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Thea Colman is a prolific designer. She has a beautiful aesthetic and the construction methods she chooses create wearable garments.
The Blue Sky Alpacas team recently met Thea in person at TNNA. It was a great time and we did a fun interview to boot.
BSA: What is your geographical story?
Thea: I’m from Princeton New Jersey, and went to school at a small liberal arts college in upstate New York. Right after college, I had the urge to be somewhere totally different and moved out to San Francisco. I lived in the Inner Mission, the Castro, and Haight Ashbury, which were hilarious and crazy and exactly opposite from the J. Crew catalog life I had known. I loved San Francisco and stayed there for ten years, but…the East Coast beckoned, and since I missed both the seasons and my family, it seems I’m staying in the Boston area for the foreseeable future.
BSA: Cake or pie? Which kind and why?
Thea: Both. Because nobody should have to choose.
BSA: What is your favorite color? What color is your toothbrush? If they are not the same, why not? If they are the same, how did that come about? Was it a conscious decision?
Thea: Purple and purple. They’re the same because I left my green one at TNNA and this was the next one in the pack!
BSA: Is there one person/company with whom you have previously worked that you would love the chance to work with again?
Thea: I worked in advertising for an agency called Goodby Silverstein and Partners in San Francisco for a number of years. It was one of those funky little companies, in a brick warehouse where everyone had a great time. My clients were a cruise line, a beer company, and Got Milk. I worked on print and TV advertising, and our team won awards. Best Job Ever.
BSA: What do you enjoy doing during your downtime?
Thea: With my girls and husband, I love getting in the car and going to a new beach or town we haven’t been to before – as long as it includes food and something outside. We can kill a whole day and sometimes go into the night. (I get to knit in the car). Or, with my friends I love to hit the rummage sales, second hand shops, or the garage sale circuit on a Saturday AM. This always involves coffee.
BSA: What drives you? What question do you find yourself trying to answer?
Thea: What’s next? This applies to life and work and dinner and everything. I have to remember to stop and enjoy the moment!
BSA: Do you have anything you would like to ask me?
Thea: What’s your story? What did you do before Blue Sky? Were you already in Minnesota? And did you make that adorable little barrette you were wearing at TNNA?
Katie: Before Blue Sky I worked at my LYS and went to school for Textile Design and Development. Both the yarn shop and move to Blue Sky Alpacas have been perfectly suited to me and my passion. I lived in Sheboygan, Wisconsin and worked in Milwaukee. The move to Minnesota has been an exciting new chapter for me and happened really quickly. Sometimes, in the car I have to remind myself, “This is Minnesota, you live here.” I didn’t make my barrette, but I did get it at Darn Knit Anyway, a shop I had to check out in my new home state.
BSA: What’s next for you?
Thea: I have no idea! I do have lots of plans, but I am not sure which one is going to happen. For the next year or so, though, it’s going to be more of the same – my girls, some designs, my knitting life with travels and some amazing friends, a separate life outside of knitting, and my family. All of which is pretty awesome, so I don’t think I want to change anything just yet.
Thank you Thea for an interesting and fun interview!
And now, for the giveaway information!
Thea has released another design in Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton.
This design, Planter’s Punch, is featured on Thea’s blog right now.
Click on over for your chance to win some Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Cotton and the Planter’s Punch pattern for your very own.
Good Luck!
Just keep knitting, knitting, knitting…
Katie