T.E.S.T. interview: thunderpeep

We hope to introduce you to all the great etsy sellers to be found right here in Toronto. Here at the T.E.S.T. blog, we plan to interview them all. This is the 27^th in our series with Michelle of thunderpeep.


Tell me about your creative/design background.

When I was 4 I got one of those Crayola Carousels from Santa and it changed my life. I would doodle on anything and everything. I got into a lot of trouble, especially after I decided that the brand new frilly pink sheet set my mom bought was just too plain and needed some of my creative input. Doodling shapes and patterns stayed with me as I found a more structured career in Graphic Design, mostly working in Editorial design, but when I started to get creatively frustrated with work I just started doing my own thing to blow off steam.

Your designs seem to draw from clean/crisp elements, what inspires your "look"?

My biggest influences and inspirations are drawn from Scandinavian designers. They are known for their use of colour and functionalism. I love to escape to magical places, and the really crisp clean 2D work lends itself well to the folk stories that tend to inspire the stories in my art .

If you were an animal, what would you be?

Polar Bear. I love Polar bears! I love the cold, the snow, the arctic. And looks can be deceiving ;) I can't believe I don't have any polar bears anywhere in any of my pieces……

How did you come about starting your Etsy shop?

A friend of mine turned me onto the site, purely as a shopper (and I was fully addicted). About a year later I started up my shop, but it took me awhile to really take it seriously, find my place and really invest in it. For me now, it's this amazing and supportive community, kind of like my big ol' crafty family as well as a place to sell my work :)

Tell me about the people that inspire you.

I am attracted to people who don't fit the mold. I'm a total nerd, and I'm ok with that. I don't care if you're laughing at me or with me, as long as you're having a good time. Although if you're laughing with me, you really are my kinda peep! I am inspired by people who aren't afraid to just be who they are, without worrying about what everyone else thinks.

I think they are the most successful people, and I like to be around people who challenge me to push myself.

I am also inspired by people who make me think in different and more interesting ways, that's party why I love meeting people from different places. We have so much to learn from each other.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not creating?

I used to spend a lot of time getting lost in the woods when I lived in Vancouver. I don't find that same escape here, so I'm trying to find more industrial ways to get lost. I am a walker (and not in the Walking Dead kind of way) I don't have a car and am a bit too claustrophobic to deal with transit so I tend to walk everywhere I can. I like to walk off the main streets and just wander through neighbourhoods. Luckily Toronto has a ton of interesting neighbourhoods to get lost in, and it'll take me awhile to adventure through them all. But when the opportunity arises to get the heck out of the city…. SEE YA!! I also love watching movies, I watch an insane amount of them. I love foreign and horror, especially the 2 together!

You can find more of Michelle's work in the thunderpeep Etsy shop, on her blog, or on the thunderpeep Facebook or you can follow thunderpeep on Twitter and be sure to visit Michelle's website: Thunderpeep Designs.

Interviewed in April and May, 2012 by Rob of RobertRatPrints.

T.E.S.T. interview: RobertRatPrints

We hope to introduce you to all the great etsy sellers to be found right here in Toronto. Here at the T.E.S.T. blog, we plan to interview them all. This is the 24^th in our series with Rob of RobertRatPrints.

What is your background / how did you get started in screen printing?

My background is in graphic design. I think I've always been fascinated with screen printing thanks to a huge influence to Andy Warhol's work and realized that it was something I really wanted to try. I've always had a natural ability to work with my hands and I think that's really aided in making the natural progression to screen printing.

How did RobertRatPrints come to be?

I started selling my work at local art fairs and a colleague mentioned that I should sell my prints on Etsy, so I gave it a go and RobertRatPrints was born!

I hear that music is "required throughout your creative process" What's currently on your working playlist?

Boy, that's a tough one since I'm constantly in the mood for a wide range of music, but currently, I would include anything by: Foster the People, Death Cab for Cutie, Blanche, The White Stripes, O Brother, Where Art Thou Soundtrack, MGMT, Metric, The Smiths, The Beatles, AND lots of 80's retro!

If you could peak into the life of any artist / designer / craftsperson who would it be?

Toss up between Frank Lloyd Wright and Andy Warhol.

What is your most prized piece of art/handmade good?

Still haven't found it yet.

Where is your favourite creative hang out spot in Toronto?

Any small club/bar/venue/hole one the wall.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Hmmm, my inspiration comes from many sources: all the neat little pocket neighbourhoods around Toronto, music (of course), life experiences, anything and everything vintage/nostalgic, art and design eras, architecture and the natural world.

What does handmade mean to you?

Something that you make with your own hands.

You can check out more of Rob's artwork in his Etsy shop RobertRatPrints. Rob was interviewed in March, 2012, by Michelle of thunderpeep.

Call for submissions: Do Design

Do West Do Design Event 2012
Thursday 26th January to Sunday 29th, January 2012
Reception: various venues from 3pm to 8pm Saturday 28th, January 2012
Do Design Guided Tour of Venues: Sunday 29th, January 2012

Via the TCA comes this call for Do Design, a four day design crawl now in its second year which features contemporary furniture, objects, architectural and graphic design on display in storefronts, cafes, walkups & windows from Dundas St West from Bathurst to Grace street. They are seeking submissions for design works. For more details as well as the application form, visit here

T.E.S.T. Interview: SoRad

We hope to introduce you to all the great etsy sellers to be found right here in Toronto. Here at the T.E.S.T. blog, we plan to interview them all. This is the fourth in our series, an interview with SoRad.

Tell us about your shop.
I opened my shop last summer in hopes to sell some extra cards I had printed for a craft show. Right now, my shop has greeting cards, prints and some baby and kids clothes.

How is your Etsy experience so far? What have you learned about yourself? How does your store fit into your life?
So far, not so bad. I was hoping for more sales, but I'm sure most people are when they first open a shop! I've learned that I definitely love working for myself. I like having all of my stuff online, available to the public and I really like having my own shop! Having a shop on Etsy seems to give me motivation to create more stuff. When you work for yourself, it's SO easy to slack.

Tell us about your creative process - what is your favourite medium to work with?

Creative process.. funny, I had someone else ask me to write an article about my creative process and I'll be honest, it wasn't too long. Ideas just come to me out of the blue. I might get stuck on wording and spend time talking to myself for a day or so, but then I'm back on
track. A bit of my background might make this make more sense - I used to be a digital illustrator for clipart.com. I worked part time and my
monthly quota was minimum 60 illustrations, I sometimes did 90. I also did freelance for liquidlibrary.com and had another 4 (more beautiful) illustrations per month. My favourite medium is the computer! My mac book pro and my tablet *sigh*... My husband said I looked just as excited when I got it as I did when I had my son! haha

Your artwork has quite a bit of variety, how would you define your style?
Being a digital illustrator, you tend to have to adapt. I love lots of styles and wish I could do more even, so I guess maybe I am still searching for my own style. I have been told, I do have a specific style and I need more diversity, so go figure!

Love your monsters! How were they born?

Like I said, I love lots of styles. One in particular are those japanimation characters and creatures. I also love simplicity and wanted something I could work with without too much detail. Something that could be done easily in Adobe Illustrator and resized to 54892 x 7489 if it needed to be.:)


What are your upcoming plans and goals?
I am actually thinking about not doing anymore cards. I love making the artwork and I love the characters (which will carry over into the next endeavor). Right now, I am working on my own baby clothing line - yes, now I am a fashion designer - stay tuned...

Check out more of Jazz's work on her Facebook sorad page, in her blog, follow her on twitter, or on her website and in sorad in etsy.

Interviewed by Zippster on January 28, 2010.