Crafty Bastards Vendor Q&A with Barry’s Farm

Know what you need? A fuzzy blue monster laptop sleeve. Get one Sunday from Barry’s Farm.

Barry’s Farm is cultivated by Barry and Katie, who love monsters, peanut butter and Eugene Levy (and his eyebrows!). Barry’s got a knack for t-shirt design and Katie’s sews up the cutest bags.

Stop by booth #69 on Sunday to see their fuzzy laptops sleeves and witty tees. Keep reading for Katie’s responses to our vendor questions.

1. How long have you been making things?
My mom is an artist, so I would say, probably about as long as I had control of motor functions! I really started sewing and crafting regularly in 2006.

2. What is your earliest/favorite crafting memory?
My favorite crafting memory was the summer after 1st or 2nd grade. My mom bought a bunch of blank tshirts and we got to tie-dye them all! I remember how cool it was that you could rubber band certain parts of the fabric to make hearts and stars. It was totally rad!

3. Why do you make things?
I feel like if I’m not doing something with my hands, then I’m going to turn into a mindless tv addict! I guess that was passed down from my parents who renovated their house from top to bottom without outside help, and who spend nearly every weekend building something new and amazing.

4. What sort of things do you make?
I love to sew! Right now, its all about sewing bags and laptop sleeves, but I would love to start sewing clothes more. I dabble in knitting and making stuff out of pretty paper, also, but my main focus is sewing!

5. Any success stories you’d care to share?
Our laptop sleeves have been on tv twice! Once on “Attack of the Show” on G4 and another time on a “Business Week Weekend” in New York. It was so awesome seeing people comment on our monster sleeves! Definitely a proud moment for us!

6. Inspirations?
I’m inspired by both modern and whimsical, childlike aestethics. I love clean lines, but I’m all about making objects that are both fun and functional, including ones covered in monster fur!

7. Craft supplies you can’t live without?
Lots of types of glue, a chopstick (for poking corners!), pearl snaps, hole punches, rainbow felt, needle-nose pliers, and yarn.

8. Describe your work area.
I’m so lucky to have my own room devoted to sewing and crafting. We live in an old apartment building with amazing hardwood floors and an abundance of windows. It also boasts the oldest elevator (gate style)in the area! To the right, is my sewing area (looking relatively clean!):

Below is my fabric stash/random craft stuff storage (looking not so organized!).

9. Family? Pets? Plants?
I’m the youngest of 2, and Barry is the oldest of 3. We both grew up in a small town in Illinois and have been dating since high school. We have one betta fish named fishtopher, but are hoping to add a couple of puppies to the mix in the future.

10. Favorite color or pattern?
Definitely polka dots! You can increase the cute factor of any object by 500% if there are polka dots involved!

11. Have you been a Crafty Bastard before?
Nope, this is our first time at Crafty Bastards and first time in DC.

12. Tell us about other crafters you love and your favorite handmade purchases.
Right now I’m really into the beautiful, sarcastic stationery from 16 Sparrows. I also adore the lovely prints from The Black Apple and I cant get enough of the plush from My Paper Crane.

13. What is one thing everyone should know how to do themselves?
I think everyone should know how to make a simple pattern. I sew everything from patterns I created myself and I think that that is the best way to create a unique product. If you create your own patterns, you learn what works and what doesn’t and often, one pattern can lead you to another.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 28th, 2007 at 12:52 pm and is filed under Crafty Bastards Arts and Crafts Fair, Crafty Bastards Vendors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.