Welcome to the first in a series of maker interviews with Sydney Etsy Team members. If you'd like to be interviewed please convo me, I'd love to hear about and share your work!
My first interview is with team member One Trick Pony who creates artworks and a veritable rainbow of warm, snuggly winter things (perfect for this weather really!) Let us begin...
Who are you?
Anni Jane Linklater aka One Trick Pony on Etsy and Violent_rabbit everywhere else. :)
What do you do?
I make things! I knit, draw, paint and sew. I am soon to learn how to make teapots which I am very excited about.
What is your background in making?
Well, I am art school trained for whatever that means. I guess all my serious arts have a solid grounding in art theory?
As for everything else, I have been crafting since I was a wee lass - Mum tried to teach me to knit when I was eight but it ended up an exercise in frustration for both of us. So I soon got myself some books out the library and taught myself, been crafting ever since.
Who or what inspires you?
Everything! Trite answer but true. I am constantly eating everything up with my eyes to digest and then re-purpose. The medium themselves play a massive role in what the end product is, to be honest. It's so lovely to meet other makers as well, they're all so nice and vivacious!
Art wise there is very little that makes me go wow - Myeongbeom Kim and Agata Oleksiak are the most recent artists I have been enthused about.
What themes do you explore in your work?
My drawings are definitely playing with optical illusions and the idea that a simple and strict set of internal rules can lead to something visually dazzling. My button cuffs and arm warmers and kitty hats are examples of, 'hey I think this looks good! OK lets make 600 million of them until I get it right' kind of thing. Therein lies the reason for my shop name - get it? :P
What mediums do you work in?
Yarn lovely, lovely yarn. Paint and ink.
Why do you create?
Because I would go nuts otherwise! A life where I dont have a project (or seven) on the go is a life where I am sad. Knitting (and the nature of my drawings as well) have a wonderful meditative quality to them that just calms the mind right down.
How did you come to open a store on Etsy?
It was way back when, 2007 I think. I was incredibly frustrated with the degree I was currently doing and the etsy store was a nice pressure valve from the stresses of study.
How do you feel when you make a sale?
On top of the world! No, the moon! No the entire galaxy.
What are your top Etsy tips?
Promote promote promote! Don't let some of the more neurotic aspects of the etsy culture get you down - there are some wonderful people on there, you may just have to dig a little.
Where else can we see or buy your work?
At the wonderful I Heart Gallery on King St, Newtown, right next to St Peters Station and I occasionally do market stalls so keep your eyes out. :)
How did you learn your trade?
Self taught for the most part - Ive always been a person who is at her happiest when sitting alone making things quietly.
Any extra info you'd like to include?
Keep an eye out for a truckload of kitty hats and button cuff coming soon! :) I also bake a mean cake and am a generally pleasant person to be around.
If you could tell the world one thing, what would it be?
Educate yourself and educate others and maybe the future wont be as *bleeped* as it seems.
LOL a resounding ending to a great interview! Thanks Anni :) it was fascinating learning more about your process and work. You can find One Trick Pony on Etsy, Twitter, Ravelry, and Tumblr. Add her now!
If you're a Sydney Etsy Team member and would like to be interviewed, featured, or do a guest blog post, please convo me on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/msunflower I'd love to hear from you!
~MSunflower~
All photos and Etsy screenshots used in this post are copyright to Anni and One Trick Pony and used with her kind permission.
