Adrien Hamilton and Kate Poroszok
Keen Designs (website)
Circa 2002 What made you start working in your craft? Was it a dream? Was it an accident? Was it payment on a bet?
A- It was this crazy thing called art school. I was a crafts major and picked jewelry and metalsmithing because I liked to bang on stuff and play with the acetylene torch.
K- My mom is super crafty and I've always just made stuff, usually needlepoint or knitting, but at some point I decided that I could make jewelry instead of buying it and I learned a few techniques. It was years later that Adrien finally showed me how to do it correctly.
Where do you work? What does your fantasy work space look like?
A- My current work space is the couch in front of the television with a trash-picked Tiffany & Co. box lid as a work tray. My fantasy space involves a nicer couch in front of a bigger television.
K- I too work in front of the television with all my stuff taking over the coffee table. In a fantasy world I would have a big, well lit table with all of my bits and pieces organized in little boxes… but that is a fantasy in which I would not want to watch TV while I worked, and that's just not going to happen.
We all have vending horror stories but has anything really really GOOD ever happened to you?
A - I love walking into a new boutique and walking out with a check in hand. That's always good.
K- I think that just the fact that anyone buys anything from us, that people give us a chance has been so good for us. We really just started doing this on a whim and it's nice to keep getting encouragement.
If you had to pick a superhero spokesman for Baa Baa Yarn who would it be and why?
A- I'll leave this one for Kate. I'm not superhero saavy.
K- Well, superheroes don't tend to wear delicate jewelry, it's not really terribly sensible for crime fighting activity. So I consulted on my husband for this one and we'll have to go with The Tick. Sort of an odd superhero, but the big blue guy is fond of saying "keen"... of course he's really known for saying "Spoon!", but you have to take what you can get.
Working on your craft can be a solitary and sometimes lonely venture. What keeps you company?
A- My cat, Fuzz, is very jealous of my work tray. She is constantly trying to knock it out of the way and reclaim my lap. I also yell at the TV a lot, which is sort of like having a conversation.
K- Well, mostly the TV really. But the husband is usually floating around as is the little dog, who sometimes seems to think that beads are tasty.
We all have dreams of money – but what would you do if you had the TIME?
A- sleep. And ride my mountain bike. And make lasagna.
K- mmm, sleep is good. I would like to have more time to organize our business and work on making things, but I know that evidence suggests it's probably not what I would do with more time.
Crafting beverage of choice?
A - beer.
K- I don't suppose I have one. Is it sad to say water?
What is the one craft tool you can not live without?
A - my fabulous Vigor brand pliers that I've had since college.
K- I too have a fabulous pair of pliers that I adore, they are tiny tipped needle-nose that I think may be made by Swanstrom but I can't actually remember.
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