Get Hip to it: Run Amok

One of the most excellent fringe benefits of helping plan the No Coast Craft-o-rama each year is meeting all the talented and so-friendly local crafty types. I am always completely blown away by how welcoming and open everyone is, and it really makes all the work of planning big events worth it.

Enter Oona, the talent behind Run Amok. Not only is she super-talented, but she cracks me up. She says "aces!" She doesn't drive. Her mom is one of the sweetest moms I've ever met. She's just one of those people who gives me warm fuzzies every time I see her, and I want to see her become rich and famous beyond her wildest dreams. So, I asked her to write a tell-all autobiography and I agreed to publish it on my blog. I was dying to know what her craft space looked like. What books does she read? What inspires her?


Oona says: I keep my knitting needles (and typewriter ribbon tin collection) in the diningroom.


Oona says: My favorite fabrics.


Oona says: I love my green chair.


Oona says: A view from the door with piles of things that need finishing.


Oona says: I love my (moms) Bernina. A lot.

What's inspiring you now?
A random collection of things I guess: photos of fair isle knitting, 1950s sewn vinyl toys, Japanese craft books, the Organized Collections pool on flickr.


Oona says: Pincushions to be finished, and the never ending sock. This is only the first sock, and its taken 5 weeks to get to the heel, I can't believe it at this point.


Oona says: Cottons on the left, vintage kimono fabrics on the right.

What books are on your nightstand?

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and the Emperor and the Wolf (bio of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune) . I think each one is about a million pages, and that’s why they’re both constantly on my nightstand, but both are well worth it.


Oona says: Sorted buttons for making bracelets.

What are your favorite places to shop?

Right now it’s mostly Blue Moon Fiber Arts for yarn, United Noodle for unusual snacks from Japan, and thrift stores for everything else.


Oona says: Some of the (mostly handmade) doll collection I have, mostly bought or traded for on etsy.

What are your plans for Spring?

I’m starting to get a little stir crazy, so basically anything that involves being outdoors would suit me just fine. I’d love to be walking home from work, or sitting in my backyard most of all. Also, I need to spray paint a massive light fixture so I can place it in a thoroughly inappropriately small room, so that’s pretty much tops on my to-do at this point.


Oona says: Some of the dolls I've made.

What websites and blogs do you visit?

F*** You, Penguin is the funniest website ever. Ever!

Fine little day is lovely.

The Selby takes amazing photographs.

Ravelry is the knitting equivalent of crack and should be illegal. I’d like to visit other things on the internet, but I can’t seem to stop looking at the ravelry.

Thanks for being so totally "aces" Oona! And thanks for sharing your crafty space. It looks like you've got quite the set up!