Inside Etsy: Store Owner Interviews: CAPow!

To the moon, Alice! Capow! Right in the kisser! I had seen Capow's work here and there on Etsy, then in this write-up on handmadeology. Every one can fall in love with her work, because we all have a city that is near and dear to our hearts, especially for you honeymooners. Her shop is known for the Hometown Heart series, but she also does photography, prints, and these really cool state map images.

So windshielddiaries.blogspot.com, huh? Do you have a tendency to be the windshield or the bug? With close to 900 sales, I’d say you’re the windshield.

Haha, I've never thought about it...the past few months I've kind of been feeling like the bug! But the real reason my blog has the title Windshield Diaries is because it was started almost 2 years ago as a way for my boyfriend and I to chronicle a road trip we were taking (Upstate NY to Florida to New Orleans to Memphis, and back to NY). I just kept writing after the trip was over, and it grew from there!

I must say, I’m a little disappointed that you don’t have a big huge, colorful "I Love Texas". Texas is the only state that can fly their flag at the same level of the US flag. When can I expect to see some colorful Texas love?

Texas was JUST completed this past week! I had been working on it for a really long time, it's such a big state with so many small counties, there was a lot of little details to get in there! But it's up in the shop now and ready to be customized to any color under the sun!

So you put each state’s county in location in text on the outline of the state. How many excruciating hours does that take?

It really depends on the size of the state and how many counties are in the state. for example, a small state with few counties (like Connecticut) can take as little as two hours to complete. For the big guys like Texas, California, and New York it takes much longer. Each of those larger states took well over 20 hours to complete, Texas came in closer to 40 hours!

One reason I don’t watch TV is because of everyone’s political agenda showing up all over the place. I can’t imagine living in the hub of it there in D.C. area. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the political pressure there?

I don't live in DC, but I do live in the capital city of New York State where there is also a lot of politics in the local news. Honestly, politics have no bearing on my art or creative endeavors what so ever, and I try to keep my political views out of my shop & blog because it's really not a big part of my life.

And the most important question: How did the Smores cookies turn out?

The Smores cookies were a HIT! I made them for a going away party, and at first I thought they looked a little funky, but after they firmed up they were beautiful and delicious! Though I think the next time I attempt a batch I will add more graham cracker crumbs, the graham taste wasn't strong enough for my liking.

(The woman at right must be running to burn off all of those Smores cookies calories.)

Any thing else that you would like to add?

I would just like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has ever looked at my blog or shop, bought a print, left a comment, sent me an email. You guys are the reason I'm able to do what I love! I'm not quite to the point where I can quit my day job yet, but just knowing that my art is out there in so many people's homes is so fulfilling. So thank you, so much to all past a future friends and customers!