An interview with anna laura

Anna Blandford, the person responsible for the gorgeous anna laura range is one of the funniest, and loviest people I've had the pleasure of getting to know. I've been an admirer for some time now! And I wanted to know more! Soooo I asked Anna if she would be happy to do a feature interview, and lucky for me, she said yes. Anna is my first ever featured artist, and I hope you enjoy the read as much as I did! Of course, there is a website, and shop to check out too. :)

Name – Anna Blandford
Business Name - anna laura
Location - Melbourne, Australia

Shop: www.annalaura.etsy.com

Blog: www.annalauraart.blogspot.com

Web: www.annalaura.com.au

What do you create? I create artworks, bags, pouches, wallets and badges.

How long have you been doing this? I started selling things I make in July 2006 on Etsy. Before that I did a BFA, which I finished in 2001. Before that I was making things ever since I was little. I grew up on a farm so creating things often occupied a lot of my time because there was not much else to do. I loved making cubby houses, creating cartoon characters and making up weird games with my brother and sister.

How would you describe your work? I think this is hard to do because my range is often very different. My little felt badges are intricate, soft and cute yet my screen printed bags are sometimes bright, bold and loud. I think my work has a distinct look to it, but words that describe all of it are hard for me to find.

If friends and family were to describe you, what ten words would they use, and why? This question is really interesting; I would love to see other people’s answers.

My boyfriend would call me slobby, messy and lazy because I love to leave everything I touch in the place is doesn’t belong and I hate putting things away. I can live in much messier surrounds than he can so what I think it neat is his version of a pigsty.

My work colleagues tell me I am very organised. I’m actually not really organised, my desk is normally a mess, but I’m good at problem solving and can figure things out quickly, so give the appearance of being organised.

My friend Aisha often tells me I am creative, amazing and hard working, which is nice. She is in London and I miss her a lot and always has lovely things to say (via email) to make me feel happy and confident.

I think generally people would think I am odd and weird, because I often say things which don’t make sense and people don’t understand. Sometimes I don’t even understand. I think a lot of people might find me a little aloof and maybe even snobby, but it’s because I’m often off in my own world and forget other people are around me.

I think my family would describe me as silly and immature. I can’t think of anything else they would think (but know there is plenty), but when I am around my family I often go back to being silly because I think I’m a young again. I think I suffer from Peter Pan Syndrome.

When you are not creating what else do you do, and how do you like to relax? I spend most of my time with 14/15 year olds teaching multimedia. I’m a bit of a dorky computer person so I like teaching them the ways of the internerd. I love to chat and have conversations with them, although I sometimes confuse them with some of the
strange things I say. I introduced a student to Chuck Norris jokes the other day, so I know I am doing some good.

I love to watch television. At the moment I am watching Season Two of Twin Peaks. Some of my other favourites include Survivor, The Amazing Race, Extras, 30 Rock, The Office (US Version), The Class, Spicks and Specks, The Chasers War On Everything, Lost, Heroes, Project Runway, Top Design and Top Chef.

I also like cooking. I love making bread and bagels and fresh pasta. During the week I don’t like cooking much when I get home from school and I’m tired, but on the weekend, when I have more time, I like cooking. Lentil soup is something I made recently that I froze for my lunch at school. I usually had canned soup, but now when I have it I am unimpressed because my lentil soup is much better. I am garbage at making soups, but lentil always works out okay.

Where does your inspiration come from ? I love reading other peoples craft blogs, they inspire me to get off the computer and back into the studio. Different fabrics and the screen prints I could do on them, mainly thinking about colour combinations. Old sketchbooks from art school, back in the days when I was doing life drawing for 6+ hours a week and was actually good. The time just before you fall asleep when you solve all those design problems then forget them the next day when you wake up.

Favourite colour(s) and material(s)? I have always loved greens, but any colours can at times be favourites. I love colour combinations as well and putting them together and thinking how lovely they look. I love it when you find some that make you eyes hurt because they are so bright, like red or pink on emerald green.

I love different colours of felt and cotton thread and needles that don’t get lost. I love cotton drill in bright colours because it is great to screen print on. I love fabrics with two colours of cotton stitched through, particularly if it is white and another colour.

I love heavy white paper that lets the Indian inks just sit and doesn’t bleed in straight away and look yuck. I love screen printing ink, scalpels, silk screens and squeegees.

What's the best thing about making things? For me it is spending time actually doing something other than watching television and being able to be creative. I spent a few years in a major rut after art school, the lowest point was when I was working in a Call Centre in customer service. It got to the point where I was scared to do anything and forgot that I had actually trained to be an artist.

I love getting feedback from people who like my stuff. Selling stuff is also good because you know that people like your work enough to part with their money.

What are the biggest challenges you have faced? I think that the biggest low point was working in the call centre, dealing with idiots calling up about their phone bills and the people who actually enjoyed working there and aspired to be team leader. You know you’re working in a crap job when you hope a car will hit you on the way to work
so you don’t have to go.

My first year of teaching was hard, I was at the stage where I wanted to be working on my art, but I think the shock or working full time again after a year at Uni was too much for me to get going and start doing things again. That first step is always hard, but once you actually do it things get much easier.

Favorite movies and why? I am never good at remembering the films I love, I always feel guilty and worried that there is a film I forgot and the ones I have remembered.

The Breakfast Club – because I love the way the total opposite’s couple up at the end, the fact that Judd Nelson is hot and finally the dialog between Vernon and Bender, "Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns.” I should use that, it is so lame and funny. A student gave me a copy last year and put love hearts next to Judd Nelson’s name. I thought it was funny that we both thought he was hot despite her being 10 years younger than me.

Me and You and Everyone We Know – This film was random and weird, which I always like, but the thing that won me over was the little boy chatting to the woman on the internet. That was very funny.

Currently listening to? I listen to JJJ or RRR in the mornings and afternoons, to and from work. Some of my favourites to listen to are Kate Bush, Cat Power, NIN, Martha Wainwright, The Cure, The Smiths and Bloc Party.

Which one book changed your life? I don’t think anything changed my life enough for me to actually realise. I used to obsess over the Brett Whiteley book in our school
library in high school and had the copy on loan for all of 1997 until my Mum bought a copy of it for me.

The best advice you would give to someone wanting to create for a living? Enjoy what you do, get your family and friends to promote you by giving them your stuff to wear out and about. Always look for chances to promote your stuff and keep an online blog.And lastly, where to from here? What do you wish to achieve in the future? I would love for my business to expand. I am always in awe of creative people in Australia who turn their business into companies that sell internationally because I have no idea what is involved and it seem to me like the most difficult thing. I think just doing what I am doing, but on a larger scale would be fantastic; to make a living from the things I make would be a huge achievement for me.