Meet the Mafia - Novelty Kitten

Tell us about yourself and your business.

I'm Shayne Rioux (long E, long U) and I sell my crafts as Novelty Kitten. I live in the DC suburbs with my husband, son, a pug, three cats and a hamster.

Why did you start in business/crafting?

I've been crafting and around crafting for as long as I can remember. My mom sews and my grandma knits - I learned how to sew from them. Selling my crafts never occured to me until that started getting popular on the Internet. Participating in craft shows never appealed to me, but publishing a website sure did.

What is your favorite item handmade by someone else?

My favorite handmade item is my Zombie Weiners painting by Peter Malinoski. It sits on my mantle.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

The Internet, of course. But a lot of my designs are the result of a silly idea popping in my head. If I keep thinking about it, I usually ask someone else if it's funny to them. Just to make sure it's not just me.

What are your favorite materials?

Right now, I love fuse beads. Yep, those inexpensive, plastic beads that are actually made for kids.

What is the ugliest thing you've ever made?

I've got some real ugly "collage" work from back when I thought I was an altered artist. When I find them, they will only see the light of day from the top of a dumpster.

What have you made that you're most proud of?

My fuse bead portrait of Mr. T continues to be my favorite piece.

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

I'm out in the suburbs, but it's great that I can drive a half hour in one direction and be in the city and a half hour in the other and be in the country.

What crafts do you still want to learn?

I would love to learn how to screen print, but it's scary to me.

What is your idea of a perfect day?

My perfect day would be to sleep as late as possible and then go shopping with no limit on how much I can spend.

What is your favorite crafting tool?

My favorite crafting tool is my big Carl paper cutter. Big Carl can cut 32 sheets of regular paper at a time. 32 sheets!

Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I'm a virtual assistant and I'm slowly working on a degree in communications. I'm a compulsive proofreader, obsessed with Guitar Hero and I blog about crafts at geekcrafts.com and transcraftinental.com.

What advice would you give to fellow crafters?

Figure out what you love doing, not just what you happen to be good at.