Maker Monday Spotlight: Eliza

It’s Monday so it’s time to meet one of the makers here at the Forge— Eliza Blake! Eliza is a textiles maker who makes not only stuffed animals and dolls but their clothes as well. No matter the intricacies of the project Eliza really seems to throw herself into her projects with a  creative, fervent focus.
 Eliza loves taking time to find the perfect material. She peruses Reconsidered Goods, a non-profit creative reuse center, located here in Greensboro and other second-hand stores.

While gearing up to make a few masks and bears for the upcoming holiday season she was able to spare some time and give us a look into what got her started down this amazing path. Eliza’s late mother passed down the skill of sewing and it is through finding her Davis Vertical Feed sewing machine that the skill was reignited within her. After a couple of mends she realized she was working on a 100 year old antique which was iconic and she joined the Forge to add to her tools, resources and space.

 As she continued to work we asked her advice to potential makers, artists, & tinkerers: “Don’t let traditional expectations or lack of representation keep you from learning something new and exciting. The Forge is such a great space for that.”