It was my grandparents who taught me to make things~like the wooden sofa and chair set with cushions custom fit for my dolls. To dream up an idea and develop it into a finished product with their help was an amazing process which hooked me at an early age. 

Onefishpillows started with a lumbar pillow I fashioned after the goldfish cracker. I remember looking down at the cracker in the palm of my hand and imagining it as a pillow. Adding the big button eye brought the pillow to life. Now I explore antique fish books with wonderful color plates and species charts with hand drawings and design shapes based on actual species that emulate that hand drawn look. During production my shop is piled and fabric is flying. I design, cut, sew and craft each piece by hand including endless yards of contrasting welt and hundreds of fabric covered button eyes.

The name onefishpillows is inspired by the book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Suess, which exclaims: "Say! what a lot of fish there are"...continually reminding me that the design possibilities are endless.

My workroom in western Wisconsin looks out at our railroad garden on the mighty Mississippi River.  I am continually finding inspiration in the surrounding landscape...but fretting over our troubled water and the fish that are too contaminated to eat regularly! I hope to bring awareness to our challenged fish population and help protect our glorious waterways!

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