Meet Ava Moore

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ava Moore.

Ava, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story? Man, I have never felt like I have had the right words to describe myself, or my experience in the world. it is always been kind of difficult and comes out in a way that does always settles in the way I imagined… This is why I think I’m so drawn to the creative side of life- allowing something else to speak for me, I guess. I grew up with two parents who are artists, my mother a graphic designer/illustrator and my father a photographer. Growing up I was sort of submerged in their artist life- I was on photoshoot sets helping my dad out in whatever way I could or sitting for a painting my mom was doing. Our house was covered in art, their art, my grandparent’s art, their friend’s art, and me and my brother’s drawings from the art class. Any sort of creative expression was framed and hung proudly on a wall. This was a really beautiful thing to grow up around, and I think being surrounded by this suggestion to create and be proud of whatever that was freeing.

As a kid I had, and still do have an incredibly active imagination. I remember I would play in my tree house by myself thinking up new story lines or situations I was in and it could occupy me for hours. I would be running from pirates on the zip line, or making up songs in the garden, and generally just spending a lot of time by myself outdoors. I think the downside for growing up with two insanely talented people was that as I got older, I became afraid to try anything real of my own – it just wouldn’t compare to what they could do. I wanted to be as good as them or not do it at all. But I’ve always had such a deep longing to use my hands in some way. Sometimes I think about if it is possible/sane to feel and hear different artistic outlets within me, that I have not yet met, that are calling my name to come out and be tried. I want to try it all, but fear would walk alongside and tell me “ wait, someone is already doing that” or “don’t, you would make a mess of it”. I guess my story, where it is now, began when I decided to let fear come along with me, but I didn’t let it have a say on if I began or not. When I came to this realization that fear wasn’t going to stop coming along for the ride, I decided to try the first thing my grandmother taught me, embroidery. I went to the nearest craft store on my day off, blindly picked out tools to create an embroidery hoop and made my first two hoops that night. It was looked rough, I had the wrong fabric, wrong needles, and I only knew one stitch….but I sort of beamed with pride over it. It was something I created for the first time in a long time that fear didn’t talk down to me. I decided to post it on Instagram, and it took off!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
So I started embroidering in October this year and then started selling them about two weeks later. I guess you could say it been a real normal mix of smooth and rocky. I wasn’t sure what to expect since this started with the intention of being a hobby. One of my biggest struggles has been my time management. When I get really into something, I sort of become possessed by the process. Some days I want to eat, breathe, and sleep embroidery and my hands can’t keep up with my head and ideas. Then there have some days I don’t even want to look at a sewing needle. Lately, all of my time has gone into learning as much as I can about the business side, going to the craft store a few times a week to restock supplies, and working on the orders for the holidays. I’ve been discovering that I don’t give a lot of grace to myself in learning new things. I have this unjust belief that I should be able to do it right away with no background training of any kind and just crush it for the first time. That’s the ego talking, but we are still learning to work together. One of my struggles that ended up surprising me was with the execution of custom orders.

I have had to stretch, wiggle and even shove myself into these visions that weren’t initially mine, but then I found myself being able to merge and bond with it in a graceful way. I’m not sure there is a smooth road in the arts. If there is, no need to tell me because the growth and joy are in the growing pains. I am grateful for the creative outlet I have, a place where my hands can move and sing in a way that feels good. I am also grateful to know that they might not always be doing this work, but they will find their way to new work. That’s the pretty incredible thing about creativity- it really can come in all shapes and sizes and I am in a place to judge what type of inspiration walks up to my door when it knocks. I am lucky to have an incredible support system to lean into. People who are cheering me on, and most importantly reminding me to breathe, rest and celebrate the work that been done.

Please tell us about your business.
I am hoping to have some sort of official site for myself in the new year, but for right now I am operating out of my personal Instagram. Currently, I am specializing in custom embroidered hoops, with different sizes and fabrics! To be honest I am not sure what sets me apart from other people who do this work yet because I have made a conscious effort to not look too deep into what others are doing. I know myself and I know if I get lost in other accounts of people who are doing this work, fear will step up, and I am pretty firm on letting that guy take a back seat on this ride. But I do love the communication I bring to the table when it comes to my customs orders. I want the people buying my hoops to feel like they have had a real voice in the design and process. We talk about fabrics, sizes, embellishments, font types and sizes, and different ways to lay it all out.

Once the new year begins I will be shifting my focus to have a more curated line of pre-made hoops to sell, and the big dream would be to move into local shops after that. My inspiration currently is natural warm tones and minimal lines. I have been leaning into the minimalist line art, nude art, and botanicals and would love to incorporate those into the future shop as well. One thing on my list for next year is to have a specialized line for weddings, engagements, birth announcements, baby rooms, and special events in people’s lives. I also will be trying out new fabrics, tulle specifically is something I am extremely excited to work with, and embroidering on mediums other than a hoop and fabric. I love to create but have hated the impact I have seen on how much trash builds up from the process. Everything has some sort of packaging and the amount of waste I will accumulate as this becomes long term makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. So the idea of working with sustainable fabrics, natural hand dyed organic linens, and using recycled materials for shipping are all plans I have come to fruition soon!

I am most proud of the marketing opportunity I got to do with a sunglasses company based in LA. It was my first taste into what it could be like working with large brands, communicating prices, collaborating design and getting my toes wet in the business of it all.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Is it crazy to say just starting has been my proudest moment? I am not one to take risks, but here I am, almost three months, in and people are wanting to buy my work. That blows my mind. I am just proud that I have found a way, not always easy, to allow myself to create regardless of how I think other people will like it. Doing this craft is something that I am proud of, and I am honored that there are little unique parts of me in people’s homes.

Pricing:

• 3 in. Ornamental hoop – $15
• 4 in. Mini hoop- $25
• 6 in. Medium hoop- $35
• 8 in. Large hoop-$40
• 10 in. XL hoop-$45
• Custom orders- $35+

Contact Info:

• Email: avajane24@gmail.com

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