Homespun E13 | Minki Kim

welcome to Homespun where creativity Finds Its voice I your host Misty Don and today I'm joined by minky Kim who shares her journey of moving to the US learning English and starting her crafting and sewing [Music] brand hello minky thank you so much for being here will you tell everyone a little bit about yourself hi everyone thank you so much for having me here sitting in front of a with the Misty because this is the time we I've been looking for longing for oh you're busy you are so sweet minky we have had the chance to work together a few times and it's always an absolute Delight I I just love what you do and I'm excited that we'll get to hear more of your story and to find out how you got started and so would you mind um sharing with people kind of how you got started with with sewing and crafting and Design Okay I uh came here right after my marriage I married uh November end of November I came to here like a week later with the nobody came to the US right uh yeah from Korea and so from Korea I've been I've been spent my entire adult life no Whole Life in Korea and get married and then with my husband came here with just a two big suitcase and didn't know anybody just my husband I think I didn't think of much at the time if I have go back I will think further anyway so I become a mom right after and then I had to stay home and I need to find something for myself because it's just spend whole your day Wasing the dishes doing the whole house work and look take care of your children kids yeah and then I've been over I'm my major is a fine art so there is O I want to create something so that is the how I start sewing I found the sewing machine and then at the beginning I didn't know how to use it the sewing machine so because I was happy with my hand stitching and one day I don't know how I just got to think I should do this so I start to stitching straight stitching and of course every everything is not even so my first coaster was a wony I still have as a record how I became different so that's how I start sewing uhuh yes it was like my first friend in America that was a sewing machine I love that well and it probably was a sense of Refuge right to have something that you could sit and do and make I can remember as a young mom not you know obviously I I grew up here in the in the States um but still as a young mom I I felt um alone at times because you're so busy you know taking care of the kids taking care of the house that you kind of lose a little bit of yourself and so I can I can relate to that need for something creative something fulfilling for yourself to um to carry you through those hard days of of raising little ones I wish I could talk like you yeah exactly what you was what I wanted to say I wish I could talk like that beautifully oh that's very kind you speak you speak very well and and I think that you know it it's a credit to you and for the work that you've put in to to come to a new country and learn a new language can you share a little bit about how you you learned English oh English in Korea I I went to this Language Institute early morning before I go to work so like you wake up 6:00 in the morning you have to ride like an hour Subway and then you get there and then study like one hour before you go to work at 9:00 so I've been doing that for a long time to develop my English but you have only that one hour over time to really talk to in English with your foreign teacher and then right after the class it's everybody is Korean everything is in Korean you have no chance to speak in right and then I tried to practice many times so now I remember what I've been practicing was not really the quite the word you guys use here so like how is it going nobody teach that kind of a word oh that's that's so true I mean we have we use a lot of slang so I can imagine it would be very difficult to um to take the things that you learned the classroom and then apply them here but you've done so well and not only that but you you've built a business here since since coming here for sewing and so can you talk a little bit about how you kind of combined your background and Fine Arts with um you you created a website Right and started to sell patterns so how did you make that jump that was a like my first start was a little builtin desk right in in front of my bathroom in the small apartment so I had this like this size of table just enough space to put your a small like a less than $200 sewing machine and there a box of a fabric and on the back there's like five spool you have that was my very beginning and I move up to my dining table I like that upgrade I could upgrade because you have have better space and then the B thing is you have to wrap it up when my your husband coming and you have to eat dinner there so you s everything there and then eat and then you bring back but I kind of enjoyed that short amount of time that while my little baby was sleeping my two kids were in the school so I think when I recall that time I had always want we should have more time but I think because of that small amount of time you have to be always creative right because you keep thinking and you cherish that time so much because compared to that I have more time but I don't think I'm that productive anymore maybe I'm to spoil with the bigger bigger material and everything anyway that that's the time I just started and I was jealous with this Korean actress very famous and her husband was a computer guy and she he make uh made a Blog for on the website for the lady I read that article at the newspaper and I my husband is also computer programmer so I said I want to like that make a website for me so that's how my husband made a website for me the name is mik kim.com because of the time when I came here all only my uh friend was so machine and full TV and HD TV and I was just so into Matha Stuart and Ma ma.com right. that's how I start my very first website and I start to just post all the step pictures and about you I don't have ability right instruction just to take all the step pictures and then just uh uploaded the bunch of steps without saying anything yeah and because of that I got to have a chance get a call from the magazine editor one day she emailed me I'm interested in your bag it was like a bank magazine so and because because of that start I got to have a call from the old Quil magazine all different kind of magazines and then my husband thinking why don't you start selling your parent who would pay money for my parent who would do interest in I was like that and I didn't know but this any big sowing communities exist I didn't really know anything so what I started is like a 99 cent like drawing that you can trace and embroid or sewing uh right app I call it sewing illustration so this that is how I started and then I had a chance to write a book with my friend Christine and then through that experience I got to know how to take proper pictures how to write instructions and all kind of thing and then I was Brave to make my first pattern and now I have over 200 I was going to say you're quite prolific now you've you've designed so many and and the thing that I love about your patterns spy is that they're typically very approachable they're not necessarily huge projects I feel like a lot of them are are ones you could do in a day or two which is is perfect for people who are just getting started or maybe need a little pickme up in between a big quilt project um you have so many great ones that are just like here I'm going to make this cute little zipper pouch or these coasters or you know just just wonderful designs on your website and so do you do that on purpose are you looking to create uh smaller projects is that what you love I wish I could do like what you do because we all have our magic because I'm always en be the big pie of the beautiful quilts but I don't have that kind of patience so I want to have a small project because you lack of a patience if I start here and I want to finish it by the time I go to bed so next morning I can see the finish the project that's I always open make a small one but whenever I go to quilt shops or quilt Retreat or major star and I was wow over the whole the beautiful collections hanging on the wall and then when I go back to home and now I'm going to make a Quil well but this like my recent one but I it's beautiful I love it with is is that applique and embroidery that you've added behind you there it's it applique embroidery no no not embroidery it's a RI applique just applique oh it's beautiful absolutely beautiful and you drew all the shapes and and created all of those so so amazing and look at you I mean that is it's just gorgeous with the little nine patches and around it I love it so much that nine pets is the uh the first thing thing I learned at quilt shop in Korea so I had a chance to go there with my sister it was I was in a between job so I had plenty of time so I found a little C shop in my uh Hometown and then their time nobody use sewing machine there everybody use their hand everything is by hand so I learned that nine pat they teach me how to make pinush out of that and then after that we made a little like a pouch it by hand everything M and then some the dolls and there was the basic skill I learn when I come here so from that I started so so so did you did you go to that shop before you were married and moved here yes yes when I was single okay so that's amazing so are there a lot of quilt shops or sewing shops in Korea yeah I I actually wasn't didn't know anything about because I wasn't never be a member of that but uh we are like a very cute little things you know there's a huge Market you go and there's a small shop shop shop shop but they they just the specific of the buttons or or like had the Notions or the the Fabrics there's such a thing there so I like to I didn't know what to do but I like to collect those little C you're like you're like I don't know what I'm going to make but I know I like all of these things oh man do I relate to that my husband gets on to me all the time because I'm always collecting little little Notions and trims and he's like what are you going to use that for I don't know but I'll have it when the time is right people want to look at your collection what you have collected because people would think me think you must have everything is there any anything you still need no I honestly I I feel very fortunate I mean getting to work with Missouri Star I have I have pretty much every option available to me which is is quite a gift I feel really grateful for that to be able to to pick the thing that's right for the project but um I I just it had never occurred to me that um that you you would have you know stumbled into a shop in Korea before you came here I hear from a lot of European countries oh I would love it I hear from a lot of European countries that they have very few fabric shops now are there still a lot of shops like you were talking about in Korea I don't know because it's been a long time that time they have I think they have mostly Japanese fabric not so many American but now the market is changing so they must have a all different company from Europe or every other that's amazing so so back to to this big leap that you took to putting your your projects online so how long did it it take for you to feel like you were finding success and finding an audience I don't feel I'm success oh Micky come on no I'm still still chasing you know but yeah I always wish I was her I be I was a him you know I wish I was there well that's so interesting because it's really easy for us to compare right and to and to to feel like we need to do more I fall into that a lot myself where it's like oh I if I if I had done this better or if I had tried this or or maybe maybe they you know people would like this pattern better if I had had just changed this thing before I I finished it um but at the end of the day I think the thing that really beautiful about our industry is that there's room for everybody and everybody's talents that they bring in are so important and what you do is so important minky I think you are incredibly gied needed that yeah you need to give yourself the credit that you deserve we need that every day but it's very surprising because you're Misty everybody know you and I never thought you would have that kind of regrets or thought when you go to sleep you know yeah nobody I think as a creative we all fall into that though right like like it's if you have a creative practice and it's part of what you do when you're making something all the time I always joke that they can't all be winners right I'm not GNA love every single thing that I do but I really want to I want to love all of them and so I think it's that part where you're like I don't know it's okay but it's just not okay it's not my best but every day can't be the best right so so giving oursel that that little bit of Grace and saying you know I'm still really proud of the work that I'm doing I'm proud that I put something new out there every day um I think anyone any anybody in the creative space can relate to that right and whenever I meet people at the open space and I that makes me humble you know the people may don't have any like the number of a follow you have a number of the what I say doesn't those kind of thing you cannot measure by numbers right and I always learn from peop who doesn't have any blog who doesn't do Facebook who doesn't do any social media but Mo most Masters are hidden underground that you cannot find that's a really good point it's so true especially in today's day and age when so much of what we do is focused on social media it's a good reminder that there's there are Treasures out there to be found there are you know masters of our crafts that have just never maybe taken the step to to share their stuff on social media but that doesn't mean that there's not more to learn and I learn something new every day that's a really important reminder I appreciate that yes because of that I never think I'm you know successful or you know anything I just a little person one of you you know always looking for things to learn you know I love that that's yeah I really appreciate this chance and I I don't even know if I am you know ready to sit here talk about me you're so sweet and I I really appreciate you being here and I think that my hope hope for for this show and getting to talk to so many different people is that it can help uh maybe share some of the struggle and the process that everybody is going through because I think for a lot of us we only see the end result I only see your beautiful projects that you share on Instagram and I think man she's so talented she's just crushing it and so for you to to be open here and say you know I still feel like I have a lot to learn I I feel like I have more to do um it's a good reminder to all of us that we don't have to compare ourselves we're more alike than we are different because we're all struggling through that together so right this morning I saw this Instagram post one about the lady I start to follow and then she for Four Season I gained one follower today what she said like that and then it made reminds me of the the very first start of my Instagram I started from I didn't know what is the Instagram my friend told me there is just such a thing you should make one and I didn't know what what to post so I post my first picture was my daughter start write her name you know it was very and the next day I posted my daughter doing the swimming swimming pool and next I draw the flower she gave it to me but I you know when I grow and grow and I erase all my personal things you know but that time gaining one follow was so important and so precious right and then next day you lose two follower yeah makes me so depressed it's like what did I do wrong why do you don't like me you know you talk about that and then I just wanted to tell her now I'm Turing to know most of a people and the people or me over that time that time and then just to showing yourself every day is important and I think I what I learn is just doing what you're doing it doesn't really help growing social media and it's good to show up every day is important and also I think you work with the the big peoples is also important but you cannot like post every day you cannot always collaborate with everybody and that's what I've been learning and I'm still struggling you know if you think there's so many new thing and you have to compare with the Sony you have to compare with the F for because they are showing up and WR it right next to their gorgeous nice professional picture and my Fe showing up right it's yes you are comparing like there's what you call the end of limit you're comparing with everybody so I just to I think you have to shut up for that number yeah absolutely if you don't want to focus on that right like you have to remember the why behind it because if you're if you're focusing on the numbers and the people who are following then you're going to lose the joy right and and it's really about sharing and finding community and the people that that relate to what you do because you know even now I I I have kind of a LoveHate relationship with social media like I love that it lets lets me connect and I get to see what other talented people are working on but I also don't want to spend a ton of my time on it when I have you know young kids and a a job and a business and so much to do with my time um I don't necessarily really put as much effort into it as I think that I should uh and so sometimes I like to be really hard on myself and like oh I I probably should have more followers I probably should work harder on this but at the end of the day I I live in a really small town right and I think about if every single person in this town followed my Instagram well I've got like way more than that now and that's a lot of people it's enough to be a whole th community and so it doesn't have to be you know 10,000 or 20,000 or 30,000 people or you know a million people in order to have a community of people who are there and want to be there and like what you're doing and I think that if you can remember that over the numbers themselves like no these are this is a a you know what it whatever it is a 100 200 people who really like what I'm sharing um and what a gift to have that many people who are cheering you on right right because because that lady she said I gain one follow but I am following you and I love what you are doing so yeah you I want to tell everyone you know I love that and I'm following you and I'm following you exactly exactly so is there anything else along that line that you would want to share with someone who is maybe just getting started maybe they're they're trying to sell their first pattern or they've just made their own Instagram what what kind of advice would you give them I want to say use your Instagram or social Facebook or whatever as your resume your portfolio don't mix it with your pet or kids or something else you know because whenever when you meet someone when you think of you ready you pull your camera right and and then pull your phone and then you show this is me right now that's how people communicate how to introduce themselves right whenever I meet you you I I'm this I make this right then you show people what you do but you don't want to mix the in between there's like a family reunion picture or graduation picture so just to make separate if you really want to focus what you're are doing that's my advice and I it's not my idea I learn from the other expert yeah I I think that's great advice um and and it definitely helps you or at least I think it's helpful to me a as a creative to try and like focus in what you really want to share because when you're thinking about okay what do I want to see more of on social media and how do I help fill that void um trying to trying to focus uh as much as possible is really important although I am always in the team like I want to see all the kid pictures and the baby pictures just because it's it's happy and fun but you're right like there's a there's a time and a place and I tend to share that more like on my stories instead of in my feed um so people can see like the day-to-day in my stories but my feed stays a little bit more quilting specific so I think there's a way to to meet both of those needs Now is awesome to you because when you are in certain certain number I don't know what what is the correct word and people like whatever you do oh that's very kind that's very kind but if you just start like you know your big let's say there's uh the author or your favorite designer you already know what she design but now you want to know what she told you after behind the behind the project you're showing but yeah when you are not that kind of a level yet just to start doing what you just want to show people but if you like a big like a misty or Journey they want to know what you're doing right after your the the this fil you know where you go what you eat you know how do you do your left over yeah but I'm not that so I don't share I think you are to me you are and I I think that's what's so interesting is is uh there can be this perspective of what what people see online and think and you know I I feel like you are such a warm and genuine and wonderful person and so I I would always love to see more about you I I I like to see what what you're doing and and um I love what you create and so don't don't uh bring yourself down you are worthy of all of that minky it's oh you going to make me cry don't stop it no no crying only happy thoughts today but um um so Le let's let's go back to to your designs because I I think the one of the things that's so fun is they have this beautiful sort of handrawn feel that you make them out of fabric or with stitches so where do you get your inspiration where do where does that come from it's mostly my everyday small little life and used to be my little kids my three they're not little anymore my three daughter they were playing something and I take a picture or I just start try to memory and then I uh transfer on the paper and then next to the febrary and then I just wanted to frame that moment because it Go by if you you don't forget if you forget it right fast yeah so so that was my most inspiration and now I don't know my dog my daughter doesn't want allow me take a picture of there if I just secretly take Mom eras it like that oh so but I just like to because I like to be home because I if I go spend go out and spend time outside and it makes me very tired so I might just even in I was in Korea I wasn't like even when I was little I wasn't like that I just like to sit down and sketchy things you know write the write words write the stories essays those kind of a thing so those are kind of my personality comes through my drawing I love that do you do you spend a lot of time drawing each day do you still have like a practice that you do I to be honest to be honest you you ideally you support you supposed to draw every day like the musician you know they have to play every day they say if you don't play one day you you know you didn't and then you play didn't like three day the all the audience will notice like that that so they say you have to do every day I try to follow that but you cannot you don't know what to do out so when I have to uh design new collection I make myself is in in front of a computer like a whole day like eight hours but I'm until I'm happy next day next day it's been like a month until I'm done with it but if done with my collection I don't do every day hey I understand that so I mean people ask me all the time they're like do you sew every day and I don't I I just with everything that is happening in my schedule it doesn't work out that way so I might spend you know a week at the computer because I do a lot of my designs digitally first and so I'll I'll work at the computer and do a bunch of mockups and testing and then I might have a week where I'm testing all of those blocks that I designed to make sure that they're going to fit together the way that I think they are and see if I need to make any tweaks and then um then I might have a week of filming and you know so it's just it's I I don't get to do that every day either but I I am Cur I you know it's nice to know like obviously you've been an artist your whole life you've been drawn to that your whole life and so being able to continue to cultivate that and to have it be a part of your life that's a pretty pretty special thing and to be able to then incorporate it into your fabric designs because now not only do you design patterns you design fabric right I thought everybody make a quiz for you I didn't know you make them and you change the things oh my God I thought everybody do you have a little tiny people working for you we have a whole team finish the one yeah we have a whole team that helps those times in front of camera I didn't know I thought everybody does that for you oh no that's very sweet I mean I do we have a team that helps helps sew the finished quilts but like I do all the design and testing beforehand so oh you test you don't ask people to test well so they they test it too but like all that initial design because I do it first digitally then I I I always have to actually it with fabric too to make sure that the math that I've done for the computer is still going to work and so it's it's it's kind of like a two-face process when I'm designing a new quilt um I I play with the color and and you know how the shapes are going to interact I do all of that digitally and then I have to make sure okay now I know what I want this to look like can I make it out of fabric and so yeah I do all of that part um that's that's the part that I love do you do you have a do you have a schedule like this week you have to finish this next week you have to come up with a new one you a year long schedule for year yeah so I usually break it out um like week to week but so right now I'm actually trying to get farther ahead in some of my tutorials so that I don't have to film quite as often and so it um it just depends how early I can get fabric since I like we work with all the different vendors in the comp in the industry um so I have to wait for my fabric samples to get in so that I can make the quilt and then film it and so there's a lot of variables that come into play but uh yeah I it's always interesting and always new but I am a big planner I have to be planned ahead and like right now you know I'm working on designs that will come out at the end of this year and so I haven't filmed them yet so like I just filmed some that will release here in the next two months but I'm I'm already working you know pretty far down the road I'm sure it's the same for you like when you're desig fabric no you you talking to you after I talking to you I'm so lazy I don't work hard enough no minky that's ridiculous that's ridiculous you do so much Plan hey we all have we all have our way though that that's the important thing about this conversation is remembering that like there's not really one way to get to the end result right you still have built a very successful business for yourself you are a designer of patterns and of fabric so I think it's important for people to know that like maybe your approach is a little more casual than mine but that but like it works I like your approach I like yours I I think we should trade I think we should trade so but but will you share with people how you made the leap and how you started designing fabric how did I start fabric okay I been always I think most of the people design want to design their own fabric right and then I been longing for that and I just to made this this submission designing and then sent to R Li Blake that time Riley black is the only company I know somebody in there so I sent and then they liked it and that was my very BestDay but so how I started and then from that first collection dear diary and I've been learning collection after and after and I get to like my collection better and better because I mean you always like your current collection but now I really really like my current collection because you you've been practiced a lot and you've been you know how other cty works together kind of experience and you add up add up and then you got to have a more more what you say you know more you know better what family Works which one like that yeah I mean it it's the same like um Jenny talks a lot about how sewing is a learned skill I think design is the same right the more hours that you put in the more you learn the better you become the more confident you become in what you're designing and so I can relate to that on the pattern sides of things I've never designed fabric yet although I would love to that would be really fun someday I I would love that but um but right now I I just enjoy letting all you experts handle that and getting to use your beautiful fabric so can you talk a little bit about uh what line you have coming up oh now my current oh I have a here here sure do you see these are cute these are made from my bloomberry bloomberry collection it's for the first time I made this pouchy P like this because I didn't think about making pouy P but my friends from Riley Blake they say you should design pouch pan people keep asking your bags yeah that's a great if they want then I will try that is my first try and everybody loved it so I'm okay so all those little bags come in a panel oh yard of a yard of P just you need one yard and you need to you can make this five pouches oh I love The Coasters this is back and this is the front and it has more thing you can make like it's only a yard and then you can just cut and then you watch my video and then you can have a five different parties kind of things my current one and this is also bloomberry this is my current one awesome so so everybody can hopefully get their hands on that soon or if it's is it in in stores now it's a it's in stores so Ju Just to search up blueberry then I think mjor have one too per awesome well minky thank you so much for being here with me and sharing a little bit about your story is there anything else you want to share before we uh wrap it up I don't want to wrap up I want I just want to keep talking well we can we can keep talking all all afternoon right I want to interview you how do you do how did you start how did you uh are so good at talking in front of a camera I would know I don't think because that's what me to know that is very sweet I well if you really want to know I will share just a little bit so I I grew up sewing um truly all of the women in my life were very crafty very creative very confident at a sewing machine and so I grew up um being able to play making doll clothes um my grandma made the majority of my clothes when I was a little girl and so I was I was never afraid of a sewing machine um but when my grandma who I just adored she's my favorite person she got sick with cancer and was working on a quilt and the first time I remember really piecing a quilt was with her and she would just say she she lost the use of her hands because the cancer had gone to her brain so only her left hand worked and she was right-handed and she's like can you sew these for me so I would sit at the machine and she would just tell me how old do are you that time uh I was probably about 14 or 15 at this time um and so she would just tell me what to sew and I would sit there in peace and so that's the first jump into quilting that I ever had and then when she passed away it was such a sacred special time uh I didn't really want to quilt for a long time because that was what we did together and then a few years after Jake and I were married of course our family we we started Missouri Star and I would help on the blogs and with with our Forum at the time I had little kids at home so I would just do things I could do from home and it really wasn't until my youngest was going into preschool and he needed like a little little nap mat um that I I was like oh you know I'm not gonna buy him a blanket I can make him a little quilt really quick for him to take to preschool and so I did that and then it was I really never looked back from and and once my youngest was in school then I started helping at the film studio here and so I worked behind the scenes I did a lot of the little quilt Snips where it was just my hands initially um but as far as speaking on camera that took a lot of practice so it's been how long how long you've been speaking camera uh uh so I've been on camera now I want to say six years uh six a year to go yeah yeah so it's it it's crazy CU time flies but but when I've I helped in the film studio from the time Ezra was probably about four so it's been almost 10 years that I I was there you know really sewing all the time and and working on tutorials so it yeah crazy but this wasn't supposed to be about me minky no no I think people would love to hear you know about that I like that part because you wanted to make your handmade table mat for your kid it was my start of a Pou how I my first Pou I made because my good daughter go to kindergarten and her friend has this cute little pouy she's Japanese right you know and her mom don't know how to S but her grandma made it and they sent to her and then I was just so jealous you know oh my my daughter have to those kind of a cute things so that's how I start my very first part and it just still get the best uh best view best view in my blog I love that called station pouch is stationary pouch stationary pouch I love that well and I think that's a good reminder that like the the why behind what we do is what people connect with right and so we can all relate to wanting to make something really special for our kids or for our loved ones and being able to to find that thing that's just right for them is so so wonderful and so special and and I I think that's definitely one of the many reasons we do what we do so minky thank you so much for being here I truly appreciate it we'll have to get together again hopefully in person thank you thank you so much oh absolutely I appreciate it so one more time can you remind everyone where they can find you and follow along if they want to see what you're up to oh I am minky Kim by the way um my Instagram is Zano z r i a n o and my CH is a sewing illustration.car and tutorials and also my YouTube channel youtube.com/ minky Kim then there's a lot of videos you can make just like as I made yes I hope wonderful to make together you know I hope everybody's happy with the the result they I'm sure they will be thank you so much for being here and we will see everybody later bye bye [Music]