This week my guest is Minneapolis-based designer Rebecca Yaker. I’ve been wanting to interview Rebecca since we met at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair a few years ago and she did not disappoint. This episode traces Rebecca’s unconventional creative path to becoming an independent designer, artist, handmade business owner and published author.
In 2005, Rebecca left the corporate world to start Hazel and Melvin’s Room, a custom baby bedding and accessories business that offers expecting parents a fabulous alternative to the mass produced products listed on many baby registries.
Rebecca made a huge splash in craft circles when images of her unforgettable sock monkey dresses hit the web. She continues to make wearable sock monkey creations for people of all ages and takes custom orders for her award winning sock monkey dresses. (Those must be an absolute blast to wear. I would love to run a road race wearing a sock monkey apron someday. Talk about distracting the competition.)
In 2008, Rebecca and her pal Trish Hoskins (co-founder of a retail fabric and needlework shop in Minneapolis called Crafty Planet had lunch with the president of Storey Publishing. A year and a half later, Rebecca and Trish where holding copies of their first book “One-Yard Wonders!,” a book loaded with projects to inspire you to dig into your stash. Rebecca and Trish are planning to team up for a follow-up book and you can get involved. Rebecca will tell you how during the interview. And you can read updates on their Facebook page.
Enter to win a copy of One-Yard Wonders! Leave a comment below about projects you can make out of a quarter yard or less of fabric. Or, tell us what types of fabric, in addition to printed cottons, that you have in your fabric stash and saving for the perfect project.
Thanks to our sponsor!
Libby Dibby stuff and style is all about being inspired by the joy of color and pattern – and things that are both vintage and new. Check out skirts, hand-stamped charms, baby slings and bags at libertyworth.com, and one-of-a-kind items at the Etsy store. The Libby Dibby blog is chock full of what inspires Liberty and ideas she shares with readers.
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Taking Names
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