Happy Friday, everyone! This week is another installment in our Special Organizers Edition! Please let me introduce you to the newest member of the Craftland team, Amy Vitale Posch. Amy joined our team last fall when we thought to ourselves, "Who better to help us sell handmade stuff, than one of our best customers!" Please read on to learn a little bit more about Amy and her creative outlets. 

 

Please introduce yourself and tell us what you do at Craftland. 
Hi, everyone!  I'm Amy.  I'm the newest of the managers at Craftland, though I'm not that new anymore, I guess.  I'm the only non-artist manager you'll find at Craftland, but I do just about anything I can to keep the store happy and fun when I'm in.  :)

How did you first get to know Craftland?
I was working elsewhere downtown and I remember walking by the empty storefront when Craftland was still a pop-up shop.  I googled them and thought it seemed like a really cool place, so I came to the big holiday opening party and then never looked back!  I've been a frequent shopper, class-taker, and general appreciator of the shop ever since.  I guess it paid off, because when the ladies of Craftland found out I was between jobs they asked me to interview to be holiday help last year.  And look at me know, baby!

 

Tell us a little bit about your creative outlets.
Despite not considering myself an artist, I do really love knitting!  I mostly work from patterns, though I have come up with a few simple pieces on my own.  I've never been afraid to try new techniques, so I've dabbled in cables, lace, fair isle, intarsia...yeah, let's just say I'm a frequent class taker at my local yarn store, too!  It's nice to have a mindless stockinette project on the needles, too, though.  I have a beautiful bag of alpaca yarn that's been patiently waiting to be made into an afghan if I can ever find the pattern I see in my head for it.  Maybe I'll just have to bite the bullet and come up with it myself. 

I don't do it as much, but I also crochet and sew.  I'd love to call myself a quilter, but I've never gotten past the piecing stage.  Maybe one of these years...

What do you like to do when you need a little inspiration?
It depends, really.  Sometimes it's as simple as walking away for a while.  I have gone for long spurts of not knitting when I just haven't been in the mood, but I know I'll always come back to it.  Other times, a trip to the yarn store can help.  Or flipping through my ever-growing collection of knitting books and magazines. 

Outside of the knitting world, music inspires me for life in general.  I use it to work through everything - happiness, sadness and every emotion in between.

 

What is is about Providence that you think helps a business like Craftland succeed?
That's a tough one for me.  I've been in Providence about 5 or 6 years now and I didn't instantly connect to it.  Since I've been at Craftland, though, I can honestly say people really take pride in this little city.  Everyone wants to see it thrive.  I had no idea how much creativity the city was harboring, but there's a lot of talent out there!  So I guess what I'm saying is local pride + oodles of talent = Craftland's success.

What does handmade mean to you?
It means someone put their heart and soul into the item.  It means something isn't mass produced.  It makes the item more special.   

Fun fact about you?
I'll use the one I used at a meeting here once.  When I was a kid I wore my brother's first communion suit for Halloween one year and went out as Pee Wee Herman.  Some of my neighbors even thought I was a boy!