This week's featured artist is a fellow Melburnian and Melbourne Etsy Street Team member. Her stores are full of fantastic creations for little girls (and boys), so without further ado, let me introduce you to Amaria of Amaria's Paper Works.
I live in Melbourne, Australia. I am a full-time Mum and a primary teacher on family leave.
Describe yourself in five words.
Five words to describe myself would be: creative, impulsive, disorganised, easygoing and welcoming.
When and how did you first start crafting and creating?
I have always loved painting, drawing and making things. As a child my birthday wish list always included a packet of plasticene, some new Derwents and "grey-leads" and a sketch book! For me, art is a way to unwind and take time to think while my hands are busy.
What do you create and what are your favourite materials with which to work? And when and how did you start selling online?
Before becoming a mother, I found my creative outlet through painting - usually with acrylics. My paintings are mostly inspired by our beautiful Australian landscape.
Since having children, however, I haven't had the opportunity to work on this kind of thing for a while - apart from the lack of time, there is the question of where to set up my easel without little people "helping" me!
Then, almost a year ago, I was at a Church conference with lots of friends. My sister and I were sitting at a table one afternoon, chatting over a coffee, when she brought out some paper dolls I'd made for my niece years ago. She told how she had used them to tell a story to a Sunday School group and kept them spellbound. Then she said, "You know, you should make these to sell!"
I wasn't convinced at first - but as we were talking, the table filled up with children who wanted to have a closer look at the dolls. Several Mums stopped to look and comment. Even one of the Dads sat down and played with his son for a while. They all agreed with my sister, and one of the other Mums told me about an online marketplace called Etsy…
So after some trial and error (the original dolls were made of laminated card and the clothes attached with blu-tac!) I started to make the magnetic wooden dress-up dolls you see in my shop today! I paint the original figures and clothes - or draw them on the computer. Then I print them and mount the dolls on 3mm craft wood, with a magnetic sheet sandwiched between the layers. I cut them out with a scroll saw, varnish them and add a magnetic strip on the back. The clothes are laminated so that they last a bit longer when small children use them and they attach to the dolls with magnets.
Most of my sales so far have been for personalised dolls. Apart from the opportunity to create new and unique pieces, my favourite aspect of these is getting to know the customer a bit; every order has a story behind it, as individual as the child the order is for!
Before becoming a mother, I found my creative outlet through painting - usually with acrylics. My paintings are mostly inspired by our beautiful Australian landscape.
Since having children, however, I haven't had the opportunity to work on this kind of thing for a while - apart from the lack of time, there is the question of where to set up my easel without little people "helping" me!
Then, almost a year ago, I was at a Church conference with lots of friends. My sister and I were sitting at a table one afternoon, chatting over a coffee, when she brought out some paper dolls I'd made for my niece years ago. She told how she had used them to tell a story to a Sunday School group and kept them spellbound. Then she said, "You know, you should make these to sell!"
I wasn't convinced at first - but as we were talking, the table filled up with children who wanted to have a closer look at the dolls. Several Mums stopped to look and comment. Even one of the Dads sat down and played with his son for a while. They all agreed with my sister, and one of the other Mums told me about an online marketplace called Etsy…
So after some trial and error (the original dolls were made of laminated card and the clothes attached with blu-tac!) I started to make the magnetic wooden dress-up dolls you see in my shop today! I paint the original figures and clothes - or draw them on the computer. Then I print them and mount the dolls on 3mm craft wood, with a magnetic sheet sandwiched between the layers. I cut them out with a scroll saw, varnish them and add a magnetic strip on the back. The clothes are laminated so that they last a bit longer when small children use them and they attach to the dolls with magnets.
Most of my sales so far have been for personalised dolls. Apart from the opportunity to create new and unique pieces, my favourite aspect of these is getting to know the customer a bit; every order has a story behind it, as individual as the child the order is for!
Etsy store: http://amariaspaperworks.etsy.com
Madeit: http://www.madeit.com.au/storecatalog.asp?userid=11198
Blog: http://amariasreviewsandgiveaways.blogspot.com/
Amaria's Special Offer: Amaria is kindly offering Two Cheeky Monkeys readers one free clothes set with the purchase of any doll from her shop. Simply mention this blog feature in a message when ordering.
Madeit: http://www.madeit.com.au/storecatalog.asp?userid=11198
Blog: http://amariasreviewsandgiveaways.blogspot.com/
Amaria's Special Offer: Amaria is kindly offering Two Cheeky Monkeys readers one free clothes set with the purchase of any doll from her shop. Simply mention this blog feature in a message when ordering.
Posts
These look such good quality and good value for gifts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feature, Deb!
ReplyDeleteAmaria makes such lovely things! My children are past that age of playing with them, but I still admire whenever she comes out with a new set!
ReplyDeleteThese are so cute and take me back to childhood memories!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
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It's lovely to learn a bit more about you Amaria. So much work goes into the dolls!
ReplyDelete