This giveaway is now closed!
Here at Gussy has a lot to say {and sew} we love to look at all things beautiful. Beautiful designs, beautiful colors, beautiful stories about finding joy.
Today marks week #19 of my series on Featured Artists. I hope you’ve enjoyed the featured drool-worthy eye-candy shops. Don’t worry, there’s always more :] You can read all back Featured Artist posts by clicking here.
Please join me in welcoming Lisa at My Little Buffalo.
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What inspires you?
I like to look at things that inspire me, and anything can really. I might look at the grating from a cheese grater and think, wow that would make a fantastic textile….and then draw that. I love experimenting with other colors, and I really love it when people request something themselves. I love it when people have ideas.
Where do you call home? Are you from there originally?
My name is Lisa and I am humbly from the midwest, where casseroles and ear muffs flow. I am married to a great man, and I have a cat name Abe. Both love me very well. Currently I now reside on the East side of Portland, OR near Laurelhurst park. We moved here about 3 years ago, and now call Portland our home.
Name something unique to where you live.
Anything goes! You can walk down the street and see a purple haired lady, next to an old man, next to sweatered dog and they are all hanging out together. I love the culture here and the way that people are really conscious (for the most part) of the way they live. Not to mention the beautiful green lushness that is everywhere.
How did you come up with your shop name?
I first came up with the name “My Little Buffalo” a little over a year ago. Here’s the big reveal: it’s actually a pet name for my husband. To understand you need to know two things: 1.) I tend to just call things random names all the time, its just what I do. 2.) When you first get married, there are some things that boys just won’t ever understand about girls. So when my husband wouldn’t understand why I needed to change my shirt three times, or why i needed an EXTRA bowl of ice cream I would reply, “you wouldn’t understand, you are just a buffalo.”
Share a little bit about yourself.
I love Christ and I hope to glorify Him in all that I do. It can be hard though, and easy to think, wow look at all I have created! Only to realize that it was Him the whole time, and not me. Being humble in the art world can be difficult. We need constant reminders.
If you had to describe yourself in a word, what would that word be?
Lisa.
What made you decide to open up shop?
I’ve always had a creative inkling deep inside, doodling is pretty much what got me through college. But I decided to work in the non-profit sector instead. While having brief stints at the Make a Wish Foundation, Africa, and with inner-city youth, I decided to try to give it a go by creating an Etsy shop. From there requests started coming in and I decided that I liked that people liked what I was making, so I continue to do that today.
Do you have a day job or sell on Etsy full-time?
I am 9-5er at a church during the week. It’s really what helped me learn the different aspects of design. What started out as a job with no creative aspect now is full of designing fun things for the church as well. I couldn’t be more grateful for that.
List a few of your most favorite pastimes.
Riding bikes, eating ice cream, and playing in the sun. If I can roll all three of those into one outing, you’ve got one happy camper.
Name one place you must visit in your lifetime and why.
Paris. That’s all I need to say about that, are you reading this, Hub?
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The Giveaway Goods:
Lisa is giving away a set of Calling Cards
To enter:
Leave a comment sharing a favorite memory involving the telephone :]
EXTRA INFO:
- The giveaway will close Sunday, April 4 at 10 pm CST, and the winner will be announced the following day
- An email address must be listed on your blog profile or in the comment you leave
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Please check back Friday, April 16 for another Featured Artist post!
Additional links:
When I was in jr. high, I had a crush on a boy in 8th grade, but I was too scared to talk to him. I would phone him and hang up when someone answered, essentially crank calling him. I did this numerous times per day. (This was before caller id). One day, I was in the bathroom, soaking in the tub, when the phone rang just outside the bathroom. My dad took the call and I could tell from the one side of the conversation that the gig was up! The boy’s parents had called the phone company and discovered that it was this number that was calling their house non-stop! I was so embarrassed. The only positive part about it was in school the next week, this boy told everyone that my older sister (one year older than him and Ms. Popular!) had been crank calling him! I escaped unscathed and never did right the misconception this boy had! And my sister covered for me…because that’s what sisters do!
When i was about 8 years old, my mom was in the city and I was home with my older brother and sister, the phone rang and I answered and it was the operator asking me if I would accept the charges and pay for a collect call from Pat(my mom)I told the operator that I didn’t have any money and she asked me again, I then started to cry and told her again that I didn’t have any money. By this time my mom is yelling in the background of the other line for me to get my brother and that just confused me even more, so I asked the operator to ask my mom for money…this went on for about 10 minutes until finally the operator just felt bad and put my mom through, I still get teased for that one!
Meg, I’m sorry but this is so funny. I can’t stop giggling over you crying about not having any money. Aren’t kids so cute? ;)
of course my favorite memory of a telephone would be the year i spent getting to know my future husband through the phone…we dated long distance for that long, and talked every day of that year. it was magical.
oh and p.s. her shop is adorable!!
em
I loved my grandma’s powder blue rotary dial phone. I always remember making excuses to use the phone when I was visiting just so I could use it. Loved hearing that crazy dial sound. I regret not asking for that phone, after she pasted away.
I Love the bicycle print!!
oops my email is m.chphotography@hotmail.com
Thanks!! Love her shop
My favorite memory involving the phone is finding out via phone that my nephew was born :)
My email addy is aliciamarie112 at hotmail (dot com)
Oh. Well, it is generally know around here that I have a deep-seated dislike for telephones…and when I say “deep”, I mean it! I do love it when my sweetheart calls me, though. Somehow I always know it’s him, and it makes my heart beat a bit faster when he says “Hey. Can you talk?” {he says it every. single. night. :)} Yeah, I may be cheesy. But, oh well!
I love Lisa’s work! Could I get those calling cards with my email, though? *grin*
My favorite memory about the phone was last summer when I got my iPhone!!!! I love it, live by it, and don’t know what I’d do without it!
stoutfamily@rocketmail.com
first off…i want/need to win this one!!
my favorite memory involving a phone isn’t exactly a happy story! it’s kind of humerous actually. i used to work at this little shop and we had to wear these big ugly smocks with netted pockets and i would always keep my cell phone in the pockets. one day after using the restroom i was pulling up my pantelones and tipped the pocket upside down and heard my phone drop as i was flushing the toilet. i got down on my hands and knees searching for my phone because i didn’t believe it could haven gone in the toilet (plus i couldn’t see it in the toilet) but it was no where to be found. i panicked! and tried to plunge the phone out…but then i learned the plunger just makes it go further down! and of course then the toilet overflowed and i couldn’t keep it a secret anymore! it was such a disaster! everyone joked about it for a while and we were without our bathroom for a week!! i like sharing that story! phew! what a long comment.
have a fab day!
My memory is similar to Emily’s. Gabe and I dated long distance for almost 4 YEARS!!!! We talked everyday, and I often fell asleep while we were talking….it was a LONG 4 years! :)
When I was about 13, my friends and I would call the radio station over and over to request songs on the weekends. Then we would have the tape player ready to go so we could record the song on a mix tape. I’m sure we drove the DJ nuts with all the phone calls for the same songs.
It’s a little sad that my kids won’t ever have that experience because of all the new technology.
Oh, lots of things. Maybe the time my current boss called to offer me the job. Or maybe when my boyfriend called to ask me out. OH, this one: the time my boyfriend and I stayed on the phone until 3 am just talking about whatever came to mind. THAT was the best one :)
The telephone is a prized possession to me. My husband is in the US Army and during his last deployment I was working two jobs one at a coffee cart in a hospital and another at a coffee house. Well I forgot my phone at the coffee cart one day and went to my other job. I realized I had left it there when I got to my other job but I couldn’t leave. My husband was only able to call when he got the chance. Mind you he had to wait in a long line and only got 15 minutes to call when it was finally his turn, so these calls were precious to say the least. After I get out of work, I speed to my job where I left my phone. The cart was closed and my co-worker was gone. I used the information desk to call my phone hoping I could find it. I found it alright…in a LOCKED drawer!! I couldn’t get my phone :( I drove home with a pit in my stomach the whole way. My husband did call that night and I missed the call of course. It was sad, but the next morning I retrieved my phone. After that my phone never left my pocket, I literally carried that thing on me at all times. At the time I did not find this story funny but looking back at it, it’s comical.
I’d love to win those calling cards! They are so darn cute! Plus, I’ve volunteered for a few positions in our family of soldiers support group, and it would be great to have these adorable cards to pass out to member who need to contact me. Thanks for having this amazing giveaway!
My favorite telephone memory…
In my great grandmothers house, there was a little alcove in the hallway. Upon it sat a lovely little black rotary dial phone. It was the extension from the kitchen phone.
I loved walking by and seeing that little phone in it’s little home.
I remember being right around my daughter’s age (8) and thinking that the phone was such a grown-up thing. I would pretend to talk on the phone by holding the receiver in one hand and keeping my other hand on the “hang-up button” (the one that the receiver would hold down). I’d stand right in front of the mirror and toss my hair and pretend to talk about very important things, watching myself all the while. I felt very mature.
Now that I’m an adult, I avoid the telephone whenever possible!
Love love love the calling cards and all the rest of Lisa’s goodies!
i love your blog and your story! having been unemployed for the last few months and a move to minneapolis fast approaching i have had many trying moments. i love hearing others stories and seeing what motivates them. thanks for the inspiration!
I’ll have to go with all of the long distance phone calls between DH & I when he was in Alaska & I in Maryland while he was in the Army. We had some fun nights & LONG phone calls.
Well, I have to say that my favorite memory involving a phone was when, during a Sunday family dinner, my sister announced that her extra job ~ ya know…to help get her through college ~ as a phone ____ operator (as in, 1-800, “I am a bad girl”, $4 per minute, operator). Grandma literally blew soup out of her nose. Now my sister is a wonderful Christian mother of two sweet baby girls….who you would NEVER guess ~ ever did something so crazy involving a phone!
My favorite definitely has to be the first time I called my husband…
My favorite memory involving the phone is listening to my boyfriend talk to our little man (He’s only ten months, so Daddy does all the talking.)! J was stationed about four and a half hours away throughout my pregnancy, was moved to Greece in December and was moved again, this time to the Middle East, in February. Little J perks up whenever he “talks” to him, and it never fails to brighten my day. :)
The morning I had my first baby, I called my Mom to tell her that she had arrived and I’d never heard her so happy.
My favorite phone memory… Calling my parents after my future hubby had just proposed to me on the Sea of Galilee in Israel.
My daughter one week ago answered the phone (a student was calling me) and politely informed him that I was using the bathroom.
This past week I was driving and saw an 808 number pop into my phone. My first thought was, “Yeah, gonna ignore that one. I wonder what bill I forgot to pay this time.” Then for some reason I answered it. Lo and behold it was my little brother calling from Afghanistan. He is deployed with the Marine Corps and I have not seen him since November. We were able to talk for about ten minutes! It rocked!
I love that when we were in college my husband and I could talk on the phone for hours during breaks when we were away from each other!
Yikes! I can’t top any of those memories. What hysterical stuff!
I think my greatest memory with telephones comes every day right now because while my family and I are 8 hours apart, my husband has magically put together a US telephone line in our German apartment. I can yack and yack, and it makes me feel so close to home every time. Can’t imagine the sweat of thinking about an international telephone bill.
Thanks ladies – loved this interview. It’s inspiring me.
Katie
My favorite memory involving a telephone would be a toss up between two:
1) I had an LONG distance telephone interview for the job which brought me to Alaska, and I happened to be in the Philippines at the time…sometimes things just work out like that <3
2) I was teaching my students about the motion of sound. We made the paper cup/string telephones, went into the hallway and from over 30 feet away they were able to talk to one another…they were BLOWN AWAY!!!
howar2kl@gmail.com
Mine would have to be getting the call from dad each time he was calling to tell us if he was going to be deployed or not (he actually just recently retired from the Army – he was in for 29 years — more years than I am old)… each time, we (my mom, sister, and I) were always *very* anxious. But… luckily… he never had to say he was. He was never dhaeployed. Those phone calls, though, became a big part of my childhood.
One of my favorite telephone memories is talking to my grandma whom passed away last spring. As a child she would call me daily and as an adult we still talked on the phone 3-4 times a week. I miss my grandma……I wish I could call her and have a conversation with her so bad. I will always treasure those little memories……sweet little telephone chats….sometimes meaningless but the memories will always be MEANINGFUL!
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE some phone cards!!!
When I was a kid we lived in a big city (on the very edge of town so it was more like little town or country) anyway we had a 4 party line, so you could pick up the phone and listen to other people’s (neighbors who you knew) conversations. One of the neighbors was an “older” boy (probably 5 years older than me) so I would always pick up the phone (QUIETLY) and listen to his conversations with his “Girlfriends” I thought it was TOTALLY FUN AT THE TIME and then I would remark (to him) about the conversations I heard. Now I think back on it and it is amazing no one ever yelled at me, but no one ever did. He must have either been too embarressed about his conversations to say anything or the girls weren’t really his “Girlfriends” and he really didn’t care. LOL.
Some of these memories are hilarious! I love Stephanie’s memory about her sister’s announcement! So, so funny. I spent a lot of time on the phone in high school, that’s for sure – nearly falling asleep talking to friends (and boyfriends). I remember a couple of phone incidents (besides the crank-calling boys we liked from my basement phone when we were 7 or 8) – so here’s my favorite. My husband (then-boyfriend) called me from Israel thinking it was afternoon (it was 2 or 3 am my time). Of course I talked to him anyway! He’d just been chased by crazy dogs on his way to the only phone for miles. This was the first time we’d been apart (we’d been dating for a year), and also the furthest we’d been from each other; every call was important to me.
haha – that face cracks me up in my comment! I meant seven or eight there. Guess I should’ve spelled it out. Oh, and my email is tygerlotus at gmail dot com
My Mom used to drop the three of us off at church every Saturday for piano lessons and head back home until it was time to pick all three of us up. While one of us was doing our lesson we used to call her and pretend to have an accent and ask her as if we didn’t speak English well, “Is this the Pizza Hut?” She would say, “What? No, you have the wrong number!” in a cranky voice and had no idea until we got older that it was her three girls aggravating the devil out of her. We used to laugh and laugh and laugh! She really had no idea it was us!
I would love to have the calling cards! So cute!
cute stuff !
endless hours at night talking on the phone to my boyfriend
[…] totally forgot to announce the winner on Monday of the My Little Buffalo Featured Artist giveaway. The winner is Ashley @ The Pittman […]