Goodergoods Give-a-way

I have been so excited about this feature and give-a-way and finally the day has come for me to share…

‘Summer sunny, grey bunny’

Miranda from ‘goodergoods’ etsy shop makes ‘good creatures‘ from the most unusual, but yet awesome, objects – socks, gloves, blankets and neckties. How often do you end up with one poor lonely sock? I for one have a whole drawer full of ‘half’ sock pairs. Now I see that they are all bunnies, fish, kitties and even elephants waiting to be born. I JUST LOVE THIS. And whilst not quite leaving the best for last, this gorgeous grey gloveable octopus could be yours. See below for a pic and for more details about the give-a-way.

To find out a bit more about Miranda I asked her a few questions.

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself…

I am a 25 year old a student of Computational Linguistics and I live in beautiful Seattle, WA. I studied Linguistics, Speech and Hearing Sciences and Comparative Religion as an undergrad, but I have always crafted in my spare time. Goodness knows, long and dreary Seattle winters are great for students and crafters both. When I’m not studying, I greatly enjoy being inventive and using my hands to create silly, clever or unusual things whenever I can. I am most happy when travelling, but I also love spending time at home with my dear roommates and our kooky cats (Toki “two thumbs” and Goose).

'Spring has sprungy, little, tan bunny'

2. How did goodergoods start?

Before I started selling anything I used to save money by crafting as many birthday and holiday presents as I could. I would also make toys for my cats and for pets of friends and family members. My favorite gifts to make and give, partly because they got the most enthusiastic reactions, were the children’s toys and pet toys. As I sent more objects out into the world I started getting more and more positive feedback. My friends and family always encouraged me to try selling my things, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it.
I discovered Etsy after my mom started her own small, but successful, jewelry business called ‘Bead Ruby‘ by selling mainly through Etsy. Etsy was a an ideal starting point for me, as it was low risk and required only as much of a commitment as I chose to make. Through Etsy, I got a great response right away and I have had a lot of fun throw myself into this fledgling business this year.

3. What is your creative system? For example, when you see a sock what makes you think: “This would be a beautiful swan?”

'Swan sockbird'

I usually start by finding materials (e.g. neckties, socks, gloves, umbrellas, sweaters, etc.) that I like the look and/or feel of. While I have always tried to be environmentally concsious, my repurposing of materials was originally budget motivated. However, when I decided to start selling goods I also decided to make a point of repurposing. Finding and using reclaimed materials does require extra effort and creativity, but it makes each project that much more rewarding.

I like to just sit and manipulate the object/material by stretching, folding, twisting and sometimes disassembling. I will usually pin the object into a number of different shapes until I find one that looks familiar or attractive. If I find a shape that reminds me of an animal, or other object, I will edit the shape until it truly resembles that thing. I always try to cut, sew and discard as little as possible so that the original material is still recognizable even in its new form. In a sense, each creation ends up be a collaboration between me and the material used.

To enter the give-a-way for the Gloveable Octopus above you can ….

1. Leave a comment listing your favourite goodergoods creature.
2. Blog about this giveaway and post the link into a comment.
3. Tweet about this give-a-way and then post the link into a comment.
4. If you technorati, stumble, digg it or any other kind of ‘favourited’ this blog give-a-way then mention that in your comment.

This give-a-way finishes on Tuesday the 4th of August. The winner will be decided by a lucky draw and contacted for more details.