Featured Artist Lily Robinson of My Hobby Shop

Some are lucky enough to have grown up in a creative household which encourages hands on and doesn’t mind the occasional mess; after all, art can be messy!  Lily Robinson is one such lucky lady.

Her mother was an artist who covered their walls with her work, as well as anything else she could conceivably cover.  She was always creating something and happily encouraged Lily to join in on the fun.  Her mother taught her many art forms, but the one she was hooked on was cross stitch…now picture it…a creative mother that painted everything in site and a cross stitching daughter who embellished everything else; sounds like a house I would like to visit!

Later, Lily’s mother taught her to crochet and she knew instantly that she had found her passion.  Over the years she has taught herself to read patterns and even to write her own.  Now, well, she is a self proclaimed yarn hoarder who can not resist the newest yarn or technique.

Lily married her high school sweetheart on Valentine’s Day and they now have a busy life working full time in a government jobs and chasing their three children from volleyball to basketball to football keeping her running almost every night of the week…ok, now I’m tired!  She also has a miniature dachshund that requires whatever spare minutes she may have left in her day.

Lily’s family is supportive of her endeavors and has happily become her cheerleaders (love the switch from mom cheering on the kids to the kids cheering on mom!)  After meeting a talented jewelry artisan and stumbling on Etsy, Lily decided to finally make the leap her friends and family had been encouraging her to make and My Hobby Shop was born.

It hasn’t always been a smooth road, this journey from creating for friends and family to creating to sell; but Lily has taken on the challenge and is learning every day.  She did try her hand at craft fairs, but quickly learned that with her schedule and the upfront costs they just were not for her.  Instead, her focus remains selling through online venues.  She gets a charge when she receives an email telling of how a customer loves their purchase or the recipient of the gift was thrilled but freely admits that there are some frustrations selling handmade work as well.  In the world of big box stores, some customers do not understand the difference between handmade by the artist and “handmade” mass produced and therefore the difference in pricing.  Lily is patient and chooses to concentrate on those customers that are really looking for that unique item that can only come from a handmade artisan.

Lily is happy to encourage others that want to begin selling their own handmade work by saying that there is nothing better than being your own boss!  When you are doing something you are passionate about you will be a happier person…and your talent is too special to keep to yourself.

Are you ready to see what this busy mom of three with a supportive family can churn out?  Well, MyHobbyShop is easy enough to find on Etsy as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Flickr.  Be prepared, though, to drop your jaw at the wondrous colors of her work as well as the touchable textures she is able to achieve…which makes sense…when you love your work it shows!