The Purl Beehive: Inchmark
A few months ago we launched a new online community called The Purl Beehive, a collaboration with Squarespace, the amazing web publishing company that hosts The Purl Bee. Each day, we look forward to meeting all the new folks who have joined us in The Purl Beehive! It's wonderful to see our community growing and sharing its beauty, creativity, and inspiration. So here's a closer look at Inchmark, one of our very first Busy Bees!
Inchmark was one of first journals to be created as part of The Purl Beehive. It's the first and only blog for Brooke Reynolds, Inchmark's sole creator and designer. Brooke is an amateur sewer, mother of two, and lover of flip flops; making her home in California after relocating from New York a year ago. Brooke and Joelle met and became friends while working together at Martha Stewart Living, and their friendship has led to many creative collaborations. Brooke has helped us design many things at Purl, Purl Patchwork, purlsoho.com, The Purl Bee, and The Purl Beehive; as well as Joelle's second book, Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts. In addition, she worked with Liesl Gibson of Oliver + S on the design and branding of those adorably nostalgic children's sewing patterns and she created all of the beautiful graphics for Jen's wedding.
Brooke became interested in sewing after visiting Purl Patchwork and seeing our collection of cotton fabrics. "I had never sewn before," Brooke says, "but those fabrics came home with me anyway and before I knew it, I was signing up for classes. First a quilting class taught by Joelle, then a baby clothing class taught by Heather Ross. Now I'm always sewing something."
But Brooke's creative inspirations go far beyond fabric. Her long list of favorite artists includes not only quilters and sewers, but also writers, print designers, and mothers. Here's what she had to say about each of them:
- Maira Kalman - It is because of her my three year old says "Holy Mackeral!" from her book "What Pete Ate."
- katie did - It is because of her I started sewing clothing, after seeing the dresses she makes for her girls.
- Heather Ross - It is because of her I actually knew how to start sewing clothing . . . and had cute fabric to sew with!
- Liesl Gibson - It is because of her that I have cute patterns to sew from, and I've learned so much from her while working on Oliver + S.
- Denyse Schmidt - It is because of her that crooked lines look as beautiful to me as straight ones.
- Lena Corwin - It is because of her that I understand how patterns and repeats work after working with her on "Printing By Hand."
- Sara Hicks Malone - It is because of her I feel the need to document every inch of every party. She's always sharing such lovely things.
- Stephanie Nielsen - It's because of her that I am trying to enjoy my "normal" life. It all can change so quickly.
- Abby Clawson Low - It is because of her I find myself pulling old stamps off envelopes.
- Anna Maria Horner - It is because of her I think it is possible to be a mother and a creative person at the same time. She has five kids (with #6 on the way) and seems to manage it all beautifully . . . and happily.
After moving to California, Brooke missed seeing friends in classes and chatting about projects they had started or planned to start. That's when she decided that an online craft journal would be a good way for her to show her friends on the East Coast what she'd been working on. Beginning Inchmark about six months ago, she was surprised by how quickly it came together. She spent about a week customizing her blog and found the tools provided by Squarespace easy to use and was able to make her journal look just how she wanted. Pretty soon she was posting a few times a week and readers began reaching Inchmark through The Purl Beehive and then many other sources. "It's nice to feel connected with others who are busy creating new things every day," she says.
And when Brooke shared her idea for a "Magical Thinking Jar" back in September, she watched in amazement as the idea steadily made its way from blog to blog in the US and then began appearing on sites from halfway around the world. Brooke says she saw it "on one blog after another until I was seeing it in French, and Turkish, German and Japanese. It was fun to watch it spread. Exciting, but completely unexpected. And I love that a nice lady in Japan might have her own Magical Thinking Jar on her desk right this minute."
Its no wonder that so many were inspired by Brooke's Magical Thinking Jar. Inchmark is full of more great ideas just like it. In it, Brooke shares her inspirations, first steps, finished projects, and photos; and has a place to share her love for craft, design, party-planning, family, illustration, library books, found objects, and well, just creating things.
When asked what her online journal has come to mean to her, Brooke offers the story of the origin of the name Inchmark as insight into how her blog has helped her to grow both creatively and personally: "I started my blog to help me grow as a designer, and as a mother, and as a crafter. I wanted it to be something I could measure myself against and something that pushed me to create. I am great at starting projects (I always have several works in progress going at once), but it's hard for me to actually finish a project. Having the blog inspires me to finish things. It's brought a nice sort of discipline I needed."
If you're curious about other blogs on The Purl Beehive, please pay us a visit! Becoming a Busy Bee is really easy. Just go to The Purl Beehive's main page and start your 14 day free trial. Squarespace will give you all the tools you'll need to start uploading text and photos! So if you're a busy bee, get started today!
February 7, 2009
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