Monday Marketplace Featured OFG Artist Privies and Prims

1. What is the name of your Etsy shop and why did you choose that name?
Privies & Prims has been my  business name for about a year.
I started out in a shed at my home on Blue Rock Rd.,
so I named my little shop Blue Rock Country Crafts.
I had my first storefront in Burnsville, NC in 2000
and named the store Privies & Perches.
I was making lots of outhouse bathroom decorations
and my dad was making lots of prim birdhouses,
so I changed the name.  Inspired by God is all I can say.
It just popped into my little brain!

2. How long have you been on Etsy?
Had to go look at my profile for this question. 
Seems I started in February 2008.

3. What type of items do you offer? Penny rugs, prim stitcheries,
primitive & folk art dolls, punch needle embroidery & patterns,
outhouse stuff, candlemats, prim wreaths,
Americana prim t-shirts, wood signs, ornaments,
& photographs of old barns and outhouses. I think that’s it. 

4. How long have you been crafting?
As long as I can remember.
I used to sit at the kitchen table and
trace the designs on the napkins.  In high school,
I made a macramé hanging large enough to cover a window!
We also did pottery and leather working.
My special leather project was a
framed image of a Michelob beer bottle ad.
We used wood carving tools and I stuffed the
“bottle” from the back with sawdust to give it
dimension. At the time, it was my
boyfriend’s favorite brand.  Personally,
I can’t stand the taste of any kind of alcohol.
Just give me my McDonald’s sweet tea!

5. Who or What inspires you? First, I must give God the
credit for my talents.  He puts ideas into my head
 as I go along.  I start out making a doll like
the pattern photo, then God gives me ideas
to make it my own.  Sometimes, I think it’s a curse.
   I’m always seeing stuff and thinking, “I can make that!
”  So, that’s why the list of things I make is so long.
I just recently added punch needle embroidery to my
list and I’m “hooked”.  I’m designing patterns that
 I will sell as kits and will soon be designing
prim doll patterns also that will be modeled after
 the mountain folk where I live.
I get inspired by PatternMart.com’s monthly
newsletters, looking at others creations online,
visiting prim shops, looking through catalogs,
and the list goes on and on. 
Gosh, everything I see inspires me! 
I look at people in restaurants and think
 of making a doll to look like them!

6. What is your favorite item in your shop and why? 
My favorite creations are my primitive dolls
 cause I love giving each one their own personality. 
The favorite ones I’ve made are 46” dolls from
a Prim & Proper folks pattern.

7. Other places where you can be found (Ebay, webstore, blog)
I don’t sell on ebay too often.  Seems I just pay them money
 and don’t have much luck there anymore.  For Privies & Prims,
 my main website is www.PriviesAndPrims.com, my
 etsy shoppe is www.PriviesAndPrims.etsy.com, blog-   
www.PriviesAndPrimsBlog.blogspot.com, and at my brick &
 mortar store located at 110 West Main St.,
 Burnsville, NC 28714.
I also do wedding photography, www.AffordableMemoriesNC.com,
 and sell photographs of old barns and
houses that I find here in the mountains.
www.ThenAndNowArtPhotos.etsy.com. My pattern blog is
 www.SimplyPrimPatterns.blogspot.com, and I’ll soon be
 teaching classes in my store, so I have a blog for that.
www.StitchersPunchersAndHookers.blogspot.com
And yes, I do find time to sleep.

My name is Doreen Brannan and you can
contact me at PriviesAndPrims@yahoo.com

Have a blessed one!