interview: eclu

I love huge bags with lots of space for all the things I must lug around with me, like notebooks, cameras, knitting needles and yarn, but I secretly love smaller clutches. They’re so lovely and perfect with pretty dresses don’t you think? And I may have found the sweetest clutches on Etsy by Eclu!

Q. Could you tell us a little about yourself?
I have been creating for as long as I can remember…. carefully putting together just the right outfit for my ever so important first grade, building Barbie’s dream house out of toilet paper and poster tubes, making paper purses, makeup and accessories, way before I could ever use them, and painting all my wonky furniture to coordinate in only the coolest way! Now I get to create everyday and I feel like the luckiest girl!

in love with that sweet bow clutch!

Q. How did you begin making clutches?
It was really important to me to stay home after my girls were born. I left work and was a full time mama. I was in heaven, I had more crafty little hands to have fun with! When they got a little older I started making bags because I couldn’t find what I was looking for out there……. backpacks for little ones that were fun and unique and wouldn’t knock them over, or a cool, girlie clutch that didn’t cost as much as my electric bill.

Q. What’s a normal day in your life like?
I get my best ideas in my sleep or some version of sleep and then of course I must get up…..usually way too early. I power up on french roast and sit in my studio at dawn and begin…and then they all wake up! After the craziness of getting children out of bed,(oh joy) washed, fed and school lunches made, I get back to the studio and try not to get distracted and begin again. I love what I do…..

Q. What inspires you most of all?
I am inspired by everything, I am always trying to imagine how I can transform something I see into a design. The dogs ears, they are so long and drapey, they look like velvet, the neighbors barn, the texture and grain of the wood remind me of raw silk. Patterns and textures in nature always lead me in the right direction.