Brand Spotlight: Claire Sawa

Meet Claire Sawa, our newest designer!

Claire is a passionate crafter, artist, and all-around creative soul. After balancing her artistic pursuits with a corporate career, she recently took the leap to focus fully on her creative dreams.

With a proud half-Japanese heritage, Claire draws inspiration from her roots and finds joy in crafting, DIY projects, and ballet, which offers her a unique form of creative release!

Claire’s first collection will launch in just under two weeks but before that, let's find out a little bit more about what inspires her crafting and how she got to where she is today!

How do you keep inspired when designing new collections?

Claire: Christmas Eve of 2023 I visited my sister in North Carolina. I recently quit my 8-5 corporate job that I dedicated my life to for 5 years, right out of college. I was burnt out and learning to find the time and energy to do the things that brought me joy.

I spent the entire day in nature, listening to good music, and my sister cooked rice noodle soup and dragon’s beard. I spent 6 hours crafting two cards, one for my parents and one for my boyfriend. I fell in love with adding more and more tiny details and personalizing them.

That night, I discovered the world of card-making and was instantly mesmerized. I stayed up until 5am watching tutorials and filling up my Amazon cart with supplies.

On January 5, I started Rice Note as a pen-name to show my card-making journey, and now I am crafting as me, Claire Sawa.

I was always interested in the arts.

I grew up dancing ballet, playing the violin, was the photography editor for my school newspaper, and when I was 15 I had a YouTube channel doing nail art tutorials.

I always gravitated towards arts and crafts over sports and I was described “most creative” in school. I never thought I could make it into something more than a hobby.

How do you keep inspired when designing new collections?

Claire: Inspiration comes and goes in waves, but keeping true to what really brings me happiness has helped me stay aligned with my style and the collections I want to make.

It is so easy to get consumed by the millions of different styles and trends online and you forget what YOU like.

Going on Pinterest and looking back at my pins on what truly makes me happy and excited has helped me stay inspired. Also, uplifting music: Buttercup by Hippo Campus, Opaline by Novo Amor, anything by Harry Styles.

How do you balance creativity with practicality in your designs?

Claire: The thing about creating is that it doesn’t have to have a purpose. If it brings me joy, that is enough. I once heard someone say about their cute “pointless” creation, “if this doesn’t make you happy, then get away from me!” and I resonate with that so much.

Any tips for someone just starting in the world of crafting?

Claire: Sit down, put on dumb reality TV or a comforting YouTube video, and don’t even think about the “right” way to do something.

Have an idea of what you want it to look like, but don’t fall into the perfectionist mindset (easier said than done, I know). Start with a small project that can be finished in 1-2 days.

The feeling of having a finished product is so rewarding that you get excited to start your next project. If you hate it, gift it to a loved one - I guarantee they will love it.

How happy are you with your craft stash and what would you change?

Claire: It feels like it is multiplying by the day. Next upgrade will be wallpapering the walls of my craft space. Something that looks like large brush strokes.

CraftStash Rapid Round

Quick Fires

What's your favourite theme to work with?

Fruits, animals, and cute girly designs like ballet, bows, shells, and sparkles.

Favourite type of project to create?

Small decorations to leave around my home or friend’s homes.

Most used colour palette in your projects?

Pastels & spring colours.

What's the most recent craft trend you love?

I recently discovered tambour bead embroidery. I am obsessed.

Top three essential tools in your craft stash?

Large glass craft mat, sharp comfy scissors, sequins.

Unexpected talent?

Extremely flexible (10+ years of ballet).

Ideal vacation destination?

Okinawa.

Favourite book or movie?

Movie: Les Miserables. The books I read are usually very sad so I don’t like them to be my favourite.

Dream dinner party guest?

Kennedy Walsh, or Harry Styles.

What's your go-to comfort food?

Rice noodle soup.

Claire’s first collection, CraftStash x Claire Sawa - Sip, Sip, Hooray!, launches on November 6. For everyone wanting to stay updated, here’s the list of her socials:

TikTok
Youtube
Facebook
Instagram

Keep crafting, and stay tuned for more inspiring stories in our next "Brand Spotlight."!