crafts | Twice As Loved: Wind Chimes and More

What is your real name?

Patti Morgan

What is the name of your shop/business/company?

The Feisty Dragon

With which branch of the military are you affiliated?

Army (wife).

Where are you from or where are you stationed?

We hail from the Metro Atlanta area of Georgia, and are currently stationed at Fort Bragg.

What type of crafts do you create?

For my shop I make various styles of jewelry. I have always favored hemp, but I also make chainmaille jewelry and beaded earrings and bracelets.

I typically sew Halloween costumes for my son (and, if time permits, myself) and I have started recreating some of the costume accessories for my shop.

Outside of my shop, I dabble in crochet, knitting, quilting, needlepoint, and cross stitching… though I do not proclaim expertise in any of these.

How did you get started in crafting?

My mother always encouraged my sister and me to try new things until we found something we liked. She taught me to sew on her machine, and showed me her old macramé books when I was amazed at the plant hanger she showed me she had made. She taught me the basics of macramé, crochet, sewing, and cross stitch.

What do you do when you aren’t creating?

I’ve got my 4 year old son keeping me on my toes, a yard that keeps growing and old cars that need fixing. We enjoy geocaching when we need something to get us out of the house and on an adventure!

Besides that, if I’m not making something I know how to make, I’m learning how to make something completely different! I crave a challenge, and “new” is always a challenge!

What is your work space like?

My current “official” work space occupies the informal family room; centrally located in our house, it opens to the kitchen, both hallways (to the front door and bedrooms) and the sliding glass door opening to the back yard. I rarely stay there for long unless I’m sewing, since most projects I can move around the house with me to simultaneously craft and entertain my son.

Who or what inspires you in either life or in your business?

My husband, of course, inspires me in life. He is unfailingly supportive of all I do, no matter what it is.

My new friends (Lauren from The Crochet Lady and Jewel from Strawberry Jude HandGrown in particular) have been an excellent support group and source of inspiration; their drive and focus within their own work makes me strive to improve my shop every day.

What are your personal and/or business goals?

I hope to move out to a farm before I’m too old to enjoy it! Horses, goats, chickens, a big garden… that is my dream.

As far as my business goes, I would love to be able to pay the mortgage out of what I earn! Or, at the very least, make the car payments.

Can your work be found/bought in other locations than on Etsy?

I hope to be at more craft shows in the future (like the one I will be at on October 6 in Southern Pines, NC), but currently Etsy.com is my primary shop host.