Emmadime : Knitted - Interview & Giveaway

I'm happy to introduce the lovely Emma Robertson from Emmadime: Knitted. She nicely accepted my request for an interview on my humble blog (and even threw in a giveaway!) Emma just updated her shop and is unveiling these new photos for the first time on my blog!

She is such an inspiration and a great role model for a young, knitting entrepreneur like myself. It is such an honor to have her here.

Welcome Emma...

When did you start knitting? Who taught you?

I started knitting when I was about 15 or 16 - My grandmother taught me over a holiday break and I couldn't stop! Although, I didn't start knitting as much as I do now until about 2 years ago. In college, a good friend of mine held these awesome sales out of her tiny house and let me put some pieces in it. They were a hit so I kept it up and eventually decided to open my shop - Emmadime : Knitted !!

What inspires your designs?

I think it's hard to pin-point what inspires me when it comes to designing knitted pieces!! I will admit that I still have a lot to learn so the majority of my stuff is fun and super simple* When I first opened the shop - everything had a bow implemented into it - so anything that is bow-like definitely catches my eye. I think the element that I love to play with the most is color - so when I am doing visual research, I focus on that a lot.

Along with knitting, you are also a graphic designer? How did you get into that field?

I have always been into creating - for as long as I can remember. Although, I only took one art class in high school so when college rolled around I was like, "o crap, should I study art?" I decided to go for it and never looked back. I studied at Oklahoma State University and couldn't have loved my experience more. When it comes to design inspiration - I am going to have to pull the color card again - anything with a really strong color combination will grab my attention. When I am designing, I always start with a palette and then go from there. I LOVED all of my illustration classes in school and definitely would prefer to hand draw things than work them out on the computer!!

How do you connect your knitting with graphic design?

I think having a basic understanding of shapes and form and color from my design classes - has really helped me develop my knitted pieces. I am also very detail oriented when it comes to my work ( because it was hammered into my brain in all of my design classes ) so when I am knitting - I am VERY neat and particular about certain things.

What is your favorite thing to do when you knit?

I am a movie lover!!! I have two weaknesses - french movies and war movies :) I am about to start listening to french lessons and books on tape to switch things up a bit. I spend so much time making pieces that I should probably be a bit more intentional with what I do when I am knitting. I just llllllooooovvee movies.

What are some of your favorite books? Movies? Music?

I used to hate this question but now I love it :) Instead of giving you a big long list - I will just tell you what I am watching, reading, and listening to RIGHT NOW!! This evening, I am watching The Virgin Suicides ( I heart Sophia Coppola ), I am reading To a Good Unknown by Steinbeck ( I also just got a used copy of The Great Gatsby to re-read ), and I am listening to the Mood Rings ( my friend Meghan has this awesome music blog that I always hit up when I need something new - she turned me onto them )

What do you usually keep in your knitting bag?

My knitting bag huh!? So first things first - I actually got the most amazing knitting bag last Christmas from my grandma - the one who taught me!! It has been passed down in our family and I adore it. I have a plethora of wooden needles - I don't have a specific brand that I like to use, just as long as they are wood. When it comes to yarn, I have been using LION Brand for a while now. The Vanna line is what I make the majority of my pieces with. It has a huge range of colors - which I LOVE* as you all know now :) Currently I am working on a really chunky cream beanie - with a huge POM on top!!

Thank you so much Emma! You are the sweetest. :-)

Just for my sheepish readers, she is giving away one of her lovely Hailey Bows. She has two colors for you to choose from, Dark Grey or Oatmeal.

To enter the giveaway:

1. Follow Emma on Twitter.

2. Follow her blog.

3. Follow my blog.

You can do one or all three to enter the giveaway. For each entry, leave a SEPERATE comment HERE on this post. Then I will choose the winner through a random number generator.

This giveaway will run from April 4 - April 10. I will announce the winner on April 12.