CQ: Tsia, can you draw us a picture of how you and supernaturale and flat are all inter-related and which one takes up most of your time (supernaturale, flat or just being you?)

Tsia: OK, well, I am a partner at a design firm that I co-founded 8 years ago. It's called Flat and we do a wide variety of work (interactive, graphic, environmental design) for a number of prestigious clients (Red Cross, Isaac Mizrahi, Tang Museum). You can see this work at www.flat.com.

I've always been a DIYer, as have all the partners at Flat, and so a few years ago we set up SuperNaturale as a side project to make us all happy and advocate this kind of culture that we love so much. For lack of a better term I am the editor in chief there. It's just a lot of people putting in their two cents and trying to stretch the boundaries about what this stuff can be. I try to steer the site away from kitschy one-dimensional stuff and move it upwards and outwards. because, you know, space is the place.

Over the past year I have been working on Craftivity, the SuperNaturale book, basically exclusively. Flat designed it. But what really takes up most of my time right now is tending to my two year old daughter who is totally psychedelic.

CQ: Ha - that sounds like more than a handful! Tell us about the people involved in your new book -- how did you choose them as contributors?

Tsia: There are 40 contributors in the book, each a unique star. A lot of them have creatively engaged careers in the world of design and art and then craft "on the side." Others actually run small successful craft businesses. Many of them had been site contributors so I knew their work and their aesthetic. Some people were recommended to me. Others I found by looking around online and offline. I tried to get contributors throughout the US. There are 3 people who I list as contributing editors--Scott Bodenner, Kirsten Hudson and Karen Tanaka--they were instrumental in researching and putting this book together with me and I am deeply indebted to them. It was a crazy amount of work.

CQ: Did any of the projects really surprise and astound you? Tell us about one or two.

SM: That was pretty much a prerequisite for getting in the book. I think the total unexpectedness of some of the projects is what makes the book feel so alive. There are a few projects that I am really infatuated with such as the moss graffiti by Brett Webb and Helen Nodding. That is just a brilliant idea. I also love the bling bling teapot by Garth Johnson. When I saw these teapots I was totally blown away. Basically he takes old syrup bottles, makes slip cast molds of them, and then pen and pixels them up dirty south style with all these rhinestone letters and decals -- they’re beyond cool. Logan Billingham's T-shirt underwear and Diane Bromberg's crochet skull are both genius. But also throughout the book are these showcases of work that are just for inspiration, and these are probably the ones that really made my jaw drop -- like Madelon Galland's upholstered tree stumps (there is a how-to for this on the site). Or Jesse Alexander's 100 foot long piece of marbleized paper that he did in a tidal pool. That is just incredible. As I said in the book he is like the Johnny Knoxville of craft.

CQ: Fantastic. I really think your book stands out from other craft books out there. How would you describe the difference?

Tsia : It’s different in so many ways. The vast majority of projects are easy -- really easy -- to do. And I was very concerned that they also be fun to make. So we did a lot of testing here in my home craft lab. We had several craft-ons with the help of the NY chapter of the Church of Craft who came out in force to make things for the book to see if the projects worked.

Some other craft books may have an easy project that requires endlessly drilling holes in plastic (yuck). Or the projects were clearly made by someone with a PhD in Craftology! This book has none of that. I was also inspired by a lot of the 70's craft books -- the golden age of craft-- and this book really has that feel of openness about it. Without all the preachy granola or the implausibility of making the stuff (do I really need to know how to chrome metal?)

The projects are very improvisational and people can customize them as they want. There isn’t a lot of right or wrong in this book. The projects are really jumping-off points for your own creativity. Also, did I mention that the book is really hip, the projects are a kind of craft couture that I try to foster on the site. And I think that it’s a very inclusive book: there are projects for the home, for gifts, for kids, for the great outdoors. Plus, it’s divided by materials because, frankly, that’s how I think about things. I’ll look at a great piece of something and think, “what can I make out of that?”

CQ: Well, your curiosity is catching -- I'm so inspired to try out this craft couture thing, that's a great way to describe it. Now I'm keeping an eye out for odd discards that I might fancy up a bit! Thanks, Tsia! Good luck with all your projects, especially that two-year-old one!

BUY THE BOOK!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

p.s.

Got a question for Crafty Query? Someone in the craft scene that you'd like to know better?
Just wanna say HEY? Send me a note c/o julie@subversivecrossstitch.com

NEXT MONTH: Catching up with Jenny Hart and her upcoming book packed with hip patterns!