Meet Spoonflower: Introducing Stephen Beck, troubleshooting troubadour!

Can you talk a bit about your professional experience?  I know that you were a Waldorf teacher before landing at Spoonflower, but what other sorts of jobs have you had?

First of all, I am not sure that I ever went pro at anything. Don’t those guys get paid the big bucks? I have dabbled at being a newspaper delivery boy, concrete laborer, waiter, freelance stagehand, wallpaper hanger, Invisible Fencing installer, group home counselor, and elementary and high school teacher before happily arriving at the help desk at Spoonflower.

Were the skills that you learned at these jobs transferable to your role at Spoonflower now?

Providing good customer service requires so many skills that I am thankful for having begun to develop in my life before joining Spoonflower. I am often reminded of my first summer waiting tables where I was forever delivering entrees before appetizers and steak to the vegetarians. I am glad that I am not paid in tips here. Mental organization, follow through, clear communication, patience and humor stand out as critical skills needed to be able to do the job well. The experience gained in years of working in the classroom with young people who are learning and practicing new skills is invaluable when helping a customer who is using Spoonflower for the first time. I feel very lucky to be able to continue to develop these skills each day when I come to work.

I know you’ve only been here for just over a year, but has anything changed either for you or for Spoonflower while you’ve been here?

Spoonflower has changed a lot in the last year. The staff has nearly tripled, adding interesting and super-creative members to the daily office environment.  (Their design/decor/recipe ideas adorn our office, production facility, and meal table.) New roles have been created and with skilled people to fill these roles, we've been able to increase significantly the amount of fabric we are printing and shipping while maintaining a very harmonious and remarkably low-stress environment. It really is fun to come to work here every day.

Speaking from personal experience, customer service can sometimes be tough. What do you enjoy about this work that keeps you coming in?

I leave Spoonflower at the end of each day feeling that I have helped. This is the same great feeling that keeps beleaguered teachers returning to the classroom each day. I really enjoy the experience of teaching our users how to achieve success when using our site and system. Generally the “tough” ones teach me a lot about myself, and the abundant numbers of grateful customers remind me of how much people actually do want to be nice and be happy.  

What have you learned about fabric printing while you’ve been at Spoonflower?  

I have learned that there are these little color fairies and gnomes with magic hammers who work very hard while we sleep. When we arrive in the morning, we find your lovely fabric all printed up and ready to pack and ship to you. These beings are incredible and I do not know what we would do without them. I leave them small treats in hopes that they will stay. I also am in awe of all of the other incredible technical stuff that happens when the engineers and print crew use their magic hammers. I should start leaving them small treats, too.

What are the most commonly asked customer service questions you get?

Where is my order? I actually know where every order is, so this one is easy to answer.
Can't you just print my design one time covering the whole piece of fabric? This one results from the misconception that our “centered” layout option will actually enlarge your design image without pixellating it and fill the fabric with your design. Not so. Email me.  (I'm sure you will!)

What sorts of things do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?

One of the things I most enjoy when I am not at work is not being at work. This may sound funny and I like to be a funny guy but in all seriousness, when you are a teacher work follows you home every night and even follows you into the shower. So far, Spoonflower hasn’t gotten into the shower with me.
I really love spending time being with my incredible 16-year old daughter, sitting on my front porch singing and playing my guitar to the helpless neighbors, playing basketball before most people wake up, creating improvisational musical oddities and sonic explorations with my great friend in our band Submariner, and puttering around my fixer-upper pretending to get ahead on the endless list of unfinished projects.

Do you have a favorite design or designer on the site right now?

Like many of my colleagues here at Spoonflower, I love Holli Zollinger’s designs and her way of working with design themes and colorways. When I think about curtains for my windows or upholstering a chair in my house, hers are the first designs I peruse.

How about a favorite base fabric?

I like the organic cotton sateen for garments, and I imagine a shirt collection in my closet made from only the wildest designs on this fabric. I even imagine me sewing these shirts....

I think that the linen-cotton canvas is excellent for reproducing art to be stretched onto a frame and hung.

Complete this sentence:  If I could only ______at Spoonflower, ______ would be much _______.

If I could only _hang by my feet while working at Spoonflower, my back would be much less compressed.

Is there anything else you want Spoonflower readers to know about you?  

I really like people and the sounds they make.

Meet Spoonflower: Introducing Stephanie, history and engineering geek!

Stephanie sporting a blouse made using C'est la viv™ garden lark collection_wildflowers

Week 6 of the "Meet Spoonflower" series brings us to Stephanie Anton, who came to us almost two years ago to work in our fledgling shipping department.  While there, Stephanie whipped our shipping operations into shape, transforming our system from the stamp-licking phase it was in then to the efficient machine that it is today.  Since then, Stephanie has moved into the engineering department to learn coding and work on the website itself.  Read on for more about Stephanie's transition here at Spoonflower!

 Can you talk a little bit about your previous job experiences and educational background?  

I have a BA in Humanistic Studies and French. Humanistic Studies is a liberal arts mesh of religion, sociology, literature and history. The idea was to figure out who we are in the Western world based on who we were in the past. I love history and books so it was the perfect combination of my interests! French was a passion of mine and now I get to help with the occasional translation of French customer service requests.

Spoonflower is my first “real” job out of college unless you count student positions in IT helping people with their computers, or my interim job at Barnes & Noble between finishing up school and finding Spoonflower.

What made you want to work at Spoonflower back then?  What were you hired to do, and what was your job like when you first started?  

I was working at Barnes & Noble at the time and was a little burnt out working retail. I went online trying to find something that I could do that would be fun and would speak to my craft-y and creative soul. Amazingly, the one job position I found in the Triangle was at Spoonflower for a cut, pack and ship position. I never thought that I would find such an awesome company like Spoonflower smack dab in the middle of North Carolina! I always expect such companies to be in New York or California. I immediately wanted to work at Spoonflower because, even though I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, working at such a creative, start-up company was my unknown dream come true.

I was the first cut, pack and ship person hired, and my days were spent processing all the orders for that day (with help from Chad and Darci). I was also trying to figure out how our shipping operations should work. When I started, Chad drove all of our addressed packages to the post office to buy postage. We were at the point where we were shipping too much for that to work for much longer. We were in Mebane at that time too, so depending on whether it was summer or winter, I was either eating Popsicles non-stop to keep cool or huddling by our heater, Grendel, with my fingerless gloves.  (I knit them specifically so I could continue to cut fabric in the cold.)

You’ve recently moved from shipping into engineering.  How have things changed for you and what sorts of things are you working on now?

Five months ago, I was cutting, packing and shipping fabric all day, plus screening resumes and training new employees. A lot has changed since I've moved into engineering. Gart has been a great teacher and I’ve had the opportunity to go to a couple classes.  I've gone from never having done any coding in my life to helping roll out new features, fixing bugs and taking on projects of my own. It’s all been very exciting and I think I may have found another nerdy calling outside of history and books.

A typical day for me now includes helping customer service with their more tech-y questions and working on whatever project is on my plate. Right now, I am more focused on design and writing code for everything you can see. I split my time between working with our graphic designer, Caroline, on the look of the site, and living in the same code base as Chad getting stuff to function.

How do you think Spoonflower has changed since you’ve been here?  

Spoonflower has changed a lot since I started. Environmental changes are huge and I am really thankful we now have temperature control. Another change is our process and how many people it takes to keep the gears turning. Solo, I used to cut, pack and ship all the orders in a day and now we have five people doing that every day.

What sorts of creative things do you enjoy in your spare time?

 
Before starting at Spoonflower, my craft of choice was knitting. Now with all the fabric surrounding me, my creative goal has been to create a completely Spoonflower wardrobe. I’ve made about 30 pieces of clothing for myself. I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up like a crazy pattern lady: Spoonflower shirt, skirt, leggings, and sweater all at once. I’m not that crazy yet, but I see it in my future!

Do you have a favorite design or designer on the site right now?

Don’t make me pick a favorite! I am constantly following new people and going through the shop to find new favorites. I’m kind of a favorite hoarder. The minute I find a new design, it’s my favorite for that moment only to change when I find another. Since I mainly am making clothes, I'm always looking for small prints--I was so excited about the ditsy contest!--and things that are abstract enough looking to not look strange on an adult.

If I had to pick some constant faves, Anda’s line drawings are amazing, and I'm also a fan of Lauram’s work. I'm especially in love with Anda’s black/white arrow design and need to make something out of it soon!

How about a favorite base fabric?

If you had asked me a couple months ago, I would have fallen all over the organic cotton sateen, but the cotton/silk has won my heart. It’s just gorgeous and I love that I can just throw it in the washing machine with everything else I have.

I know you worked on design tagging and searching recently.  Did any tags jump out at you as particularly surprising or otherwise noteworthy?

You’ve only seen the beginning of tagging!  We have in the works some fantastic ideas about how to improve tagging, and I’m really excited about them.  There are several projects ahead of that, though.

I did briefly look through a long list of tags used on Spoonflower, but I wasn’t overly surprised by any. We have such different designs and talented designers, I’m pretty sure that the Spoonflower community could make any obscure fabric idea into something awesome!

Is there any particular dream feature you’d like to add to Spoonflower at some point down the road (even if it’s not actually feasible from an engineering standpoint)?

All of the dream features I can think of are things we have talked about doing, but we just haven’t had the time. With only the three of us--and there have only been that many of us for that past several months!--it can get frustrating that we have so many ideas and know what needs improving, but have only so much time in the day. So, maybe my dream feature would be some magical ability to code twice as fast or just make the process of adding new features speed up, like fast forwarding through a movie. Sometime it’s tedious work, but I’m always so excited when we get to release something new. Of course, then we start working on the next new thing and the process starts all over again!

Complete this sentence:  If I could only _________ at Spoonflower, _________ would be much _______.

If only I could hand deliver every package at Spoonflower, seeing the world would be much easier.

Is there anything else that you want Spoonflower readers to know about you?

I love working at Spoonflower and am thankful of the opportunities this company has given me. I never thought I’d find such an amazing place to work. In turn, this company wouldn’t be what it is today without the awesome community of Spoonflower designers. I am constantly amazed at what an amazing community we have, and I hope as an engineer I’ll get to work more and more making Spoonflower into what our community hopes and dreams.

 

Meet Spoonflower: Introducing Darci, Jill of all trades

Darci shows off a skirt she made using 'feathery' fabric designed by Hannafate.

Next up in our Meet Spoonflower series is Darci Moyers, another Spoonflower staffer who's been here since the early days.  Darci is a bit of a Jill-of-all-trades here in the office.  I believe she's done nearly every job possible at Spoonflower at some point but is now firmly settled in our small marketing department. Read on for more about this versatile "fleur!"

You’ve been at Spoonflower quite a while now, Darci.  What are the different roles you’ve filled so far?  What’s your role now?

When I started at Spoonflower I was doing the finances, cutting, packing and shipping fabric, sourcing and procuring fabrics and inks (not to mention Band-aids and snacks to keep the team running), then added event planning and promotions. We all tackled many and varied roles when we were a tiny crew. Now we have a really great support staff that keeps Spoonflower running and I primarily handle events and promotions.

The place still feels small to me, though, and the whole team is very connected to the workings of Spoonflower, to the entire process of printing and delivering your fabric, and to connecting with you via the website and social media. I love being able to meet Spoonflower customers out in the wild at sewing, fashion, and craft events. It’s thrilling to see how much people love Spoonflower for providing an outlet for their creativity and a platform to connect with other people who are passionate about design and making things.

What’s your previous educational and professional background, and do you think it was relevant to what you do now?

I studied Theatre and English Language and Literature, so that sort of background in communication and general liberal arts education provided me with skills needed to take on dynamic roles-- definitely necessary with a new, small business. When I found Spoonflower, I knew it was a place where I could really sink my teeth in and be part of something that was growing and giving people a chance to express themselves creatively.

How about hobbies or creative pursuits that you enjoy?

I’ve been learning to sew (badly) and I’m enjoying it. I love fashion and design, art that you can use. That’s a new obsession, but I’ve always been a literature fiend and I love to travel -- I had the opportunity to travel to East Africa earlier this year. Music is one of my other passions, but I’m going to have to craft a sewing-friendly playlist. My stitches get really haphazard when I’m rocking out to The Black Keys.

What are your thoughts about how Spoonflower has grown and changed over the time that you’ve been here?

We’ve grown up so much since I came in the summer of 2009. From a tiny crew doing everything from printing, cutting and shipping your fabric, writing and maintaining the website, to a pretty smooth-running machine.

For a business that started right at the precipice of a recession, I feel strongly that Spoonflower’s success is directly tied to a great community of people who love to create and share. We’re part of an exodus back to creating things that are personal and have meaning. I see people all over the world connecting as a community of textile designers and textile design lovers, making things with their own designs and sharing photos and ideas, and supporting independent designers.   

Do you have a favorite design or designer on the site at the moment?

I really dig Nalo Hopkinson for her layered, textured looking designs with reference and a little nostalgia. Nina Ribena is one of my other favorites, she creates sophisticated geometric designs with great colors.

What about your favorite Spoonflower base fabric?

Linen cotton canvas prints beautifully and has a slightly textured matte surface that I like for home decor (stretch it over a canvas frame to make an art piece), structured clothing (makes a great pencil skirt), and covering furniture (Holly from the Spoonflower office recovered our rad old GE turntable credenza that I snagged from our local flea market).

Can you share some of the exciting promotional ideas in the pipeline at the moment, or even some may-not-even-be-possible dream promotion ideas you might have?

I’m planning a giveaway for some great cut and sew plushie printed patterns designed by the Spoonflower community (like this one) for anyone who wants to sew up one or two toys for Softies for Mirabel, a great charity that does a Christmas drive for handmade toys for kids in need.

Some of the Spoonflower community is already at work on their designs and sewing up their gifts-- we will be announcing the giveaway soon!

Meet Spoonflower: Introducing Allie, closet glitter queen

Pictured: Allie wearing a skirt she made using CynthiaFrenette's Paris Peonie fabric

In this installment of the Meet Spoonflower series, I'd like to introduce you to Allison Tate.  Allie first joined us back in the summer of 2009 as an intern and then part-time employee.  She left for awhile to finish up her degree at NC State University but has re-joined us now as a full-time employee.  Read on for her perspective on the early days at Spoonflower and how things have changed!
 
You started officially at Spoonflower a few months ago but I know you really got your start as an intern with us back in our early days in 2009, when the office was still in Mebane.  How did you first hear about Spoonflower and what made you want to be an intern here?

I started as an intern in June of 2009, worked through August, then came back that fall as a part-time weekender through January 2010.  I first found out about Spoonflower through my Dad who had read an article on the NC Idea Grant.  I thought it seemed like an awesome and exciting company, especially since I was pursuing a textile degree. 

We really are glad you’re back, Allie!  What do you think about the new space?

The new space is wonderful, especially the ability to climate-control!  I am happy not to have sweated all summer and expect I won’t be warming my hands by the heaters this winter.  I also love all the special decorating touches put up by Spoonflower employees.  It’s really added to the character of the building and makes it feel like Spoonflower home.

You’re a recent graduate at N.C. State University.  What did you get your degree in?  What were your favorite textile-related classes while you were there?  

My degree is a BS in textile marketing and brand management.  My favorite class was Computer Aided Design which I took the semester after my internship with Spoonflower.  One of our major projects was actually designing fabric for digital printing using the same printers we used at Spoonflower!  Surprisingly, I also loved the more technical courses in textile technology and polymer and color chemistry.  It was very interesting learning the science behind textile formation and the chemistry behind dyeing and printing techniques.

How have things changed at Spoonflower since the time that you were interning and now?

Things at Spoonflower are a lot more fancy since my interning days.  From the air-conditioned building to the iPads to the full-sized fridge, we’ve really moved up in the world!  The process of handling orders has also become more concrete and logical, which makes processing orders much more smooth and efficient.

What sorts of creative things do you like to do in your spare time?

In my spare time I like to get creative in a number of ways, covering things in glitter being a favorite.  I love sparkly things!  I also do a little sewing and have so far made lots of un-wearable things.  But I did recently make my first wearable skirt!  I enjoy various crafty things and love trying new techniques, but I have the habit of starting projects and never really finishing any of them.

Do you have a favorite design or designer on the site?

I love Holli Zollinger’s designs, like most of us in the office.  I love the way she balances simplicity with fun interesting touches.  Of her designs, I’d have to say the elephants with umbrellas is my favorite.  I think they're just perfect!

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve ever seen come off the printers?

Wow, that’s a tough one considering all the exciting designs we receive.  In general, I'm often surprised by how creative our customers are.  I see designs daily that surprise and inspire me.   It’s unbelievable the range of beautiful designs we print!

What’s your favorite Spoonflower base fabric?

Currently, I’m loving our new cotton silk because colors print so beautifully on it.  But I’ve always been a fan of our organic cotton sateen since it’s a nice weight for various projects.

Complete this sentence: If I could only _____________ at Spoonflower, ___________ would be much _______________.

If I could only be as talented a sewer as other employees at Spoonflower, my wardrobe would be much cuter.

Is there anything else you want Spoonflower readers to know about you?

Without my wonderful family I wouldn’t be a Spoonflower employee at all.  My mom has always encouraged creativity and supported my ever-changing creative outlets.  My dad introduced Spoonflower to me and went with me to tour the Mebane offices, which opened my eyes to the exciting world of digital textile printing.  My lovely sisters provide inspiration and support and are recipients of lots of handmade gifts, some of which probably aren’t the best constructed!  And lastly, I give credit to my grandmother, whom I believe to be Spoonflower’s biggest fan.  She shares my love of fabrics and is always amazed by the beautiful works of art we produce.  I’m working on a fabric stash to rival hers!
 

Meet Spoonflower: Introducing Chad the shoeless!

Seen above in one of his own unique, hand-inked t-shirts, Chad Graves is a coder extraordinaire here at Spoonflower.  As our second non-family employee hired about 6 months after Danielle, he's been here longer than most anyone.  Chad comes from a family of folks who have worked in the fabric industry, and he now spends his days at Spoonflower producing spiffy new changes to our profile and shop pages among other things.  You can read more about him below--enjoy!

You’re one of the people who’s been with Spoonflower since almost the beginning. How do you think things have changed since those early days?

The thing that really stands out to me since starting here is how the pace of things has changed. It’s hard to imagine that just two years ago we got a new batch of three printers and thought the sky was the limit! We barely filled the new building we were in. Now we have 12 printers and print more in one day then we did in an average week. We have 4 or 5 times as many employees. We are already pushing the seams of the building we moved into just a year ago. The scale at which we’ve grown has been nothing but impressive.

One of the things that has not changed since I’ve been at Spoonflower is the sense of community that we share here and with our customers. Everyone, good day or bad, enjoys what they do. It’s apparent as soon as you walk in the door. The best change though, hands down, has been getting air-conditioning. It was so hot back in Mebane.

What was a typical work day like for you back then? How about now?

Back when the business was still getting its legs, everyone did a little of everything. I was hired to help develop the website but I was quickly enlisted to print, take out the trash, run to the store for soda, take the mail, sweep the floor, and cut/pack the fabric, change light bulbs, etc. As we’ve grown that’s never really changed, but within the last 6 months with all the new people we’ve brought in, I finally have been able to focus on coding. I now spend my days trying to wrangle down bugs, create fancy new things, and make our website everything it wants to be. I miss the old days of always having a hand in most projects, but we’ve grown so much that it takes a team to do each of the many things I used to do every day.

What sort of education and work experience did you have before coming to Spoonflower? What made you want to work here?

I graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BFA in Graphic Design with a minor in Computer Science. I actually graduated in the same class as Danielle, back in 2008. My family has been involved in the fabric industry basically my whole life. My dad has been a fabric sales rep since my early childhood and is currently VP of a company based out of New Jersey that prints fabric in China. My uncle has a furniture business based in Hight Point, NC. His company was the one that produced the chair that we showcased a while back with all the pretty colors. Personally, I spent about 3 years working in a fabric warehouse in High Point. Ironically, I didn’t want to spend my life working in fabric but when I discovered Spoonflower, I knew that I had to jump at the chance. The idea of working for a small start-up with such a grand ambition as redefining the fabric industry--and bringing it back to North Carolina--was something that I couldn’t pass up.

Is there anything that you’re really happy about having learned here?

The one thing that I absolutely love about Spoonflower is that I learn something new almost every single day. To pinpoint one thing, though, I'd have to say the skills that I’ve learned while coding are things that I could never have gotten from any class or school. Having a great teacher like Gart has been something that has defined my experience here at Spoonflower. Without his guidance I couldn’t have been half the programmer I am now.

What’s your favorite way to get creative in your spare time?

One of the hardest things for me since leaving school is finding the time to really get super creative. Most of my time here at Spoonflower has been long weeks and odd hours. I’ve spent many nights crashing on the couch, working 3rd shift, etc. That being said, I’ve been focusing on creating t-shirts lately. I spend a lot of time cleaning our printers and started to experiment with using our waste ink on different materials which led me to creating shirts. I like the idea of making my own clothes and wearing something that no one else could possibly have. I create each shirt by hand rather than with a screen, so each is totally unique. Recently, I created an Etsy shop under the name of PressInk to try and find a home for all of my creations.

Do you have a favorite design or designer on the site?

I have to say Holli_Zollinger is probably one of my favorite designers. I love the simplicity of most of her designs. The “fabric weave” appearance she creates behind her designs really accentuates the look and feel of them. I can always tell one of her prints from others, and to be able to say that given the thousands of yards of fabric I’ve printed says a lot to me. Keep up the great work, Holli!

If you could add anything at all to the site--even it’s not actually possible from an engineering standpoint--what feature would you add to Spoonflower?

The one thing I’d really like to add is a tool to allow people to create designs on the site. I know Photoshop will always be more powerful, but who really has that kind of money to blow on a hobby or single project outside of the professionals? The idea of putting creative control into the hands of the masses really appeals to me. Most of the changes we’ve made to the site in the last year are trying to give that to our community, and I don’t want to stop.

Shifting gears a little bit here, um, what’s up with the not-wearing-shoes thing?

So my true calling is a music-loving hippie. If I could sit in a field and listen to someone jam all day, I would be at complete peace. The first summer that I started at Spoonflower, I had really started to embrace that part of me. Since we are all one big family here, that was totally accepted and I’ve walked shoeless ever since. I am proud to say since then I’ve acquired a few followers.

Complete this sentence: If I could only _____________ at Spoonflower, ___________ would be much _______________.

If I could only code faster at Spoonflower, our Flickr forum would be much happier.

Is there anything else you want Spoonflower readers to know about you?

Our community is full of some of the most creative people I’ve ever had the privilege to know. I know I haven’t met many of you, but I’ve seen and heard a lot of stories through the designs I’ve printed and conversations I’ve had via phone and e-mail. Each day has been a joy because I get to see new art and so many wonderful ideas. This alone is enough to keep me working, to make things better, and want to see us keep growing. Keep up the great work everyone, because it drives all of us here to work hard for you!

Meet Spoonflower: Introducing Beth, self-described costume nerd

 

In this second installment of our Spoonflower staff interview series, I'm really pleased to introduce Beth Carr, our new customer service maven and most recently hired employee. Beth has been at Spoonflower for just under three months now but I'm only just now learning that her passion is sewing historical costumes. (How did I miss this in her hiring interview?) I hope you all enjoy reading about Beth as much as I did!

What do you do at Spoonflower, and what’s a typical day like for you?

I am the person you’ll likely reach if you email us for help on evenings or weekends. I typically arrive around 1 o’clock with a Coke Zero in hand and catch up on whatever I’ve missed from the mornings. After that, I’m basically attached to my keyboard for the rest of the day.

What sort of education and work experience did you have before coming to Spoonflower? What made you want to work here?

I have always been a bit of a fabric hoarder and a costume nerd. It was always a surprise to my family that I wasn’t doing anything related to fabric. Most of my prior work experience is customer service related but in a completely different field - I was a real estate assistant (specifically foreclosures) for a very long time. Far too long. When I relocated to North Carolina I finally decided that it was time to do something I enjoyed. After six months in NC, I found out that Spoonflower was hiring and I was fortunate enough to get an interview! I am grateful every day that I get to work for such an amazing company. My main reason for wanting to work at Spoonflower was so that I could be completely surrounded by fabric all the time, but now I have to say that I love being surrounded by like-minded individuals.

I know you’ve been here only a few months, but have you learned anything so far from your experience?

When I started I thought I had quite a firm grasp on Photoshop and Illustrator; but I have learned so much more about these programs than I thought I would! I love being able to take a look at a file and determine how to correct the repeat or fix a shifting color.

What’s your favorite way to get creative in your spare time?

Sewing, of course! Mostly dreaming up new historical costumes and studying and trying historical construction techniques. I have quite a hefty fabric stash that steadily grows with each new project idea.

I think it’s so intriguing that you like to sew historical costumes. How did you get started and what’s your favorite era to sew from?

When I was younger, my aunt used to sew the most amazing costumes for us for Halloween and my Mom would always adorn our clothing with adorable crewelwork. (My favorite was a kangaroo holding balloons.) I was always in awe of the idea of creating something wearable out of a flat piece of fabric, but I have absolutely zero modern fashion sense. At 14, never having picked up a single needle, I decided I wanted to make a Renaissance gown. My grandmother, with the patience of a saint, decided to teach me how to sew and suggested I make a pillow. I told her that I’d much rather make something useful and whipped up a bum roll (a crescent-shaped pad for the hips) for my first costume piece! From then on I’ve been drafting, draping, and sewing my own costumes from various periods. Because I was once a Civil War reenactor, most of my costumes are from the early to mid 1860’s and are unadorned work dresses. It’s very difficult to pick a favorite era since I always want to try something new. This year it’s Rococo (18th century).

What’s your favorite Spoonflower base fabric?

Organic cotton sateen, hands down. It has a nice weight and a nice finish. Plus, it works beautifully for a variety of my projects from costuming to quilting.

Do you have a current favorite design on the site?

There are so many wonderful designs out there, it would be too difficult to pick one. But I recently found the designer American Duchess and cannot wait to use her designs in my next costume!

Complete this sentence: If I could only ___________ at Spoonflower, ___________ would be much _______________.

If I could only store my fabric stash at Spoonflower, my sewing room would be much more organized!

Is there anything else you want to share with Spoonflower readers?

I truly have to give credit to my younger sister, Laura, for helping me to support my historical costume habit. Because I drape all my garments myself, I have to have a dummy for each one of my corsets. Every time I make a new corset, Laura helps me to make a new duct tape dummy. I would never have been able to get past Renaissance costuming without her!

Meet Spoonflower: Introducing Danielle!

In this photo, Danielle is wearing a skirt she made herself using Spoonflower's cotton-silk blend.
She used a design by Adrienne Wong.

This interview with the lovely Danielle Hazen kicks off our series of Spoonflower staff interviews, appropriate since Danielle herself fairly kicked off Spoonflower.  She's been with us for three years now, since almost the very beginning.  Hope you all enjoy getting to know her a little better!

You were the first person hired at Spoonflower--and you didn’t even get paid at first! I’d love to hear your take on the early days at Spoonflower. Was it what you were hoping it would be back then?

You know, I really had no idea what to expect! When I first contacted Spoonflower I was fresh out of college and job markets were crashing. I had spent my summer looking desperately for work and was toying with the idea of going back for a Masters degree. During my summer Internet escapades, between looking for work and reading a gazillion blogs, I read that Anna Marie Horner had taken on an intern of sorts. (You can read the article here). I thought to myself, ‘I could totally do that.’ I love coffee, I love fabric, and I REALLY needed something to do during the day. I was driving my boyfriend nuts just sitting at home all day. Here's the email I sent to you all at Spoonflower.

Hi, my name is Danielle. I recently moved to Raleigh from Greensboro after graduating from UNC-G. I've been admiring your efforts and would really like to help out. I have a degree in sculpture and I am looking to apply to UNC for a dual Masters in Art History and Library Science.  I am a hard worker and very dedicated to those around me. I know a little bit about a lot and pick things up quickly, and there is little I'm afraid to conquer.  I would love to do some volunteer work (everything from housework and babysitting to packaging and answering phone calls ) while waiting to hear from employers and even after finding work.

I thought I would paint the walls of the office! I really never imagined things would evolve the way they did.

How would you compare a typical work day back when Spoonflower first started to a typical day working here now?

A work day for me now is so different than from the beginning. Three years ago (!) my work day was from 10-2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I mostly worked on cutting and packing fabric. Slowly over the next few months as orders increased, I began printing more and more. By October I was offered a part-time job, then by January I was working full-time. My favorite memory of that time was the two tents we erected during the winter to control humidity around the printers within that old factory. I lovingly referred to that small zipped up spaced as my office, sofa and all. 

Currently, my day involves lots of maintenance and upkeep of our twelve printers. On any given day, you may find me with my head hidden in the depths of a printer fine tuning motors or replacing parts with ink all over my hands.

What sort of education and work experience did you have before coming here? Did it prepare you for what you’d be doing?

I went to college at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I have a BFA in Fine Art with a concentration in Sculpture and a minor in Dance, Performance and Choreography. I ended up changing my major a total of three times. I started as a Dance major, then after a few art classes and injuries, changed my major to Art. Within the art department, I changed from a Design Major to a Sculpture Major. To me, the process of building sculpture is very similar to the process of choreography and this made the change easy and obvious.

During the latter half of college I worked in a camera store lab processing photos and doing photo restorations. I worked there for close to four years and watched photography evolve from mostly film to digital right before my eyes.

As for whether I was prepared to work here, I believe the best thing about a liberal arts education is that it teaches you to be prepared for anything. The actual things I learned in school were welding, wood working, wheel-throwing, etc. The theoretical things I learned were more about visual communication, perception, and being a hands-on person. You need to be prepared for the unexpected, find a solution to every problem, and explore every option when you work in the medium of sculpture. Those are the most valuable concepts I learned in school, and I put them into practice every day at Spoonflower.

What have you learned so far from working here?

Boy, I’ve learned a little of everything, from color management and how to work in Adobe Illustrator, to fabric manufacturing and everything in between. I try to learn everything I can about fabric design and printing now. I google anything I don’t know or don’t understand right away, and I get involved in online communities that will assist me. I love challenging myself.

One of the fun things I learned while working for Spoonflower is about reflectance. The smoother the surface of a fabric is, the brighter and more vibrant your colors will appear. This is because when the light reflects off the fabric, it bounces back directly toward the light source, creating an even tone across the whole area. The more texture a material has, the more directions the light will reflect to, dulling the area overall.

What is your favorite way to get creative in your spare time?

I’ve got a serious love for all fiber-y things. I especially love to knit socks and hats during football season. I can knit a hat in one regular season game which is approximately three hours.  Because of the heat lately, though, I’ve been doing less knitting and more sewing. I am trying to learn more about proper garment fitting and pattern manipulation. I also love to cook. I made English muffins this weekend. De-lish! The best part of cooking is eating. :-)

What’s your favorite Spoonflower base fabric?

Up until recently my favorite fabric was our organic cotton sateen. It’s a great all-purpose weight fabric, with a nice, natural sheen and wider than normal width. I used it for everything including quilts and dresses. My NEW favorite is the cotton/silk. I think everything I make from now on will be with the cotton/silk! It washes amazingly, holds color spectacularly, and feels great against the skin. It’s also a breeze to sew with compared to 100% silk.

Complete this sentence: If I could only ___________ at Spoonflower, ___________ would be much _______________.

If I could only drink more coffee at Spoonflower, packing fabric would be much faster. (To clarify I CAN drink as much coffee as I want at Spoonflower. It’s more of a personal limit than a physical one.)

Anything else you want Spoonflower folks to know about you?

I credit my dad with teaching me to sew. While my mom knows how to sew and still does needlepoint, my dad taught me to hand-sew patches on my backpack so they couldn’t be torn off. When I was 13 or 14, he brought home a few sewing machines in trade for some computer work he did for a friend’s aunt. I claimed the Singer Touchtronic in its split pea-green case as mine. I still have that sewing machine, and I use it all the time.