Bird Meets Worm

Monday, September 5, 2011

Talking Shop: Super Hoot, Roller Derby and Amy Peppler Adams

One of the most fun and exciting parts of creating the NEW Super Smarty Super Hoot Children’s Pants was choosing fabric! And while I do love frequenting my local fabric stores, I also adore shopping for fabric on Spoonflower (which if you don’t know, is an amazing web site where individual designers can sell their own original fabric designs!) And so it was on Spoonflower that I discovered the fabulously talented Amy Peppler Adams and her Roller Derby fabric.

Amy is a graphic designer and kid-at-heart who lives in Seattle with her husband and two-year-old son. When she's enjoying a quiet 20-minutes to herself, she might be found eating chocolate chip cookies, while watching an episode of "The Brady Bunch". And today Super Hoot is talking shop with Amy about design, fabric and all things Roller Derby!

Fun with Typography! © Amy Peppler Adams

Super Hoot: Describe your background as a graphic designer.

Amy: I received a BA in Graphic Design from Indiana University, and my first job in the "real world" was for a computer book publisher in Indianapolis. Because my design training focused heavily on "The Grid", interior text design for technical trade books was right up my alley. I met a lot of great people, many of whom moved on to other publishing houses, which gave me some contacts for outside work. After a couple years with the company, I moved to Seattle to become a freelance designer. Since then I've done a variety of book projects, including covers, for everything from cookbooks and gardening books to travel guides and textbooks, and have dabbled in side projects for friends and local businesses.

Super Hoot: Who and what inspires your work?

Amy: Gosh, I am inspired by just about everything around me! In particular, I am fascinated with typography, love Pop Art, graffiti, antiques and collectibles, nature, the city...and just about anything Orla Kiely designs or Anthropologie sells! I also love music and find I am most productive, and do my best work, when music is playing in my studio or office.

Go Skater Girls! © Amy Peppler Adams

Super Hoot: Talk Roller Derby with us. Do you do it? Do you watch it?

What do you love about it?

Amy: While I have been skating since I was five years old, most of my personal experience on eight wheels is from the 1970s and '80s (yeah, think roller disco!). I have seen bouts, in the Raquel Welch movie "Kansas City Bomber", though I plan on checking out some live action when the local Seattle club, the Rat City Rollergirls, starts their new season in January. I have always had this secret desire to do roller derby, but I'm pretty small and a little afraid of taking a hit that might hinder my ability to keep up with my toddler son. However, I have several friends from high school who have been doing derby for a few years, and their enthusiasm and the Spoonflower Roller Derby fabric contest have sparked my interest again! So I'm thinking of honing my skills and working out a bit more to perhaps try out in a couple years. I like that it could be a way for my alter ego to get some exercise as well!

Super Hoot: You’ve designed a bunch of bold, colorful fabric patterns. What kinds of projects have you created with your own fabric?

Amy: So far I have made pillows with my Woodtype Alphabet and Footnote Flower designs, and have a lampshade planned using the latter. I've also started making bedding for my son's room, and have been laminating several different designs to cover journals and notebooks. I plan on adapting many of the patterns into framed prints to sell in my shop.

Button Up, Little Flowers! © Amy Peppler Adams

Super Hoot: Describe your current adventures in the DIY craft movement.

Amy: Back in the early '80s, when I was about 12 years old, I had a store in my garage called The Paper Mill. I made stickers and paper goods and sold them to my sister and neighborhood friends, handed out weekly newsletters introducing new products, even issued membership cards for them to present for special deals...and then I had some stickers sell on consignment at a local gift store. It's funny how you can look back at things you did when you were young and feel like perhaps those are the paths you are meant to pursue. Well, I am just getting started again, finally! I started entering Spoonflower contests last fall and quickly became addicted. They gave me a jumpstart to finally get working on the business side of Penny Candy, so now I just need to start actually crafting

to fill my etsy store with goodies!

Super Hoot: What would be your perfect Sunday afternoon?

Amy: Depends on the time of year! When it's warm and sunny, I love to walk on the beach or go for a hike in the mountains with my family, and then eat outside at some local burger dive or root beer stand. But when it's cold and rainy here in Seattle, it's nice to stay inside with a blanket and some tea, and a pot of something like gumbo or chili cooking on the stove all day.

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Isn’t Amy fabulous? Visit her online at her web site, www.pennycandyhandmade.com,

and at her etsy store, www.pennycandy.etsy.com!

I absolutely had to have Amy’s fabric as soon as I saw it. And now you can too! Shop NEW Super Smarty Super Hoot Roller Derby Pants at www.superhoot.etsy.com! Happy Shopping!

NEW Super Smarty Super Hoot Roller Derby Pants!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

NEW Super Smarty Super Hoot Pants

My brand new Super Smarty Children’s Pants are now available in my Etsy store, Super Hoot! They come in six new fabulous fabrics ranging from Orange Creamsicle Dream to Hardcore Splatter Skull. All the fabrics are 100% cotton, and each pair of pants features its own original, one-of-a-kind sewn cloth collage on the lower right-hand corner. The collages are fun little decorations that correspond to the fabulous fabrics and range from quiet, little leaves to lightning fast roller skates.

The new pants come in two sizes, Large and Small. The Large size is perfect for toddlers up to age 2+, while the Small size is just right for babies up to age 1+. These super styling, super practical pants are roomy & light with an elastic waistband, making them a great fit for energetic little ones of all shapes and sizes!

Shop the complete line of new Super Smarty Children’s Pants at www.superhoot.etsy.com and fall in love with juicy fruit, leafy green twigs and roller derby!

Super stars and pinwheels!

Rock on, Little Dude!

Skate on, Baby Girl!

Apples & pears!

Friday, August 12, 2011

SCBWI Conference Notes + Work In-Progress

The Annual SCBWI Conference in Los Angeles took place last weekend and I was there. The keynote speakers included luminaries such as Judy Blume, Gary Paulsen and Richard Peck, as well as more contemporary voices such as Laurie Halse Anderson and Libba Bray. And what stood out to me at the end was that all of them essentially said the very same things, albeit in their own way, to all of us sitting on the edges of our seats and leaning forward so eagerly.

1) Writing and illustrating in terrifying. So take heart, you are not the only one to feel this way.

2) You must dig down deep into your own truth. This is where your authentic voice and your personal, yet universal, story are.

3) Your path as a writer and/or illustrator is long. Your progress along your path is not a sprint. It is a marathon.

4) Your path as a writer and/or illustrator is distinctly unique to you. It is not possible to follow in anyone else's footsteps.

5) Writing and illustrating is lonely, because at the end of the day it's just you and a piece of blank paper. But thank goodness SCBWI is there for company in your downtime!

For me personally, these messages vacillate between being inspiring and being demoralizing. Nonetheless, I have returned to my studio and below is the progress I've made. Good night and good luck!