BESTeam Feature:: AllAboutCats

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am retired and live with three cats. My spare time is spent making items for my Etsy Shop.



If you could peek inside the studio of any artist, designer or craftsman (dead or alive), who would it be?

Georgia O'Keeffe. I love her paintings.


Where would you like your shop to be in ten years?

My shop keeps me busy now, so in ten years I hope that I will still be able to make as many cat toys to stock the shelves as I do now :-)



How did you originally get into the business of making things?

My mother was very creative, and she gave me lots of opportunities to express myself creatively as well. Once she painted our old, worn out linoleum kitchen floor a sold color. After it was dry, she laid out small cans of different colored paint, handed my brother and me artist brushes, and told us we could paint anything we wanted to on the floor. I made cat tracks going from the front door to the hallway and to the stove. Not long after that, my father told my mother she could buy the new kitchen floor that she had been wanting for years.



What's been your most popular item or line to date?

Organic Catnip Mice. Lots of times I don't have mice in my shop because they sell so quickly.

How would you describe your creative process?

When I decide on a new cat toy to design, I have to wait until I can picture in my head exactly how I want it to look. Then I grab a pencil and paper and draw out the pattern. Sometimes this takes a day or two, sometimes weeks or even months.




What handmade possession do you most cherish?

My most cherished handcrafted possession is a heart shaped braided rug my mother made me a few years before she died.