AlexWhatton

I ship from West Hartford, Connecticut, USA (usually) + my Instagram is @DirtStudio if you want to see what's headed your way! (SPOILER ALERT!)

About Me:
--> Founder + Creative Director + Artist behind “Dirt Studio” in Connecticut. Mother of three sons (8, 6, and 1.5).

I studied Sustainable Fashion Design at Parsons The New School for Design (May 2011) and Animal Behavior at UConn (December 2006). I consider myself an adventure- and laughter-loving artist and crafter. Addicted to snail mail and learning new things.

My favorite adventures are traveling, finding flea markets around the globe, paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking, horseback-riding, skiing (I used to race GS), exploring new towns, and taking local arts and crafts classes. I taught Beginner Drawing at Artsplace in CT and love to sketch, carve, bead, embroider, emboss, draw, illustrate, doodle, paint, pastel, felt, sew, and more.

I love treehouses, tiny homes, collages, minimalism, maximalism, haha, layers of colors, adventures, getting outside, and traveling.

• carving / linocut / stampmaking
• beading / embroidery
• dyeing fabrics
• sewing
• sketching / designing / illustrating
• watercolors / acrylics
• pen and ink / ZENTANGLE
• working in my sketch- and illustration-books (smashing, collaging, painting, sketching, illustrating, fashion design, experimenting, washi taping, practicing penmanship/calligraphy, lettering, etc...I love filling them up!)
• rubber stamping
• pen pal-ing / writing letters + postcards
• making ATCs/ACEOs
• learning NEW crafts!

Elbow, Christine and the Queens, everything 90’s, TLC, Weezer, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Beatles, The Big Chill Soundtrack, Taylor Swift, Fela Kuti, Musicals, epic movie soundtracks and orchestral pieces, Miles Davis, Sharon Jones and the DapKings, The White Stripes, The Shins, ...

• Throne of Glass and A Court of Thrones and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas
• A Discovery of Witches series by Deborah Harkness
• Harry Potter
• The Hunger Games
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
• Stardust by Neil Gaiman
• The Magicians
• The Hate U Give
• The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
• How to Steal Like an Artist
• The 4-Hour Work Week
• I LOVE going in to used book stores or flea markets and "hunting" for old books and beautiful / useful items, especially to use in art + design projects!
• Goodreads fan!

Legally Blonde, Harry Potter, Independence Day, Starship Troopers, The Hunger Games, Avatar, Star Trek, Serenity, Love Actually, Penelope, Amelie, Stardust, Brave, The Fifth Element, The Holiday, The Greatest Showman, ...

Firefly, Grimm, Project Runway, Sherlock, Sense8, Blown Away, The Great British Bake-off, The Magicians, ...

Colors : rust, turquoise, teal, black, CMYK, black and white, golds, contrast, muted, okay I love all colors and combinations!

Treehouses, anything unusual, rare, surreal, sci-fi, fantasy, odd, steampunk, handmade anything (especially paper), ATCs, ACEOs, washi tape, glue pens, tombow, copic, or micron markers, watercolor brushes, new art tools, elements of nature (including fairies, dragons, and magical creatures), zentangles, watercolors, fashion design, adventure, travel, old world maps, paddle-boarding, skiing, kayaking, surfing, flying, hiking, camping, fires, lakes, Babywearing, Eco-living, snail mail, smashing, art journaling, sketching, painting, SEWING, beading, embroidery, picnics, and trying new things!

Favorite animals / images / icons : (All realistic depictions, I'm not a fan of cartoon-like images...think encyclopedia or antique-like engravings for the style I enjoy most, thank you!).

--> Monkeys, apes, horses, bugs, rare or "ugly" underwater species, jellyfish, octopus, mermaids, hermit crabs, lobsters, crabs, turtles (sea and painters), rhinos, hippos, big cats, kudu, ostriches, zebras, elephants, bicycles, kayaks, paddleboards, surfboards, canoes, leaves, illustrated flowers, berries, fruits, vegetables, le creusets, wine bottles, old sailboats and pirate-looking ships, outrigger canoes, tents, camping, moss, dragons, fairy-houses, TREEHOUSES (I based my whole final fashion design collection at Parsons on them!), Persian cats, ferns, and old-looking maps.

--> Stickers: steampunk, gears, vintage keys, scissors, measuring tape/rulers, old cameras, globes, vintage shoes, fleur de lis, ... (And I have a toddler who loves trains, diggers, cars, buses, bugs, turtles, dinosaurs, and dragons!!).

--> Tea: (I prefer Organic / Fair Trade / Sustainable) Earl Gray, English Breakfast, Green Tea, or Black Tea - thank you!

Horror, religious anything, intentionally rude/mean/angry things, animal cruelty, guns, war, pessimism, ...

FOOD : we have allergies, so please don't send any food unless we have talked. Thank you!

• digital swaps (stickers, art journaling pages, whatever...that are designed and emailed by you!).
• washi tapes
• glue dots, glue pens, photo corners, etc...
• copic markers (fine line or others!)
• sakura pigma micron pens
• any fine liners, really - especially permanent
• zentangle links / books / how-to's or ideas
• precut ATC / ACEO sized paper
• Eco-anything (recycled paper, pencils, fabric)
• fabric (especially 1/2 yard +)
• stickers with diggers, fish, or bugs (for my toddler!)
• chalkboard anything (labels, tags, stickers, markers)
• miniature canvases
• found / vintage jewelry or beads
• unused postage that you designed
• unique, handmade magnets
• unused, handmade postcards
• collage materials that you think I might like

Thanks for reading!!!