Seamstress, Studio Manager, and Surfer.
When Ginger Edmunds was a little girl, she used to draw pictures of mountains in the background with a body of water and seabirds, and a coconut tree on the left side foreground. “How did I know,” she wonders now, “that was where I would end up living?” But instead of mountains in the scene, there are two little islands that make up the view from their beach. Ginger has lived in Hawaii for over 30 years. Her first visit to Hawaii was for her high school graduation. She fell in love with the islands and moved there permanently a few years later.
Her husband is a commercial photographer, and she is the studio/business manager. Her background is in accounting, so handling the business end is basically right up her alley. She could spend eight hours a day, five days a week at the job, but she makes time to work on the pet blankets she sells in her shop, and now, during the busy holiday season, she spends much of her weekends on them.
Don’t let her accounting and sewing fool you! Ginger also has an active side… and she is water-oriented! Although she has been injured the past 6 months, she says, “Starting in December, I plan on getting back in the ocean, on my surfboard and back in the outrigger canoe. Can't wait!!” We hope you can get back in the water and have a great time doing it, Ginger!
PETS AND ANIMAL INVOLVEMENT
Ginger and her husband currently have one pet. Mana is their little rescued heeler that Ginger began fostering when Mana was eight years old. She is now 11 and Ginger says she became a member of the family after only one day of foster. Ginger also tells of three other special pets who have gone to the Rainbow bridge: a bunny, Sweetie Pie; a chicken, Snowflake; and her special girl, Rockie, a heeler mix who was the original BarkingDog and namesake of Ginger’s Etsy shop. Ginger remembers them fondly and holds them dearly in her heart, knowing that one day they’ll all be together again.
Mana and Ginger are an Animal Therapy Team with Tails of Aloha, and they visit seniors in rest homes and hospitals. "Being a three-time surrender and two-time stray before we adopted her, Mana does not like to be alone and has become very attached to me. Because of this I have become more involved in things we can do together." Sometimes, when time allows, Ginger and Mana volunteer with the Hawaiian Humane Society and do their offsite adoptions.
Ginger says, “Because I am unable to donate my time as much as I did in the past, I continue to donate my blankets and make donations to several of our local shelters. We support the COTM for EFA and Hawaiian Humane Society, K9 Kokua, Pigs Peace Sanctuary, Red Rover, Humane Society of the United State, Farm Sanctuary, and Muttville.” There are so many needs and charities, but Ginger says what we all know is true: “Every little bit helps.”
Ginger has a dream, and she shares it with us here. “Hawaii seems to have a never-ending supply of homeless dogs, and my dream is to one day be able to educate the young children in schools of the responsibility of dog ownership and to help stop the cycle of homeless pets in Hawaii. RedRover has a program that is involved in this, and one day I would like to be active with this here in Hawaii.”
FAVORITE ANIMAL "I love all animals but my favorites would have to be dogs and bunnies. If I could be any animal, I would be a dolphin."
TELL US ABOUT US YOUR ETSY SHOP
"I started out making colorful car seat blankets for dogs which would also protect your furniture from your pet’s fur. Then I was asked to make blankets for smaller dogs and medium-size dogs. I am always trying to use my leftover fabric, and since I love wine and coffee, it was natural to then create gift bags for bottles of wine and Chemex coffee cozies to keep coffee hot and protect hands."
NEW PRODUCT? "I love fabric so I have to keep away from the fabric store or else I will add more fabric to what I already have!! But I always love to make my blankets!"
FAVORITE PIECE OF WORK? "I love my car seat covers because they are SO useful. We have one for each of our cars, and I have one for the punee (daybed) that Mana likes to sleep on. and all her beds have the smaller blankets. I use her blankets so much, and I just hope that others find them as useful as we do. I love when people email or drop notes to tell me how much their pets love their blankets,.. that is what makes me the happiest!"
ANY TIPS FOR OTHER ETSY SELLERS? "I am amazed at all the talent in our group of EFA members and all they do for the animals. I think I would need to get tips from them!!"
ANY ADVICE YOU’D LIKE TO OFFER US? "I just feel very grateful. Sometimes I just look up to the sky and feel grateful for everything. It's a great feeling, try it!"
WHERE TO FIND GINGER AND HER BLANKETS...
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What a pleasure to get to know you better, Ginger !
ReplyDeleteTHANKS so much Rebecca :)
I truly enjoyed writing up this interview, having conversations with Ginger, and learning more about her. And I love her sweet photos! Thanks, Ginger, for sharing yourself and a glimpse of your life with us!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this! I love getting to know our fellow members and the photos--could Mana be any cuter? I love how you can see the tight connection between Ginger and Mana in the photos. I don't blame her little dog for being so careful about making sure she's always around after being dumped so many times. I'm sure she's thrilled to have finally found paradise and she's going to hang onto it, no matter what! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for featuring me and my shop! You did such an amazing job. I'm lucky that my husband is a photographer and he took several of the shots here. I end up having to shoot my own product shots because he gets so busy. I use my trusty iphone and flicker retouching! Thank you again SOO much!! Also, yes got in the water this past weekend!! yay!
ReplyDeleteNice post, Rebecca - thanks for taking the time to do it. It's fun learning more about our teammates :o)
ReplyDeleteNice Story.. got choked up actually. Ginger and her entire family are amazing people.
ReplyDelete