January 15th 2006: batteriesnotrequired

1.when you where a small crafter , did you ever think you id have a shop? esp. online?

Yes, actually I did! Well, I guess with my smaller crafts, no I did not think so. But my store features interactive play quilts, which I planned on selling online pretty much as soon as I started making them.

2. How did you pick youre name?

Actually, my friend and former business partner came up with the name. Pretty perfect, if you ask me!

3. Do you go nuts when you are at a craft store? Do you end up buying stuff you dont need?How long do you spend at the store?( hours)

Don’t even get me started about shopping in craft stores! My boyfriend often comments that our house looks like a craft store. I more or less go nuts in fabric stores now- those are my weakness. I usually can limit my stay, but always go with the intention of just “picking something up” and end up staying at least an hour and $50 poorer.

4.whats one thing you like about being a indie shop?

The freedom to do what I want. I also love interacting (even if it is just online) with other indie sellers. Very motivating!

5.did you go to school for what you do ?

Social work!

6. Do you design youre shop's site?

Yup. I do it all myself, but do buy space from a company and am limited as to how many pages I have. It’s sometimes frustrating to try and work around that, but since I’m doing this on my own with no web experience what-so-ever, it sometimes comes in handy.

7. how long have you been a "crafter"?

All my life! Seriously, I can remember being little and making earrings out of those old gummy bracelets and selling them from my front yard.

8. If you could meet any crafter how would it be and why?

That’s a tough question and I’d have to put a LOT more thought into it. Right now it might be Amy Peters- mostly because I love her work and so admire her business skills.

9. whats the one thing you wished you would have known before you started youre little empire ?

I just wish that I had the confidence in myself that I do now. It took reading many posts on The Switchboards and having some press that made me feel like what I was doing was worth it.

10.what's the one thing you make that you love making ?

Interactive play quilts!!! I do also enjoy inventing new things and trying new projects. About every week I have a “new project” that I just have to try. I’m the type of person when I see something new that I like, I have to drop everything and try it immediately.

11. Do you have any thing planned for 2006 are you going to try something new and sell it at youre site?

Sort of. I want to revise my site in a few months and feature customized interactive play quilts made with people’s pictures (like of family members, pets, etc). I’ve made a few but have not advertised so on my site. I also have some BIG plans for my business, mostly around growing into a full time job for myself.

You can find batteriesnotrequired here.batteriesnotrequired.comItem to check out .Retro Interactive Big Challenge Play Quilt