Featured Etsy Seller Interview: gaiaconceptions

My featured Etsy Seller for today is Gaia Conceptions. All clothing is designed, sewn, and hand dyed by North Carolina artist Andrea Crouse, using eco-friendly fabrics such as local organic cotton, hemp, raw silk, and organic wool. She dyes each garment by hand using fiber reactive low impact or plant dyes that are friendly for the environment.  

I love the simplicity, fluidity, and femininity of her clothing. You can see that she puts her heart and soul into this line; by its cohesive, earthy style layered with soft undertones of romance.

cloud9designstudio: Tell us a little bit about yourself (name, location, affiliations, personal stuff).

gaiaconceptions: My name is Andrea and I’m a homegrown southern girl from beautiful North Carolina and I continue to live here today. I love my family and friends more than anything in this world. They have always supported and encouraged my artistic pursuits. I have my BFA in sculpture and studied fashion design at Appalachian State University and fiber arts at Savannah College of Art and Design.

cloud9designstudio:  Do you have a job other than creating things?

gaiaconceptions: I am now a full time seller on Etsy. I have been accepted to a Graduate Sculpture program in the Fall. However, I haven’t quite decided if balancing Gaia Conceptions and being a full time student is realistic.

cloud9designstudio:  What first made you want to become an artist?

gaiaconceptions: I don’t think it was ever a conscious choice. I grew up in a crafty family so object making has always been apart of my everyday life. I also had a healthy curiosity for how things worked. I would take my toys apart and put them back together again. My poor easy bake oven! I not only wanted to make a beautiful cake but I also wanted to make the oven even cooler. I think the realization was the desire to make my artistic process and final creation as environmentally sustainable as possible. I’m also an ecological sculptor. I have spent the last few years creating work that explores environmental issues and how cultivated landscapes are attached to consumerism, politics, religion, science, and history.

cloud9designstudio:  Please describe your creative process (how, when, materials, etc).

gaiaconceptions: My goal with Gaia Conceptions is to create Eco Chic Apparel shaped to move with the individual contemporary woman. Upon my return from eight months traveling through India and five months living and studying in Amsterdam this collection was born. I have combined the luminous colors and nomadic needs of exploration with sophisticated design, fit for the urban environment.

The quality of these garments is my biggest priority. I start by selecting the best fabric I can find, choosing only natural fabrics such as: Local Organic Cotton, Raw Silk, Wool, and Hemp. I receive my fabrics in there natural state, with no added chemicals or dyes. The first step is to design a flat pattern of the garment in all sizes. I have created patterns that flatter the figure and fit most body types easily. I want my clothing to be multifunctional and keep you feeling comfortable and stylish in the work place, a day in the woods, or a night out. All clothing is straight stitched and surged to create super durable seams and a great fit. Then comes my favorite part, color. All my garments are dyed using wonderful, low-impact fiber reactive dyes. I’m also currently in the process of learning how to work with natural dye colors and they will be available soon.

cloud9designstudio:  Where do you find your inspiration to be creative?
gaiaconceptions: I’m always looking at people, plants, the landscape. Like any artist the visual plays a key role. However, I’m also very inspired by how an object functions. I’m quite curious about the life of something and how it interacts and shapes everything else around it. I get really excited when I see things like a geodesic dome or a living machine .

cloud9designstudio: How do you organize your time? Walk us through a typical day.
gaiaconceptions: Well at present I’m defiantly rocking out 10-12 hour days. I wake up around 8 or 9. Stretch a bit, make a cup of coffee and start catching up with orders and emails from Etsy and my web page. On any given day I will be cutting out clothing, sewing, dyeing, or packaging orders. I usually make time to take the dogs for a nice long walk by that evening. Things typically calm down at around 8ish and it is time for dinner with my partner David. We are both enthusiastic Slow Foodies and enjoy nothing more than cooking up a great seasonal dish with local organic foods from our farmers market.

cloud9designstudio:  Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and websites.
gaiaconceptions:

Books:

Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan,
Cradle to Cradle, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
Gaia’s Garden (a guide to home scale permaculture) by Toby Hemenway
A People’s History of the United States by Howaed Zinn
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Movies:

Baraka
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fanaa
Natural Born Killers
Forest Gump

Websites:

poppytalk
sewgreen
footprintnetwork
slowfood
greenmuseum

Music:

National Public Radio (News, Echoes, just about everything)
Miles Davis, Kinda Blue
STS9, live at home
PHISH live in 1997 Hampton coliseum
Radiohead, ok computer

cloud9designstudio:  What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
gaiaconceptions: Give as many pics and as much info about your items as you can. Good communication is also important for both buyers and sellers.

cloud9designstudio:  Do you have a website outside of Etsy?

gaiaconceptions: Yes, gaiaconceptions.com

cloud9designstudio:  How do you promote your work?
gaiaconceptions: I also sell my clothing at festivals and I try to keep cards on me at all times. Other than that it has just been word of mouth. I want to grow slowly so that I can continue to keep the ethic that grounds Gaia Conceptions.

cloud9designstudio:  What networking sites are you on? Share your links….(MySpace, IndiePublic, Flickr, We Love Etsy, etc)

gaiaconceptions: I have to admit I’m pretty bad at this kind of stuff. It is one of my new goals for this year! Any advice would be amazing!

cloud9designstudio: Do you have a favorite quote?

gaiaconceptions: We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For “Alice Walker”

cloud9designstudio: What’s your favorite color? Food? Place?

gaiaconceptions: Green, Strawberries, The Appalachians

cloud9designstudio:  Do you belong to any teams on Etsy? Which ones?

gaiaconceptions: EcoEtsy and Scratchfashion

cloud9designstudio: Where do you see yourself in 10 years……
gaiaconceptions: Happy, healthy, and surrounded by the people I love!

 

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