Finalist #4: Maraland

...a mini interview with Maraland



Mara, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I have lived in London for more than 10 years (but I’m originally from Argentina), with my husband and 9 year old son. At the moment I’m full time mum and completing a computer designer course. Two years ago I finished my degree in Surface Design which I really enjoyed.

Have you always been crafty?
Well, yes I have always been - I loved fabrics, colours, different textures. My grand-mum used to teach me how to do embroidery and crochet, also I remember my craft lessons at my primary school and all the different skills I learned. I’m always looking for time to do some project.

Do you do other crafty things as well?
When I was at College I spent a lot of time drawing, working with mixed media art, printing and doing a lot of surface embroidery, also I did scrapbook projects. Now I’m still drawing sketches and trying to work them in my computer. At the moment I’m designing a range of patterns, and hopefully I’ll mix them with embroidery.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration everywhere, I love to take pictures of everything around me, I love nature, books, I have lots of magazines, and I like to go to exhibitions, travel and look at blogs.

Please tell us about your banner design submission...
I was looking for different fonts and how to use them in my cross stitch banner. I tried the fonts drawing them first on paper and playing around, and then I started to stitch the title using pink (one of my favorite colours). After that I was drawing more ideas, and because I wanted to used the little Thimble guy in my design (he is so adorable!) I was looking for little friends for him as well, so I traced them onto paper and I worked it out the pattern for my cross stitching. My intention was to used nice cheerful colours.

Mara, it's so nice to learn a little bit more about you. Thanks for the interview... and good luck with the banner contest!

xoxo