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www.1001pallets.com/2015/06/pallet-crafter-interview-3-jo...
We continue our series of interview, this time with Joan Stricker from the blog Scavenger Chic, she is also one of our best contributors on 1001Pallets and she's making very original creations out of repurposed wooden pallets. If you think you deserve to be featured in the next interview, please, drop us an email.
Tell us a little more about you? Who you are? Where are you from?
My name is Joan Stricker and I live in Maryland. Happily married to my husband of 31 years. I'm the mother of three boys, 2 of whom are married and the third in high school. Twice a week you can find me blogging at Scavenger Chic with any kind of project that happens to catch my eye.
Why do you craft?
I don't remember a time when I didn't craft. I watched my mom as a kid do her projects, sewing, quilting, gardening... she could do it all. My dad started his own business, but he loved woodworking. When he wanted a ping pong table, he built one, when he wanted a chair to match one he had bought, he built one. With this influence, it just seemed like the thing to do, and I get so much pleasure out of it. I guess it's in my blood!!
When I first began to make my own home, my mom and I went to auctions and thrift stores and refinished and reupholstered to fill my home with furniture at a fraction of the price you could buy new furniture. If anyone had thought about using pallets then, I'm sure my home would be filled with pallet furniture. I wish I had known then that chippy painted furniture was going to come into style, it would have saved me a lot of paint stripping.
How did you learn?
Like I said, my parents were both huge do it yourselfers. I remember as a teenager, if I needed to saw a piece of wood, I would just go downstairs and fire up the table saw. I can proudly say, I still have all my fingers. Aside from that, I also minored in art in college. Working with a lot of mediums led me to believe there was nothing I couldn't try. One of my classes even used the arc welder, though I haven't used it since, that would be fantastic to combine iron with pallets...
Since when are you working with pallets?
I've been working with pallets since 2012, when I finished my first pallet wall. I haven't shared that one with 1001 pallets yet, you'll just have to wait. To date, I've probably used over 100 pallets that were destined for the trash.
What are your can’t-live-without essentials?
In terms of electric tools, I absolutely have to have a drill, palm sander and circular saw. But don't try to take away my miter saw. nail gun or jigsaw or someone might get hurt.
How would you describe your style? Are there any crafters/artists/designers that you particularly look up to?
I would have to describe my style as rustic or shabby chic. That is why pallets are perfect for me, they already have built in character. If you need perfect wood, then pallets are not for you. I love other crafters that are into upcycling and recycling, such as Donna at Funky Junk Interiors or Becky at Beyond the Picket Fence and Angie at Knick of Time. I'm sure there are hundreds more, but these ladies are always using something old, that's rusty and crusty and making it into something new and unique.
How is your workspace, how do you make it inspiring?
I have a great workshop in the corner of my basement which I don't mind getting dirty. In January I gave my workshop a makeover, cleaning, organizing, and painting. You can see a bit of it here. It doesn't have a window though, so if I'm going to be painting or need extra light, I'll bring the project up into the kitchen. What is nice about having a dedicated work space is that I can usually shut the door to prevent the rest of the house from gathering a layer of dust.
What sorts of things are inspiring you right now? Where do you look for inspiration?
Right now I've been on a "vintage" sign kick. Pallet wood is the perfect backdrop to get that vintage feel without using actual old wood. I just completed a telephone sign painted on pallet wood last week.
While Pinterest is a great place to be inspired, I'll usually be inspired by an object...what can I make out of this? That was the case with the pallet wood and bedsprings light...it all started with the bedsprings. Or I'll be inspired by a specific need, such as when my daughter-in-law asked me to make centerpieces for her wedding or the rolling storage bin...I had a whole lot of bits and pieces and nowhere to put them.
We live in such a mass-produced, buy-it-now society. Why should people continue to make things by hand?
Besides being able to say, I built that. There are so many reasons to be a do it yourself-er. It can save a ton of money, especially if you're using free pallet wood. The pallet wood bench, free, the valentine's heart, free, the sign post, free. Things made by hand can also be personalized and they are usually made better than their store bought counterparts.
What is your favorite medium to work in?
Pallet wood has got to be my favorite but I love finding old rusty iron pieces and recreating them into something useful.
What are your tips for people who'd like to start crafting?
Start small and get comfortable with one tool at a time. Don't be scared of tools, they are there to make your life easier. Start with what you feel comfortable with. If you enjoy painting, pick up a paintbrush, if you enjoy sewing start there...but incorporate something new into your project that's a stretch.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Other than chocolate, can I say my nail gun. The reason that it is my guilty pleasure is that it is not really mine, I gave it to my husband for his birthday one year. Nobody gets more pleasure out of using it than me.
What is your favorite thing to do (other than crafting)?
I love a nice hike in the woods, I love genealogy, gardening, travel and spending time with my family.
What do you recommend that most people do in terms of cleaning pallets and prepping them to become something else?
I always tear my pallets apart so I have a pile of pallet wood waiting for my next project. I've found the easiest way to do this, for me anyway, is to take a circular saw down alongside both side rails on both sides of the pallet. Immediately you've reduced the number of nails by two thirds. If the pallet comes apart easily, then I'll just take a crowbar and hammer to it. If it puts up a good fight, like most pallets, then the reciprocating saw comes out to chop off the remaining nails.
To finish, we've seen that you have an active blog. Since how many times are you blogging? Is that a full time job or just a hobby to share your personal creations?
I do have an active blog with only about a quarter of my projects using pallet wood or other reclaimed wood. I wouldn't mind my blog becoming a full time job but since it doesn't produce much income, we'll just call it a hobby right now. I love to inspire other people with easy to follow tutorials, because if I can do it, I'm sure you can too.
I'm helping to teach in an English Language program at a local charity, and we do a craft project weekly. It helps our students (local women) practice their English skills while doing something creative. We've done quite a few mosaic projects using pictures and words cut from magazines.
This one is a greeting card that seems to represent my philosophy of life :) I think I'll start making more home-made greeting cards instead of spending $$$ on preprinted cards that get thrown out a few days after the event!
365:2018
62/2018
Here is my humble little table!
Precocious Paper attended the craft fair in Riverton, Wyoming, November 20th - 21st at the Holiday Inn. It was a lot of fun!
made for my etsy shop.. there are a couple in there with slight variations of the same design. See my profile for the linky dink if you're interested ;)
peace out
The International Folk Art Market (IFAM). IFAM brings together artist from around the world each July to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Canon 5D4
Canon EF135mmf2L
Bits n pieces. Gems. Stick on bits. Paper. Glue. Masks - not (Covid 19) to paint - or just stay eerie & white?
WEEK 48.2 – Flashback 2016: Hernando Walmart (II)
Rather close to the tire and lube express is the store’s fabrics and crafts department. Prior to the Project Impact remodel, automotive took up a good number of these aisles; following it, though, it was split between the far wall (seen on the left edge in this pic) and some aisles next to sporting goods, which are behind me from this point of view. I don’t remember if fabrics and crafts’ original home was smaller or larger than this.
(c) 2016 Retail Retell
These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)
Location: Berlin - 932km from home.
A true British vanity plate! T is an unissued code, sometimes used as a reserve code. Which makes this a proper "out-of-system" plate that is looking like a "within-system" plate.
Of course, the creative spacing of this plate is used to spell "Trophy R", whatever that is.
I really like the off-roady appearance of this vehicle.
My little treasures, all my craft books. Since I was a child I'm obssessed with them. I just love reading them, well actually looking at the pics.
I've been waiting for so long, but this week finally I've been able to go further into my experimentations with hollow millefiori canes and structures building.
My mould tutorial in last month's Popular Crafts Magazine. This issue I have another mould tutorial and I wrote a book review :)
More stash busting. I don't have a huge yarn stash, but it is bigger than I would like it to be. My goal lately has been to choose projects based on the yarn I already have. So far, it has been working out great (and saving me money too!).
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This is the first fall in my new home! I decided to decorate the front door with a handmade wreath. All my neighbors must know I love crafting and autumn :P