Pro-Soup Propaganda

CLOSED: Tuesday Giveaway from Songbird & Bibelot!

Don't these pictures just make you excited? This week's giveaway is from Emily of Songbird & Bibelot. She made a necklace with a detachable flower pin for one special reader!

But first! The official ~*artist interview*~...

Name: Emily Engdahl (after many years of having many names, I've pared it down!)
Age: 34 or 35. I can't remember.
Location: portland, oregon
Where can we find you online?
I'm everywhere. What's the word for that? ubiquitous?
facebook (songbird & bibelot)
twitter @emilyengdahl
www.pdxhomelife.com
www.songbirdfreelancedesign.com
and at Found on Fremont - a vintage shop in Beaumont Village at 4743 NE Fremont in Portland

How did we meet?Technically we met while I was stirring a big pot o' black IPA in my driveway... But we *actually* became acquainted online (thanks, Twitterrrrrrr!) when someone recommended that I follow you, I believe. So I did, like a little lemming.

What do you do for a living?
As in what pays the bills? I work in a little office helping manage resources for mentally ill and elderly people. The easiest way to describe it is as social work. But my technical profession is as a professional fiduciary, and I have a background in communications, mediation & conflict resolution. I've been in this field for 12 years.

How did you take up your artistic medium?
I've been creating things for as long as I can remember. I've always loved 3D crafts like sculpting and paper arts, because I have horrible vision and no depth perception. I tried to go to art school for a year, at Oregon College of Art & Craft. I loved the fiber arts & bookmaking classes. But I suck at illustration, so the requisite drawing classes were really hard for me, and I ended up leaving after a year there. Mostly because I was young and stupid, rather than the fault of the classes... But then I had children young and took about 6 years off from making anything at all. I started up again as I taught myself graphic design... I only really got back into making and doing within the last few years, and especially after my husband suggested (strongly) that I take an upstairs bedroom for my very own art studio.

Three reasons you’re awesome:
1) I'm a people person. I'm a fourth generation NE Portland resident. I file away the history or our neighborhood and people I meet in my brain drawers so I can connect people later...

2) I'm not a big drinker, but I love great beer. I brew my own beer. And it's tasty. Last year, I went to OMSI beer camp and learned how to brew from my brother (who owns & operates Lantern, a nano brewery, in Seattle).

3) I'm constantly "doing." I'm so curious about our world and the people and things in it, so I'm always busy and engaged. I write, I blog, I cook, I bake, I craft, I work, I mama, I brew, I help, I encourage, I teach, I learn...

What’s your favorite quote?
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

Walt Whitman (Song of Myself)

What do you do when you’re having a bad day to remedy it?
I'm constantly working on not letting a bad day get the best of me. I feel pretty deeply, but I also get over things fairly quickly, and I don't like to hold a grudge. So I usually try to cook or bake something to share, listen to my kids laugh, talk to my husband about what's going on, and take some time to read and go to bed early or just relax. The older I get the more I try to remember H. A. L. T. (hungry? angry? lonely? tired?) and see if any of them need to be remedied when I'm having a bad day.

What’s a piece of good advice you’d like to pass onto the readers?
Be nice. Be nice, be nice, be nice. Reaching out to your neighbor, offering a smile, being helpful, being considerate of others, and remembering your p's & q's will always work. If you're trying to get ahead, remember to pave the way for others to come along with you as you go; don't knock them down in order to get there. (oh, and the best one my mom ever told me, was that it doesn't cost you anything to say you're sorry.)

Anything more you’d like to tell us?
I love meeting new people and hearing from fellow crafters, artists, mamas, papas, dog lovers, beer drinkers, beer brewers, beach and mountain lovers, Portland residents, non-Portland residents... I'm a people collector - nothing thrills me more than learning your story - so drop me a line & let's get connected!

Huzzah! Thank you, Emily, for being so awesome and for sharing your answers with us. (And for making a pretty necklace and pin!) So, gentle readers, let me tell you how you can win... go to Songbird & Bibelot's Facebook page, "like" it and leave a little hello message, and then comment back here that you did it. SO EASY.

Want to know how to get more entries? Also easy!

*Tweet or mention this blog post somewhere
*Follow Emily or I on Twitter
*Comment on Emily's blog, PDX Home Life, or her design page, Songbird: Freelance Design
*Like Pro-Soup Propaganda on Facebook
*Follow PSP through Google Friend Connect