Tuesday: Interview (Scout's Swag)

Welcome to Interview Tuesday, it's Tara again! Sorry about it not being here when you woke up...I had it all ready to publish last night and then went to bed without doing it!

Today I share a bit about Jamie, blogger and fiber artist of Scout’s Swag.    Scout  started blogging in a private LiveJournal in 2001, moved to Blogger in 2004 and bought the domain Scoutj.com in 2005.  Since then she's inspired and amused with pictures of her gorgeous yarns, stories of her silly "superkids" and her funny comments on other blogs. After showcasing her handpainted yarn on her blog, the hungry public demanded that she sell it.  This rage for her handpainted yarn led to a Scout’s Swag online shop, which in --- months has grown to include Scout’s own handpainted yarn and fibers along with  knitting accessories and a  very popular Indie swag club.  She will be on the knitting-centered DIY network show Knitty Gritty this fall.  She's also recently been featured in a Knitty.com article, Knitter's Review, Southern Living Magazine, Albuquerque the Magazine.  Here's her story:

What's your day job? 

Currently I am working full time on all Scout’s Swag projects. I have my online store, the Indie Swag Club, and a number of other things in the works I can’t really talk about yet!  I’m also a mom of two kids and they are always my priority.  I like the term, “Domestic Revolutionary.”  If you want to know what I studied in school, I graduated with a BA in English and a Secondary Teaching Certificate.   I also have a Master’s Degree in Education and taught high school English for seven years back when I was young. I feel like I’ve done AND do it all! And when I’m not doing all things mom related and craft related you can find me on the soccer field playing on a Women’s team on Sundays.

What prompted the beginning of your blog?

I would say for at least 10 years in some form or another I’ve been involved in online communities. We had computers in my house ever since I can remember so it’s always been a part of my life.  My first online community was called Hipmama.  When I was pregnant with my first kiddo I was looking for other women like me to in which to share mothering experiences.  My Livejournal I started six years ago was mostly a blog where I talked about being a mom that eventually transformed into a craft blog.  I relied on that Livejournal and the friends I made there a lot when my kids were babies but as they grew I did too and at some point just felt the need for more from my blog community.  Livejournal, for me, was a very private group with whom I was friends and the time just finally came where I felt brave enough to finally post in a more public forum.  I remember looking around and saw all kinds of different craft and food blogs and just felt that was the direction in which I was going.  When I finally made the move to Blogger, my blog was called Scout’s Knitted Swag but as soon as the dyeing took over my life I changed it to just Scout’s Swag.  And now I write about everything from dyeing yarn to the Superkids playing soccer.  I really cover quite a bit on my blog.

Do you consider yourself an artist?

All of my life I grew up thinking I was not an artist. I always felt creative and crafty but not artistic.  I think it stems from the fact that my father is an amazing artist. He can draw and paint anything and everything. If you show him a picture painted by Picasso, he can recreate it.  I’ve never been able to draw.  I know now that you don’t have to be able to draw or paint to be called or thought of as an artist but it’s taken me a long time to consider myself one.  When I recorded my episode of Knitty Gritty last fall, I had to fill out a number of forms and on one in particular I remember putting down that I was a *Fiber Artist*.  It sounds so strange to say that but I guess it’s what I am really. Even though I can’t draw or paint, I can sure paint some yarn! 

Do you consider yourself a knitter or a dyer first?

I absolutely consider myself a knitter first. I’ve been knitting for almost 30 years and it’s what brought me to where I am right now. Without knitting there would be no Scout’s Swag. My mother passed away 14 years ago and she was the one who taught me how to knit when I was little.

Which allows for the most creative expression?

I think dyeing most definitely allows me to be more creative.   I have no interest in creating patterns or cool new stitch patterns in my knitting.  Dyeing is a completely different story.  I see yarn colorways in everything I see now. I was in Taos over the weekend and while in a stationary/paper shop, I asked to take pictures of the wrapping paper because the colors and shapes were so beautiful I could see new yarns in them.  I am never that inspired with my knitting.  Sometimes I might see something and think it would be cool to create a similar pattern but it’s always very short lived.

Who are your major influences and inspirations in your work?

This is hard to answer because as a dyer, I try not to really look at other people’s work. Really! I want my own work to be completely organic in their origination.  There are definitely some other dyers I respect and I tell them. For me, other dyers aren’t my inspiration as much as the world around me. I would also say that Flickr inspires me on a daily basis. I love clicking through pictures on Flickr. Talk about eye candy!

Do you feel the unique landscape and light of New Mexico influences your color choices?

I think that living in New Mexico definitely influences my color choices.  It is sunny so many days throughout the year that it just makes everything look so pretty all of the time.  Right now I’m looking out my back door and the sun is hitting the adobe house behind me making it a beautiful pink and the brilliant blue sky sits beautifully on top of the house.  Looks like a colorway to me!

Do you feel blogging has any impact on your creativity?  Why or why not?

Oh it definitely does. My blog is what creates my connection with my customers.  My friends/customers are the ones who have created probably half of my colorways you see in the gallery. (http://scoutsswag.com/gallery/gallery.html)  I feel that my niche in the dyeing world comes from my workability with customers to create colorways based on anything from their dog to a picture of the Northern Lights.  Everyone is creative in their own way and not everyone can just take a picture of something and match yarn to it. Somehow, I’m able to do a pretty good job of that.  Therefore my friends and customers are the ones who truly inspire my work.

Has being creative and crafty (and being involved in the crafty blogging community) impacted your life path?

I don’t think I would be where I am currently in my life without the blogging community. I know that may sound strange but the blog world has helped me to do everything from appearing on Knitty Gritty to open up and run Scout’s Swag.  My blog is how I make the connection with my customers and by taking the time to read other people’s blogs and comment, I try to give back to them as well.  No matter how busy I am, I still take time every single day to try and read through a portion of my Bloglines and see what my friends are up to.  They are my continued support system and I hope I am just as supportive to them in their lives as I feel like they all are to me. Corny? Perhaps.  But it’s true! The blog world allows a connection between all of us that just wouldn’t/couldn’t happen in any other way.  I truly feel like I have my own cheering squad out there in the blog world and it’s what keeps me inspired on a daily basis. 

Where do you hope to be in your creative life in 5 years? Still blogging?

In five years I had better have at least one-two people working for me helping me do all of this work!!  (Other than my husband and kids!)  I think it’s the only way I can survive without burning out.  I want to be in this for the long haul and can already see that I need help.  I’m a perfectionist so things need to happen a certain way or I’m not happy which is probably what is keeping me from hiring someone now.  But I need help and will eventually need to let down my guard a bit so someone can step in and stop this insanity that is now my life!  I have some other things in the works but you’ll just have to stay tuned. As soon as I can share more I will.  But they will definitely be keeping me busy over the next years.   I can’t imagine not blogging as it’s such an integral part of my world and my business.  I can honestly say that if it weren’t for my Scout’s Swag Blog there would be no Scout’s Swag.

Thanks Scout for the excellent interview! 

Comments

[nyjlm]

Thanks Tara! Her websites are delicious!

[beverly]

thanks for the great interview!

[Melba]

Tara,
I love this...another great interview where I get introduced to a woman living her creative dream!
Thanks for the inspiration!

XO,
Melba