Getting to Know Tupper's Perch

Cozy Corner Crochets had the opportunity to interview the owner of Tupper's Perch. I think you will enjoy the responses. Take time to check out the links.

Cozy Corner Crochets: What are the names and addresses of your Pages, Blogs, and/or Shops

Tupper's Perch: I named the shop after our house and home:

Tupper's Perch

"A safe place to come home to."

Tupper's Perch on Etsy
Tupper's Perch on Facebook
Pollination Station
Pollination Station on Facebook

CCC: What is your primary craft?

TP: There isn't much I DON'T do. I always answer when asked---I don't so stained glass though I tried it one time. It didn't stick. My sewing skills are way above average though I don't do as much as I used to do. I was a fashion design major. These days it's needle arts---felting and knitting and sewing. I dabble in lamp work glass and am heavy into pottery and beading this year. I also make soaps and lotions.

Examples of Needle Art and nature-inspired Pottery from Tupper's Perch

CCC: What materials do you work with?

TP: I love fibers, mostly natural animal based fibers like alpaca and nice wools. Clay has been a crafting staple this year. I like to mix my own ceramic beads with glass beads and sterling though I've added lots of copper and bronze recently. Occasionally I will make lamp work beads using glass I find at the beach or from a special bottle someone gives me. I made jewelry for a friend's family using a wine bottle from his 40th birthday party.

CCC: How did you get started and where do you see yourself headed?

TP: As far back as I can remember, I kept my hands busy making things. My earliest memory of creativity---I think I was about 4---was sitting at my mother's sewing machine and stitching fabric. She wouldn't let me use the peddle but I could spin the fly wheel with my hand to make the needle go up and down. My grandmother taught me to knit and crochet before I was 8. Though I've sold my crafts in different venues over the years, it wasn't until just over a year ago that I opened my Etsy shop. I'm pleased with the results but my head spins with what I want to create. My hands are not happy unless they are creating. I have to reign myself in to stay even with shop sales. When I look into the future, I'd like to think I'd be in the position to have a small income hubby and I can use for playtime.

CCC: Where do you get your ideas?

TP: Sometimes I wish I WOULDN'T get any more ideas! They are everywhere. I love form and function. I want it to be functional and reflect nature. If it is an animal, leaf, acorn, tree or branch, it's going to catch my eye.

Birds of prey---a favorite for 12 years

CCC: What fuels your passion?

TP: NATURE

CCC: How much time each day do you spend on your craft?

TP: It's very hard to answer that one. I have little piles everywhere. When I'm supposed to be cooking dinner or cleaning I get distracted by the bag of clay on the kitchen table. I knit in the car while hubby is driving. I bead on the couch. My hands are always busy.

CCC: What would you tell someone just starting out?

TP: If it makes you happy and you can forget yourself while doing it, then it's worth your effort.

CCC: What gets in the way of you pursuing your dream?

TP: Reality. The house needs to be cleaned. There are critters which need to be fed. Bills to be paid. My biggest obstacle, however, is myself. I want to be creative. I DON'T want to deal with paperwork and management. I tend to be an introvert so it's often hard for me to get "out there" to promote myself.

CCC: Who is someone you would like to have dinner with?

TP: Hubby! His schedule rarely allows us to sit and have a normal meal.

CCC: What do you do to relax and have fun?

TP: Nature explorations and trying out new craft classes.

CCC: Do you have a favorite crafter that inspires you?

TP: Crafters all have their unique abilities. I take away bits and pieces from all of them. I work on such a wide variety of crafts, I am inspired by nearly anything hand made. My parents, however, have awesome talents. If Dad wants to build a wooden boat in the basement---nothing is going to stop him---and it's going to be a perfect, beautiful masterpiece. He has amazing woodworking skills. Mom is creative in her own way. Sewing, flower arranging, even a wrapped gift showcases her talents. I also have a brother with enviable carpentry skills and a sister who takes after my mom. I inherited good creative genes.

Tagging Monarch Butterflies

CCC: What did you do “in your other life”?

TP: I was a military wife for over 20 years though I was never involved as much with the military life as I was with our local communities, nature organizations and, of course, my crafts. For the most part, my crafting has been a hobby job in one form or another during my married life.

CCC: Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself?

TP: We keep honeybees in our backyard. Their wax and honey go into my lotions and soap. We are heavily involved in our local wildlife rehabilitation community and started our own environmental non-profit three years ago. My alter ego lectures about the importance of environmental stewardship. Introvert? Yes I did say that and I am at heart. But I am passionate about wildlife and the environment and both need my voice. I can sell the environment but I have a hard time selling myself.

The back of my business card tells our story.

"Tupper, in 1994, was the first little wild bird we rehabilitated. After her successful release she often returned to our backyard to serenade us from a favored branch. We named it "Tupper's Perch".

Today, certified as a National Wildlife Backyard Habitat and covered by both State and Federal permits, our home has become a haven for countless animals in need of care. Summers are filled nursing orphaned wildlife babies and we are a loving haven for many special needs and hard to place animals."

One of Pollination Station's Wildlife Ambassadors, Joey, a Virginia Opossum