GILROY
– The home of one local woman screams creativity with her
uniquely decorated kitchen of animal decorations including
individual black-and-white spotted cow cabinet knobs, but her true
talent rests on a crafting table.
GILROY – The home of one local woman screams creativity with her uniquely decorated kitchen of animal decorations including individual black-and-white spotted cow cabinet knobs, but her true talent rests on a crafting table.
Gilroyan Linda Perry has designed her own line of wooden napkin rings to be used as decoration for any occasion or holiday. Her ring creations range from patriotic American flags and bundles of cherries to a big plump turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.
“I lay in bed some nights just thinking of new ideas for my next project,” Perry said.
Crafting it seems always has been on Perry’s mind. It started when she was in the third grade and had to design a cardinal on the gym floor, at her elementary school.
“I knew I loved to design and paint when I was very young,” Perry said. “I remember that I would sneak out of my other classes just to go to the art room.”
Perry was not the only one with a wandering eye for the arts; both her mother and sister were crafting queens.
“Mom would do needlepoint and sew all of our clothes,” Perry said. “While my sister and I would work on tons of different crafts together, my mom’s house is still filled with our old creations.”
But Perry knew that crafting was just a hobby and something had to pay the bills, so she began working as a receptionist in different medical offices. Eventually she took a position working at Saint Louise Regional Hospital. Here she worked in the x-ray department and helped woman with their prenatal education.
In 1998 an accident left Perry with an injured back and working became too hard – however, she says it was a blessing.
“I am so thankful that my husband has been so supportive, and I can take the time off work,” Perry said.
In the four years that followed crafting became her main focus, and this is when she developed the idea for her napkin rings.
“I wanted something particular to me, and no one else makes rings like this,” Perry said.
She buys the napkin rings with attachable pieces pre-cut, then sands them. She uses acrylic paints to bring the designs to life and with tiny brushes adds the most intricate painted details, like individual watermelon seeds or feathers on a turkey. She shops at discount fabric stores and Wal-mart to find matching napkin fabric.
The whole process takes about six hours from formulating the idea to constructing six rings into tabletop masterpieces.
“Crafting Traditions,” a national arts and crafts magazine, must have thought this was truly a unique craft. In its May/June issue, Perry’s fruit napkin rings were awarded fifth place and $225. Each bi-monthly issue has a different contest that crafters can enter.
The icing on the cake Perry says was getting the issue in the mail and seeing that her rings were featured on the front cover.
“I screamed when I saw it, I was so thrilled,” she said.
“I thought her craft was fun and eye catching,” said Ann Kaiser, editor at Reiman publications, a distributor of Crafting Traditions. “The magazine picked it because it was something different and very useful.”
Perry was one of hundreds of entries and now more than 300,000 subscribers in the United States will be reading about her craft, Kaiser said.
Perry herself has been reading the magazine for one year and decided to enter the contest on a whim.
“Anyone can enter if they believe they have something special,” Kaiser said.
Winning $225 was definitely a plus and the craft itself is not that expensive, but what starts to add up is showcasing it in arts in craft fairs, Perry said.
“It costs $250 to $500 for a space at fairs like the Taste of Morgan Hill,” she said. “I eventually break even when I sell a couple of sets, but I love it and that’s what it’s all about.”
Her napkin rings come in a set of six and sell for $30. Her customers get a basket with attachable bow, napkin rings and matching napkins.
Some of her sets are being sold at Visions of Christmas in San Juan Bautista and will be featured in a September issue of “Country Marketplace” magazine.
Perry said crafting will always be a fun part of her life, and for people working on their own winning ideas they must remember that “true arts and crafts are hand-made. It can be very discouraging at times, but as a crafter you must find your niché and then stick with it.”
