The "Why" Behind Wax and Wane Studio
Hi Friends! I’m Anna, the quilter and designer behind Wax and Wane Studio. There’s so much going on in the world right now and I’m feeling like some more human connection is in order. So, I’d like to share a bit about me and why I started Wax and Wane Studio.
After graduating from art school I spent the next few years working an office job to pay the bills and trying to start a side hustle to fuel my creative nature. There were a handful of failed attempts at selling artwork online and at craft fairs which left me feeling deflated. Fast forward a few more years and I’m married with two little kids finding that motherhood had taken over my creative time and I was feeling it. I kept daydreaming about creative endeavors but couldn’t seem to find the time to make them happen, and that was leaving me feeling lonely, sad, and sorry for myself.
At some point, I can’t remember exactly what sparked the thought — maybe a conversation or an and article I read online, I realized it had been a couple of years since I had done anything creative. Something that used to be a part of daily life for me had vanished into ethers of changing diapers and by no one’s fault but my own. I was waiting for time to fall in my lap instead of making the time. It was around my birthday, which coincidently is New Year’s Eve, that I decided that spending time being creative was not just a fun activity but necessary for my mental health. So, I labeled “creative time” a priority in my mind and started 2019 with a new outlook.
With my two rascals still toddler and preschool age and most of my other artistic tendencies involving messy materials, I turned to one of my first loves: fabric. I decided the perfect project for my at-least-10-minutes-a-day-of-being-creative personal challenge would be designing and making a quilt. I figured it would take me a whole year to make it and to make sure it wouldn’t take much longer than that I started an Instagram account to post about it, hold myself accountable, and hopefully meet a few like-minded people.
To my surprise, quilt designs basically flowed out of me and I was ready to start sewing in a matter of days. I also discovered quite quickly that, wow, there are a lot of like-minded quilters out there and a ton of them are hanging out on Instagram! Not only that, but I was also blown away by how encouraging and uplifting they all were! Having these strangers commenting on my silly drawings and photos of fabric and forming some solid connections was exactly what I needed to keep the momentum of my personal project going. It was the first time I can remember that I realized the importance of a community.
In addition to finally feeling like I found “my people”, I realized that a lot of these people were also using quilting as their creative outlet and a sort of therapeutic tool. I suddenly felt less alone and more inspired. I wondered what took me so long to make this realization and how I could help others find what I found. I also noticed, in the wonderful world of quilty-Instagram AKA Quiltstagram, that people were designing and selling quilt patterns. I had no idea that quilt patterns existed! Immediately, I saw the potential for using quilt patterns as a vehicle for sharing the importance of having a creative outlet and community and I set my sights on that goal.
My hope is that by offering quilt patterns that encourage mindfulness and more creativity as well as resources for beginners that I can help others find and nurture their creative outlet. I’ve got so many fun ideas on the horizon that I can’t wait to share with you all. Thanks so much for being here and following along. It really means the world to me and I’d love to connect even more. If you have a question, thoughts to share, or just want to chat please don’t hesitate to reach out. Send me an email or a direct message over on Instagram!
