Mimi Damrauer

I grew up with a very creative mother and sister and art/cooking projects were always going on at out house. I am self-taught. My last semester of collage in Madison, WI., I took fun art and home Ec classes that I never allowed myself to take before and I rediscovered my love of sewing and creating designs.

When I moved to Chicago, I was a special event planner for night clubs and restaurants and decided to do a few local art fairs to sell my baby blankets and quilts that I had been giving away as gifts to friends. I never thought I’d be one of “those” artists who does a ton of shows, but now I am!! I love getting out there and meeting my customers and building relationships. A lot of my repeat customers have become friends.

I am inspired always by looking around me…the sidewalk cracks, the way old bricks lay out, the crooked lines of a telephone pole in rural India, the color of the ocean in Costa Rica, and the stones on the beach in Italy.

I love what I do…it does not feel like a job to me. I really enjoy the whole business…creating work, selling and marketing it. I am especially proud of my work with Crate and Barrel, the best selling rug “Sebastian”. Seeing my work develop into a different product is incredible. I truly enjoy making my art and I hope that my work makes people happy when they see it.