Nobby Organics Interview and Giveaway

This week we take a closer look at Nobby Organics with owner and artist Daria.

Tell us about you!
My name is Daria. I live with my husband and five children in a small town in Westchester County, NY. My days are filled with part-time teaching Russian language at a parochial school, homeschooling, sewing, designing, reading, traveling, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, listening to my children play the piano, and enjoying the changing seasons in our backyard. I was born in Moscow, Russia and moved to the U.S. with my husband 18 years ago. Born into an artistic family, I learned to love and cherish the creative process from a very young age. My grandmother taught me how to sew and crochet when I was little, so I started making dolls and toys for myself and my brother and, later, for my own children, and I literally couldn’t stop. Our house is filled with fabrics, yarns, pieces of wood, and many other materials which inspire various family projects.

Tell us about your business!
I have been sewing all my life, but as a business, I began working very recently,

only about a year ago. After combating two of my children’s severe eczema, and, in the process, learning a great deal about the toxicity of many conventionally-made products, I became committed to a healthier life style - eating local organic food, using organic fibers and herbs to minimize chemicals people are exposed to from their birth. I shared my newly-gained knowledge through the various hand-made gifts I made my friends and family. Then I found out about Etsy which gave me the opportunity to develop the hobby I love into a business. Almost everything I create, with some exceptions, is made from 100% organic cotton, wool, and silk, but at the same time doesn’t renounce style and comfort. I wanted a company name which would sound unusual and at the same time convey the elegance, sophistication, and purity of my products. The word nobby means exactly that - stylish and smart.

What do you make?
I specialize in children’s products, creating millet pillows, sleeping sacks, wool comforters, Waldorf dolls, and a number of other things, all of which I make with my own children in mind, using materials mostly produced from natural fibers such as organic cotton, organic merino wool, and organic silk.  Everything I sell I have used with my own children and have seen it work!

Where do you find inspiration?
My inspiration comes from my children, whom I watch as they play, laugh, create, and grow, my family, nature, or it could just be a piece of fabric... I put a lot of love and energy into my work and hope that this will be felt by those families who welcome it into their homes.

What’s the favorite thing you have ever made?
I think dolls have been my favorite. Seeing how abstract pieces of wool and cotton gradually shape themselves into a doll with its own peculiar physical characteristics and personality traits never fails to awe and excite me! 

How long have you been on Etsy and how has it been for you so far?
I joined Etsy a little less than a year ago, and it is still slow going. I sell products for children, which is a very competitive field, but I really enjoy the process and strive to create products of the highest quality, and I’m pretty sure the sales will come. It just takes time for people to get to know me and my work.

What do you hope to gain or contribute to the Natural Kids group?
I feel really happy to be a part of the NK team with its wonderful artisans and crafters who share their knowledge and time and support each other at every step. And for my part, I hope to contribute my enthusiasm to the team.

What thoughts do you have for parents on the importance of natural toys for creative play?
Natural materials like silk, wool, and wood provide a very different experience for your child’s little hands compared to the plastic of manufactured toys. Besides being comfortable and warm to the touch, natural materials allow your child to explore lots of textures which are totally unlike the relatively uniform and unnaturally-cool feel of plastic. Moreover, being open-ended and easy to use in a variety of ways, natural toys help develop a child’s imagination, encouraging creativity and hours and hours of play.

Find Nobby Organics here:
www.NobbyOrganics.etsy.com
www.NobbyOrganics.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nobby-Organics-Eco-Products-for-Children/136736249677153

Today Daria is giving away a set of Felt Spring Birds.

Here's how to enter;
Visit Nobby Organics' Etsy Shop and leave us a comment letting us know what your favorite item in her shop is.

For additional entries;
(leave a separate comment for each entry, if you don't, they count as one)
Tweet this (include @NK_Store in your tweet)
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Follow the NaturalKids blog.
Contest is for US residents only, thank you for your understanding.

We will choose a winner randomly on August 25, 2011. (Please, make sure we have a way to contact you!)