I got to interview Irina Ferrer (Davydova), elvesworld on Ravelry.
You as a designer questions:
What is your design process?
I start with the idea for a personality. This might be a character from a book, or something inspired by a particular mood. We live in such a remarkable time, where we are literally overwhelmed with a constant flow of abundant information, including that of the visual kind! Somewhere within this current, an idea is born, which I then try to convey to paper. I start to envision how this image could come to life, which stitch patterns and techniques would be suited best to bring it to life. At the same time, I begin looking for appropriate yarn. And now, we’ve arrived at the part that’s the most exciting for me: the process of implementation. It’s a wholesome feeling to be aware of oneself as creator of something, and watch that something gradually come to life. And at last, the final step: writing and editing the pattern instructions in an electronic format, and taking photographs.
What influences your style?
That, I think, would be my perception of the world. I very much love Light in all its appearances. As a manifestation of this love, my favorite interior design color is White. While it might seem a little paradoxical, for toys I prefer bright colors, as the opponent of White. Brightly colored toys are my smile to the world, my little gift to the universe.
What about designing and producing patterns are you most adept at, what parts are you most fond of, and what parts are challenging? (Pattern Grading, the last week of editing, coming up with a name for a project, self promotion?)
This is a good question. As a production engineer in the garment industry, planning and developing strategies are practically ingrained elements for me. When I think about the outer appearance of a new design, at the same time, I also think about the process of its realization in practice. A very important factor for me is to make the process of recreating my item as easy as possible for the future buyer of my pattern. When I create a new design and pattern, I always do so with the person in mind who will later use it.
Editing is always that “spoonful of tar in the barrel of honey” for me – it’s not difficult, but it’s routine, and I have to nudge myself to sit down and do it. Usually, every pattern undergoes several editing runs to weed out any errors that might have inadvertently found their way in.
Self-promotion is my absolutely weakest point, usually because I don’t have enough time and don’t know how to do it. Here’s where I still have to learn a lot!
What do you find most important in photography?
In photography, the most important aspect for me is the right mood. It doesn’t always work out the right way right away. Sometimes, a lack of technical knowledge plays a part, too – I know what look I want to achieve, but not how to get there, so it might take a few days to take the right photo. In Sweden, we are not exactly spoiled with an abundance of natural light, so I have to catch that rare moment when the sun comes out, or work with artificial illumination. Also, the photos are supposed to fully reveal the design, to avoid any misunderstandings about what project can be made following the pattern instructions.
You as a Giftalong designer:
What have you learned from the promotion?
I had the opportunity to understand what others perceive as a successful design, and this has given me useful ideas about which directions to take in my creative work.
You as someone who likes to make things questions:
What is your usual process on a fiber project, for instance, do you start with a yarn, a cute pattern, a need you’ve noticed, something exciting you saw in a movie you want to copy, or a technique you want to learn – then what do you do next and then what?
I’m a very emotional person, and it’s very easy to “crank me up” into creating something new. Sometimes, great ideas just buzz around in my head, provoked by beautiful yarn, a picture, or a neatly dressed child I see in the street. If I can manage to catch the idea, I start sketching or jot down a rough schematic, but only a minority of these initial ideas makes it into the final stage of becoming an actual pattern. I suffer from a constant lack of time for all my ideas. On many of them, I work at the same time, for instances, right now, I’ve five new designs in the works at once. Whether and when all of them ever will be finally realized and edited, nobody knows. For that reason, I sometimes say to my ideas: “Oh stop it, I just need a breather!”
Does anything intimidate you in knitting or crochet?
I’m a long way away from the thought that I can and know everything, but new things don’t stop me, they rather draw me in. I do love to learn new techniques, this widens the possibilities for new designs and bears new ideas. Sometimes, I think whether there could be a thing I would never be able to make. Most likely, such a thing exists, but it certainly has nothing to do with knitting. (These days, my car wants me to broaden my garage construction horizon because it’s too big for the existing space!) Knitting brings me the joy of creation – this is my way of relaxing and refueling on happiness.
When you want to learn something, do you look it up in a book, on U-tube, or seek a real person to teach you?
Lately, youTube has developed into a highly useful tool for making yourself familiar with new technologies, and often, various publications on the internet are very helpful, too.
Any repetitive motion disorders due to knitting or crochet? How do you deal with them?
No, I don’t have any health issues resulting from knitting, and frankly, it never even crossed my mind that there could be such a thing as knitting-related health problems!
What makes you buy a pattern (lovely photo, the story of the project, it looks do-able, it looks slightly challenging…)
It’s not often that I myself buy a pattern, and only when the riddle how it’s made can’t be solved by just looking at a photo of the item. In that case, buying the pattern is a wonderful opportunity to get a fresh approach on things and to learn new knitting techniques.