Interview with Night Lily Design

Browsing through the delightful creations in the shop of Night Lily Design is a perfectly magical experience. Professional belly dancer, costumer, and artist Kimberly Carman's fantastical items range from jewelry to faery wings to a simply gorgeous Dashing Mulberry Lace and Satin Jacket (my personal favorite). Her Fort Collins, Co studio is " filled to the brim and spilling over with every kind of magpie's dream imaginable. Strings and sparkly bits and piles of fabric!" Sounds like the kind of place that a pixie could nest quite happily in.


When asked what sparked her love of fantasy Kimberly says, "I think I've always loved it but you can probably blame the My Little Pony that I was gifted with when I was four". The Neverending Story and The Last Unicorn are close contenders for her favorite movie, while Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy and Raymond E. Feist's Faerie Tale are among her favorite fantasy books.
She is a girl with "too many hobbies to shake a stick at" who has taken art lessons both privately and in school since she was in the 3rd grade. Her college degree is in clothing design with an emphasis on theatrical and historical costuming. She loves to figure out how things work, so she is constantly digging in to something new.

She is inspired by Michael Whelan's use of light in his paintings and is also "endlessly fascinated by the bead embroidery designs used by the Turkish and Egyptian belly dance costume designers like Bella and Pharonix and Eman Zaki". And she hopes that her creations make people feel playful, beautiful, and inspired. I think she has succeeded!

Her advice to other Etsy sellers is that "if you love making it, someone else will love buying it. The energy carries through". She feels that consistency in branding is very important in creating a strong image. She also feels that networking is an important part of being a successful Etsy seller.


She loves criticism and says it"plays right into my love of "how does this work." So if the fit looks off or you want to see another color or maybe a different shape might have worked better, by all means, pipe up!" She says she is generally quite enthusiastic, however praise and appreciation really get her wings fluttering! She enjoys designing items with someone particular in mind. So, stop by her shop and browse through her lovely creations.

http://www.nightlilydesign.etsy.com/



Pop in and tell her HI! And if you need a new pair of faery wings, or a necklace to match your costume or faery dress, she would be happy to create a custom bit of magic just for you!

Kimberly Carman of Night Lily Design