Patty Gay
ARTE artisan of the month
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Tell us a bit
about yourself (name, location, affiliations, and personal stuff).
My name is Patricia Gay, family and friends call me Patty. I was born and raised in
1991 to work at an exclusive sports club. In 1995 I met my husband, Thierry, an amazing
Frenchman and we married two years later. During my years of stay in
taken up jobs from
administration to accounting, human resources and the last job
I had was as
I loved the creative part of it.
In
2002 we transferred to
commitments and gave birth to Isabela a year
later. Missing
terribly, I was delighted to find out one day
that we were moving back to
This
happened in 2004 and this time, with the tiny addition in our family I suddenly
found myself being no longer capable of
keeping a full-time job, compromising the
pleasure of being a mum. This is when I started spending more and more
time doing
crafty stuff and discovered a different
level of satisfaction. I have 5 siblings
currently working in
with my husband and
Isabela, they help and support me a great deal.
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What inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?
I
draw inspirations from almost everything the fabrics, flowers, magazines, and
window
displays,
road posters, perfume packaging, events give-aways! - but my best
inspiration is my husband. He
motivates me and it allows me to visualize my inspirations.
Every item or idea I come up with, be it a product I sell
or a decorative item I make
for
our house, is as a result of different experiences, sometimes as an attempt to
find
practical
solution to my regular dilemma. For
example, the idea of Drop-It Bag
Organizer came about when I was continuously experiencing
the hassle of
forgetting things every time I switched handbags (I have so
many!!). At one stage
I even stopped
changing bags, as I was constantly rummaging through my
clattered bag looking for a particular item, only to realize that
its actually in the
other
one! Rather than depriving myself the joy
of changing bags, I started
designing the organizer, did
some research whether its already available in the
market or not, experimented on different fabrics and shapes and
sizes. And Voila!
The big problem solved, by a simple solution! And it works!
The Drop-It Bag Organizer works!
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Greatest
claim to fame (with respect to your craft)
The Drop-It Bag Organiser has been doing extremely well and Im
just overwhelmed
by the response Im
getting from my clients, friends and my family. According to them
this is a new concept and they havent
seen any similar item in UAE. I suppose
Ive
introduced something
very useful and I believe every lady should have a Drop-It Bag Organiser.
The month of May has been the greatest month for me as an ARTE
member for
almost
four years again thanks to the Drop-It Bag Organiser.
But still, I dont
believe
fame is the apt word to describe it its simply an exciting journey. And
Im still at the beginning.
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How long have
you been doing your craft?
Ive been doing bits and pieces for the last 20 years but in the
last 5 years I have been
investing more time and passionately
engaged in my craft.
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How did you learn your craft?
I guess it runs in the family.
I have been exposed to creative environment since I was in
my moms womb! My late grandma was a brilliant dressmaker. She designed and made
fabulous wedding gowns. When I was a teenager I remember her telling me that
shell design
and make my wedding gown when that big
day comes. Unfortunately, when that big
day
came, her eyesight had degenerated and
was unable to do so. Anyway, she had
taught
my mother how to design and stitch and she herself has earned a valuable
reputation in our
community as a fine dressmaker. I used
to watch my mother while she was working and really
took interest on fabrics, texture and
thread and ribbons - asking her endless questions. I cut
my first pattern when I was 8 years
old. By the time I was in the university
my parents didnt
have to worry about my clothes as I was making them myself, sometimes from
scratch but
often out of my moms old clothes which I re-modeled and made more
up-to-date.
About 10 years ago my mother-in-law
who lives in
porcelain painting. She is a passionate
porcelain artist herself. I loved the experience so
much that I went to school to learn
it. Then I gradually increased my
inventory in my little
workshop, adding more paints and brushes and porcelain of different shapes and
sizes.
Last year I experimented on Swarovski crystals to adorn the dishes and this has
been well-
accepted.
I have a huge collection of magazines
and books about arts and crafts and hand-made
items, so I read a lot and basically do experimentation
on a regular basis.
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Favourite film of all time?
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What was the last CD you
bought?
Laura Pausini and Jazz & 80s
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Are you married?
Yes. Thierry and I are
celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary this May.
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How long have you been in the UAE?
I first came in 1991 but spent 2 years in
So all in all 16 years.
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Do you belong to any other groups?
Im a member of Dubai Accueil.
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What are your favourite materials?
Fabrics, porcelain, beads, crystals, ribbons, papers geeeezz
lots of them!
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What is your favourite colour?
It depends on where I use them for. My wardrobe is mainly blacks, browns, beiges
and
whites. I painted one side of our inside wall lemon green and scattered bits of
chocolate
brown accessories. My craft collection has bright, vibrant colors
and I feel happy and
positive when I look at them laid all together.
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What are you reading right now?
Last night was my turn to read Le Faunographe to my daughter.
Yesterday I indulged
in Marie Claire Maison. I only pick up novels during summer holidays
as I have more
uninterrupted time. I like craft
magazines as they give me instant delight.
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Any tips on selling handmade stuff?
Believe in your product.
If you dont, it will be difficult to convince others to see its value.
Try to introduce something different and
exciting on a regular basis. It could be
in the
form of a new product or a different way of merchandising your items. As we have tiny
tables, stick to your best sellers and avoid over crowding your items.
Most
importantly, be polite and attentive to the people who come to your table. At the
recent exhibition I had an extra ordinary experience when a girl approached me,
wanting to buy a Door Hanger that costs
Dhs. 112. She wanted it for her mum, for
Mothers Day. Unfortunately she only had Dhs. 25! I saw she was really disappointed
so I offered her one of my Porcelain
Jewellery Dishes, and although it costs twice her
budget I was happy to offer her a big
discount. She agreed, I packed the gift
in a nice
box and tied a pink ribbon. She was beaming with excitement and
left. From a
distance I could see her mum opening the box and the girl looked at me and gave
me
a thumb up it was very touching. Of course I cant afford to do this every
time
I dont think I will have this opportunity every time either!
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Apart from creating things, what else do
you do?
I do school runs, attend group exercises, play tennis, swim,
meet friends for coffee and
cook I love cooking and entertaining.
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How can ARTE be improved?
I believe ARTE has grown stronger over the last three years. Now there is more awareness
about what ARTE is all about and people
appreciate what we do. Thanks to the
hard
work of Miriam and Paul, theyve been doing an incredible job. Now we artisans and artists
can concentrate on our craft and art
pieces, minus the worry of finding a platform for our
talents.
Perhaps we can improve on location - a venue where the traffic is
greater.
You can contact me at tpgay@emirates.net.ae
My website: www.goodideas-dubai.com is currently under
construction and should be live very soon watch this
space.