Good morning! It’s Friday so it’s time for another interview! I hope you enjoy this one with Marie Kare of The Sampler. She’s RAD! If you’re not already familiar with her awesome project it’s essentially like a big box of FREE SAMPLES from all sorts of indie and crafty supertalents. Well, it’s not free, really. You do pay a small subscription fee to receive it but it defs has the same thrill as free samples.

Actually, I’d describe the thrill as similar to when you’re a kid and you get home from going out trick-or-treating and you empty your pillowcase full of candy on the kitchen table and jump around excited cuz life is so awesome. It’s totally like that except the booty is all this genius stuff from people who will blow your mind. (Speaking of Halloween, the pic above of Marie is from this year’s big day, ha ha!)

The Sampler is a terrific way to - in an instant! - get exposed to all kinds of new craft, art, music, etc that might not have come across your radar otherwise. Does it make a great Xmas gift for your crafty pal? Oh yeah. It’s also a genius way to promote your own business and - in that same instant - get your awesome stuff in the hands of people who might not have known of it otherwise. People like me! Click here to learn all the deets about subscribing and/or contributing to The Sampler.

Lastly - whoa, long post alert! - Marie’s site is amazing and has all sorts of other fun happenings. Surveys, haikus, how-to’s and HI-larious interviews with great peeps (like these two dudes) so there’s even more reason to 1-2-3-check-check-check it out! Recently, we turned the tables on Marie and interviewed HER for a change. Enjoy! PS. The Sampler RULES.

Hi Marie! We love The Sampler! Can you tell us about how it all started? How did you come up with such a genius idea?
It’s easy to come up with genius ideas when you’re a genius! Unfortunately, I am not a genius, so I had to think about it really hard and get input from other people. Back in the day, I had a tiny little brick and mortar boutique called the Mini Mart on Telegraph in Berkeley, CA. It was basically the size of a walk-in closet and, in the beginning, was all stuff I had made myself. Despite the size and the all-me, all-the-time nature of the products, people actually bought stuff! But not so much in my online boutique. Why not? It was exactly the same stuff! So, this got me to thinking that the basic but important difference was that, in the actual shop, people could touch and feel and play with everything before they decided to purchase it. Most stuff, especially handmade stuff, has a presence or reality to it in person that no amount of photography can really capture. When you’re holding something in your hand, almost everything you need to know about it is right there — what’s the craftsmanship like? How will this be packaged? How big is it? Does it weigh more than a goose egg? Could I fit this in my mouth? You know, the important questions.

So, I wanted a way of getting samples of products into people’s hands. I seriously was laying around one morning and just laid out the basic structure of the Sampler and wrote it out onto the back of a magazine, because those were the caveman days before I had a laptop. (Shout out to my laptop: I love you, laptop!) I did find my way to a computer eventually and I emailed a bunch of friends who also had online boutiques; I pitched them the idea and they didn’t think it sucked! So, they agreed to give it a shot and the very first Sampler shipped out only a couple of weeks later.

Do you seek out Sampler contributors or do they come to you? How does that process work?
When I first started, I did have to seek people out. It was a totally awkward process! I mean, not only did I have to explain how the whole system worked, but I basically had to convince people that I was not totally sketchy and evil and, frankly, that’s a little tough to do over the internet — it can be a sketchy and evil place! BUT, the Sampler is totally for reals and all about nice and somehow people were willing to give it a chance. I am so so grateful for that.

Since then, I think the Sampler has established itself and developed some really excellent word of mouth. These days most of the contributors contact me about their interest in participating. This really helps because I’m often so swamped with just running the Sampler that I can’t really go soliciting. Hopefully one day I will have an employee (gotta dream!) who can handle some of the grunt work and I can get back into the pursuit of contributors.

Becoming a Sampler Contributor is a pretty simple process. All you need is a website or etsy or somewhere people can go to purchase your goods. Just send me an email detailing what it is you’d like to contribute (images and descriptions) and when you’d like to contribute and then I’ll (hopefully, eventually) get back to you with more info on how and where and when to send things. There really aren’t that many rules about what sorts of items can be contributed because I want people to send in whatever it is they feel best represents their business. The only limitations are no racy or potentially offensive content, all items have to be your own personal and intellectual property and no food items.

There are lots of fun craftsters participating on your site. Do you like to get crafty in your free time?
Um, YES. It’s not as though I have a ton of free time anymore, but I if I can swing it, I will totally craft hardcore. I really miss crafting and with all the new crafting magazines out lately, tempting me with their projects and their new and exciting products, I’ve got a major urge. These days I’m really into working with fibers, so I’ve been spinning yarn, weaving and felting. Needle-felting is especially relaxing, what with all the stabbing you get to do. I highly recommend it to anyone as a stress release.

Are you just as amazed as we are at how powerful and RAD the internets is? We love how you have developed a community around the Sampler! Can you tell us more what that’s been like? What key steps along the way do you think have helped your community grow?
The internets are the bane and boon of my existence! There are so many things to love about the web, but it is so addictive and I find myself online way more than is probably healthy… but it is my job, I guess. Yes, that’s what I’m telling myself today: it’s my job.

You know, I don’t think that I ever really made a conscious effort to grow the community, so much as it has spontaneously sprung to life! I think that the community that’s come together around the Sampler is just a natural extension of the general good-times vibe of the Sampler. I’m just one chick running a little business that’s trying to help promote other little businesses, which are, themselves, often run by just one person. So, there’s definitely a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie there. The people who contribute to the Sampler are from all over the world and make all kinds of very different stuff, but once a month we all get together to contribute to a single project. I think there’s a sense of solidarity there, you know? We’re all in this together.

I know that several people have told me that they’ll go to events or craft fairs and other people will just walk up to them and say they know them from the Sampler. That is just the coolest thing ever. Some people have contributed almost every single month for the last two years! So, the potential for friendship and community there is huge if you think of it like: each time you receive a sample, you’re getting a little something of the creator of that sample — especially when you realize that most of these are handmade. You’re getting to see a little bit of someone and then a bit more each month, and eventually it’s as though you know him/her. You’re familiar with her aesthetic, her sense of humor or irony. Many friendships, relationships and projects have come out of people knowing each other through the Sampler and that is super exciting.

Are there any other brands/companies that you’d like to have involved with The Sampler?
Well, fred flare is pretty much the tippy top, so I guess I can die now. You guys were number one on my wish list, so now I’ve really set myself up only for future disappointment. Thanks. (Secret aside to other people I want to work with: You’re the real number one and you know it. Just don’t let on like you know, cuz the flares are watching and, you know, I don’t want to dis them in their own house. I’ll call you. We’ll get snacks! Kiss kiss.)

Your interviews are HI-larious! Did you always know you had a knack for investigative journalism??
Aw, thanks! Ha, I would certainly hesitate to call what I do journalism. I would call it chatting for a long time and being goofy. I started interviewing people for the Sampler site basically because I, personally, wanted to know more about them and the “interview” made for a somewhat legitimate excuse. There are so many good stories out there and so many quirky and interesting people doing their own thing. It’s so much fun and can actually be really inspiring just being able to chat with people who are creative and dynamic and cool.

Do you collect anything?
I feel like I collect everything! I love me some handbags and I *wicked* love scarves. I used to collect books, but they’re such a hassle to move and I’m still a renter and probably will be for a while.

I would guess that my only “real” collection right now is of Berrrs by Axelhoney. I have 23 of them, I think, which I’m venturing to say may be the largest single collection of them — a fact (or guess) of which I am very very proud. Melissa, the artist who created them, broke her berrr mold, so no more are being created. Agony!

We hear you’ve got a band, which totally rocks. Tell us more!
“Band” is the fancy way of putting it. It’s really just me and my fiancé recording music when we get the chance, which isn’t often. A few years ago we released an EP under the name Bunny Nightlight with Shelflife Records and that got some really nice reviews! Since then, we’ve just been tinkering really. We’ve been so so busy, but I’m really pulling for us to have something out again next year. It’s just so much fun to work together and we don’t get to do that often.

The really cute thing about Bunny Nightlight, in my opinion, is how we started. Ben and I met in college. We had the same major and ended up having one class together each semester, purely by coincidence. Well, probably the first or second time I actually talked to Ben, it came up that he was spending his weekends working on some music (the Rocketship/Trace split album) and when I found out he was in a band I pretty much squealed: “Oh my god! OMG! Let’s start a band together! I want to sing!!” I think all that he said to my squee session was “Okay.” I thought he was giving me the brush off!

Well, when we finally got together a year later, the second night we were hanging out (he pretty much moved in the weekend we started going out) he pulled out a tape of all these songs that he had written for me to sing. He had been working on them since that very first time I asked him if he’d play music with me. Awwwwwwwwwwww. I like him.

Defs check out The Sampler here! More fun interviews coming soon!
Check out our interview with Pink Is The New Blog’s Trent Vanegas.