Focus On... Emu Attacks {And A Giveaway!}

I was browsing through the Night Owls team on Etsy a few weeks ago and came across a very cute avatar {I'm a sucker for cute avatars} along with a pretty rad shop name; Emu Attacks. It made me laugh out loud {literally} because I once got chased by a rabid Emu at the Louisville Zoo. Ok, maybe the whole rabid part is up for interpretation. But he did chase me and I'm pretty sure he was in attack mode.

Anywho, Emu Attacks. Love the name, love the shop. Jessica has been kind enough to offer up a notepad/notebook combo for our lucky winner.

{Fruit Notepad}

Tell us a little about yourself:

I'm originally from the D.C. area, but I came to Providence for art school and I stuck around after graduation. I love living in Providence! It has many of the things bigger cities have; lots of other artists, tasty places to eat and it's close to Boston. I went to school for illustration so I love drawing and creating narratives with my work. The things in my shop are really a combination of my interests ie: pattern, travel, food!

{Mini Cupcake Notebook}

Where does your inspiration come from:

I'm very inspired by other things I like; books I'm reading, food I'm cooking, patterns and of course Japanese culture. I lived in Japan for 6 months and it had a huge impact on me and my art. I met amazing people, ate delicious food and saw beautiful things. Travel in general always invigorates me! I don't tend to have a lack of ideas, just a lack of time really.

{Flat Pencil Case}

Tell us a little about your creative process:

I am constantly drawing and I tend to work on a few projects at the same time. Whenever I get stumped on one I take a break and switch to something else. For the fabric patterns and stationary I've been making drawings in pen and ink and scanning them. Then I can play with the color palette and how I arrange all the shapes together. I had a friend show me how to place things into repeat on the computer and since then I've felt much more comfortable using the computer to color and finish work.

{Mini Fruit Notebook}

What made you decide to sell on Etsy?

I wanted a place to showcase my work on the internet. I'm interested in getting work as a textile/surface designer and this was sort of a chance to try that out and create stuff that I have complete artistic control over.

What is your favorite music/movie/tv show to craft to?

Haha! Awesome question! It depends on what I'm working on... I watched a lot of Top Chef when I made food patterns and watched some documenteries about NASA and the space program when working on my astronaut pattern. I love the Sookie Stackhouse books on audiobook! They are the right level of trashy fun to keep me entertained.

{City Pattern Reversible Tote}

How does your craft stand out from the rest?

hmmmm...you tell me! I guess I just try to make patterns and images based off of things I'm passionate about. I hope that people see that when they look at my work. I try to create things I would want to buy and that are fun to make! I also try to consider how my items will be used so they can be well made. I know that there are a million tote bags floating around on Etsy so I try to create something unique; a reversible tote with a Japanese side and an American side so you can flip it depending on your mood!

{Cupcake Notepad}

What is your favorite Etsy shop?

I have so many favorites! It's amazing how much variety there is on Etsy. I love it when something has a purpose + a sense of humor: like these planters, these coasters or just super cute and handmade

Sum up your craft in 5 words or less:

funky fresh cute handmade

{Ramen Notepad}

How do you advertise your product?

I'm pretty new to the Etsy community and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to bring people to my shop. I really appreciate it when people see my stuff and mention other places they think my work would sell or ideas for products. I have a blog where I show my process, what I'm thinking about and I have lots of photos of Japan! I'm trying to do a better job about blogging since I think it is a great way to generate interest in your work and to connect with other artists doing amazing things!

{Etsy Shop}

{Blog}

{Website}

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- Make sure you leave me a way to contact you if you win. -

- Please leave separate comments for each entry. -

First entry (mandatory):

- Visit EmuAttacks, select your favorite item and leave a comment telling me about it.

Extra entries (optional):

- Add EmuAttacks to your favorites on Etsy

- Add EmuAttacks

to your circle on Etsy

-Follow EmuAttacks

on Blogger

- Follow me on Twitter, tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.

- Purchase an item from EmuAttacks

- Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link.

- Follow our blog via Google Connect

Fine print: Giveaway begins when it is posted and ends at 11:59pm pacific standard time April 4, 2011. A winner will be selected by a random number generator on April 5, 2011 and will be emailed promptly.

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In June, Jessica and her boyfriend Robin will be cycling 100 miles around Lake Tahoe to help raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They both hope to raise $4250 each. As of today Jessica is at 39% and Robin is at 36% raised. As an incentive to donate, Jessica has agreed to give away a notepad or notebook to anyone who makes a donation of $25 or more. It goes to a great cause and hits home for me since my Grampy died of Leukemia. I'm heading over there now to make a donation. You should too!

{You can find her fundraising page here}