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Sep, 12{studio sunday} with Twinkie Chan
I’m so excited to have the lovely Twinkie Chan as our featured guest today! I’ve been following her and her work for sometime now and have admired her ability to maintain such success, while staying incredibly sweet! If you know her, you know this is true. She’s always so bright and cheery with her pink hair and stellar tattoos – and you’ll see that this carries on into her studio, as well. Go on, take a peek!
1. How long have you been crocheting your amazing pieces?! What’s your inspiration?
I started crocheting, designing, and selling my food-themed scarves in 2005. I was inspired by the delicious colors and textures of handspun yarn, plus I’ve always had a weird, childhood wonderment with faux food and toy food! It just makes me giggle. But I learned how to crochet when I was about 10 years old and have always turned to crochet throughout the years to make one-of-a-kind handmade gifts for friends and family.
2. When did you decide to start selling your work?
In 2005, I became really obsessed with making scarves for myself but realized I was not actually wearing everything I was making. The scarves looked lonely, so I decided to design a website (www.TwinkieChan.com) for them, and they all found new homes within a few days! That’s when I knew I was onto something. I had no idea beforehand. I didn’t really have a plan to start an online store or anything. I was just having fun!
3. On to your studio, where’s it located? And why?
I finally have a craft room in my house! YAY! When I first started, I just had a shelf in my bedroom for yarn. Then the shelves grew. Then I lived in a loft for a while, so I didn’t really have a separate space for crafting, just miles of bookshelves filled with yarn. I moved 2 years ago to an actual house, with an actual extra bedroom, and I love it! It’s the sunniest room in the house (and sun can be rare since I live by the ocean in San Francisco, and it’s usually overcast, especially during the summer!) and bursting with color and fun. I would actually love to have a separate studio outside of my home one day, so that I can hire interns or assistants without feeling like everyone knows where I live, but I’m not at that point where I can afford that yet!
4. What’s your favorite part of your studio space? Why?
My favorite part has to be the yarn wall. That’s where the magic starts! I also love the yolky yellow walls. They don’t photograph very well, and they make everything else yellow, but when you’re actually inside the room in real life, it’s very warm and cheery.
5. Approximately how many hours per day/week do you spend in your studio?
This really varies. I actually don’t do a lot of crocheting in there since there isn’t a logical place to have a comfy chair or sitting area. I used to have a mini couch under the window, but I needed more table space instead. I do most of my crocheting in my living room, sitting next to a space heater and my dogs, watching TV. In my studio, I do a lot of computer work, product assembly, gluing, yarn-winding, packing and shipping, so some days I’m in there 5 minutes, and some days I’m in there 8+ hours.
6. Do you have any future plans for your studio?
I’m not one of those people who is constantly changing her space. I kind of like to stick everything where it belongs, and then accept the way things are and use my time to create rather than organize, so I don’t really have big plans for any big changes at the moment. I wish it looked neater, but I’m working so much that clean-up time and organization time are really limited. I should really put my computer some place more ergonomic, but that’s where it fit when it arrived (it’s new), and I haven’t taken the time to put it any where better. What I would really love is to have at least one of the tables raised so that I can work at it comfortably while standing – for packing orders and/or gluing pompoms – and then just sit on a tall stool. Other than that, I’d just put more art on the walls!
7. Do you have any tips or advice on how to maintain an inspiring and functional workspace?
I think that people’s work spaces are so personal, that it’s hard to give good advice! I can only think of an obvious tidbit like: constantly keep it picked up and clean, and don’t let dreaded PILES grow in there! You’ll feel a million times better when your work space isn’t cluttered. Also, if you are feeling overwhelmed by a big clean-up or a big re-organization, bring in a friend. My BFF helped me re-organize my closet, which is now dedicated to my packing and shipping supplies, and I seriously don’t think I would have done it without her. I *could* have, but I *wouldn’t* have! Oh! Also, I think your creative space should 100% be you. What I mean is, sometimes the way I decorate my house not only reflects the things I like but also reflects what I think will be pleasing to visitors and not look too crazy. But you should feel free to decorate your creative space as crazily (or un-crazily) as you want. It should be filled with your own personal energy, and you don’t have to please anybody else with it!
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Thank you so much, Twinkie, for sharing your creative studio with us! It really is the most colorful studio I’ve seen yet. All of your brightly-colored yarn looks like candy, and bright colors are my absolute favorite! It’s really inspiring to see where you work and how you keep your space 100% you. Also, thank you for the wonderful advice! You’re right, our studio space is just that, OUR space, so it should be whatever we want it to be. I’ve always been a bit scared of putting too many holes in the walls, thinking that when we move, the new homeowners won’t appreciate it. My husband said, “so what!” It’s our house right now, we own it, so we can do whatever we want. I took that advice and just visited Ikea for the first time, ever! I bought a couple of wall storage units to utilize my wall space more, over my limited floor space. So, you too, have inspired me to hang more art on the walls and not be afraid of little holes that can be patched later… heeheehee You have been an absolute pleasure to work with and your time is much appreciated. Thank you again!
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Didn’t get enough of Twinkie and her amazingly detail and fun crochet items?! I didn’t think so! Check her out around the web and keep an eye out for what she decides to make next!
19 Responses to “{studio sunday} with Twinkie Chan”
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September 16, 2012
[…] on over to Chickiedee to check out some photos of my work space and my Q&A with […]
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October 9, 2012
[…] the way, Chickiedee does these tours with Q&A every Sunday and other crocheters (recently Twinkie Chan) have also showed off terrific creative spaces I’d love to retreat to as […]
September 16, 2012 at 3:05 pm
am so jealous of your room. and the different and plentiful yarn! gosh I thought I had lots of yarn, you got me beat by far! Love all you have, great idea for storing your yarn too, I have a room, now thinking of doing something like that too!
September 17, 2012 at 7:40 am
Donna, I’m so glad that Twinkie’s studio has inspired you to create your own! Have fun with it!
September 16, 2012 at 3:15 pm
Im fan of her art. But I truly love your work room.
September 17, 2012 at 7:39 am
Isn’t the room amazing!!! So glad you love it!
September 16, 2012 at 5:55 pm
I love this! This has inspired me to start learning something new.
September 16, 2012 at 8:40 pm
Wow…….I LOVE her space 🙂 how fun!!!!!!
September 16, 2012 at 9:27 pm
I’m so glad that you ladies love this space! Twinkie is an amazing and talented woman. I’m so glad that this has inspired you both!
September 16, 2012 at 10:53 pm
Twinkie is the best!! I love seeing her studio… so much awesome!
September 17, 2012 at 7:37 am
She is the best and I’m so glad that you enjoyed peeking into her studio! So inspiring.
September 17, 2012 at 3:50 am
Thank you so much, RobbieLee! xoxo
September 17, 2012 at 7:38 am
Thank YOU so much, Twinkie! It was a true pleasure having you as a guest. You’ve inspired so many to make their studio unique and 100% original!
September 17, 2012 at 12:20 pm
LOOOOOOVE the space and I can imagine how fantabulous it is to create in! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
September 17, 2012 at 2:46 pm
I know! It makes me want to go over and have a craft night with her hahaha Thanks for stopping by!
September 20, 2012 at 10:33 am
First of all, I love her unique creations… secondly, her studio is amazing! Loving the colors – especially the yarn wall!
September 21, 2012 at 7:24 am
The bright yarn wall is my fave, too!
September 22, 2012 at 5:25 pm
That wall of yarn is swoonworthy! What a great interview RobbieLee!
September 23, 2012 at 7:01 am
Thanks Kate! I had a lot of fun interviewing Twinkie and it was a pleasure to peek into her candy-colored studio.