Today I'd like to introduce you to the very special Samara of Maddabling. She was the inspiration behind me wanting to 'pay back' kindness and start featuring these wonderful people in my blog. Samara very kindly blogged about me (and my art) when I was very new to Etsy, Madeit and the fantastic DUST team. I'm ever grateful for that gesture as it gave me the confidence to keep going. I hope you enjoy her article.
Hi, my name is Samara and this is my story. I live in a country city on
the Southern Coast of Western Australia with my wonderful husband and fur kids.
I am a proud DUST team member and one of the three DUST Team Leaders, doing my
best to fill the huge shoes of dear Julie-Ann who was taken from us in tragic
circumstances last year. It certainly keeps me on my toes ! The DUST team is an
amazing community of Australian Etsy Artisans who are supportive and creative.
The DUST Team Awards 2012 have recently closed and I was stoked to be nominated
for The Social Bunny Award and The Best DUST Blogger Award.
Funny
enough, I won The Social Bunny Award - I do tend to talk a bit ;)
I
make, I create, delving into a world of paper, gemstones, beads, canvas,
digital film and print - I love experimenting with different mediums. My
signature line is Kilt Pin Brooches. I also LOVE to blog, promoting the
craft of Australian Artists (predominantly DUST Team Members or WA Street Team
Members) each week !
Competition
Piece - Southern Summer - representing the colours of the South
Coast WA
I
find inspiration in many things, beauty is something I see everywhere - the way
the light falls in contrasting shadows or raindrops on a spiders web or cloud
formations or sunsets or shiny sparkly craft supplies or a blank canvas or a
new camera to play with ! Working full time I find being creative is a great
way to reduce stress and to express yourself.
I
originally wanted to pursue a career in media or graphic design, but sadly it
wasn't to be. Maddabling came about from being encouraged to open an ETSY store
by my dear friend Del over at DELicious Designz / GET Spooned and my first
craft market that a very creative friend Judy encouraged me to do a few
years ago.
The
markets were great encouragement, I thought "people like my stuff so
that's a good start" - I am completely self taught and still learn new
things every day. Which is good, because when one stops learning, the mind
becomes stagnant and creativity is lost. As a child, I used to cut up lots of
paper into tiny pieces (so my Mother tells me) and she used to dread it when I
would pick up a pair of scissors. I also used to draw quite a bit but that
pursuit has fallen by the wayside.
My
proudest crafting moment was in 2008 I entered the Fire Mountain Beads and Gems
annual beading contest with a necklace I made called "Ancient Ocean". I was a finalist and my
necklace travelled to America and back to be photographed by Fire Mountain
Beads and Gems - even though I didn't win, it was so exciting !
Maddabling
Wine Charms have also been featured in Southern Minnesota Magazine. Finally, I
want to say a huge thank you to Deborah for giving me this opportunity to share
a little about Maddabling with her readers and in sharing the Handmade Love.
Thanks again Samara for being part of my humble blog... I am so happy to feature you on here.
... more contact info for Samara
Etsy Store
Blog
Facebook
~ inspiration from the West of Australia ~
