Maker Interview: Tina Sparkles

Tina Sparkles, member of the Austin Craft Mafia, DIYer extraordinaire, indie designer and imminent author will be setting up a sewing station at Maker Faire with First Samples, an Austin sewing and design studio. We caught up with Sparkles to find out about her Maker Faire plans.

Austinist: How'd you get involved with MF?
Sparkles: It all began with the MF producers being involved with the Stitch fashion show a couple years ago. They were one of our sponsors before Maker came to Austin. Last year, they contacted us and asked us to be involved with their show, so we set up a Stitch station at the Swap-o-rama-rama and helped people sew and get creative with their clothes swap scores.

Austinist: What will you be doing this year?
Sparkles: We’ll be helping people realize the potential of clothes they find at the Swap-o-rama-rama. We’ll be tearing things up, turning them upside down and stitching them back together to create something new and funky-fresh. I will also be participating in the Maker Faire fashion show with the IloveMikeLitt crew. I’ll be showing some of my latest designs that will be appearing in my upcoming book.

Austinist: How'd you get into crafting and do you have a specialty?
Sparkles: It probably all started with my mom. She had a sewing machine and used to make a bunch of my clothes when I was a little girl. I always loved hanging out with her sewing machine and just messing around with it. Eventually, she bought me my own machine and it just kinda exploded from there. My specialty is sewing fashion from recycled or sustainable materials.

Austinist: What is the Austin Craft Mafia?
Sparkles: The ACM is a group of friends who all do crafty things. We banded together about 6 or 7 years ago to help each other out with our businesses and whatnot. We created a website to help share resources with anyone who wanted to start their own crafty business. Turns out that people liked the idea and wanted to start forming their own groups/websites in other cities, so we started a network of craft mafias. I think there are around 50 or something.

Austinist: What would you say to someone who is thinking-- I'm a craftless dolt, hopeless with fashion and sewing, is there hope for me if I attend MF?
Sparkles: There is totally hope for you. MF is all about sharing knowledge. There will be tons and tons of demos about everything from sewing to robotics, so even if you are not crafty or into fashion, there will definitely be something there for you. It would be amazing if someone walked away from MF without inspiration to try to make something.

Interview conducted by Spike Gillespie

Maker Faire, a celebration of all things do-it-yourself, is taking place in Austin on Saturday, October 18th and Sunday, October 19th at the Travis County Expo Center. Discount tickets are available now through Friday the 17th at the Austin Children's Museum and at Whole Foods on Lamar.