Featured Etsian - ReannaLily Designs

Jen, the creative mind behind ReannaLily Designs, is another military spouse just like me! She has a degree in Apparel Design from LSU and she currently lives in South Korea. She is a designer and a seamstress and has the best variety of apparel, for women and little girls (check out one of my favorites, the Wild Apron Pants Outfit - to the right - for girls), purses, aprons and blankets. I wanted to know more about Jen, her products and how where she lives inspires her.

You have such a great variety of items in your shop - what is one of your favorites? The best sellers are the Army Cube Purses made from recycled uniforms. Many of my clients provide me with their husband's uniforms for the project. Some clients choose a bag ready-made and opt to customize the name-tape portion with crazy words or hot pink embroidery thread. I do really like the purses.

Do you remember the first quilt you ever made and what was it? I made my first quilt when I was 17. It was a horrible disaster of yellow gingham and purple plaid triangles; set on point no less. I gave it as a gift to my, ahem, boyfriend who was headed off to LSU. (That turned out well, we've been married for 12 years now.) I had no concept of a seam allowance and the quilt unraveled into shreds within a couple years. He did, later duct tape that mangled up mess over his dorm-room window for room darkening... so it wasn't a total loss. Quilts are truly the gift that keeps on giving, right?

Where do you live now and does it bring inspiration to what you create? I currently live in South Korea. My town is the 3rd largest in the country, with 4 million people. Its absolutely wonderful here. We have seasons, culture, holidays and we're treated like celebrities when we're out in town. I know Korea gets a bad rap, but I've found it to be great. Korea is the leader in textile production- meaning truckloads of fabric is printed here- so its a virtual heaven for me. It has been quite an experience here and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to spread their wings.As far as my inspiration for creation- I've had the opportunity to live on an Army post for the first time and most of my clients are also my neighbors. They encouraged me to start selling my Army Cube purse as well as many other of my items. As many military spouses know, "Its not the town/assignment; its the people."

Thanks for a great interview Jen! You can find out more info about ReannaLily Designs at http://reannalilydesigns.com/. I leave you with pictures of 2 more of my favorite items in Jen's shop- aprons! and this announcement - ReannaLily is having a special Earth Day sales promotion at her store - free shipping! Click on the link to get there.