My name is Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark, but you may know me as: mercedesknits on Kollabora, Ravelry, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, my blog, and pretty much everywhere else.

My DIY weapons of choice are yarn, needles, math, ink, paper. When I'm looking for inspiration, I scroll through flickr, polyvore, or pinterest for interesting images; go window shopping; or visit a cafe to people-watch, and After a long day of making things I like to unwind with a movie and a glass of wine, and honestly...more knitting. 

I got started making when I was a very small child! I would sew, make paper dolls, and draw for hours.

When I think about starting a new project I get out my sketchbook or an iPad drawing app (my favorite is Sketchbook Pro), and start scribbling. Then I grab some yarn and start trying out swatches of texture patterns and mixed colors. This is the most exciting part!

The best part about running my own business is getting to create so many fun designs and follow my passion. On top of that, I get to have flexible hours so that even though I often work long hours, I can make time for what’s important to me in my personal life: spending time with my sweetie and my friends, walks with my dog Leelu, cooking, and taking good care of myself.

My advice to anyone looking to start their own business is to do tons of research to make a good plan for your idea. Talk to other people in your industry, or just with similar business models, don’t be shy! Most creative people are happy to talk about their passion, including the possible pitfalls of making a living from it. Use this info to help broaden your ideas, but don't compare yourself to others. Know what you want to create and experience every day, every month, and over the life of your business.

If I wasn't a knitwear designer and writer, I would love to be a tattoo artist, or in the Peace Corps.

If I ever stop creating you’ll find me in a coma. Seriously, that’s what it would take. My brain just won’t stop wandering off to new ideas!

My favorite Smartphone app is an even tie between Twitter and the new Flickr app. I love connecting with other people across the internet, either by conversations or through sharing interesting images. Both apps have given me a way to connect and share ideas, and I love meeting my twitter friends in real life to expand a friendship! That moment of a first “real world” hug after so many online conversations is the best!

The movie/book/song that can cheer me out of any bad mood is anything by the Pixies or Tuneyards, Doctor Who, or The Royal Tenenbaums (my favorite movie ever). I look up NPR's Tiny Desk Concert videos a lot, too.

My favorite thing about making is the process. I love finished objects, but for me it’s all about the steps to get there. The journey is what draws me in, even when I look at other makers’ work I’m imagining the process they used to get to the finished object.

To me, DIY means learning, researching, growing. That feeling of satisfaction and self-confidence that comes with making or fixing something, and loving a new object for all of it, even imperfections.

I'm excited about the Maker movement/revolution because I think the more people are connected to the objects in their lives through making them, the more they value them and think about more of their belongings value. I think that closer-to-home mindset can only be good for our disposable culture in the long run.