Featured Artist: EmmaNYC's Handmade Goods

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Shop Name: EmmaNYC's Handmade Goods
What you like to go by: Emma
When did you start your shop? I first opened in November of '08, but then life got in the way for a couple years. I've been able to focus on this more again in the last year or so.
Is this your only job? No, I am also an academic research library supervisor here in New York.

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When did you realize you had this talent? My grandmother tried to teach me how to knit for twenty-five years, but it wasn't until about five years ago, shortly before her death, that I finally picked up a pair of knitting needles and let her show me what to do with them.
Where do you find your inspiration? Merchant & Ivory-type films, nature (I am currently working on an elements-inspired series of pieces), weddings, but mostly an undeniable desire to keep people warm as

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beautifully as possible.
Who has been the most supportive of your work? My brother, who knows absolutely nothing about knitting but always encourages and admires, and my boyfriend, who taught himself the basics of knitting just so he would know what the heck I was babbling on about.
What is one thing you would like to accomplish that you haven't yet? I would like to try my hand at spinning one of these days, and perhaps some day live near an alpaca farm if I should ever leave Manhattan.
What are your words to live by or favorite quote? "Not that it was beautiful but that, in the end, there was a certain sense of order there, something worth

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learning." -Anne Sexton
Excerpt from Profile: I've always loved color despite a proclivity for wearing black, and when I was a child I loved hanging out in art & office supply stores. I would stand there entranced by the walls of paints and pens and pencils and papers, saddened by my lack of artistic talent. Now I spend time in yarn stores and at wool festivals, dazzled -- both by the yarn itself and by the fact that we can make something beautiful from it.
I like solitary work, but I've also begun to take pleasure in a more collaborative process. If you don't see what you're looking for, please contact me -- I'd enjoy the opportunity of working with you to provide the perfect piece for your special occasion.

Featured Artist: Oystercatcher Yarns

Shop Name: Oystercatcher Yarns
What you like to go by: Sarah
When did you start your shop? I’m a newbie. I just listed my first items November 22. Every sale still makes my day at this point.

Is this your only job? I am also writing a book with my husband about birds of the Pacific Northwest. The two activities complement each other well, because we

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spend a lot of time at the coast for both of them.

When did you realize you had this talent? I guess it was when I started dyeing yarn and actually liked the results. I hadn’t really thought of myself as a creative person, since I have more of a science background.

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Where do you find your inspiration? I find inspiration in the nature’s amazing color palette and in the beauty of natural fibers. Tidepool creatures are so much more vividly decorated than the animals that we see every day.

Who has been the most supportive of your work? My husband, parents and sister always find something encouraging and complimentary to say. My mom even helped me come up with the name of my shop.
What is one thing you would like to accomplish that you haven't yet? I would like to get a wider audience for my yarns, hopefully in some shops on the Oregon Coast.
What are your words to live by or favorite quote? Sylvia Earle is a great biologist and writer. She says “With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you're connected to the sea. No matter where on Earth you live.”