2010 July 11 | Shealynn Benner

July 11, 2010

You Asked, Now I Answer! [giveaway too...]

Wow! There were a ton of questions. This should be fun! So, grab a cup of joe or whatever it is you drink (me? Coke Zero!), sit and stay awhile! :) There is a giveaway as promised too. :)

if you could spend a day with any 1 person (dead or alive) who would it be & why?

Great question! I would definitely love to spend another day with my husband’s grandmother, Betty. She passed away in October of 2004. She was the most amazing seamstress ever. I would love to sit with her, and have her teach me everything she could – her tricks, secrets, everything. Well, as much as she could in a day. But I would also love some time just to sit with her. Hug her. See her smile, hear her laugh. I miss her terribly. She was an amazing person. She also made my wedding gown! It was gorgeous. I will show the pictures one of these days… need to scan them. :) Betty had a part in playing who I am today. She was an amazing amazing person.

How did you come to designing the things you do?

I was on a photo shoot on downtown Raleigh, NC. I was shooting head shots of a model. It was a really hot day – really humid. I was sweating like crazy, and it didn’t take long for my camera strap to begin rubbing my neck incredibly raw. I remember it hurting bad enough to make me pull the collar of my shirt up and around my strap, but it never stayed up long enough to give relief. I knew there had to be a way to avoid it, and cover it. It hit me that I likely was not the only one having this problem. 2 years later, I am finding this to be true that “camera strap rash” is a common complaint. Anyway. We ended up moving from North Carolina to Arizona, and that’s when I officially began *Shey*[B]! 2 years ago next month! :)

What is your favorite fabric?!

This is a really tough question! I really don’t have just one. I don’t even have just 2. I think I like about 10 fabrics obsessively. Those would be Black and White Damask. I go through this fabric faster than any other fabric. I don’t always buy it by the yard either… mostly by the bolt. haha! I go through almost 2 bolts a month sometimes. I am recently loving Patty Young’s Knits! They are fantastic. Hoping to sew something with them soon. I about died when this fabric was released Cameras In Black. I LOVE this entire line: Bontanica. While I like her whole line called Glam Garden, I especially love this one and this one. I can’t wait for this fabric line to come out! I just have to figure out what to do with it!

I love ALL of these. They are simple, but fun to work with. Love this too!!! And this in the Pond Palette. :) I think I will stop there… I just love too much!

But those above are my all time fabric. What about you? Have some favorite fabrics you’d care to share?

Hmmm…how did your hubby propose and what kind of wedding did you have? I love LOVE stories.

My husband proposed to me one night after we went bowling with some friends. It wasn’t some crazy elaborate way to propose, but it was perfect in every way. Elaborate is embarrassing and so not my style.

Obviously I said yes. Then he proposed again when we got my engagement ring. :) He’s cute like that. Our wedding was very simple. It was small. 70 or so people. Not sure what “what kind” of wedding you had means. But our wedding was great. In fact, we were actually married at the court house on Nov. 16, 2001. Why? I was pregnant. Nuff said. haha! We had our actual ceremony a couple months later on Jan. 5, 2002. My husband and his groomsman wore zoot suits. Something to this effect. I wore my handmade by Mike’s grandma; wedding dress that was totally gorgeous. And my bridesmaids wore red strapless dresses. It was a great day!

My question would be how did “Moona” get her name? I love it!

Actually. Our dog’s name is Luna. But Zoe can’t pronounce her L’s very well, so she calls her “Moona”. It just kind of stuck. :)

My Q is Shey B related!!! LOL!!! I asked it on your FB, but I know you are super busy (being super woman and all

)

I see you are expanding your products and making different items now. Do you plan on designing some kind of SLR bag?? I know a lot more goes in to those bags (pading, interior design, etc). Just curious

( I am on the hunt and can’t find a bag that goes well with my Shey B strap!!! LOL!)

Haha! I wish I was super woman! ;) The simple answer to this is yes! I absolutely plan to make camera bags. The complicated answer is – yes, but I don’t know when. Time is not on my side right now. But I do have some things in the works, and maybe by Christmas, camera bags will be available. I am VERY picky about the design, and look of the camera bags that will come out. I will not be making the entire thing out of designer fabric. I don’t like those – they get dirty so fast, and washing them can really make them lose their shape. But, stay tuned! What do you look for in a camera bag?

where is your favorite place to eat in Arizona? being from Arizona myself, i am always looking for a great little spot to get some grub, especially if it is a hole in the wall!

Favorite place… hmmm. Well, I have a few.

There is a restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale called “Frank & Lupes”. They have the best mexican around. I love that place!

I also really like Blue Wasabi and Kabuki for sushi.

I eat at Paradise Bakery A Lot! Love their Asian Chicken Salad, Chicken Salad Sandwich and their Snickerdoodles. :) We also like Wildflower Bread Co.

My husband eats out a lot more than I do, and Chandler seems to have a lot of really great hole in the wall/smaller restaurants. Both those above are a few I favor.

you are quite the reader, fav book of all time?!

Yes, I definitely LOVE to read. I’m really not much of a TV watcher. But, man! My favorite book of all time? That’s like asking me my favorite fabric. haha! I have a few…

Right now. My favorite book that I have read so far this year (I have read 34 this year so far) is called The Iron King. It was absolutely fantastic! The 2nd book comes out next month! SO excited! Other books I love? The Hunger Games series, City of Bones series, 13 to Life, Raised by Wolves, Girl In The Arena, Vampire Academy series, Hush Hush, Shiver & Linger, The Forest of Hands and Teeth series. I am going to stop there. I have really enjoyed a lot of books. If you want to see what I have read my Goodreads shelf is on my sidebar. I have 2. One of them is books I have read and recommend and one of them is books I want to read. :) What books are you enjoying right now?

I want to know what your guilty pleasure is? Do you read trashy novels, take bubble baths, eat ice cream?

I don’t know if this counts. But I love donuts. And I feel guilty after eating them. But they bring me great pleasure. And they make me smile. But they add to my waistline. And they taste so good. But they are so bad for me. But I don’t care. Does that count? How about you? Have a guilty pleasure? Do share!

what’s the funniest thing your kids have ever said?

They are a funny bunch, those girls. Hmmm. Now I am wishing I write all of them down! OK, let’s see.

Zoe: ”I want to watch TB” (instead of TV), She shouts “YESSSSS!” and does a fist pump when she hears something she finds exciting, Prettycorn (Zoe’s word for Unicorn). But I think one of the funniest things was Zoe singing along to “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z. She was in the back seat singing “New yooooooorrrkkk!! deez stweets make ooo fewl bwand new. New yoooooooooorkk!! Yeah” – all while bobbing her head to the beat. HILARIOUS! She has also said “What up!” to a friend of mine before too. hehe.

Angelina: When she was a baby, she called Chinese – Chiiinnneeeeeessseee – no joke. Peanut butter was peanut butta. Mostly Angelina said hilarious stuff when she was a toddler. She gets pretty serious nowadays. One thing I do remember was when she was in infant, she loved a song by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Every time it came on she would raise her eyebrows so high they were almost to her hairline, and she would smile the biggest smile ever. She was only 4 months old! haha.

Unfortunately that’s all I remember. Lame me!

Which product is currently your fave in your shop?

As always I have a few. :) Love this, this, this, this and this. But I mostly like everything. :)

If you had the choice of living anywhere where would you live???

NEW YORK! The Pacific Northwest, Montana or Wyoming.

And do you like AZ?? or you here cuz of your hubs job???

Ummm. No. I don’t like it here. I love the friends that I have met here. I feel like I have grown here as a person. I started my business here, my kids are making memories here as we are making memories together. But, the heat is enough to make me want to pack up our stuff and get out of here, and fast. But that is not realistic. Is it??? :) Seriously. I don’t think I could hate this heat anymore. I despise it. I loathe it. Think of the worst word you can and that’s what I think of the heat here. Insanely Hot for 6-7 months of the year. Gross. Seriously. Turn on your oven, stick your face in there once it’s heated up. And, welcome to Arizona summer! That’s how it feels.

We moved here for my husband’s job… well, he no longer works there, but works somewhere better. But it was ultimately my decision to make whether we moved here from NC or not. And I guess you know what choice I made. Do I have regrets? Not really. As much as I hate the heat here, NC just wasn’t for us. And AZ just isn’t for ME. Everyone else seems fine with this hades type heat but me. Moving on before I really get to ranting! LOL! Have you ever been to Arizona? In the summer?

What’s your fave food?

I love Panda Express’ Orange Chicken.

I love Asian Chicken Salads

I love SNICKERDOODLES and Donuts

I love Strawberries, Watermelon, nectarines, tangelos, honeydew, pomegranates and bananas

and…

I love Sushi! :)

What’s in your purse?

Wallet, too many receipts, chapstick, cell phone, a couple gum wrappers (now going in the trash), car keys, Sour Skittles from our movie last night. And that’s it. Boooring, I know. I am a boring person to ask that question to. haha.

What’s your fave date place?

To be honest.. as long as my husband and I are on a date – I don’t care where we go. Just nice to be out with the 2 of us. Connecting and being uninterrupted. :)

wondering where you purchase most of your fabric … online, or in the stores?

Most of my fabric comes from here and here.

I mainly buy fabric online. It’s pretty rare that I will find anything worthwhile in a store.

So much of it is too expensive or ugly. ;)

What kind of camera do you use?

My hubby got me a Canon 5D for Christmas. Love it! :)

when you were a little girl…what did you say you wanted to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a veterinarian. For a long time. And then I found out that as a vet I would have to euthanize animals. That’s when I decided that I couldn’t be one.

After that, and for most of my life I wanted to be a photographer.

And I am one. :) Love that!

What camera strap cover do you currently have on your camera??

I switch mine out a lot. Right now my strap is not on my camera. I am trying to decide which one I want to use next. That’s a tough one! It will likely be The Pleated Chain or Purple Rain. I find that the more camera strap covers I have for myself the more options my camera has to look pretty. :)

Hi, I was wondering how learned to sew? My grandmother was an incredible seamstress I regret I didn’t learn more from her while she was alive.

This is the first time someone has asked me this on my blog! :)

And I really don’t talk much about it, do I? I have my reasons. haha.

I am self taught. I have been sewing exactly 2 years now.

My husband’s grandmother was a phenomenal seamstress, and like you I wish I had learned more from her while she was alive.

What can you *NOT* leave the house without??

My purse, my iPhone, a Coke Zero and my girls… if hubby isn’t home to watch them. :)

What can’t you leave the house without?

What are you most looking forward to at the BlogHer Conference?

Meeting women I have known online for 1 or more years!!

Being in New York! My favorite city. :)

Why did you not tell me that you were going to BlogHer? And yes, I will be taking pictures of you, and with you….

Great. That camera of yours. :P haha!

I told you at Bloggy Bootcamp… a little too much to drink, eh?

*wink wink*

what is something you can’t do but wish you could….

Can’t as in I physically can’t? Not sure there is anything that I can’t do, but there are things I won’t do. Such as skydive, bungy jump or really anything that involves being so high above the ground that my fear of height kicks in 10 fold and I want to vomit.

Also, I can’t blow glass, but I would LOVE to learn someday.

Fat chance if my husband has anything to do with it. I tend to be a bit accident prone.

Like I time I used to make soap that required lye. And that soap splashed into my eye. Or the time I cut off the tip of my finger while trying to cut said soap. Or the time I almost blew up our kitchen dumping soap something or other down the drain. Yeah. Glass blowing might not be such a good idea. haha! But maybe one day. ;)

What’s your fave vacation spot?

The answer to this question is sad. I don’t have one.

We don’t go on many vacations due to both my husband and I owning our own businesses. When you own your own business, you get behind. That makes things rough.

If we travel anywhere it’s to see my parents, and that prevents us from having a family vacation. Which is no offense to my parents. But one of these days, we are definitely in need of a family vacay for sure! I think we are actually going to the mountains pretty soon to stay for a weekend in our friend’s little house. That might become a regular thing for us to escape this oppressive summer heat! But we make many memories at our own home. Swimming in our pool, playing games, just being together. Don’t think we have to get away to do that.

If you could visit any one place, what would it be?

Paris, France. But my husband won’t go there.

So… next up would be Scotland. :)

How about you?

Who is your favorite author?

Don’t have one. Any author who writes an interesting book is my favorite.

Any of you have a favorite author?

Do you have siblings?

I do. :) A younger brother named Ryan.

He just got married last August.

See here. He’s in there somewhere. ;)

How did you meet your husband?

My husband and I used to work together.

I was the receptionist and he was the tech guy.

Do you believe in love at first site?

I do! Not to be too cheesy, but when I saw Mike I instantly knew I was going to marry him.

It was the weirdest moment of my life, but it couldn’t be anymore true. I just knew.

And, I we did marry, didn’t we? ;)

Who’s your favorite fabric designer?

Probably Michael Miller.

Maybe Joel Dewberry.

Patty Young.

That’s a hard one. I used to love Amy Butler. But I have really not liked any of her lines lately. Her LOVE line is ugly in my opinion of course and her new line, SOUL BLOSSOMS is not looking so promising either. I miss the BELLE line. I do use some of her Midwest Modern, which I like, but that’s about it.

Chocolate or vanilla?

Vanilla.

I love Coffee more, though.

Ice cream that is.

Coffee you drink is nasty. ;)

Dark or light meat?

Dark.

Do you sleep on your tummy, back or side?

I start off on my stomach, quickly get uncomfortable, switch to my back, quickly get uncomfortable and then switch to my right side. Awww comfortable. ;)

Have you ever had a pedicure?

Yes! I love them, and really need to get them more often!

Team Edward or Jacob? (I had to throw that one in there- LOL)

LOL! Team Edward. But Twilight is just, blah to me these days.

Are you still addicted to Twilight? What team are you on?

Do you buy big batches of fabric at once and then put them together as you see fit, or do you have a vision for what fabric combos you want to use and then go in search of those fabrics?

I buy 1 yard cuts of fabric at a time when designing new strap covers.

But, yes, I usually will buy about 7-8 different prints at a time that are new.

(That doesn’t include what I buy at the same time to stock up on.)

Then I go from there.

I am a fabric addict, so I tend to have several hundred yards to pick from in my own

sewing studio. :)

Have you started teaching your girls how to sew?

My oldest girl, Angelina can sew a little bit.

Once the manufacturer kicks in I think I will have more time to show

her how. :)

Zoe is still too young.

how long did it take you to become “established” with your business?

It took me about 5-6 months.

Lots of giveaways!!

Then lots of advertising. :)

Now…

I work really hard to make new products as much as possible so my store doesn’t get boring.

I also pay for a lot of advertising and still host a ton of giveaways.

The more you do this, the more known you will become. :)

when you want to shop for clothing…. do you have a favorite go to site you always check? what is it???

I actually don’t shop online. :) I am not really a clothes fashion lover. I mainly shop at Target and Old Navy. Sometimes JCrew or Gap when I am feeling like splurging.

And a secret? I wear sweatpants most of the time. I wear what’s most comfortable because I am sitting at my sewing machine so much.

Where do you shop?

What about your business do you most enjoy? Sewing? Designing new items? Or…

Some of you know the answer to this question. :)

I LOVE designing. Hands down. Maybe that’s what I should have been when I grew up. haha.

I love designing most because it’s such an amazing transformation.

It all starts in my brain. When the idea forms I can not get rid of it until I make what’s consuming my thoughts. And my mind is constantly whirring with thoughts. I dream about new designs sometimes. I love those dreams.

When my idea moves from my brain to my hands, and then my hands take over and begin creating… that’s when the amazing takes place. Seeing that idea come to fruition! The CHIC for instance was an idea I had for a while. When I created it, it looked so much better in true form than in my mind. It’s such a good feeling! I love thinking outside the box. I think a ton about what I’ve been inspired by lately, and will that inspiration make a good camera strap slipcover or other item. Then I go from there and begin creating.

I love sewing too, but designing is just *it* for me. It’s my happy place. :)

What is your daily schedule like? Have you made set hours for yourself?

Yes! I definitely have set hours. I have to or I would go insane. :)

I work Tuesday-Friday from 9am-5:30pm

Sometimes I work late at night when my husband is working late and my kids are asleep, but not always. I can’t always be doing *Shey*[B]. I have to do other things too, like read. haha.

Mondays I only work for a couple of hours. Zoe is home from school with me that day, so I can’t get much done with her. I must spend time with her. My girls need their mama.

Normally I wake up, and if it’s during the school year I get my kids ready for school, take them to school, come home and begin working.

My assistants cut and iron all of my orders for me so I can just begin sewing and get as many orders out as possible. I LOVE my assistants!!!

It’s summer now, so Angelina goes to Summer camp Monday-Friday and Zoe goes to school/summer camp Tuesday-Friday.

So, that’s pretty much my day! :)

Do you buy your fabric at retail or wholesale?

I buy it all retail. Why? Because fabric manufacturers have really strict minimums that even I can’t meet. Not to mention, buying by the bolt would restrict me from being able to provide the most fabrics I possibly can to you! :) So I am able to bring more to my shop by not buying wholesale, as well as support my friends that own fabric shops too!

Thank you all so much for all of those questions!!!

Most were comments on here and some were emailed!

As promised a giveaway is in order!

You were given a choice and whichever one was picked the most was the one to be given away! Yippeee! So, here is what’s being given away…

Purple Rain!!! Woo hoo!! :)

All you have to do to be entered to win is answer THREE of the questions I asked you at the end of the questions that I answered. Please answer them all in 1 comment not separately.

Ready? GO!