Interview with Helen of cattoo

1. Tell us a little about yourself and when did you start crafting?

I'm a 30 year old British artist living in the city of Hull. Animals and nature are my main inspiration, including 'Neo' my cat, being a secondhand-shop-a-holic and travelling about in my husbands 1970s VW Campervan. I have been crafting for most of my life really, drawing and creating characters since I can remember. Art was the only thing I was ever good at in school and wished I was left to only focus on that subject alone :-). In 1999 I gained a HND in Creative Studies at Humberside & Lincoln University, then moved onto fulltime work as a Reprographics Assistant at a local news paper. After 3 years service there, I then moved onto volunteering and freelancing in the community, running arts and media workshops. This then led me onto my current job at a youth council, were I qualified as a nationally qualified youth worker at Hull University in 2007. Here I listen, support and help young people campaign on issues that they are concerned about in there local area.It was only around a year ago that I started crafting properly again, it is hard fitting it all in when you work fulltime. Spending a little less time infront of the box and net is the key to finding more crafting time I think :-)

2. What do you sell in your etsy shop and how long has it been open?

In my shop I currently sell prints of my illustration's, including brooches inspired from my artwork. These illustrations are of eccentric cats called Cattoo, who love their tattoo's 'cat+tattoo=cattoo' :-). I'm not fully sure where the idea came from, I just love cats, enjoy drawing them and having them as pets.Cattoo.etsy offically opened on 28th July 2008, so it's a baby really. I am currently working on some other items, such as tote bags, cards and plush toy cats, so watch this space :-) Through my sales on Etsy I am also raising money for Cats Protection and am a proud member of Etsy for animals ( http://etsyforanimals.etsy.com/ )

3. What is your favourite item in your shop?

My faviourite item in my Etsy shop has to be 'Hello Sun' http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13764490, as it not only represents the simple enjoyment of a cat sunning itself but it also has a beautiful oriental look about it.

4. What other craft would you like to try?

I would love to have a go at every possible craft I can get my hands on really, although if I had to choose one new craft I would like to have a go at Gocco printing. As I think this medium could work well with my Cattoo illustrations.