Melissa is the lovely, creative lady behind Tiny Happy and she always fills her wonderful shop and blog with pretty things. I am always inspired by her writings and creations and so I was so excited that she agreed to be apart of Wayside Violet today!
Melissa and one of her lovely creations
Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Melissa and I come from a small city in the South Island of New Zealand. I recently spent a year and a half in Norway with my two children and partner Tom but now we’re back in our hometown, living in a very old house right in the middle of the city. We spend a lot of time tending our tiny but quite productive and public garden.
Q. When did you begin making such lovely things?
I’ve loved to make things for as long as I can remember. My four younger siblings and I spent a lot of time as children making our own gardens, picking Mum’s roses to brew up ‘perfume’, finding old treasures and displaying them outside like our own ‘shops’. When I was pregnant with my son I re-discovered textiles in a big way: knitting and sewing mainly. I loved making things for my children when they were babies, and I haven’t stopped since!
pretty needle cases
Q. Your shop is so pretty! What is your creative process like?
Thank you! I’m not sure how my creative process works- it’s a bit of a mystery to me. I have a drive to do my creative work every day and find inspiration all around me. When I’m busy with the children and other commitments ideas are forming in my mind and I try to keep them close. Then as soon as I have a minute (usually late at night) I get to work. Ideas are often triggered by a certain material, such as a piece of old fabric I find at a flea market, or something like that.
Q. What’s a normal day in your life like?
In the mornings during the week I reluctantly get up and make coffee. Then the next couple of hours are spent getting the children ready for school and walking them there. Then my morning is free for answering emails, packing orders, writing my blog and making things. At lunchtime I collect my daughter from kindergarten and then a few hours later my son. So in the afternoons the house is busy with the children and often their friends, playing. Sometimes I can get more work done then, especially if I set the kids up with art activities – they both love to draw. And then in the evening I go into my little studio and work for a few more hours.
pretty pouch and baby slippers
Q. What inspires you most of all?
So many different things inspire me- I love going to the library (especially if its by myself) and looking through design, art, and poetry books. The natural world, craft/design blogs, etsy and flickr are major inspirations too. Even though this is cheesy, it’s probably my children and their crazy imaginations and artistic confidence who inspire me above all.
The Giveaway: a lovely feather embroidered locket!
a beautiful vintage brass locket with a lovely feather embroidery
To enter simply visit Tiny Happy and leave a comment here about your favorite item. Melissa updates her shop nearly every Wednesday and most items sell out quickly, so you might want to visit her sold items as well.
The giveaway will be open until November 19th. Good luck!
Tags: etsy interview, tiny happy
abby on 
I love all of the little needlecases! So cute! And that locket is simply lovely! I would love to win it! Thanks for the giveaway!
how lovely! i love her items as well! i love her little zipper pouches! so cute! thank you for the opportunity! :)
Oh, I have long been a fan of Melissa! I absolutely love her lockets, I think they have become my favourite!
i love her needle cases and the sold morepork owl! it’s so cute.
her shop is absolutely lovely and that locket is gorgeous!
I love the olive green rose pin and the brown and red stripe bag! Definitely my favorites. If I were a little girl, I would love a lot of those dresses, too. I bet her daughter has a lot of fun!
how lovely !! what a delightful creator . I am off to check her shop !!
my favorite thing besides melissa herself are her lockets
my daughters love them so much as well
I love her work & she is so nice
hope to meet her in person one day here in Amsterdam
hello!
this pencil case is so adorable!
http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=21412353
I love the inspiration she takes from little growing things. All of her embroidery is so exquisite (so my favorite thing would be anything she has embroidered with).
It would be hard to narrow it down but I really love her needle cases. And that locket!
I’ve been reading Melissa’s blog for a while and I really like all of the items in her shop, especially the pouches and pins. My favourite one is the dark grey felted rose pin – would look so pretty on a coat.
Melissa is a doll and her creations are darling !
I loved reading more about her.
And wow, she is very pretty :)
Thank you for this featuring !
x x x
___mathyld___
Wow, the stuff is all so beautiful. I looked through the sold items and am in love with the woodland anemone baby shoes.
That locket is fantastic! I just took up embroidery so this is a great idea. I love the wool embroidered make up case in her shop!!
This is a wonderful giveaway! My favorite Tiny Happy item is my very own grey rose felt pin.
I love the carnations on mint coin purse. So many lovely things!
wow what a cool shop! i can see why she sells out!
i love this adorable felt piece!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34436900
mel_sunrise@yahoo.com
I love all of Melissa’s little embroidered linen thingies… the needle cases, the coin purses, the little pins… gorgeous!
I love all the flower embroidery. It makes whatever it’s embroidered on look like magic.
I’ve loved tiny happy for a long time. Her needle cases are adorable, but her lockets hold a special place in my design loving heart.
I’ve long been a fan of Melissa’s and her beautiful blog. I love all her work, but her embroidered work is just amazing.
I LOVE the bags she makes. I have been keeping my eye out for one to use as a purse.
I love everything she does. I find beauty in her creations! I love how simple and clean her designs are… I guess if I have to pick one thing I like off of her store website, I would have to say the cute baby shoes. I wish I had a LO that was still that little so I could show of her lovely work!
what a treasure to learn more about sweet melissa and to see a photo of her too! I loved reading more of her inspiration and process. she certainly inspires me with her nature inspired embroidery two of my favorite things paired into one! i love the new needle cases she is making as well as her brooches. this locket is *incredible* i would be completely floored if i was able to take this home!
I’ve always enjoyed just about everything Melissa makes, but my two favorites are her lockets and her pleated bags. I’d have a hard time choosing between the two if I had to pick!
I love following Melissa’s blog and seeing all of her lovely creations. She’s quite gifted!
Love all of her things! And that locket is just so so pretty!
I like any item with Melissa’s embroidering; be it the pins, purses, or lockets. They all are very tender and neat. Her baby shoes are a treasure, very creative use of the fabrics.
simply beautiful locket!
inspiring.
I love the “gypsy caravan embroidered baby shoes,” along with everything else! Melissa does absolutely beautiful work with beautiful materials! I love it! The locket is gorgeous too! :)
i love melissa’s blog and i am always so inspired by her embroidery as i am new to that type of needlework. i love her embroidered linen needle cases. thanks for the lovely interview and give-away.
nicola
SO hard to choose a favorite, but I think it would be this little feather embroidered brooch, I have been reading her blog for a long time, and love to see how she does such delicate embroidery.
Melissa’s work is so lovely. Those baby shoes make me swoon, make me want to have another baby, actually :) Thank you for the interview!
melissa does beautiful work, she is very inspiring to me !
I’ve been reading the Tiny Happy website for over a year now. And although my daughters are now all too old for them, I adore the Baby Shoes. Thanks so much. ♥
thanks for the interview. Melissa is an inspiration.
I’ve been using her handmade bag, still using and loving it more and more everyday. She makes beautiful things.
Well, I don’t know if it’s quite possible to choose a favorite item. I love pretty much every single thing Melissa creates. She is a huge inspiration and I love visiting her blog every day! I will say a recent item I really wished I had snatched up in time was this needle case:
http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=21118966
The needle cases are so so pretty. I love them!
I love the carnations on mint coin purse! Lovely shop! Thanks for sharing and giveaway!!!!
I love Melissa’s delicate embriodery, her brooches and needle books are my fav’s.
Checking tiny happy every morning is one of my delights. It’s tiny and happy! Quick burst of loveliness!
In a parallel universe I think I would probably be reborn as lace.. it is my love, so delicate and so beautiful! So its no surprise that i adore tinyhappy’s shop! and I can’t stop staring at the wool and lace pencil case, envious of the person who bought it!
Hi! I found my way here from the tiny happy blog. Very lovely interview! Melissa makes so many beautiful things, but I love her pine branch embroidered coin purse the most.
Melissa’s embroidery is so beautiful; it’s the stuff of earlier, simpler times when we all had craft. All of her pieces are so gorgeous, how could I name just one? :)
Melissa’s blog is an inspiration. Thank you for making her a bit more well-known!
There isn’t much left in her lovely shop at the moment but I’m a big fan of her blog. I had never seen those baby slippers before though. They’re so beautiful!
her lockets have always been my favorite (how lucky that it’s the prize, maybe I will get lucky this time!)
I love Melissa’s lockets, tiny simple, pretty things to make you smile.Glad to have found this blog too via Tiny Happy.x
I love everything made by Tiny Happy! Thank you for the interview and for hosting a giveaway. Currently in her shop my favorite item is the recycled tote.
I love all of the embroidery…and the baby shoes are divine (though I don’t have babies anymore).
I just love how many of Melissa’s items are directly inspired by nature – her beautiful pine bough bag, especially. Thanks for the giveaway!
melissa makes the most beautiful things- i couldn’t pick just one favourite thing! although i must say i do fancy her zipped pouches alot.
what a great giveaway, please enter me.
nathalie
x
I love Melissa’s blog and her creations. Picking just one is a difficult task! I love her pleated and tote bags, and the needle cases, but lately the little morepork owls have stolen my heart.
Thank you for this wonderful giveaway.
I love the small clothes that Melissa makes for her daughter!! Beautiful!!
Lovely interview, was nice to get to known a bit more about such a good crafter. All her work is great, amongst my favorites are the lockets and of course baby shoes (I have a version of own that I have made for my own baby -now 3 weeks old- and friends).
I love all Tiny Happy’s things, I have some of her baby shoes and I bought one of here ebriodered brooches. love the fabric she has used on the tote bag in the shop at the moment.
Hi there, love the needlecase aka ‘the housewives’ the lockets a very close second. tinyhappy is definitely in my top 3 blog hits daily. such a clever lass with beautiful use of muted colour tones.
Oooh, do count me in for the giveaway! This is beyond lovely!~
I love Melissa’s little embroidered brooches with the various flowers….emboridered felt pin ‘wildflowers’ was particularly lovely…sigh, I should have snatched it up!!!
I love all of Melissa’s lovely creations. If I have to choose one kind, I would say her baby shoes – usually with vintage embroidery – are my favorite. They look so comfy for little chubby feet!
Melissa makes the most beautiful things! Her eye for the simple details is amazing. I love her children’s dresses.
Melissa’s embroidery impresses me the most. She always manages to be so modest and yet so gorgeously beautiful with it.
How creative minded she is. My favorite item in her shop is embroidered felt pin- grey with wildflowers. While winter is closing soon I would really really really like to have this sweet brooch.
Thank you for featuring and kind giveaway to offer. Hope a little tiny piece of luck finds me:)
Ann in Istanbul, Turquie
How creative minded she is. My favorite item in her shop is embroidered felt pin- grey with wildflowers. While winter is coming soon I would really really really like to have this sweet brooch.
Thank you for featuring and kind giveaway to offer. Hope a little tiny piece of luck finds me:)
Ann in Istanbul, Turquie
I love the interview. I love the baby shoes and the needle wallets, and the feather locket as well.
Thanks for this and all the best.
doris
I love the way Melissa uses vintage and raw textiles. They make for work that is evocative of yesteryear but in a contemporary personal style. Her embroideries of things she’s observed in nature are lovingly transformed and executed. I love to see the work of the hand in stitch and her products are made to a consistently high standard. Perhaps its because they are a natural extension of a woman who lives life intentionally and is able to translate that via her writings and creations. My all time favourites have to be her vintage baby shoes made from repurposed embroidered cloth. She is more than clever, she is a fantastic craftswoman and inspiration.
I love Melissa’s blog and her work. She is so special.
so many pretty things.
My favourites are baby slippers and needle cases.
Thankyou about this!
Tinde, Finland
I adore any of Melissa’a handiwork,but the locket is so unique.Thank you for the opportunity to enter.
I love tinyhappy’s embroideries, especially I love the way she embroiders clover, this purse is one of my favourites:
http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=10949296
I love her baby shoes!!!!! And I love this locket!!!
I have been a fan of Melissa’s for ages. I just love her wonderful embroidery. My current fave item in her shop is the recycled tote…so beautiful.
I love all her baby shoes!
Thanks you both for the great interview and giveaway.
I love her stuff! One of my faves: the mizuna flowers – embroidered linen case. So lovely…delicate…natural.
:o)
I love just about everything Melissa creates. I have purchased many things from her over the past year and a half, and they have all been loved and treasured and passed down in the family. I bought a few pairs of her adorable baby shoes for my daughter, and when she out grew them, they went to my niece. My sister-in-law loved them so much, she not only bought some herself, but also saved them for her younger daughter to wear. Her purses are wonderful, and have such a wonderful simple elegance about them. Her work has inspired me and many around me to get back to what is more important, the simple things in life. Thank you Tiny Happy, and I would love to meet you one of these days.
I very much admire her work and check her blog every evening.
I too follow tiny happy on a regular basis! I love any of Melissa’s embroidery and especially on linens!
living life in every breath -
Audrey
i like her bags. i have one with a star constellation and a deer on it. it fits all the things i like to drag around with me everyday… dianna
I adore Melissa’s quiet simplicity in her blog and in her pieces. I think it’s lovely how appreciative she is of — and inspired by– old bits of fabric, lace and other textiles.
My favorite piece by Melissa is the stripy grey pleated bag– from August of this year.
Thanks for the opportunity! I would proudly wear on of her embroidered lockets!
The bags and ouches with lace are just lovely. Thanks for the chance.
I love the way melissa turns old things into something new and very beautiful. A constant source of inspiration!
oops! I hadn’t read that you want a comment on a favorite item! I always love her little zip pouches and her shoulder bags. The fabrics are always so lovely and they look so well made.
thanks!
Hi Jessica
Thanks for the post about Melissa – I love her blog and I have now found yours too and will keep checking in to see what you are posting about.
Jacqui
How cruel – how can anyone choose “one” Tiny Happy favourite! But, if you insist, it has to be any item in linen with an embroidered flower or leaf, such simplicity but such an eye for detail.
I love her Blog, it is so calming, such gentle posts, a real feeling for and sympathetic use of vintage textiles and her ability to catch/recreate the natural world is awe inspiring.
Loved your interview with her too!
I am a frequent visitor to the Tiny Happy blog. Love her embroidery and the photos of her inspiration.
i love tiny happy – i’m constantly peeking in to cheer me up during the day!
I love Melissa’s delicate embroidery so much! I’ve been waiting for the perfect pin to purchase, and I just selected the swan pin in her recent update. It’s perfect!
I love her embroidered flower pins. So handmade gorgeous!
I know this is pretty generic, but I love all of the little cases and pouches in this shop. They are all so lovely and I always feel like I need a new pouch for my knitting and crocheting utensils. Tinyhappy is a lovely shop! :)
The tiny baby shoes with roses are my favourite. I wish that my girls were still small enough to wear such delightful attire. When I look at those tiny shoes I think about my Rosie, Eleanor and Genevieve playing in our garden and collecting flowers, feathers and insects to scatter around the house some times in the most unusual places!