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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Interview with Chrissy of I Love Spoiltpig

Chrissy is a UK swapper who's up for anything! She's a rocking jewlery designer so be sure to check out her shop. Read up about her at her blog!

SwapDex: Tell us a bit about you.

Chrissy: I'm 24 and moved to Aberdeen just over a year ago from Glasgow looking for an adventure. :) Turns out it's not that exciting a place! but it's peaceful and pretty so I get a lot done up here. It gave me the bit of space I needed to get creating things and in a couple of months I opened my Folksy shop full of Punky Resin Jewellery. I got myself enrolled in Aberdeen college last September to study Art & Design too...I've sort of been making it up as I go along until now so it's opened up a whole new bunch of things I'm really excited about, including printing & sculpture.

SD: How long have you been swapping?

C: I think my first swap is what introduced me to the amazing online crafting community! It was 'Time for Tea' and organised by one of my good friends BlottedCopyBook. I loved it! It was great fun, I got introduced to new crafts and I made a lot of online friends and contacts through it.
I've been hooked since...well, I've only had time to participate in about 8 in the last year but I'd be doing one every week if I could and there are always plenty out there to get involved in I hear.

SD: What is your range of swapping?

C: I'd be up for joining in any swap with a theme that catches my imagination! I'm more likely to jump right in if it's being hosted by someone I know but I've participated in ones hosted by crafters met through craft forums and I've never had a bad experience.

SD: Do you swap with any organized groups like yahoo groups, flickr, groups on swap-bot, other message boards, etc? Why or why not?


C: I've found a couple through Crafteroo.co.uk and the Folksy.com forums which are very friendly sites and the swaps are often open internationally even though it's a UK based site.

SD: What's your favorite swap you've ever been in?

C: Ooooh, it's a toss-up between the Alice in Wonderland Swap and the B-Movie swap! Both hosted by the wonderful Meridian Ariel - I'm sure she must be famous for her amazing swaps, they're always great themes and really well organised. I defnitely prefer ones with an open theme rather than a 'material' or crafting something for a specific 'purpose' - just more freedom.

SD: What do you do to make your packages special?


C: I like to try something new every time. I put a lot of thought into what my swap partner will like so it's always handy if there's a questionairre with the swap so you get an idea of their personality. I think wrapping things well is always appreciated too...I stuffed my last package full of multicoloured pompoms at the last minute too, we'll see how that goes down!

SD: Do you have a good story about hosting or participating in a swap?

C: The most fun thing I've ever received was a 'tinfoil hat' fascinator from FraggieRocks in the B-Movie swap. I was pretty taken aback by the originality! I thought it was so imaginative and it looked really amazing.

SD: What do you think is the most challenging part of hosting a swap? Any advice for someone who is thinking about hosting a swap?

C: Assigning swap partners is probably the most draining part! I'd advise any first timers to think about how much they're taking on before they jump in, consider whether or not they want to open it up internationally or keep it to a specific craft or forum to control numbers.
I think questionnaires are a must-have for the participants too, gives everyone a place to start if inspiration doesn't strike right away!

SD: Any exciting plans for the near future? Swaps, projects, new products?

C: I've come to the end of hosting my very first swap which was awesome fun and went so much more smoothly than I anticipated! I'm dying to host another one but shall wait till after my college Exhibition and the HND Fashion Show which I'm providing the jewellery for!
I've also got plans to open up a new SpoiltPig shop for the Couture Collection an easier way for me to separate the One of a Kind, designer pieces I create from the quirky, play jewellery found in my first Folksy shop.

Excellent! Thanks so much for the chat!

3 comments:

Apryl said...

lovely interview and thank you for the mmention! swaps are fantastic ways to 'meet' new people and to score fab goodies. I'm sure I will dream up another swap or two soon, the onyl bit that is a pain is organizing partners and sending out tons of emails... the rest is all fun and games!

Unknown said...

What a fab interview and thank you so much for the mention.

I have to agree with Apryl its a great way to meet new people and recieve special treats from some very talented crafters...

Unknown said...

Great interview!
I loved taking part in your kitty swap. Great fun.
Wish I'd known about this site when I organised my first swap- only had 5 of us taking part!! Never mind-'tis all great fun and a great way to 'meet' new people
xxx