Yasmin of Yizzimindi is a good friend of mine, and I am proud to introduce her and offer a giveaway on my blog!
Tell us a bit about yourself:
I
live in Newcastle, NSW with my husband, two dogs, two cats, and a
ferret. We're lucky enough to own our home and recently I've been doing a
lot of gardening. I enjoy a lot of creative pursuits, like craft and
sewing.
Tell us a bit about your business:
Ever
since I was a little girl I have wanted to run my own business, selling
the things I create.
Yizzimindi is the realisation of this dream.
Through my business I sell unusual jewellery, hair accessories and
occasionally, clothing. My jewellery is classified as costume jewellery,
and a lot of my pieces are made with colourful poymer clay. Most items
could be described as looking as though they came out of a Steampunk
sweet shop.
How did you decide to make things for a living?
I've
always been creative, making things is my favourite thing to do! I want
to get paid to do the thing I love most, and I mostly make jewellery
because it's fun to do and easy to wear. I don't have to create patterns
or make certain sizes like I do with clothes.
What inspires you?
I
draw my inspiration from a lot of things. I love the Victorian era, and
the subcultures inspired by it, like Lolita, and Steampunk. I'm also a
huge sweet tooth, so a lot of my jewellery is sweet themed. You can
also see pirate, geeky, and other themes in my items.
What is the best thing about what you do?
The best thing is hearing about how much people love the items they own from
Yizzimindi, and seeing them wear them!
What is the worst thing about what you do?
The
hardest thing about my business is trying to sell my items. I'm
actually quite shy around strangers, and it's difficult to have people
judge you on something you've put your heart and soul into.
Do you like to listen to music while you work?
I
usually forget to put music on! I do like to listen to JJJ Unearthed
playlists though, there's some great, local and indie artists and you
can create your own playlists for free.
How has geeky/ alternative culture inspired you?
A
lot of what I do is directly inspired by video games, or sci fi series,
or collectibles. People who know the culture will easily be able to
pick out the inspiration for some of what I make. Other things are just
generally inspired by a lifetime of gaming, google browsing and cake
eating!
Being self-employed how do you make sure you actually do your work?
I
don't get a lot of orders, so it can be really hard to structure my
days. Not having set limits for certain tasks can lead to
procrastination, but I've never sent an item out overdue!
GIVEAWAY
Thanks to Yasmin I have a set of Bat earrings to give away!
The earrings will be similar to those pictured.
To enter, please comment on this post. Tell me what your favourite magical movie or book is and what your favourite item from
Yizzimindi is! Leave an email address so that you can be contacted for postage details.
Winner will be picked at random on the 1st of October.