industrialfairytale

Name: Sarah Dungan
Shop Name: Industrial Fairytale
Shop Link: http://industrialfairytale.etsy.com
Location: San Francisco, CA
Ships To: Where so ever you dwell.

What inspires you?

The world around me. I believe all imagination is born from your observation of reality, and as a child I was told, and made up myself, many fantastic stories about the forest where I lived. I've been lucky enough to have been able to travel a lot through out my life, and I would encourage anyone who can to travel with their children. Even places I don't remember that clearly I remember in terms of fantasy and imagination. Everything you see as a small child seems a larger then life, and has the potential to be a fantastic magical place and an adventure into the unknown. I try my hardest to put that sense of wonder into everything I do and to hold onto it as an adult.
Of course I have some favorites. I love the rocky windswept coast of Northern CA, and spend as much time on CA 1 north of San Francisco as possible. I enjoy the art and art history of the middle east and northern Africa a great deal. And the grand scale and ruggedness of the American west still inspires a sort of awe whenever I get the chance to experience it. And its certainly worth pointing out that I love reading other peoples imaginations at work, and seeing how other artists see the world, what they choose to point out and dwell on, and what interests them. Urban/Dark Fantasy, steampunk, and western stories are some of my favorites, and as an animator I always enjoy a good film - animated or not.

How long have you had your shop on Etsy?

Only a few months, its a very new adventure for me. We'll see how far I can take it. I love new adventures!

Is this a job for you or a hobby?

Its so hard to separate, but because it doesn't yet bring in a level of income that could justify taking 'work' time for it, I would say its either a start up business or a hobby. I would like for it to someday be a real part of my job.

How did you get into your craft?

I've been a professional animator and designer since I graduated college, and I was sculpting and drawing and sewing and all sorts of things all through growing up. But as to the jewelry making, I actually haven't got the slightest idea. I did some metal-smithing and jewelry design in school, but I suppose it really started because I had wooden disk beads for a very long time and wanted to do something interesting with them. And then, someone at the studio I worked for at the time did a little lunch time tutorial on making wire loops for beading and I just knew what to do with them. I started on Etsy mostly because I was starting to run out of friends to give jewelry too!

Do you have any advice for fellow Etsy shop owners?

Look around your community and make some friends, people are the most valuable thing you can get out of most any experience like Etsy.

What do you love about Steampunk?

The imagination and innovation behind it. I see people building steam powered cars for no reason other then they would like to see if they can, and refitting computers with brass typewriter keyboards and just the fact that someone is doing it makes me happy. To often as a society we are encouraged to purchase, conform, and think inside a box of what is acceptable; the best kind of punk steps away from all of that and encourages people to create and invent and find their own path. Steampunk reminds the world of a time when we didn't feel like everything had already been discovered and invented, and encourages us to remember that everything HASN'T been discovered and invented quite yet.

Anything else you would like to add?

I feel like I'm only just starting out, and I'm exciting to see where it all goes from here.