Some of our most popular items at The Baby Gardner include our embroidered crib shoes. The talented artist behind those and many other vintage-inspired creations at The Baby Gardner is Laurie Minick Miles . I was so thrilled to discover Laurie and her amazing talent. And even more than that, I’ve since been blessed with a great friend. Thank you, Laurie! Here’s a little insight into the artist behind the work…
Tell us a little about yourself…
I live on a farm in SE Iowa. Our farm has been in my husband’s family for more than 100 years. I have a degree in journalism and worked as a newspaper reporter for 6 years, but quit to raise my girls (Katie, 10, and Ellie, 5). I do at-home medical transcription. My husband is a farrier (horseshoer). We have 13 horses, 2 dogs, and a bunch of farm cats.
How did you get into sewing, embroidery and softie-making? How long have you been doing it?
As a kid, I did liquid embroidery with my Grandma Martin. I started doing cross-stitch in college and did that for several years, making Christmas stockings for my extended family. I made my first softie (a teddy bear) in 1996 and my love of softie making grew from there.
Tell us a little about your business name, Old School Acres. Where did that name come from?
At one time our house was a one-room schoolhouse, Fairview School. It’s a bit of a play on words, too. Because the majority of my items are sewn by hand, I consider that “old school” sewing.
What type of items do you create?
The majority of my items are vintage inspired/styled. I love sewing by hand. Right now most everything I make is baby/child related, but I also make owls for grown-ups. Wool felt is my favorite fabric to work with and I use it as much as I can. I also really enjoy cutting up old wool suit coats and using all the materials in my owls.
Among all your styles and creations, do you have one that is your favorite?
The elephant baby shoes are one of my favorites. And my owls rank up there, too. And the pigs. And…well, you get the idea.
Are you working on any projects at present?
Where do I start?? LOL I have pig and dog softies almost done. But I have a long list of projects that I hope to get to soon, including toy bags, personalized baby shirts, and a monkey softie [all of which will be featured at The Baby Gardner]. On the artsy side, I’ve got a few owls in the works, too.
You have a blog as well (link at right). As an artist/crafter, what do you feel are some benefits of having a blog?
My blog is mostly a craft-related blog, but I also share about life in general on our farm. I have made some great friends through the blogging world. It’s fun to share ideas and get feedback. My readers are really supportive and I appreciate them so much. A blog is great for getting others excited about my work. I usually share the process along the way, even the bad stuff like when my puppy chewed up some special-order softies. It is humbling that people care about what I’m doing. And doubly humbling that they like my stuff.
What are your future plans for Old School Acres?
I hope to cut back my transcription hours to concentrate on sewing. I have a list a mile long of projects I want to do. My girls are always asking me to make things for them and it’s hard to find time to fit it all in.
Thank you, Laurie, for giving us a peek into your busy world and your crafty passion. Laurie’s vintage-inspired originals are a popular and adored collection at The Baby Gardner. We’re really excited about the new designs she’s working on for us. You won’t want to miss them!
Well, as promised, here are some pics from my son’s room. Aidan just turned 3 so we’ve been going through that transition from a nursery to a little boy’s room. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the great thing about vintage-inspired nurseries is they really are timeless (what an oxymoron!). They can transition easily as your little one grows.
In Aidan’s room, there’s very little I’ve changed other than replacing the crib with a bed and tackling the mountain of toys that seem to be taking over. The paint color is the same. The color palette is the same. The random vintage touches have stayed the same.
So I knew that in order to get all of my chotchkies to work together, I had to make the colors in his room work. I painted the walls a light apple green and chose a quilt with blue gingham, white and apple green stripes. On the windows, I sewed long curtain panels using a light denim and used a wide apple green and white pinstripe ribbon to make the tab tops. That was my foundation and then the fun really began!
