What is your shop name & URL, real name, and what do you sell?whimsidoodle whimsidoodle.etsy.com Jennifer Payson -Origami lights, Wooden Ornaments, Wooden furniture embellishments and Other New England Artisan's Goods
Where do you live? Tell us a about your town.
Warren, Maine. It's nestled about 1.5 hours north of Portland and about 15 minutes from both Camden and Rockland. Warren is a nice peaceful town with sprawling fields, lots of farms, a quaint village and bustling towns and the ocean just miles away.
Tell us about your family & pets.
I have a wonderful husband Jeff who is a physical education and health teacher, a wonderful baby girl Kelsey, who will be a year old in July... I can't believe it... and an energetic 7 year old stepdaughter, Julia. We enjoy going for walks and having dance parties. We also love to hang with our 6 year old cat Crosby.
I have a wonderful husband Jeff who is a physical education and health teacher, a wonderful baby girl Kelsey, who will be a year old in July... I can't believe it... and an energetic 7 year old stepdaughter, Julia. We enjoy going for walks and having dance parties. We also love to hang with our 6 year old cat Crosby.
How long have you been making your craft & what got you into it?
I have been doing crafts for as long as I can remember. I've been making origami lights for years. My sister taught me how to make origami boxes when I was in highschool. When I went into my art supply closet to get my origami paper to start making them for Etsy, I discovered wooden shapes that I'd bought years ago with the intention to make a mobile and never did it. Voila! I thought... I can do both. The rest just happened very naturally.
I have been doing crafts for as long as I can remember. I've been making origami lights for years. My sister taught me how to make origami boxes when I was in highschool. When I went into my art supply closet to get my origami paper to start making them for Etsy, I discovered wooden shapes that I'd bought years ago with the intention to make a mobile and never did it. Voila! I thought... I can do both. The rest just happened very naturally.
Do you feel like your craft is related to where you live?
I actually pick ornament and embellishment shapes specific to Maine. I love that Maine has lobsters and sea life, moose, bears and blueberries that people think of and associate with our state, so I make a point to make these shapes fun and a memento of where I live.
Tell us about the awesome craftspeople that you've met around Maine-- have you collaborated or met with any Maine Team members?
I have had the pleasure of meeting several Maine Team members at a team meeting. I was overwhelmed by the talent. I mostly got to know Kellie who makes fabulous decoupage and Kreatus who makes gorgeous pottery. Kellie and I came in at the same time and clicked right away. I also want to dapple with decouplage as I have some beautiful origami paper that is too thick to use for folding. I also had the pleasure of getting to know Jamie and Bob (heron) at a get together at my home and that was an amazing and memorable experience. All of our spouses were also present and it was so interesting getting other perspectives on all of it.
What are your plans for the future? (Life and/or craft)
I created Whimsidoodle with the dream to market and represent not only my own crafts, but crafts of other New England artisans who are unable to themselves due to lack of technological savviness, time, desire etc., whatever their reason may be, but I believe that they have a craft that should be shared with Etsy and the world. I have a very specific idea of what would fit in my shop and am open to any artist that may fit my ideals. I will only sell items that I physically have in my home. I will also get whimsidoodle.com off the ground soon as well, which will have my etsy mini, more information about all of the artists and will direct buyers to my etsy shop.
As far as my life goes I have a new tag line lately... "Wearing every hat ever made... Piecing it together through a hodge podge of projects". I left my fulltime job in December of 2007 to be home with my baby Kelsey, who was 5 months at the time. I knew I had to earn a certain amount of money, but had no idea how I was going to do it. Since then, I have been piecing it together through a combination of Etsy, event planning, minute taking, survey and market reasearch, consulting and so on. So far it's working pretty well. I haven't found the perfect equation, but I am getting my name out there to be a bit of a "Beck and Call Girl" in the marketing, clerical, whatever you need done from ribbons on vases for a wedding to collecting somebody's mail girl.
I am very much looking forward to this summer and having my husband home during the days, taking Kelsey swimming for the first time, and just being together as a family. I am loving my life!
If you have any ideas for improvement or if you'd like to be featured please contact Jamie at jamieribisi {at} gmail.com