About
I have a BA in Graphic Design, and took classes and internships in Game Art & Animation. This gave me experience in a broad array of media such as illustration, storyboarding, audio editing, UI design, game design, animation, and I had a running comic strip in my college newspaper. While I enjoy creating fun & educational games, my Graphic Design career focused on print advertising for a local newspapers and magazines.
I had never heard of needlefelting until one fateful day at a local craft fair, when a kind and friendly needlefelter introduced my younger cousin and I to this fiber craft.
My Story
My baby cousin was enamored by the possibility of making her own ’stuffed animal’ as she watched the woman needlefelting a fluffy sheep. I thought this would be a fun craft for us to do together, so I bought a starter kit and some wool.
My first 3 attempts at making a cat… all turned out looking like gremlins, but they were solid pieces. Meanwhile, my younger cousin’s critters actually looked like the animals, but they were loosely held together and fell apart.
Our other younger cousins also wanted to learn how to needlefelt too. So, I went to a Sheep and Wool Festival and bought more roving wool and other supplies for all of us. In preparation for our next family gathering, I studied tutorials on YouTube, and practiced more so I could teach them how to needlefelt safely and not stab themselves. It was a great bonding activity!
Still, patience wasn’t always easy for them with this craft. So, my younger cousins would often request me to needlefelt their favorite animals and computer game characters for them. I also needlefelted critters as gifts for friends and family. Selling them never crossed my mind...
… until one long weekend, I was volunteering at an anime convention. I was selling raffle tickets at the merch table. Usually, I drew in my sketchbook to keep my hands busy, but this time I decided to needlefelt a three-tailed-fox, inspired by the kitsune (fox spirit) from Japanese mythology. When I finished the first one, I set it on the table to use as a reference as I started working on a second fox. Then people started asking me if I was selling the little foxes along with the raffle tickets. I was utterly surprised! I didn’t even have a clue about how much they’d be worth to price them for. I did eventually sell that first fox for $5, and got my first two commissions.
And that my friends, was the start of ArachneButterfly.