Creativity Over Coffee: Elyse Major

Happy Wednesday, friends! Today I have a treat for you.  My good friend and very talented tinkerer, Elyse Major is here to share her story with us!  I met Elyse a few years ago now at Christmas event at our friend Nancy Chace’s shop, The Sea Rose Cottage.  I shared a bit about that event here.  The minute I met Elyse it felt like we’d been friends forever.  There are many similarities in our lives – naturally curly hair, mom of two boys, a stint in TV for both of us, a love of books and words and a desire to create beautiful things.  Elyse is so very inspiring. She has written two books (Tinkered Treasures and Seaside Tinkered Treasures and another on the way, she has a lovely blog Tinkered Treasures and also writes for some of my favorite magazines – Cottages & Bungalows, Romantic Home and Prairie Style. So grab your coffee or tea and please help me welcome Elyse to this series:

Here’s our conversation:

Thank you so much for deciding to join me for coffee and chat about your creative process.  When I had just graduated from film school in London and couldn’t find work, I found inspiration through the many biographies I read from the library.  I used to go there each week and take out more.

Many people believe they are not creative.  I hear this all the time.  It is my hope with these conversations with my talented friends that I hope to inspire my readers to believe that they truly are creativity. That creativity is just sitting inside of them waiting to bubble over.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your creative journey?

Elyse: In many ways, I feel like my creative journey has been a cyclical path. My oldest sister Betsy teases me that as I child I “ate paper,” meaning there wasn’t a scrap in the house safe from my busy hands, always making little books and tiny furnishings. I graduated with a degree in English (took many art classes), freelanced in film and video production for a few years and ended up in advertising and public relations. After the birth of my first son Jonah, I traded full-time work for freelancing to be at-home with him and before long my second son Ethan was born. As soon as my little boys could grip bottles of glue, we were spending days constructing with Popsicle sticks and drawing pictures and it rekindled my early love of making things in a simple way. Ethan’s first day of Kindergarten I started a blog with the intent that it would focus on various craft and DIY endeavors and found that I loved writing it in magazine-ese.

You tinker and your blog is called Tinkered Treasures.  How did that all happen?

Elyse: These are such fun question, Danielle! Initially my blog was named “cottage.” With my marketing background I figured a brand name must also have a tagline and came up with “tinkered treasures for your home.” Bloggers started referring to me as Cottage/Tinkered Treasures and pretty soon I shorted the blog to just Tinkered Treasures. The “tinkering” comes from the idea that I’m just messing around with stuff and seeing what happens, lending itself to a no-fail, have-fun process.

When do you feel most creative or happy?

Elyse: When I was working on my first two books, I had to schedule time to be home alone to fully develop the projects. I would completely set the stage: favorite crafting music (Luna), Starbucks coffee (black, one raw sugar), I’d even bake muffins the night before (corn blueberry or pumpkin with raisins). I would sit amidst my favorite supplies at the sunny dining room table with my muffin and coffee and music, and basically play and make a glorious mess. I’d begin with a concept and would marvel at the unplanned detours a project might take. It’s a completely lovely feeling and once or twice I’ll admit to being moved to tears, feeling very lucky and thankful; in those moments it was the perfect union of creative and happy.

Is there one project that you really love and you’re really proud of that you’ve done?  It can be a work of art.  A room makeover.  A book. An article. A craft project.  Really anything you want to share.

Elyse: What a lovely question. I may have to choose my books. When I look at them, I barely believe they are real. Magazine pieces are still very much pinch-me moments, too.

Who or what inspires you?

Elyse: I’m inspired by people who work hard to make their visions a reality but also let you in on the real stuff and remain kind. Fifi O’Neill is a shining example.

You have two very successful books Tinkered Treasures and Seaside Tinkered Treasures (and another book in the pipeline).  Can you give any advice for those who also want to write books? What should they be doing?

Elyse: People ask me all the time how did I “get” to have a book? I researched how to write and submit a book query and proposal and I worked on it until it was tight and strong. Next I submitted to a publisher, received a rejection, and submitted it someplace else and was offered a contract. My advice would be to do the same. Plan the book, outline the chapters, do the marketing research, find a publisher who is a good fit or an agent who will help guide you with that. At the risk of sounding pretentious, follow the quote from William Faulkner: “Don’t be ‘a writer’. Be writing.” If you want a book, start taking the steps.

Do you ever get in a funk?  If so, how do you get out of it?

Elyse: Absolutely I get in funks. I think momentum is key: continue making or writing or whatever you like to do even if it’s busy-work to keep the blood flowing or take a vacation from it and miss it a bit.

What is your favorite color?  Is there any color you don’t LOVE?

Elyse: I like pale aqua, pale pink, pale lavender… kind of like a Jersey shore sunset. I’m not a big fan of this strange flat beige that some of my house was painted by the previous owner. I would name that color “nausea.”

How has social media impacted your work and the art you create?

Elyse: Social media is that good friend turned nemesis (can you tell I’m around superhero speak?). I credit blogging with my creative reawakening, and sharing on various platforms can be very enjoyable but it can also be a lot of noise and how can you not compare yourself to others sometimes? There are these über-bloggers with tens of thousands of followers making six figure incomes — I’m like, how does that happen?!

Can you share a humorous story from one of your shoots or styling sessions?

Elyse: File under: Keeping it Real. Fifi O’Neill came to style and shoot my home for Cottage Style magazine and of course I wanted everything to be just-so but my back door was broken and who knew I’d be giving her a ride to the store in my borderline-gross car (“What is that stain on the ceiling?” “I don’t know.”) My house is very small and with the lighting equipment there wasn’t a good spot for me to lay out the nice strawberry preserves I’d made to serve with croissants – no rose-patterned China here – we all nibbled straight from the storage container out of the fridge on paper plates.

Growing up I was a huge follower of INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO.  At the end of the program, they would ask the interviewee these questions:

What is your favorite word? It might just be festoon.

What is your least favorite word? Fail.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Sunshine and a cool breeze.

What turns you off? Oppressive heat and mean-spirited people, and the smell of cheese (blech!).

What is your favorite curse word? Who doesn’t love the F bomb?

What sound or noise do you love? My guys laughing.

What sound or noise do you hate? Whispering.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? TV writer.

What profession would you not like to do? Things dealing with garbage, blood, or lots of math, or cheese!

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Here’s mom and dad!

Thank you so much, Elyse, for sitting down with me.  I so enjoyed chatting and hearing your story. To keep up with Elyse follow her here:

Elyse’s Facebook * Instagram * Tinkered Treasures Blog

Be sure to join us again soon for Creativity over Coffee!