Etsy HC Street Team: featured artisan

I'm Eva, the creative force behind Linnea. Boutique Linnea is upscale Euro style kids' clothing, Linnea Design is clothing for women designed to be sexy, stylish and comfortable, Linnea After Dark is lingerie and sleepwear, Linnea Grrrlz is for tween fashionistas and the newest addition Linnea Bare is artisan soap and skincare. On Etsy, it all operates under BoutiqueLinnea where you can expect to see a variety of items from all my collections. I have a background in design and marketing, and have always been creative and had a need to express myself through art in various forms.

My passion is to dress women in clothes that make them feel not only good but great about themselves. Everyone deserves to feel sexy and stylish, and it should be really simple to treat yourself. Of course kids should be able to dress in custom made clothing meant for play while still looking good too! I truly believe in treating yourself and your family to what "luxuries" you can, and think handmade, custom items are wonderful for that.

As long as I can remember, I have been slightly obsessed with scent and body care luxuries so when I first encountered artisan soap it was a natural step for me to get interested in the process and learn how to do it myself. I did lots of research and before long I was completely hooked. Soap making is a wonderful craft and very calming to me. I truly enjoy coming up with various recipes and planning the feel, look and of course scent of each soap I make. My focus as a soaper is on smell, feel and aesthetics, in that order. My goal is to make each bar a decadent treat. To me, it's similar to clothing design, the same energy and creativity goes into it and by tweaking little details you end up with totally different results. The idea behind it is the same as well, it's a way to spoil yourself just a little. Whether it's a custom made garment or a luxurious hand made soap, it brings you joy every day you use it.

Being a WAHM can be difficult. It's hard for me to balance it with being a Mom and a wife and woman as well. I have great care for my customers, but truthfully my family does and always will come first. That means that I try to get some work done every day, but some days are better than others. I feel fulfilled and blessed when I'm able to do it all, but most of the time it isn't as balanced and harmonious as I would like it to be and it's a struggle to perfect that balance without having anything suffer. I'm a firm believer in needing time for oneself to re-center, and I do make sure I take that time for myself... in the end, it's the absolute best thing for everyone. My downtime is often spent with books, and I get lots of inspiration from the beauty of literature, dance and other art around me.

Giveaway Information: For this feature, I have chosen to do a surprise soap sampler giveaway to celebrate the opening of Linnea Bare. I will select a few full sized bars for the winner, in various scents and formulas.

When did you start sewing? When I was 9 or 10 years old my mom and I found an antique singer sewing machine at a garage sale. I told my mom that I wanted to learn how to sew, so she brought the machine in to be refurbished. It turns out that the machine was from the first year that Singer made electric sewing machines. My parents gave it to me for Christmas that year. It was so beautiful- black with gold designs painted on it and so simple- no fancy stitches, not even a reverse, it just sewed in one direction. That summer my mom enrolled me in a sewing class for kids at the local sewing shop. I sewed for a few years but then boys and makeup became my new interest and my sewing machine started to gather dust.

It wasn't until the birth of my daughter just over 2 years ago that I regained my interest. I borrowed my sister-in-law's old machine to start out with and a few months later bought a machine of my own. I sewed for my daughter and for friends until my daughter was 1 and then around the time that I went back to work my friends convinced me I should be selling my sewed items so I opened up Lilikoi Lane.

The funny thing is that my shirts were one of the last things I started sewing. Before I was making mostly stuffed animals and lovies but the shirts were what started getting me attention and soon that was what I was known for and the lovies and stuffies went away.

What is a typical day like for you? I work Monday through Thursday as a Children's Book Publicist. When I first opened Lilikoi Lane pretty much every single night after dinner I would start sewing. It just got to be too much for my hubby and daughter. I've found a nice medium though. A few nights a week after my daughter goes to bed I do Lilikoi Lane things and the other nights I spend one-on-one time with my husband. Then on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during naptime I sew and I usually take most of the day either Saturday or Sunday to sew. We have a great light box at work so Monday morning I bring anything I have sewn that weekend to work with me and photograph it. Monday or Tuesday night I do packaging and write thank you cards and usually Tuesday or Wednesday during my lunch break at work I hit the post office and mail things out.

It's pretty hectic having a 2 year old working 4 days a week and running Lilikoi Lane but I love it. There is rarely a night that I go to bed before midnight but I love all of the mamas that I have met and I get such a thrill and sense of accomplishment out of knowing that my shirts are being worn by kids across North America and even a few across the pond.

Do you have a favorite design? Isn't that a bit like asking if you have a favorite child? I think some of my original drawings have become some of my favorites. In my head I think of them as the Lilikoi Lane Classics. The sea turtle, the giraffe and the sparrow are three of my favorite classic designs. But I really love my new elephant design as well. Designing is one of my favorite things I do for Lilikoi Lane so I always love hearing what types of shapes people want to see and doing custom orders.

My mom sewed when I was young but didn't really teach any of us. I remember sewing a skirt when I was in Girl Scouts but that was about it until a friend asked if I wanted to take a quilting class with her. I took the class and loved it. So I have been "really" sewing since about 2000. Started with mostly quilting projects and taking classes and slowly worked into making knitting bags and other items.

Additional entries:

I'm Lori, founder of and girl with the frequently dye-stained hands behind Alfabette Zoope. AZ has served as a wonderful place and way to recapture and rekindle my love for doing crafty things that had gotten lost in the shuffle of work, kids, houses, and all that good (but not always creative) stuff.