Interview 12: Jen from Poops

Guess what?  It's time for another interview with and Etsy seller.  Today's interview is with Jen from Poops.  She knits and embroiders all sorts of fun (and funny) things! 

Who are you and what do you do?

Fair Isle Wool Child's Hat

My name is Jen Lacey but everyone online and most people in real life call me "Poops." It's a nickname I got in college. I'm currently between real jobs, having dropped out of the workforce 7 years ago to be home with the kids full-time. I'm a fiber craftsman for the most part. I love textiles, and I knit and crochet, spin, do embroidery, and I sew. I can do other stuff if I have to, but I always seem to come back to fiber in some way or another.

I also do a bit of writing now and then, I read books like a fat kid eats candy, and I love to really super-hard crossword puzzles. I'm an Aries, and my turn-ons include good fiber, good tequila, and good friends. My turnoffs are preachers, vegetables, and being sweaty.

Why do you do what you do?

I can't help it, I guess. I find myself creating things without thinking about it. I'll sit down, grab a ball of yarn and just start knitting because to just sit in my chair and not have something in my hands feels unnatural. Sometimes if I don't have my knitting handy, I'll visualize myself knitting something in my head. I've actually dreamed patterns in my sleep. I think in sketches and half-thought out turns-of-phrase.

How long have you been doing it? (Your craft/trade, not doing IT)

Hand embroidered sign in 4" hoop

I've been making stuff as long as I can remember. My grandmother taught me to sew when I was old enough to reach the foot pedal on her Singer, and I used all her fabric scraps to make dresses for my Barbies. I was probably around 8 or so when I figured out how to make a gored skirt and bust darts without a pattern. In second grade I got in trouble for drawing an enormous mural in pencil on the wall over my desk when I was supposed to be doing math. I still suck at math and have a habit of doodling in the margins of my books.

What’s the crappiest job you’ve ever had?

Felt Pear Patch

I've been pretty lucky that I've never actually had a truly dreadful job. They've all had good points and bad ones. But I think I was unhappiest working for Joann Fabrics. I was good at my job, but the corporate atmosphere combined with having to deal with customers *shudder* just was not a great combination.

But then I never scrubbed toilets or worked in fast food, so maybe my bar was set pretty high.

Professionally, what’s your goal?

Wool Shamrock Baby Booties

My first goal is to get all my kids into school full-time. Once my days are my own I will have to really focus on bringing in some extra income, so my short-term goals are to get us to a more financially secure place. My decision to stay home with the kids has meant us flying by the seat of our pants for a long time now, and I look forward to bringing in a steady paycheck again. I'd love to be able to make Big Money with my hobby, but it's just too risky a proposition.

Of course a lot can happen in the next three years it's going to take me to get the littlest in school full-time, so I'm just playing it day by day for now. Maybe my shop will just take off one of these days.

I also have a secret dream of being a school lunch lady. I think I'd be awesome at it despite the fact that I don't like kids.

Who is your hero/heroine?

Hand Embroidered Sign 

It feels weird to say it out loud. The people I admire are people who are truly generous and selfless almost to a fault, but still very human. I look to people who aren't critical and always see the good in others as an example of how I'd like to be. I wish I was more like that, but I seem to always think of myself first, and I'm really quite snarky. I know that's probably shocking to some, but it's true. And I'm full of ideas of things to help people who need help, but they usually just stay as ideas. I admire people who have a vision and then have the balls to see it really turn in to something and change lives.

And, when I look to my heroes and feel bad that I have feet of clay, I remember "I'd rather talk shit and do good than talk good and do shit," and I feel better about my life.

What was the last book you read?

I'm currently on a marathon reading spree. The coolest novel I just finished is The Lace Reader. It's an odd story that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts and I really couldn't put it down. I'm also in the middle of reading my way through the Kathy Reichs "Bones" novels, so The Lace Reader was kind of a palate cleanser: a literary sorbet, if you will.

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Thank you Jen for such an awesome interview.  Now everyone needs to go check out her shop and buy one of her fabulous things!  

Be Happy,

Rachel