MONDAY'S MARKET PLACE FEATURED ARTIST

Each Monday, I'll be featuring a member from The Old Farmhouse Gathering Team on Etsy. These are some very talented artisans who create everything from Primitive to Shabby Chic, with an old fashioned flair!

This week it is truly my pleasure to introduce to you my fellow OFG sister, Doreen Brannan of Privies and Prims

Below is a sample of her work and you can see everything on Etsy at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/priviesandprims


~INTERVIEW with Doreen Brannan~

1. What is the name of your Etsy shop and why did you choose that name?

Privies & Prims has been my business name for about a year. I started out in a shed at my home on Blue Rock Rd., so I named my little shop Blue Rock Country Crafts. I had my first storefront in Burnsville, NC in 2000 and named the store Privies & Perches. I was making lots of outhouse bathroom decorations and my dad was making lots of prim birdhouses, so I changed the name. Inspired by God is all I can say. It just popped into my little brain!

2. How long have you been on Etsy?

Had to go look at my profile for this question.  Seems I started in February 2008.3.

3. What type of items do you offer?

Penny rugs, prim stitcheries, primitive & folk art dolls, punch needle embroidery & patterns, outhouse stuff, candlemats, prim wreaths, Americana prim t-shirts, wood signs, ornaments, & photographs of old barns and outhouses. I think that’s it. 4.

4. How long have you been crafting?

As long as I can remember. I used to sit at the kitchen table and trace the designs on the napkins. In high school, I made a macramé hanging large enough to cover a window! We also did pottery and leather working. My special leather project was a framed image of a Michelob beer bottle ad. We used wood carving tools and I stuffed the “bottle” from the back with sawdust to give it dimension. At the time, it was my boyfriend’s favorite brand. Personally, I can’t stand the taste of any kind of alcohol. Just give me my McDonald’s sweet tea!

5. Who or What inspires you?

First, I must give God the credit for my talents. He puts ideas into my head as I go along. I start out making a doll like the pattern photo, then God gives me ideas to make it my own. Sometimes, I think it’s a curse.  I’m always seeing stuff and thinking, “I can make that!” So, that’s why the list of things I make is so long. I just recently added punch needle embroidery to my list and I’m “hooked”. I’m designing patterns that I will sell as kits and will soon be designing prim doll patterns also that will be modeled after the mountain folk where I live. I get inspired by PatternMart.com’s monthly newsletters, looking at others creations online, visiting prim shops, looking through catalogs, and the list goes on and on. Gosh, everything I see inspires me! I look at people in restaurants and think of making a doll to look like them!

6. What is your favorite item in your shop and why?

My favorite creations are my primitive dolls cause I love giving each one their own personality. The favorite ones I’ve made are 46” dolls from a Prim & Proper folks pattern.

7. Other places where you can be found (Ebay, webstore, blog)

I don’t sell on ebay too often. Seems I just pay them money and don’t have much luck there anymore. For Privies & Prims, my main website is http://www.priviesandprims.com/,

my etsy shoppe is

http://www.priviesandprims.etsy.com/,

blog-

http://www.priviesandprimsblog.blogspot.com/

and at my brick & mortar store located at 110 West Main St., Burnsville, NC 28714.

I also do wedding photography,

http://www.affordablememoriesnc.com/

and sell photographs of old barns and houses that I find here in the mountains. http://www.thenandnowartphotos.etsy.com/.

My pattern blog is

http://www.simplyprimpatterns.blogspot.com/

and I’ll soon be teaching classes in my store, so I have a blog for that.

http://www.stitcherspunchersandhookers.blogspot.com/

And yes, I do find time to sleep. My name is Doreen Brannan and you can contact me at

PriviesAndPrims@yahoo.com

What a talented and busy gal!