 
Eskimimi’s shop is colourful, weird and wonderful, there is something quirky to suit everyone, from DS pouches, to jewellery, and it is all so professional too, from the general website to the products sold. I decided to ask her a few questions…
Who are you and where do you come from?
I’m Mimi (‘eskimimi’) and I am from all over. I mean, my family lineage is as scattered as you’d care to imagine, and there are big chunks missing from even my immediate ancestry, but I grew up on a small island off of the coast of Kent in the UK, called the Isle of Sheppey. I lived in a tiny little hamlet called ‘Warden’ where you bought your vegetables by leaving a few pennies on someone’s doorstep and helping yourself. Then I moved to London when I was 11, which was a whole different life. I now live in Lancaster, in the North of England, which is a happy medium.
What do you do in your spare time other than craft?
I watch the same few films over and over again (The Princess Bride, A Knight’s Tale, Labyrinth) play video games with my boyfriend and read feverishly. I like escapism, so anything like Gabriel Garcia Marquez always goes down a treat. I think dipping your toe into fairytales and magical realism gives you inspiration to let your creativity go off on a tangent, and I think we are all big kids at heart if we just get ourselves go a little.
Please tell us a little but about what you make…
Difficult question, because I make just about anything that pops into my head. I recently treated myself to a new sewing machine, so I’ve been making lots of purses and things like that recently, just because I’ve been enjoying playing with my new toy, but I also make jewellery, picture frames, notebooks, fridge magnets. Someone has this morning asked me to make a ‘rat hammock’, so really, just about anything.
What do you enjoy making best?
At the moment I am enjoying making little purses, bags, cases for DSs and things like that because they are extremely practical things, as well as decorative, and because I design my own fabrics I know that each design is unique to only me, but ultimately I enjoy making jewellery pieces, simply because of the tactile nature of the materials I use. With fabric you are working with quite a restrictive 2 dimensional medium, whereas when I make jewellery from materials such as polymer clay I can mould it to whatever form my mind tells me to, and I can feel each change and modification through my fingers.
What are your main inspirations for making a piece?
Gosh, anything! But, I was thinking the other day, and a lot of my ideas come about because of word play for some reason (which is probably down to watching too much Stephen Fry), so a business card holder in the shape of a wedge of Emmenthal, and called ‘The Big Cheese’, and a fabric design featuring vampire pigs (hampires), or zombees (undead bees) seem to make regular appearances in my shop.
Most of my ideas strike me when I am in bed. I’ll lay there and in that, the first quiet moment of the day, suddenly my mind is filled with the most random thoughts of new products. Often I have to get back up and sketch them so that I can clear my mind out to sleep. Because of this I am a terrible insomniac.
What are you currently making?
Today I am finishing off a new batch of DS cases and then going on to make some new jewellery designs that I have been thinking about for the last few days, then I have a new fabric design that I have been considering for a while, so a bit of a hodge-podge of everything, but I enjoy that, it keeps things interesting.
Can you make custom orders?
Yes! I completed one yesterday as it happens, I enjoy custom orders as it is nice to realise someone else’s idea. I am also going to offer personalised items in my store, the first of which should be hitting the virtual shelves this week.
Where can we buy your work? (craft fairs, websites, etc)
You can find me on my shiny new website, http://www.eskimimi.com, it is my new pride and joy!
PennyDog Patchwork (and illustration, recipes, other crafts...) 