Unusual Crafty Missus D Items by Kathleen Dalseno

Kathleen is an architect who has turned into fibre artist and graphic designer. Kathleen was born in Singapore, then she went to Australia, then – to Japan, and now she lives in Munich. Her love for the crafts must have come from her mother and the fact that for a short time, my parents had a shop selling craft supplies. Texture and colour appeals to her greatly, even in the food she eats. ‘Food should have a pleasant, interesting texture for me to like it’ – Kathleen says. It was a pleasure for us to take an interview with Kathleen Dalseno who shared some interesting facts of her biography. We wish you a pleasant reading of Kathleen Dalseno success story and viewing of her unusual crafty Missus D items.

AP: Your first works. What did they look like?

KD: I learned how to crochet while living in Japan. I had a lot of breaks between English classes – I was an English teacher in Japan – and used crochet to while away the time. I found out that I was far more passionate about making soft sculptures than clothing and that became my direction. One of my first works was a birthday present to my husband. It was the robot Bender from the animation Futurama. My inspiration for my crochet work is weird, geeky and funny.

AP: Do you have any formal education in your sphere or were you self-taught?

KD: Crochet does not really require any formal education. However, I was lucky to have a colleague who was patient and always encouraging when I first learned it from her. I keep gaining tips and better ways of doing things from the internet.

AP: What genre are your works?

KD: I was really into cute, geeky, weird subjects for my soft sculpture. Recently, I was also inspired to create crochet covers with rocks. I went in two directions for that- shabby chic and geeky cute. Many people like to make characters from animations or TV shows they watch. I gain inspiration from them, but I like to make a reference to them, rather than make the characters I see. That, I guess is my signature and my statement in my work.

AP: How would you describe your works?

KD: My work is definitely quite unusual. For me, I want to make crochet cool and relevant to our culture today. Crochet has widely been considered a feminine art. Lately I have seen more men doing it such as Crochet Bloke (crochetbloke.blogspot.com) and Woo Work (woowork.blogspot.com), which is good. Surprisingly, most of my customers have been men. I have had comments on how they can appreciate crochet more now that they have seen my work. That makes me happy.

AP: What kind of equipment and techniques do you use?

KD: Crochet uses very simple tools, a crochet hook, a needle, scissors and yarn are all you need. And you can do it anywhere you wish!

AP: Would you consider yourself as an expert in this sphere?

KD: I don’t know! I feel that there is always something new to learn. However, I’ve come to a point where I can visualize something and create my own pattern for it.

AP: What is your success formula?

KD: Like Edison says, it is 1% inspiration and 99% hard work! I participate in markets, exhibitions, share my work on the internet and keep my eyes and ears out for new inspiration.

AP: Is there someone who helps you in your creativity?

KD: Yes! Everyone who enjoys looking at my work support my creativity. I get my inspiration from them too!