Featured Etsy Artisan: Nomsa

While searching for some chiffon or organza hair accessories and brooches on etsy, I stumbled upon this lovely shop. This Lovely Layered Cream Chiffon Blossom is GORGEOUS, and how about this Celadon Brooch? I contacted Ashlee, the creator, and she graciously agreed to be interviewed for my Featured Etsy Artisan blog feature!

Enjoy meeting Ashlee, and be sure to visit her shop nomsa, her blog, and tweet at nomsaknits. Thanks for sharing your lovelies with us, Ashlee!

• Tell us a little about yourself – your name, where you live, your work.
Hello! I am Ashlee and I am behind the brand 'Nomsa,' (pronounced nohm-suh). I am a recent graduate from the University of Colorado but I currently live in the heart of Washington, DC with my lovely fiancee John. I spend my days working as an administrative assistant at a Consulting Firm and my evening hours playing house and crafting my heart out. I am getting married in September and also running a half-marathon in September (which I haven't started training for). I firmly believe in the power of one, that making sound effects for simple actions is vital to daily existance, and that one should never wake up a sleeping bear. I enjoy baking, puttering about, channeling my inner 65-year old, wearing pearls and high heels while cleaning, lions, all things fiber and knitting related, buses, robots, tea and avocados.

• Tell us about your Etsy shop and products.
Nomsa is an African word meaning Grace. The brand Nomsa was started because I felt like individuals needed to allow more grace in their lives. Sometimes people are so hard on themselves and others, and that they forget to forgive and accept. By adorning oneself and allowing for yourself to enhance natural beauty, you are giving yourself grace, peace and hopefully accepting your uniqueness. Nomsa was created from all of the above reasons for myself, so I can speak from experience. Right now, I specialize in making hair accessories for everyday wear as well as for special occasions. My personal style and inspirations come from my mom and aunt who really showed me the importance of having everyday basics that fit well and looked fabulous on, but also having a few special items that enhanced your look instead of overpowering it. My items try to do that for the wearer. Highlight rather than distract.

• How did you get into your creating? Do you have a favorite item you’ve made? Tell us the story.
I think like a lot of people in creative fields, I started out young. I have always been crafting, building, and creating. Only in the last few years though have I become extremely passionate about supporting handmade and the individuals who pour themselves into their art. I think their is such beauty and redemption in the act of taking raw materials and transforming them into something that is desirable. I am proud to consider myself among those that can walk into a retail store, look at something and think....'Hey! I can make that!'

• What advice would you give a creative entrepreneur on starting a small artistic business?
Gosh...I am not sure if I am the best one to give advice. I am still learning as I go, since I just got started Nomsa a little over three months ago. I few things that I have learned though are...
1) I think that is really important to open your mind to absorbing as much information as possible. I study and read all I can about etsy, online selling and how to be successful. I think that you have to be extremely proactive in your education and arm yourself with knowledge.
2) I think it's okay to figure out details as you go along. I started Nomsa on a fluke one evening without any direction or knowledge. I am still trying to get all my ducks in a row. If I had waited and done all the paperwork and small details beforehand, I might have been too discouraged to even try to sell my items.

• Do you have a person that inspires you (living or historical)? Tell us about her or him!
My great-grandmother is my inspiration. She could seriously make or bake anything!! I spent summers at her house as a child and she really fostered my creative energy. She taught me how to sew a doll, make a quilt, bake a pie, dehydrate fruit, powder one's nose, apply puffy paint to white canvas shoes, knit, etc. She really was wonderful lady and I cherish all of the fabulous memories that we made.

• Do you have a book or movie that makes you feel creative? Tell us about it!
I don't have a book or movie in particular that I can think of off-hand...but the best inspiration for me is my daily commute to and from my day job. I take the bus and metro each way and get to people watch for two hours every day. I study hair styles, jewelry, knits, overall outfits and it is so awesome. I have seen the most fabulous items on the bus and am thankful that my commute gives me an excuse to stare at people. I like to think of it as market research rather than being creepy!

• What is your favorite handmade treasure?
I honestly can not pick one thing. My stepmom made me this amazing scrapbook for my college graduation which has such sentimental items in it that I had never seen before, my dad has made me so many awesome things out of wood (including a bunk bed and a rubber band gun), and my mom can cook like no other so quite a few of her recipes I consider to be handmade treasures :)