Interview with Kirsten Miller of Quernus Crafts

Meet Kirsten Miller 

She is the clever lady behind Quernus Crafts

I’m Scottish by birth, but have lived in Leeds for the past 12 years. I used to be lawyer, but managed to wake up and smell the coffee nearly 2 years ago when I gave it up to do something much more enjoyable instead! I live with my partner, Greg, and my world is filled with cute wee creatures.

I met a very special bunch of people whilst doing a leadership course in California in 2009/10. We were called the Oaks, and so when I started up my own business, I wanted to honour that. The Latin name for ‘oak’ is ‘quercus’, and so after a bit of digging, I found out that ‘quernus’ meant ‘of the oaks’. Perfect! Now I’m on a mission to get ‘quernus’ into the dictionary, as in, “Can you Quernus my pet?” or “That mouse needs to be Quernus’d”, meaning to make some small and cute even smaller and cuter

I work from home and camp out in the dining kitchen area at the back of the house. There’s not a lot of room, but everything’s within reach. We haven’t had a sit down meal for a long, long time.

Oh my word, no! I have never, ever had one minute of regret that I gave up law. Even when I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself, even when I wasn’t sure where the next penny was coming from, I was very clear that I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I’m still in touch with a few people from the legal world, but any time I meet with them, I come away with an overwhelming feeling of relief that I’m not part of that world any more.

Believe it or not, on the first day of my traineeship back in 1996, I knew that I didn’t want to be a lawyer! But having spent 5 years at university, the thought of giving it all up seemed like a waste (ha!) So I kept plugging away, trying to convince myself that this was what I should be doing, and overall I was successful enough. But deep down I knew this wasn’t really what I wanted to do, and one day about three years ago I woke up and asked myself if I still wanted to be doing this in 5 years time, and the answer was a resounding no. That’s when I started taking steps to get out.

I had always played around with arts and crafts when I was younger, but it was only ever as a hobby, as I was encouraged to be more serious about music (I play piano, flute and I sing). But looking back, I think I always had a flair for three dimensional art – I still have some seal pups I made from air-drying clay which I gave to my gran as a present – I was about 8 or 9 when I made these.

I discovered polymer clay about 12 years ago – when I got married, I made a wedding creature for every guest (thankfully there were only 30 of us!) as well as the cake toppers. (The creatures outlived the married by quite a margin.) But strangely enough, after that I didn’t touch polymer clay again until June 2009 when I left the law. It was only once I had the space, time and energy that I began to rediscover my love of sculpting and creating, and ever since then, literally thousands of wee creatures have been pouring out – I think they were waiting for me to catch up with them! I don’t know about creative genius, though – I let the clay tell me who wants to come out next, and it makes the act of creating joyful and full of surprises.

I tend to use Fimo the most, both Soft and Classic, although Sculpey Premo! is great to work with too. For the more sculptural pieces, I use Fimo Soft because it’s easier to work with. It is equally much harder to keep clean and fingerprint-free, so I have learned how to work it with a very light touch.

I’ve tried a whole range of crafts in the past – card making, jewellery, making felt, encaustic art, etc. I never considered myself good at drawing, although my dad is an excellent painter (he was also a consultant surgeon before he retired). But since rediscovering polymer clay, I know this is the medium I’m best suited to.

It’s too hard to pick just one! Pretty much every wee creature I make is my favourite one at the time J I recently made some Fairy Moles, and they are just adorable. The Snails are so much fun, and I love creating little stories for each of them. The mice each have their own little personalities and they just make me smile! And all the one-off commission pieces I made are so special because of the significance they have for the people I make them for. My first creatures after giving up law were the piglings, and they will always have a special place in my heart, but asking me to pick just one is like asking a parent to choose a favourite child!

I did my first craft fair in October 2009, and since then I’ve done at least 30 of them. However, most of my sales are online and through commission requests. This year, I’m cutting back on craft fairs to focus on my online sales.

Do what you love, first and foremost. What makes your art unique is the passion and joy you bring to it, and people want a piece of that. And there’s no point in comparing yourself to anyone else – because we are each unique, what we create is unique too! Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help – crafting can be a solitary occupation, and it’s important to keep in touch with other people to know that you’re not alone. The creative community is such a lovely one to be part of so make the most of it!

I always love to follow the adventures of Turtle, the eponymous hero of It Belongs To Turtle. The illustrations are just so cute, and the stories are delightfully unhinged! I have had the pleasure of meeting Elki, the genius behind Turtle – I am convinced that Turtle will take over the world one of these days. And I was privileged enough to be asked to make a three dimensional version of Turtle – that was such a huge honour J You can see Turtle’s Etsy shop here. 

It would have to be Hazel the rabbit from Watership Down. Sensible, compassionate, down to earth, a natural leader. And of course a cute fluffy rabbit. What more could you want?!

WARNING: IF YOU VIEW THESE WEBSITES YOU WILL SERIOUSLY FALL IN LOVE WITH THE WEE CREATURES. 🙂

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