Meet The Mafia- Erica Burns Designs

Tell us about yourself and your business.

Sure! Well, I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister. I am pretty much a regular woman that happens to be creative. I started my business making handmade jewelry. I have now added knitted items, embroidery, cross stitch, & have plans for even more in 2009!

Why did you start in business?
I started my business because I felt the need to do something with my hands. I needed a creative outlet, so I started making jewelry. I decided to take it to the public!

How did you come up with your crafty name?
I wanted a simple, classic name. Erica Burns Designs simply says what I do, Erica B designs. Ya, dig?

What is your favorite item handmade by someone else?
Yikes! I have so many items that I love that are handmade by others. I love bath & body stuff from Biggs & Featherbelle. I use their body bars & handmade soaps.
I have also had my eyes on these knitting needles from Baa Hurrah. You can get them customized with your name, color, size. Sweet! Those are just a few of the many things I love.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?
I am a bit of hoarder. I have gotten much better in recent years, but I still love magazines. I find a lot of magazines inspiring. Some of my favs are Blueprint ( I miss you Blueprint), Domino (I'm going to miss you Domino, last issue in March), Bust, ReadyMade & many others. I perused a copy of a new one, Boho Magizine at fellow DC Mafioso, Miss Glittery's house a few weeks ago. It might be a new fav! To avoid my hoarding tendency I try to pull out the pages that inspire me & keep them in my journal or board. I also find inspiration in antique stores. I wander them aimlessly for hours!

What are your favorite materials?
I like to work with sterling silver. It is fairly inexpensive & it can be used sterling or oxidized for an edgier look. I like to work with organic cotton when I am knitting, It is so soft & natural.

What is the ugliest thing you've ever made?
Ugh! I can name several things. When I was first starting out I tried some bead work & I came up with some real duds! Hehe!

What have you made that you're most proud of?
My first neckwarmer, seen here on me:

was a pretty proud moment.

I also love my lariats seen here:


because they always get a lot of attention when I do shows. People seem to like them. That makes me proud!

What's your favorite thing about Washington, D.C. (or the Metro area)?

The Redskins! Go 'Skins! Sometimes I think of moving someplace else, but I get sad thinking about not being in Redskins country anymore. How silly is that? I love the NFL though & the Redskins are my team. Now that we seem to have a different vibe in politics I love being near all of the political action. It feels like we are in the place to be. I also love how close this area is to everything. You can pop up to Baltimore, head down to Richmond & even NYC is only a few hours away.

What crafts do you still want to learn?I want to perfect my current crafts. I want to perfect sewing, knitting, crocheting & learn how to do lost cast waxing.

What is your idea of a perfect day?
Sleep as long as I want, go to brunch, relax by the beach, go shopping, meet my favorite Redskins & get their autographs, go out for cocktails & dance the night away!

What is your favorite crafting tool?
Wow! That is a tough one. My hammer if I had to name one. I love banging the heck out of that metal!

Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I take care of my family & work full time as a social work supervisor in child welfare. Yippee!

What advice would you give to fellow crafters?
Make whatever makes you feel happy!