Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy-Lyn Habig.
Every creative professional has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I worked my entire adult career in education. I started working with kids and adults with learning disabilities and later ran an alternative 6-12th-grade school in Hermosa Beach, CA. I loved what I was doing, but when I had my first daughter, I started to feel that I wasn’t able to give my family or my job 100% of me and I made the very tough decision to quit my job and stay home with my kids.
I have had a creative bug in me my whole life. It started with making and selling scrunchies in elementary school. I tried out painting in college (I was horrible). But the creativity really started to burn inside me while I was at home with my kids. I dreamt all day about all things I wanted to create. I began trying to repurpose some white birch branches from my yard while decorating my girls’ room and it was during that time that I decided to teach myself how to macrame (thanks to the good ole internet). I didn’t have the intention of starting a business but it naturally just developed as I started selling to friends and family.
Please tell us about your work.
I started off primarily making macrame pieces and have since expanded to many types of handmade home decor. I make a lot of macrame wall hangings and plant hangers, but I also create macrame shelving, curtains, garlands, mobiles and have recently started making pillows. I also love to hand weave tapestries on a loom. I basically love challenging myself to learn new things, so I expect that it will probably also be continuing to change and explore as I find the things that really move me. For me, this is my meditation and stress relief. I don’t always go into a project with a plan, but instead, I go where it takes me. In all other aspects of my life, I am very calculated, and everything is planned. It feels so good to have something in my life that is not as structured. I am so inspired by other makers. Whether it is being in their presence or seeing things people are making on social media, it just makes me want to create and do better.
What do you think about conditions for creative professionals today? Has life become easier or harder for creatives in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists and creative professionals thrive?
I think it has gotten harder for artists today. In a world of Amazon and discount stores, there are so many ways to purchase things that are mass produced in another country at a cheap cost. People really have to have an appreciation for things being handmade and knowing where it came from and the hands that created it.
I hope that we start to see a trend, bringing us back to a time when art was appreciated for the artist and their view instead of it being about getting it at the cheapest cost. Things that are handmade often take hours and hours to make, and that is part of appreciating it. Knowing how much hard work went into it.
I also hope that in the current time, people continue to use art as a means of expression and another way to have a voice. I encourage people to venture out to their local markets and to use sites like Etsy when they are shopping!
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I sell most of my work online at www.rusticsbytl.com. I have ventured off and on into retail a bit over the past couple of years as well. I love to do local markets because I love the energy I get from being around other small business owners. With my background in education, teaching macrame workshops has also become a part of my business that I love!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rusticsbytl.com
- Phone: 949.922.7176
- Email: rusticsbytl@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rusticsbytl/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rusticsbytl/
- Other: www.rusticsbytl.com
Image Credit:
Daisies & Clovers Photography
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
