We recently connected with Daisy McClellan and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Daisy, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I first learned punch needle from an artist teaching a workshop at my shop in San Francisco called gather. We had a workshop component of our business where we sought out local instructors to teach their craft to our customers. Punch needle had been having a resurgence in popularity but I wanted a teacher who has a modern take on it. Enter, Caroline Powell, of Punch Color Studio. After sitting in on the class I was immediately drawn in and started down the rabbit hole of learning everything I could about the craft. Caroline taught the importance of using the right materials, often the most expensive, but that made such a difference. Often when we are testing out a craft we purchase the cheapest materials to see if we want to invest more in it but with punch needle the cheaper tools and materials often create headaches and make you want to give up quickly. I researched the best through trial and error and now have a passion to pass that knowledge on to others.

Daisy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I always knew she wanted to be surrounded by art and make things. Since I can remember I always loved painting, fiber art, and partaking in traditional crafts as a form of meditation and self care. At Smith College I studied Studio Art and Spanish which led to working in advertising and branding. Meanwhile a jewelry making hobby rapidly turned into a full fledged business making me a top seller on Etsy and taking me around the country selling my designs at various boutiques and maker markets. In 2014, my husband and I opened gather, a brick and mortar retail shop in San Francisco where we featured over 200 artists and hosted both public and private creative workshops. Some of their largest events were in the form of team building workshops with companies like Etsy, Pinterest, Zen Desk and Nerd Wallet. In addition, I designed a clothing collection for women and young children, founded a bi-annual shopping market for local boutiques, and worked with several artists on joint collaborations. In early 2020 we sold the business to move to Charleston, South Carolina with our three young sons.

In 2021 I was selected as an artist-in-resident at the Gibbes Museum and debuted my first solo show there in 2022. Interested in continually learning new things, I have started incorporating the use of a rug tufting gun as well as experimenting with non-traditional, easily sourced, and affordable materials into my work. In addition to creating I offers my expertise as a maker teaching workshops, summer camps, and retreats ranging from fiber arts to natural dyeing in galleries and shops around the country.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When my third son arrived my husband and I had to re-evaluate our work/life plan. We owned a very successful shop in San Francisco but it was becoming hard to manage with three young kids. Not too mention California is super expensive and big families aren’t the norm because of that. We made the decision to sell our business and move to Charleston to be closer to family after much back and forth. It was bittersweet because the shop was so tied to my identity and I loved the community we had created in California. We ended up signing the paperwork the week the pandemic hit so ultimately we feel super lucky and that we closed that chapter at just the right time.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

In my opinion if we want to keep art alive we need to support our creatives. That means shopping local and small and paying our artists fairly. Taking the time to seek out handmade art as opposed to purchasing big box mass produced art that is often stolen is a start. There is art out there to fit every budget and every taste and it is so fun to explore!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.daisymcclellan.com
• Instagram: @daisymcclellan_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Daisy-McClellan-Handicrafts/100065454130946/

Image Credits
Caroline Powell, Kate Blohm, and Thomas Photographers