Buy Handmade: Anise Mouette

Anise Mouette is a super-fun place to shop for retro-inspired handmade goodies. Check these out:

Felt Plush Toys!

How cute are these scarves with little animal friends?!

I love these birdies! (Anise sent me a tote bag with this design.
Love it!! Nicely made, and great for a reusable grocery bag!)

Itty bitty finger puppets that are SO sweet!
(I got one for someone on my Christmas list! It is well made and totally adorable.)

Tell a bit about yourself:
My name is Anise and I live in Altadena, California,
with my 22 month old son Cyan and husband Biff.  
My Etsy shop is anisemouette.etsy.com.  
The name makes up my first and middle names
which are French, though I’m not French,
at least not entirely.  
I’m a native Angeleno, though I did live
with my parents in Paris for a brief time in the
early seventies when I was just a baby.

How did you get started creating your products?
When I was a child I loved to draw and over
the years I've taken more art classes than
I can count. 
In college I enrolled as an art major, but
I eventually majored in English literature 
and then went on to pursue a master's in
creative writing. 
Following, I taught collegiate English for
seven years, but with the birth of my son,
I decided to take a break from the working
world and spend more time at home. 
In doing so, I was inspired to pick up the
pencil once again. 
Memories of my childhood and the playful
nature of my son became the focus of my
work and then, 
after stumbling upon Etsy and the Handmade
Movement, 
I was immediately inspired to take my
designs to the next level 
and create Anise Mouette - a line of
retro-inspired handmade wares 
that include toddler & adult tees,
canvas totes, “kitsch”en magnets, utility aprons, 
and now felt goods.

What inspires you? 
As mentioned, both my son and memories
of my childhood inspire me the most, 
although I am always up for a challenge
and often try my hand at craft challenges 
such as those held on Craftster every month
which allow me the opportunity to 
work with new ideas and mediums on a
regular basis.

What are some of your favorite items
in your shop? 
Recently, I've started working with felt,
so my newest items are my current favorites.
My "record player" tee and tote come in
at a close second while my customer base
seems to love 
my "family fun" items most.

One thing I love hearing about is the
ways that businesses share their
profits with others.  
Here's what Anise does:
Since I've taken a break from teaching,
I'm using a portion of all my sales 
to purchase baby formula for infants in need
so as to keep contributing to my community. 
Once a month I purchase formula locally and
then donate it for immediate distribution 
at the Foothill Unity Center in Pasadena, California.

If you're a crafty gal yourself, and want to try your hand
at making some of the
items that you see at Anise Mouette, you can
check out her blog,
where she spreads
 the crafty goodness, with her “Kitschy Crafts” section.
Anise posts fun how-to 
craft tutorials regularly!  Pretty cool, eh?
(I know my 13 year old daughter will be loving this!)

Here's a picture of Anise and her son. Awwwww! :)


Keep up with the latest and greatest at Anise Mouette by joining their Facebook Fan Page here.