Interview with a star - Galia (CasaDeGato)

 Let us introduce today Galia who runs CasaDeGato shop on Etsy.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been creating? How did your journey in art and creativity begin? 
Once upon a time there was a little girl who liked to play with dolls, but didn't have clothes for them. When I was 4 my mother got pregnant with my brother and during her pregnancy leave could spend more time with me at home. She taught me knitting and bit of sewing. Then, when my brother was born the situation reversed and now I had plenty of time alone. So I started doll's cloths creations. I used old cloths of mine and very quickly my dolls became the most dressed up dolls, perhaps, in the entire town :) At the same time my gram showed me crocheting, but all I did was a few small blankets for a toy bed. I didn't like knitting and crocheting at that time much, so my passion transformed to other kinds of crafting: I tried many things – sewing for myself, creating jewelry from beads and fimo, even painting. None of this went far.

Time had passed; I moved to Israel, was studying in the university and got my first full time job. I also found a new hobby that took most of my free time – cave exploring.

I got married and my son was born. This was the first time after a long brake when I returned to crafting. Unfortunately, my son was a preterm baby, and had some health problems, so I wanted to create warm toys for him, that also help in development. This is how my first crochet bear was born. Then I returned to work and didn't have much time for craft. But everything changed when I've got pregnant the second time. Almost all the pregnancy I spent at home. I understood that this is my chance to change the reality and finally show my creations to others. During the pregnancy I started my first nursing necklaces creation and after my daughter was born I opened my Etsy shop.

What items do you carry in your shop? I currently have 3 main lines of products: nursing teething necklaces, crochet toys and crochet hear accessories. I have a few baby hats and mother-daughter matching sets and I am planning to add a new line of children's personalized scarfs for the coming autumn season.

What items in your shop do you most enjoy making and why?
Crochet toys. It is so touching when you see how your child enjoys playing with something that you created. Nursing necklaces, btw, are also crochet toys – just for the little ones.

What is the most important about your work?
I really enjoy using my creativity to make new unique toys for babies and children and I feel even better when not only my children can benefit from the results.