Handmade Store: Milton and Gracie

My name is Jessica. I am the knitter and the crafter behind milton&gracie. I am a Montrealer by birth and a definite city-girl at heart. The very little travels I have had to date have been south of the border to other cities like New York and Boston. But, in the Fall of 2010 I finally reached the summit of the Eiffel Tower. In time I will smell the air in the Sistine Chapel because I am convinced it smells old!

I work for milton&gracie part time now. I share my time between researching, writing, sourcing, learning, and making sandwiches because something has to pay the bills!

When I am not twirling my needles, or dreaming away, I live a rather quiet life. I dabble in the kitchen, I surf the interwebs, or I’ll shop.

As a little girl, I remember always drawing. Every Christmas Santa would bring me new supplies like watercolors, papers, and even pastels. What made me want to become an artist is the first trip to the museum I remember taking with my mom and dad. We experienced Dali. I don’t remember the details of all the pieces, but I remember feeling spellbounded. And I believe my affection for art grew from then. In high school, I laughed because others thought my probable destination was a starving artist in Paris! If I were to survive on my creations, I would be starving, but unfortunately, not in Paris!

It has only been recently that I have considered my craft as an option of earning a living. In the last few years I decided to give it all a go and see where it brought me. I realized I loved yarns. Textures, palettes, and patterns are abundant and can be unceasingly combined to create unique pieces. As it stands, I currently work from my versatile living room and kitchen!

In college I majored in the fine arts. Among many subjects we were taught to look at space. Most often a person sees the object before them, but we learned to look at the space between the objects and to create interesting space. It is fascinating how differently you appreciate the same scene when you look at it from another angle. That’s how I knit. Ok, don’t laugh…But as I learned to knit many years ago I would never undo my work if I made a mistake. I would always incorporate it into the piece! In the process of teaching myself the art of craft, I learned that sometimes, it is worth the energy to start over. I guess, this would be the biggest part of my creative process.

My favorite materials to work with are as natural as possible. Merinos, silks, cottons. If I can get something organic, then I do. If it is handspun, then I get it. Kettle dyed even better! I appreciate the essence of nature and I incorporate it into my lifestyle and in my work as much as I can.

In ten years, where would I like to be? Ah, what an awesome question. I want to be healthy, content, in love, and creative. I want to be just like right now, but with more. I want my part time work to become my full time work. Lastly, I want to inspire others to go for what they love and to continue to be inspired because it helps me grow.