Today, we bring you a giveaway from SouleMama Sponsor, Dropcloth Samplers. In Rebecca's words:
"Rebecca Ringquist
is a Brooklyn-based visual artist and designer. Her stitched drawings on fabric
explore issues of identity through thinly veiled metaphors utilizing old
fashioned imagery and double entendres. She learned how to embroider in college
in a feminist art history class, and has been inspired by the history of
American needlework ever since. Approaching the technique of embroidery as a
way of drawing, Ringquist has taught hundreds of people new ways of making
marks on fabric through classes and workshops around the country.
Her design company,
Dropcloth, sells Ringquist’s hand drawn designs that are printed as embroidery
patterns, all ready to hoop and sew.
Please do visit my
blog, you can find me there posting about artwork, embroidery, and NYC."
SouleMama: Tell us about the beginnings of your business
Rebecca : A few years ago, when I was headed to Squam to teach for the first time, I decided to draw an embroidery pattern and print a few for the annual Squam sale. That design, the Original Sampler, was really popular, and has continued to be my best seller. From there, my small business was born, and I’ve been drawing an ongoing collection of samplers ever since.. I’ve always loved sending out mail (and receiving mail!) and I love that I now have a reason to everyday…..
SouleMama: How do you come up with new designs and ideas?
Rebecca : I try to spend a bit of time drawing everyday. Sometimes it’s the same design over and over until I get it just right. I cleaned out my studio in January and organized all my fabric, and the littlest scraps ended up in a bowl on my drawing table. Lately I have been having a great time gluing them into my sketchbook and doodling around them to come up with new patterns. I think a few different samplers will emerge from all those sketches, and I can’t wait to introduce more color into this year’s collection.
SouleMama: If you could spend a day with any crafter/artist who would it be and why?
Rebecca: I would LOVE to spend the day with Maira Kalman. Whenever her drawings show up in the New Yorker I clip them and stick them to the fridge and feel like I’ve won the art lottery. I love the dedicated way that she seems to draw everything in her world. Reading her books is a great lesson in looking. She has written about making her best work on the NYC subway, and I am always on the lookout for her. I would love to ride the train next to her and watch over her shoulder as those beautiful drawings emerged.
SouleMama: What's the product or offering that you are most excited about in your shop right now? Tell us about it.
Rebecca: The thing that I am most excited about these days are the Sampler Subscriptions. These were born out of noticing that I myself only end up using a handful of stitches in my artwork. Students are always asking me what my favorite stitch is, and it seems so mundane to keep telling them it is the backstitch. I decided to design a collection of twelve samplers, each based on a different family of stitches. Each month subscribers get a new sampler, and by the end of twelve months we all will have stitched most of the embroidery stitch lexicon. Here’s to breaking out of our ruts!
For today's giveaway, Dropcloth Samplers is generously offering the following gifts to TWO winners:
~ Winner #1: Six Month Subscription to the Sampler of the Month Club~ Winner #2: Collection of my three favorite samplers: Original, Paisley, and Summer Lines
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To
enter today's giveaway, please leave a comment (one entry per person,
please) in today's post. I'll close comments by 8:00am EST on Sunday, and
announce the winners, chosen via Random Number Generator, shortly after. Comments closed! The winners are:
These look beautiful -- thanks for the chance to win!
Posted by: Deidre
Lovely, colorful and fun way to practice new stitches!
Posted by: ddavies
Thank you, Dropcloth Samplers!
