1] Name:
Brenda Mihalopoulos
2] Shop name and link:
Howling Caterpillars http://www.etsy.com/shop/howlingcaterpillars
3] Inspiration for shop name:
It’s my son’s fault. We were having an outbreak of tent caterpillars when he was little…He’d see them scrunching along, then they’d lift their heads up into the air and he thought they were howling…
4] Location and any impact on your work:
I live in Massachusetts, sorta half way between Boston and Plymouth. I think that it really hasn’t had any impact on my art work, though.
5] Preferred medium(s):
Mostly fabric…I use scrap booking buttons usually, some gemstones, feathers, almost the time; for my DreamWebs. My other goodies, it varies.
6] Brief personal history:
Born and raised in the Bay State, probably die here too…not a big traveller; my only out of country trip was to Canada in 68. Visited a few states: California, Florida, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Maryland and Maine.
I always was interested in “old stuff” like dinosaurs and I could read heiroglyphics when I was little. I wanted to be an archaeologist growing up, but my grandmother said it wasn’t for girls and that I should get a degree I could “use”. So I have a wasted Accounting degree…It never interested me enough to do anything with it, but I loved the 12 column worksheets and how to make everything balance.
I have a twin sister, who’s five minutes older than me. In China, *I* would be considered the older one because I was polite enough to let her go out first.
I’m married to a Greek Orthodox guy who’s 17 years older than me. I have one son who’s now 16 and lucky he’s lived this long…and am owned by Obelisk the Tormentor, a 6 year old Leghorn hen.
I work for a chain pet store, cleaning the small and fuzzys which I happen to be allergic to. But I love animals and take my allergy/asthma meds…
My sister and I were both premies, weighing 2 pounds when we were born. I’ve had two corrective surgeries on my heart and she was treated for clubfoot. But we’re both healthy now.
7] What brought you to crafting and Etsy:
My great grandmother (we lived in a four generation house) was always knitting or crocheting or making dolls. I still have some of the dolls she made. Can’t knit or crochet to save my life though, must be a left-handed thing.
I was always drawing and sketching stuff, so I’ve always been an “arty” person.
My Aunt was going the flea market circuit in the Southwest and was making Dream Catchers. She taught me and I made them my own by using fabrics and crafting thread instead of the sinew and leather. I don’t call them Dream Catchers because they’re not the traditional ones.
As for being sucked into Etsy, it was a chicken person named Terrie Lacy who was selling her potholders there and I joined to see if anyone would be interested in my creations too.
8] Where do you glean your inspiration, family, friends, Spiritual Path:
My inspiration can be anything. It can be an interesting fat quarter or remnant, then I run around Joann’s like Mike the Headless Chicken looking for scrap booking buttons or beads to match. Some inspiration comes from being a Pagan, like my Gods Inspiration series of DreamWebs and my Tshirt designs.
9] What's in the wings, mediums to try, subjects to explore:
I’ve tried jewelry making, polymer clay, candle making, soap making, but I’ll stick with my mainstays of DreamWebs and Tshirts.
I want to finish my line of Poppets. I have desert, glacier, ocean, mountain to do…
I’m also thinking of starting up another store for my “craft” stuff, like the Altars-in-a-jar, and the Feathery Blessings line…I already have a name in mind “The Kiwi Silkie”…
10] Any additional information you would like to share:
Nope…hehehe Except for the fact that I have a wicked sense of humour…And I’m a fiction writer, nothing published yet, but I do have some excerpts from my past two NaNoWriMos on my blog… http://spottedcrow.blogspot.com/
Brenda Mihalopoulos
2] Shop name and link:
Howling Caterpillars http://www.etsy.com/shop/howlingcaterpillars
3] Inspiration for shop name:
It’s my son’s fault. We were having an outbreak of tent caterpillars when he was little…He’d see them scrunching along, then they’d lift their heads up into the air and he thought they were howling…
4] Location and any impact on your work:
I live in Massachusetts, sorta half way between Boston and Plymouth. I think that it really hasn’t had any impact on my art work, though.
5] Preferred medium(s):
Mostly fabric…I use scrap booking buttons usually, some gemstones, feathers, almost the time; for my DreamWebs. My other goodies, it varies.
6] Brief personal history:
Born and raised in the Bay State, probably die here too…not a big traveller; my only out of country trip was to Canada in 68. Visited a few states: California, Florida, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Maryland and Maine.
I always was interested in “old stuff” like dinosaurs and I could read heiroglyphics when I was little. I wanted to be an archaeologist growing up, but my grandmother said it wasn’t for girls and that I should get a degree I could “use”. So I have a wasted Accounting degree…It never interested me enough to do anything with it, but I loved the 12 column worksheets and how to make everything balance.
I have a twin sister, who’s five minutes older than me. In China, *I* would be considered the older one because I was polite enough to let her go out first.
I’m married to a Greek Orthodox guy who’s 17 years older than me. I have one son who’s now 16 and lucky he’s lived this long…and am owned by Obelisk the Tormentor, a 6 year old Leghorn hen.
I work for a chain pet store, cleaning the small and fuzzys which I happen to be allergic to. But I love animals and take my allergy/asthma meds…
My sister and I were both premies, weighing 2 pounds when we were born. I’ve had two corrective surgeries on my heart and she was treated for clubfoot. But we’re both healthy now.
7] What brought you to crafting and Etsy:
My great grandmother (we lived in a four generation house) was always knitting or crocheting or making dolls. I still have some of the dolls she made. Can’t knit or crochet to save my life though, must be a left-handed thing.
I was always drawing and sketching stuff, so I’ve always been an “arty” person.
My Aunt was going the flea market circuit in the Southwest and was making Dream Catchers. She taught me and I made them my own by using fabrics and crafting thread instead of the sinew and leather. I don’t call them Dream Catchers because they’re not the traditional ones.
As for being sucked into Etsy, it was a chicken person named Terrie Lacy who was selling her potholders there and I joined to see if anyone would be interested in my creations too.
8] Where do you glean your inspiration, family, friends, Spiritual Path:
My inspiration can be anything. It can be an interesting fat quarter or remnant, then I run around Joann’s like Mike the Headless Chicken looking for scrap booking buttons or beads to match. Some inspiration comes from being a Pagan, like my Gods Inspiration series of DreamWebs and my Tshirt designs.
9] What's in the wings, mediums to try, subjects to explore:
I’ve tried jewelry making, polymer clay, candle making, soap making, but I’ll stick with my mainstays of DreamWebs and Tshirts.
I want to finish my line of Poppets. I have desert, glacier, ocean, mountain to do…
I’m also thinking of starting up another store for my “craft” stuff, like the Altars-in-a-jar, and the Feathery Blessings line…I already have a name in mind “The Kiwi Silkie”…
10] Any additional information you would like to share:
Nope…hehehe Except for the fact that I have a wicked sense of humour…And I’m a fiction writer, nothing published yet, but I do have some excerpts from my past two NaNoWriMos on my blog… http://spottedcrow.blogspot.com/
