Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx with Yasmine Surovec of A Print A Day

Yasmine Surovec runs the blog A Print A Day, which is one of my favorite blogs, and she just opened her own Shoppe recently as well. I just love Yasmine’s free weekly downloads that she shares on her blog and often print them out for myself, like this Weekly Menu Planner.

In the Shoppe, you will find digital kits and other digital goodies you can use for your web and print craftiness. I just purchased Yasmine’s collaberation kit with Samantha Hahn and I have my eye on the Wildflower and Wood Kit to make some pretty collage art for my office.

Yasmine is also going to be submitting some work for Free Your Soul: the free art project in the upcoming months. In the meantime, I interviewed her for Wednesday Indie Artist Fixx.

1. What’s the name of your business, what do create and sell and how did you get your start?

I run A Print A DayBlog & the A Print A Day Shoppe, which is a digital, printable and prints shop. I never really thought of having an actual shop prior to the start of this one. I started my blog as a creative exercise more than anything else. And I wanted to share my work as I went along and realized that I actually had a market for my digital work as people were always inquiring if I sold the things I designed.

I also work as an accessories and print & pattern designer in the Bay Area.

2. What’s better….all the money you could want or all the free time you need?

Free time. My dream is to own several acres in the middle of nowhere and own a second hand Airstream trailer. With all that free time, I’d love to learn how to live off the land, grow my own food, draw and whatnot–I am a girl with simple needs and wants. Money always comes when you are doing something you love and are very passionate about.

3. What are your inspirations in your art and in life?

Some of my inspirations are my mom & dad, as my mom is an animator and interior designer, and my dad is an architect. They taught me the basics of what I know and how to discipline myself. I also draw inspiration from my husband, who is a sculptor, and is very passionate about art and everyday form. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by very creative and passionate people. I’ve also had the opportunity to live in a lot of places such as the Philippines, Nigeria, Malaysia, the Netherlands and several states here in the US. Traveling, experiencing different cultures and meeting so many people has taught me so much about life.

4. What three things can’t you live without?

•My external hard drive. My entire career is neatly organized in little folders in that little black box.
•Paper: scrap, new, old, any surface I can draw or doodle on.
•Laptop: this goes with me everywhere

I’d also say husband, family and pets, but I don’t know if they count as “things” 🙂

5. What blogs and mags do you read and what shops do you shop at?

I read a lot of blogs though more than 75% of them are political, local news, literature and comics blogs. Design blogs-wise, I have Maquette, Creature Comforts, Decor8, Whipup, Craftzine, Rafe’s Can I Tell You, Etsy Storque, I love Typography and so on–I have way too many blogs in my reader.Magazine-wise I read Craft, Readymade, Giant Robot, Wizard, Amelia’s Magazine, Cutie (Japanese), Heavy Metal and a lot of little obscure local ‘zines.

I shop at flea markets, antique fairs, craft and thrift stores 75% of the time. 100% of all my kitchen utensils, pots, pans, shelves, couches, lighting, etc are vintage or handmade.

6. What does indie mean to you? You can give a literal definition, choose to be a little esoteric or a combination of both. 😉

Indie to me is small-scale, sometimes local, and human. It is an establishment that actually equally cares not only about its products, about itself, but also about those it interacts with–its customers and its environment.

7. What are you reading, watching and listening to?

I’m listening to Mazzy Star, Sergio Mendes, NIN, Tupac, MIA, Hawaiian ukelele, the Smiths and a number of random ones in my player.

I watch No Reservations, Bizarre Foods, Carnivale and Jericho (on DVD) and PBS’ Frontline.
I’m reading Watchmen, Best American Comics 2008 and All That the Rain Promises and More (a wonderful book about mushrooms).