An interview with Rachel Denbow of Red Velvet Art!

I've been following Rachel Denbow for a while now, I came across her scrap booking kit club not long after I became interested in crafting. She has since closed her kit club (sad, I know!!) and is now working with the Red Velvet Art store with Elsie Flannigan and selling classes and some paper on etsy. Her positivity and sweet spirit are so inspiring!



Bio: I'm a work at home mom who really likes playing in the sprinklers with my son and stopping at flea markets during road trips. I enjoy mid-century furniture and giving new life to old things. I eat a lot of watermelon, stay up way too late every night, and try to shop at the farmer's market on the weekends. I have to work really hard at remembering birthdays and calling people back but I'm really good at listening and ask a lot of questions. Thanks for reading!



1.) I'm sure you get asked this one a lot - but how do you do it all? Your kit club, classes, work for the RVA store, and your vintage shop are all amazing! Not to mention, your son and little one on the way!

I have had to really edit my responsibilities these last eight months in order to keep a balanced, happy outlook on life. Some days I wasn't getting enough sleep and never felt like I had any time for myself and STILL wasn't accomplishing my goals. I had to make the decision to quit the kit club and put the vintage shop on hold in order to pursue other ventures that would be better for my family life in a few different ways. Not having to split my attention in five different ways has helped me to do everything I need to do much better.

Spending time with Sebastian is a high priority and I've learned to set aside time just for him and just for work because I can rarely do both at once unless he's occupied with his trains or Dora. It's going to change a lot in November with the addition of baby #2 but we'll find our rhythm again. A new one that will probably change more often than I'd like but it'll still be fabulous!



2.) What inspires you?



Traveling through downtown streets in Midwestern cities. Browsing through flickr favorites. Spending time with energetic people.



3.) Your home is lovely, what got you interested in interiors? How long has it taken you to collect all of your lovely things?

I started paying real attention to design blogs about 18 months ago. We were about to move into a new place with very little real keepers as far as furniture went so I made sure I knew what I wanted rather than filling it up with cheap stuff. Reading apartmenttherapy.com and designspongeonline.com really helped mature that style and help me figure out what i liked/didn't like. Then I hit the thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, etc. and things just presented themselves to me! I hardly find anything so cool these days because I don't need much more. Funny how that worked out.

It's constantly changing in little ways now. I try to edit when I need to and only keep stuff around that I love. My vision for what I want our house to be will always be maturing and changing but not so fast that we have to do a new make over every year. Who can keep up with that?



4.) What is your favorite type of thing to create?

Anything that requires lots of patchwork. Usually that means quilts but I haven't had the patience to sit down and start one lately.



5.) Can you tell us about a goal or skill you have or would like to learn in the future? Related to creative pursuits or otherwise.

I want to be a great knitter. And I want to learn how to take pictures with my camera set to manual.



6.) What is your favorite song right now?

Anything by Elvis Perkins.

7.) Tell us a little bit about the area in your home where you create - what is your favorite thing about it?



My studio is located in the dining room section of our bungalow style home. It's the middle of the house and an odd L-shaped room with only two long walls that aren't interrupted by doors or walk through. It's presented me quite the challenge with arranging things so that we have both a dining space and a studio space but I think I've finally nailed it. I wish we had better lighting there but I'm really thankful that I finally have a designated space to keep my pretty things.



8.) What accomplishment in your life are you the most proud of?

Managing to make life beautiful and happy on a very, very limited budget and learning to be content with where we are right now.