Portions of this post originally appeared on The SaltCitySpice Blog and have been republished with permission.
Today I want you to meet Team Discovery member Impossibly Alice - she's a Canadian seller who designs and creates beautiful hand-knit items on Etsy, using eco-friendly, sustainable, and fair trade fibers wherever possible. Her awesome neck cowls, scarves, fingerless gloves, and other knit goodies kept people cozy throughout the winter, and she has just recently introduced a new line of lighter scarves, perfect for Spring. Without further ado...
Tell us a little about yourself
My name is Sheryl. I am a wife to an awesome and supportive husband and a mom to a very busy 15 month old girl. Her motto is play first, sleep later! I love to knit and I am enjoying trying to find my way and my niche on Etsy. I've met some really great people along the way, like Katrina [of Salt City Spice]! I've recently went back to my day job work after our wonderful Canadian maternity leave. I don't regret much in my life except for the fact that I am not a very coordinated and graceful dancer.
My name is Sheryl. I am a wife to an awesome and supportive husband and a mom to a very busy 15 month old girl. Her motto is play first, sleep later! I love to knit and I am enjoying trying to find my way and my niche on Etsy. I've met some really great people along the way, like Katrina [of Salt City Spice]! I've recently went back to my day job work after our wonderful Canadian maternity leave. I don't regret much in my life except for the fact that I am not a very coordinated and graceful dancer.
I'm sure you make up for the lack of dancing abilities with your nimble knitting skills! How did you first learn?
I learned how to knit for a badge in Brownies. I made a little sleeping bag for my Pound Puppy Yuppies. It was blue with white X's cross stitched on it.
Aww, I bet they were snug as a bug in there - I can just picture it. How do you come up with your original designs?
My designs are usually more organic. I usually don't have a pattern or anything mapped out when I start and I just start knitting. I've had to work at writing down patterns for items in my shop so I can remake them. I have problems sticking to patterns for personal knitting... my fingerless gloves [above] came about via a request. I will usually try anything once and I was lucky that they were a reasonable and relatively easy request!
Fingerless gloves are pretty great, especially if you have cold hands all the time but do a lot of typing like me. You sell a variety of items, but which are your favorites?
That is SUCH a hard question! I can't sell something unless I truly believe in it. Personally my favourite colour is purple and I am drawn to my purple cowl [below]. I really love knitting with the banana fibre though and while I am not the hugest summer scarf person, I really like the teal scarf that I just listed.
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| Purple Mobius Cowl made with Fair Trade Handspun Wool |
I love that you’re using ecologically and socially conscious banana fiber, err fibre, for your new Spring scarves. What are some other eco-friendly products you can’t live without?
I love those micofibre dusting rags. I love how they trap the dust. They're so much better than the feather dusters I grew up with that would just push the dust all around! I also can't live without my Prius! When I got pregnant, my husband and I had to trade in our 2 door car. We didn't think we could afford a Prius and were delighted to find out that we could. My husband is lucky enough to take the bus to work but it is not an option for me due to the location of my work and how early I start in the morning (6:30 am!). I seriously love not spending money on gas. I also swear by cloth diapers. We use cloth on our little girl for everything but nighttime and I truly do not think it is much extra work over disposable. I like knowing that we are not filling up landfills with hard to decompose disposables and I love the fact that we are saving money!
I love those micofibre dusting rags. I love how they trap the dust. They're so much better than the feather dusters I grew up with that would just push the dust all around! I also can't live without my Prius! When I got pregnant, my husband and I had to trade in our 2 door car. We didn't think we could afford a Prius and were delighted to find out that we could. My husband is lucky enough to take the bus to work but it is not an option for me due to the location of my work and how early I start in the morning (6:30 am!). I seriously love not spending money on gas. I also swear by cloth diapers. We use cloth on our little girl for everything but nighttime and I truly do not think it is much extra work over disposable. I like knowing that we are not filling up landfills with hard to decompose disposables and I love the fact that we are saving money!
Your products are truly a reflection of your personal life - that's really awesome. Ok, I’m dying to know where your shop name came from! My best guess is that it’s somehow related to Alice in Wonderland – am I close?
You are kind of close. I will give you a 50%. The Alice part is not what comes from Alice in Wonderland - it's actually the name of my daughter. When I brought up the Etsy idea to my husband, we brainstormed a name for my shop and we couldn't come up with anything. I didn't want it to be knitting related, so I thought I would name it after my daughter. We tossed a few names around but I didn't really like anything. Then I thought of the quote from Alice in Wonderland about believing six impossible things before breakfast and, despite the fact that I am not a morning person, I love that quote. I believe in believing the impossible and I love to think outside the box.
You are kind of close. I will give you a 50%. The Alice part is not what comes from Alice in Wonderland - it's actually the name of my daughter. When I brought up the Etsy idea to my husband, we brainstormed a name for my shop and we couldn't come up with anything. I didn't want it to be knitting related, so I thought I would name it after my daughter. We tossed a few names around but I didn't really like anything. Then I thought of the quote from Alice in Wonderland about believing six impossible things before breakfast and, despite the fact that I am not a morning person, I love that quote. I believe in believing the impossible and I love to think outside the box.
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| Recycled Silk Wine Bottle Sleeve |
That's a great quote and I'm glad I wasn't totally off base. In between being a wife, mother, career woman, etc, what are some of your hobbies?
Obviously knitting is a hobby of mine! My other crafty hobby is cross stitching. I would love to learn how to be a better sewer - I know enough to get by making easy Halloween costumes - but I find I don't have enough time to do all the activities I know how to do already. I am also an avid reader. Reading is one of my favourite way to spend some quiet moments. I also need to read every night before I go to bed. I can't settle down without it. I also like to cross country ski but I haven't been able to get out much in the past few years which makes me sad.
Any favorite Etsy purchases or sellers to share with us?
Obviously knitting is a hobby of mine! My other crafty hobby is cross stitching. I would love to learn how to be a better sewer - I know enough to get by making easy Halloween costumes - but I find I don't have enough time to do all the activities I know how to do already. I am also an avid reader. Reading is one of my favourite way to spend some quiet moments. I also need to read every night before I go to bed. I can't settle down without it. I also like to cross country ski but I haven't been able to get out much in the past few years which makes me sad.
Any favorite Etsy purchases or sellers to share with us?
My husband recently bought me this necklace [below] for my birthday and I am looking forward to getting it because I have been lusting after it for a long time! I have way too many favourite shops. Here is just a sampling of them: Umbu, MarKhed, IreneBau
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| Sheryl's new necklace from fellow Team Discovery member Cherry & Violet |
I want to thank Sheryl for taking the time to answer all of my questions - definitely stop by her Etsy shop and get in touch with her through Twitter, Facebook, and her blog. Thanks!
View the full original article here
View the full original article here
1 comment:
i love sheryl and her shop! great new items. i miss u guys! ♥
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