relove: The Interview
"Wait...don't throw that away! I can use it for one of my notebooks!"
Q: Tell us about the move to Brooklyn.
Brooklyn has affected my creativity in lots of interesting ways. I am surrounded by creative people and businesses all the time and this encourages me to think outside the box when I am crafting. Also, Brooklyn living is small. My studio is small so I find myself really thinking about quality rather then quantity. Lastly, Brooklyn has tons of opportunities to sell handmade crafts and hopefully by spring I will have a nice size collection of notebooks to sell. I plan on approaching some of Brooklyn's fabulous boutiques and craft markets. A long, cold winter will definitely help me stay on track and get some work done!
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| relove's notebooks combine upcycled components. |
Q: Can you tell us more about the process in which your notebook are created?
Each one of my notebooks are little works of art and I really enjoy selecting the pages from my collection of vintage and reclaimed papers. My paper collection is very personal. I have been collecting paper and envelopes for about 5 years and each piece relates to my life in some way. If you look closely at my books you will find pieces of old sketches I did in collage.
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| The insides of each notebook are unique, you never know what you may find. |
Q: Your books are amazing, I bought a bunch and gave them away to my family last year as gifts -- they loved them. I still use one for my art journal. I particularly love the vintage paper, where does all of that come from?
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| Vintage papers are found randomly placed in the books! |
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| "Checkmate" retails at only $14 in her store. |
Q: So where does all of this creating take place? Tell us about your studio!
My boyfriend and I built our loft bed/studio area ourselves out of partly salvaged wood and wood from a local lumber yard.
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| The relove studio, aka where the magic happens! |
We reused brackets from old shelves to support the desk area. We had the wood precut at the lumber yard and assembled the bed/desk unit with a power drill in our bedroom. The entire project cost about $150 and took about two days to assemble. It was tons of fun to build and a fantastic example of upcycling done right!
My vintage chair (that I love) was found curb side and will soon get a new seat cushion once I find the perfect fabric.All of my art supplies and papers are organized in repurposed buckets and boxes.
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| I spy works in progress atop the desk! |
Q: I'm glad I'm not the only one doing curb-side pickups. Can you tell us anything about your upcoming projects?
I am working on some new books made from repurposed corrugated cardboard and vintage sewing and craft magazines. I love the vintage clothing depicted in old craft magazines so i decided to turn them into book covers.
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| Sneak Peek! |
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| Priced at $16 I Heart Vintage from ReLove is a great gift for the fashionista in your family! |
Q: Any secrets you want to share?
Looking forward to spring...I am planning on introducing some upcycled jewelry to relove.etsy.com. My first line will be one of a kind "found object" necklaces. I have included a sneak peak photo (project3) for you to check out. Please let me know what you think!
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Additional Note: Relove has been an amazing help to this team, and even during a hectic move from her former home to Brooklyn, she managed to donate a huge box of merchandise (tote bags for sale in our Team Shop) and help with the team store. Thanks for being a part of our team!
