Every Wednesday our hosts on each continent will introduce you to someone new whose creativity is inspiring! Come take this worldwide tour with us!
You can visit each host below and read about a featured creative person on each continent! All interviews are posted simultaneously around the world, resulting in one big crafting party. And then, add your blog to the Blog Hop party below. You could be featured in the next Around the World Interview! Fame. Notoriety. Pure Awesomeness! It’s all in the touch of a keyboard button…
Patti: I had a career in the public sector for 25 years, and although the money was great, it took a huge toll — not only on my health, but on my spirit as well. “Life is too short” may be a cliché, but the older you get, the more you realize how true it is. I decided to take a risk, forego the big paycheck and jump into Succulent Designs head first.
Patti: Besides my love of horticulture, cooking for my family is something I love to do, whether it’s tacos and pizookies on Sundays or gathering together in December for our annual ravioli-making day. We’re also big-time outdoor enthusiasts. Since we live so close to a wilderness area, we’re able to walk to hiking trails and camp. We also really enjoy watching birds and local wildlife. There’s a koi pond in our front yard, and we’re always receiving visits from coyotes, deer, and bobcats that stop by for a drink.
Suzy: How did you get into the succulent crafting business?
Patti: I’ve always felt the need to express myself in a creative way, and my love of flowers and plants has provided the artistic niche for that expression. Relocating to the southwest 35 years ago allowed me to discover the very different world of cactus and succulent plants. Creating container gardens and dioramas led to experimenting with living wreaths, which I had read about. After a considerable trial and error period, I finally figured out a system that has proved to be very successful.
Suzy: Can you tell us a little about how your items are put together?
Patti: Basically, I start with a wire wreath which is filled with sphagnum moss and wrapped in netting or monofilament. After a short soak in the sink, the moss is ready for plants. I snip anywhere from one hundred to several hundred succulent cuttings (depending on the size of the wreath), remove leaves from the last inch of the cutting, make a hole in the moss with a dowel, insert the cutting, and then pack the moss around the cutting to secure it. I just repeat the process all over the wreath until it’s fully covered with plants and has a design that is pleasing. Within a few weeks, roots begin to form and attach themselves to the moss, and the plants establish and grow. They can survive for months or longer, and when it’s gotten past its prime, the whole wreath with its remaining plants can be placed in the ground to start a new garden. You can’t get much more eco-friendly than that!
Suzy: Can you tell us a few things that most folks don’t know about you?
Suzy: I understand that you were a feature in Birds and Blooms Magazine. Can you tell us a little about that?
Patti: Birds and Blooms Magazine was really the vehicle that jump-started my business, and I gladly give them that credit. My Etsy store had been open for about a year and a half, with less than 50 sales, when I got an email from the editor of the magazine. She said she loved my wreaths and asked if I’d write a tutorial for a DIY project for them and send them a wreath so they could photograph it to accompany the article.
Patti: I was completely blown away–we’re talking about THE premier gardening periodical with the largest circulation in North America–and didn’t have to think twice about that! Anyhow, after it published, my sales exploded to the point of being backordered for months. And just when sales resulting from that article began to slow, Phoenix Magazine contacted me, wanting to do a feature story on my small business in their 2010 December Collector’s Issue, resulting in another amazing roller coaster ride.
Patti: By May 2011 I had just about caught up with sales generated from that particular article…and then I got a convo from Etsy Admin that started with “We think your work is awesome, and would like to make you the Featured Seller…”. Yikes!! To make a long story short, that interview resulted in nearly 200 sales in just 2 weeks. Last month I surpassed 1100 sales, almost all of them in the last 15 months, incredible. What a journey it’s been, I’m so thankful and feel blessed beyond words.
Suzy: The crafty blog community is full of wonderful folks. Can you tell me a few blogs that inspire you?
Patti: The Etsy experience has been nothing but positive for me, and there are so many talented artists and craftspersons in that marketplace, it’s truly amazing. I’ve been fortunate enough to become acquainted with so many people in the community and as a result have discovered some great blogs. Here are a few of my faves: My Sweet Greens, She Can’t Decide, Far Out Flora, Apartment Therapy, and Sensational Succulents.
Suzy: Can you tell us a little about what you are promoting right now?
Patti: Of course the holidays are right around the corner, at least from a get-your-crafting-house-in-order point of view, so there is much to do in anticipation of all the sales we hope to make! In addition, I just sealed a deal today that I’ve been contemplating for some time. Now that Succulent Designs has some “street cred”, I’ve decided to get out there with the big kids and do a booth in the Arizona Bridal Show at the Phoenix Convention Center in January 2012. One thing I’ve learned in the last few years is that you’ll never get anywhere without taking risks–whether you fall flat on your face or take off soaring, you’ll learn something either way–that makes it all good, doesn’t it?
Suzy: Thanks so much for taking the time to come interview, Patti! Please take a few moments to go check out Patti’s shop, Succulent Designs. I’m betting you will find some amazing gifts and maybe even a little something for yourself!
Well, we had best get back in the Green Room. Seems that Angie finally got tired of Charlie creeping out her kids. Frankly, we are all a little creeped out. Burger King has an odd idea of good advertising. A huge headed creepy King sneaking into my bed and rapping about “square butts” is not going to make me want burgers and fries. Just saying.
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Want a chance to be interviewed on the Sitcom? Want to meet new international friends? Be sure to link up your blog to the international blog hop!
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