people?
Techniques, hints and tips to make sewing a bit easier/quicker, love to chat about projects and learn from other people.

If you could go to three free workshops/creative events this year which ones would they be? What are they about?
I would love to go to an advanced sewing workshop to learn a few more techniques – when I come across something new I have to google it or find a video that shows it in detail for me. In the future I aim to get to the Dunkleys Great New Zealand Craft show in either Dunedin or Invercargill as I have never been and would love to see the fantastic range of crafts there and hope in the future to have a space there.

How do you balance your creative life with your family, life commitments?
It’s a fine line to balance it all, with an energetic toddler and an 8 month old I am now finding less time for sewing during the day and it has to be pushed to the evenings after the dinner, bedtime routines (and dishes!) and I sometimes manage to get a bit more done during the weekend when my husband is home from work and can entertain the kids.

What is your favourite creative screw-up?
I was trying to make some new soft baby balls using a pentagon shape and ended up with stars instead as I sewed it all up wrong, but in the end they still worked so I have kept on with the style.

Kitchen table or studio?
Kitchen table – there’s not much space for dinner time in my house!

Do you have a wish list? Can you tell us what’s on it?
My biggest wish is a custom built sewing room, but there is no space left in our house – so maybe more a dream than a wish :)




You can view the Little Peanuts shop here
Read more via Melanie's blog here
and Follow on Facebook here

2 comments:

  1. Great interview! Her creations are so cute. ^.^

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just love your gadget pocket purses, Melanie so cool, cheers Marie

    ReplyDelete

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