Starting today we’ll be introducing you to each member of our design team, staring with Robyn.
Tell us about yourself.
For most of my life I’ve been a designer – Theater sets, costumes and lighting, and Production Design for independent film. Since having my daughter I’ve repurposed my life as a home schooling mother, writer and artisan. My daughter inspired me to become interested in art dolls which led me into a whole new world of creative activity. I write screenplays (one sold), crafty articles for Natural Life Magazine, and I’m working on my first book about upcycling your old clothes into new garments, gifts, and home wares. Meanwhile I’ve fallen in love with scrapbooking and paper crafts. I teach Beginner’s Scrapbooking through Spotted Canary School at two of my local Michaels. When not working I enjoy reading, sci-fi, television cop shows, and classic movies. I love cooking shows, but don’t like cooking. I do like baking, but I like baking polymer clay more!
What’s your style? What do you like to create and what’s your favorite item to use?
Aside from OOAK Art Dolls and doll journals, I enjoy creating scrapbook pages and special gift packaging made from recycled and unusual materials. My articles require me to design and workshop new mixed media projects – aren’t I lucky? I like making gift tags too. I always make my own greeting cards, especially for the holidays. I like ATC’s when I have a swap. I’d like to get into more mini-albums, but there are only so many hours in the day. Other than paper crafts, I crochet with plarn and other yarns. I want to make more of my own clothes, like I used to, and that is one of my goals for this year – as my clothes wear out to replace them with home sewn things.
I delight in creating pages with many layers and a collage feel. Making custom embellishments, mixing sources and altering papers are my favorite part of the process. Of course my Cricut changed my life, but I still like to adapt and alter the things I can cut. In paper crafting I’m drawn to shabby styles, distressing and prim, with the photos as the main point. My dolls are always very encrusted, stylized rather than realistic, and colorful. One word for it all: eclectic.
What’s your favorite snack while creating?
I tend not to eat, to keep my fingers clean and glue out of my food, but I love coffee!
If you could visit one place, where would you go?
Europe – I haven’t been since I was a child. I want to visit my distant relatives in Cologne, Germany and all the ancient Celtic places that were the homes of my ancestors. Plus my husband’s family came from Wales and Switzerland originally.
Favorite guilty pasttime?
Angry Birds, World of Goo and too much web surfing….I mean research!….when I should be writing.
You can find out more about Robyn by visiting her blog, Iggy Jingles Crafts.
