Damask

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Featured Seller Friday (on Saturday)

As mentioned in my Tuesday's Treasury post, Keith Moore's clock inspired my lime-themed treasury this week. Despite his insanely busy day job, as well as making his creative clocks at night, he graciously allowed me to interview him. Despite not getting a chance to respond until Saturday, his humor and witty answers made it worth the wait! I really loved reading his life story and I hope you do as well.

What is your life story?
I grew up in Colorado Springs, CO. I’m the youngest of five kids, and the only artist in the family, so nobody is quite sure what I do, despite multiple explanations and a Powerpoint presentation. I went to Colorado State University, where I received my BFA in Graphic Design, and moved to Minneapolis after graduation. I’ve been working in interactive design for years, and doing 3D design on the side. I have a trophy wife, Michele, and two adopted greyhounds. (extended story with character insight) When I moved to Minneapolis, and didn’t have a social life yet, I was doing pottery in my apartment after work and on weekends. I eventually moved into a shared pottery studio. Later, I took a furniture design class and made a coffee table for my apartment. My wife Michele and I were newlyweds, so we learned a lot about each other as I struggled with the project. The instructor and Michele strongly advised me to do something simpler, but I really wanted to see the table come to life. That’s when I developed my sensibility for both style and quality. The table turned out really well, though it took about 4 months to make. You can see it on my furniture website, http://www.pilotdesign.com.

When did you start turning your clock making from a hobby to a business?
Once I had the process somewhat figured out for producing them on the CNC machine in the wood shop, I approached some local gift shops about selling them. People liked them, but the response was rather tepid, and there weren’t many reorders, but I figured it was going to take time. I was just excited that people were buying my stuff. I still am. Once I started selling on Etsy, and got to the point where I could pay my shop rent, I started making goals to grow my business, like getting help from an intern, and being in art fairs. Sort of a business plan, I guess. I’m
chipping away at that everyday, which is hard and slow, but very gratifying


Where did you get your inspiration from?
Commercial design. Graphic, industrial and retail design. I’m like a kid in a candy store when I walk into a cool store like Urban Outfitters (which will hopefully carry my work someday) or Nike stores. It’s a little embarrassing, but I love to carefully look over fixtures to see how a line or shape resolves, how they use color, lighting and pattern, and what material they use. I would love to be an interior designer, but I’d be a deer in the headlights if someone asked me to do French provincial.

How did you find Etsy and when did you decide to open your shop?
My wife claims she suggested it, but I didn’t listen. Later, a coworker mentioned it, so I opened up a shop (typical). I didn’t know what to expect, and it started slowly (also typical) but it picked up when a friend mentioned me to Apartment Therapy, and it’s grown steadily since.


How would you describe your style?
Fun and sophisticated. Like me :-D. Most people describe it as mid-century modern. I don’t disagree, though I’m not sure why, as I’m not a product of that era.

What is one thing about your creative process that people don't know?
I steal ideas. Hopefully, as Picasso says, that makes me great, rather than just good.

How does life affect your creative process and your creative process affect your life?
I’m constantly thinking about stuff I want to do and how I can do it. I’m an interactive designer by day, and it’s really hard to get work done sometimes because my mind wanders to creating and problem solving my stuff. So far, it’s not a liability.

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