We had the good fortune of connecting with Brittany Uecker and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Brittany, what principle do you value most?
Put it out in the world. If someone could magically add up the amount of time I’ve wasted overthinking if I should share something I made, I would like them to hide that number and NEVER show it to me!! It’s a lesson I will keep relearning over and over again. Artists can’t waste time wondering if what we created has worth to everyone, people connect in different forms. Putting out more art is the best way to find your voice, your skills and style. Then after a couple hundred pieces, you can really see a common thread in your art and what you individually bring to interpretations. And noticing what people request from you can be extremely helpful to keep creating what YOU like but still appealing to others! Most of the embroidery hoops or sketch comedy videos I’ve been anxious to post or have people see, are the ones that get responses I could have never predicted! Perfection is insanely boring & rarely teaches us anything! So PUT IT OUT IN THE WORLD so someone else feels inspired to do so too!
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I feel extremely proud of my little embroidery shop when people reach to me for a custom order. It’s so heart warming when people go out of their way to plan something personal for a loved one. Whether it’s a obscure movie reference, an inside joke or an embroidered self portrait of their dog, I am so honored to be a part of the equation.
Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
When any of my friends come to LA, I try to make it specific to their interests but there are a couple places I ALWAYS have to take everyone! – Brunch on the patio at Alcove, the menu is huge & they have DIY mimosas, enough said. – I love swinging by Lemonade for their desserts and flavored lemonades while I drive them around to see the city. – Lake Hollywood park is a great spot to see the Hollywood sign and some cute pups having the time of their lives. – I ALWAYS take visitors to Good Times at Davey Wayne’s! Nothing says fun like walking through a fridge to a 70’s theme house. the decor is so fun but what you don’t want to skip is the food stand in the back! The most AMAZING grilled cheese I have ever had!! Period! – Plus if we can fit it in, I always try to take a mini-road trip to Josuha Tree. The place is too beautiful and close by to not ejoy a fun frolic through the desert!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The book “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert is an absolute MUST READ for creatives. I literally don’t lend this book to friends, because I go back to it so often! Gilbert gives such great examples of how to see creativity and fear, visualizing them in different ways instead of letting them rule your decisions. This example blew my mind. Imagine you, Creativity & Fear are all going on a road trip. You are driving, Creativity is riding shotgun & Fear is in the back. You and Creativity are in charge and make all the decisions in your journey. Fear is in the back seat, Fear can chime in and often has valid points, but Fear does not get to make decisions about the trip. It is up to you and Creativity to get there without any decisions by Fear. That was game changing for me. We can’t reach “flow” when we are self editing.
Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/cheeseywhiskersshop
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cheeseywhiskersshop/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CheeseyWhiskers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CheeseyWhiskers-Embroidery-Shop-2044419639156490/
Youtube: youtube.com/cheeseywhiskers
Image Credits
All mine. My personal photo is not attaching for some reason. I changed it size multiple times. Will attach in email. Thank you.