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October Interview: Jill of Blissen!
Jill Bliss is a crafty designer extraordinaire, founder of the handcrafters' collective blissen and a super cool lady to boot! Jill contributed 50 bracelets to the October Sampler. This month I had the pleasure of interviewing her, despite her insanely busy schedule.
so let's get to this interview n shit.
let's rock!
let's roll!
who are you and why?
i am jill because i am.
what do you make, lady?
whatever i or anyone else i know needs or wants!
jill bliss, how do you manage to do so much stuff but only have two arms?
i have two arms but no friends! well, not that i see on a regular basis anyway. the friends, not the arms. i see my arms all the time.
jill bliss, of blissen.com and jillbliss.com, what kind of cookie are you?
i am a pumpkin spice cookie, yum. i am irresistable to myself.
what's your next big project? a baby?
heck no! no babies!
babies suck n shit
i'm making otsu/jb planner cozies this week
I want one!
a baby?
no, a cozy. I despise babies. but don't tell anyone.
ok, i'll be all shhhh n shit
nice
jill, I know you may downplay it, but you are kind of a crafty superhero
i don't think so. i just make stuff.
exactly: downplaying. Did you know that you are super famous?
super famous? i don't know about that!
totally. The other day I was all: "Hey ben, do you know this jill character?" and he's all: "Totally!"
so i'm famous in your house, yay!
write a haiku about pumpkin! go!
ok, haiku:
pumpkin is so rad
it's the bestest thing i've had
maggie mudd ice cream
pumpkin is so rad
it's the bestest thing i've had
maggie mudd ice cream
why are so many crafty ladies vegan or vegetarian?
maybe cuz it takes a certain kind of caring personality to be interested in all those things?
who would win in a fight, soy milk or rice milk?
depends what they were fighting over. if it's tea, soy wins; if it's cereal, rice wins; and if it's ice cream, coconut wins.
what are your three most used crafty tools?
my left hand, my favorite pen, and my sewing machine.
will you lead a craft revolution?
i'd prefer not to lead, but i'll help! i'll make the signs n shit out of cardboard and packing tape!
what is the allure of making things from found objects?
i like the challenge of making something from something you already have laying around. especially if you can come up with something that is out of character for the item in question. that's rad!
crafty macguyver?
yeah, crafty bliss.
aww
have you always been a crafty little lady?
i've always been crafty, yeah. the poverty-striken farm years helped out a lot with that. i was reminded of that yesterday when i whipped up a display thing outta old cardboard boxes and packing tape for the otsu store, for the datebooks we just made together!
that's so neat that you grew up on a farm.
for 5 years. i always end up talking about the farm when i talk about making things. it makes ed laugh.
(a young crafty jill bliss, with her favorite doll Tamu)
did any animals bite you?
no, but my pony would step on my feet and refuse to move.
was your pony being funny?
he was a bitchy shetland - very stubborn and always had to have his way. when he didn't get his way he'd step on my foot.
you had a pony! that's rad!
it was, in theory. i was obsessed with them, so it was awesome to get one and realize the obsession. we'd just moved to the farm from the 'city' and the deal i cut with my parents was that i could have him as long as we had hay in the barn (which was fully stocked when we moved there). so i had a pony for about a year, til the hay ran out.
where did he go then?
i think a pony farm. i came home from school one day and he was gone. my parents sold him. I remember he was $75, with the saddle.
that's not much at all! I should totally run out and get a pony!
hey jill, what's the worst thing you've ever stepped in?
the worst thing i've ever stepped in is lucy's (my dog's) pee.
barefoot?
yes. eew.
what's the best thing you've ever stepped in?
the best thing i've ever stepped in? the first thing to come to mind is muir woods. but i've been jonesing for a hike for a while now; i really want to see some big trees soon.
which is worse: stepping in icky things, smelling icky things?
stepping. i don't have a good sense of smell, so smelling's ok with me.
pick a super power!
flying!
pick an evil arch nemesis!
um, the man! (ed suggested that one).
tell ed i say BANG! when will you rest?
2006
you've really amassed quite a body of work. can I take credit for some of it?
what did you have in mind?
um, I dunno. Most of it?
that's not fair!
being cool and shit?
you *are* cool n shit!
mostly just the shit part. I would also like to take credit for having a pony.
ok, you can borrow my pony stories.
I am so jealous that you had a pony. you are the envy of little girls everywhere.
i was the envy of even myself! the pony's name was tony when i got him, but just like a cheesy 10 year old i renamed him 'rainbow' - 'bo' for short. he was tri-colored. no wonder he hated me!
rainbow! ha! hippy!
