Member Interview

 

Hi there! Please tell us about yourself.

I’m Dawn, of LaTouchables, from the sunny Rhine Valley in Southern Germany. I’ve been living in Germany for twenty years now, but my roots are basically American midwest with some northern and southern thrown in. 

A summer storm is approaching our town.

Five minutes away by bike, I'm in the country.

I thought long before I chose the name, ‘LaTouchables’. I wanted something with a foreign yet familiar sound. It’s also a play on words. Most importantly, it’s easy to remember, easy to say, and conveys a hand-made sensibility. 

My beloved Pfaff machine

My niece, who models for me, she's the face of LaTouchables.

My studio

How did you learn about Etsy Project Embrace?

A lot of the friends I’d been making on Etsy were drawn into Etsy Project Embrace around the time of it’s development. I was also interested—first of all because cancer is not a foreign word to me—many of my friends and family members have dealt with it. I like the idea of ‘empowerment through involvement’—community involvement ends isolation. And this kind of medieval mind-set that still sneaks up on us in the 21st century (barricade the door, worry your beads)—well, that has to be discarded like a ball and chain.

What are your favorite creations in your shop?
I fall in love with everything at the time of making, but I could say, I like The Pharoah necklace, The Desert Scorpion bracelet, Northern Shores necklace, Plum Tart bracelet—stop me! 

The Pharoah

The Desert Scorpion

Northern Shores

Plum Tart

Oh, Japanese Intrigue and The Shibori cuff.

Japanese Intrigue

Shibori

What is your favorite possession, and why do you cherish it?

Difficult—I’d say my memory—and that comes from the way I grew up learning to remember, as opposed to mindlessly watching television (our tv was often on the blink or just never on), so I was encouraged to read, to remember poems, to learn music by heart, and to entertain myself.

A defining moment in my life was living in Morocco.

What do you collect?

I try not to collect anything. I do have a most excellent collection of 2nd-rate novels—because the good ones I pass on…

Some good books I held onto :-D

Oh—I collect slips of paper with hand-written messages from my loved ones—help!

Do you have a blog?
Yes: http://latouchablesbagsandthings.blogspot.com

Where would you like to be and what do you hope to be doing ten years from now?

On earth, healthy, hopeful, active, the usual culprits…

My big passion is walking.