Etsy Profile: Chiu Mei - Fancy That Cookies

Tell me a bit about yourself.

My name is Chiu Mei (like CHO - MAY). I am Taiwanese by birth but have lived in the USA for 18 years, currently in Raleigh, North Carolina. Y‘all would love it down here in the South! I just got married a couple of years ago and have worked as a restaurant pastry chef for the last five years. My husband had been gaining weight eating all my desserts, so I thought I should find another avenue to share them before he got too heavy!

name your own fortune cookies

Apart from baking what do you enjoy?

I like to cook, sew, travel (we went to London and Paris for our honeymoon), shop (hence my need to sell my baked goods), garden (including herbs, berries, hot peppers, vegetables, sunflowers ,etc.) and of course eating - anything and everything! I especially love “bizarre” foods like stinky tofu, escargot, and have even tried kangaroo once!

rich chocolate chip torte (gluten-free, flourless)

What made you get into baking and then selling your goodies?

Our trip to Paris really inspired me to try making the fine desserts/pastries we saw there including macaroons, operas, croissants, eclairs, tiramisu, etc. These take a while to perfect, that is for sure! I will likely add some of these to my shop over the next year, depending on my customer feedback.

spicy meringue bites (lavender, chocolate, green tea)

movorian sugar cookies (low sugar)

Please describe your creative process.

I love to try out new things and have found that many things that do not necessarily sound all that good can be very tasty and more fun. I get some of my ideas from the gardening that I do, reading and just talking to people about the things that they like. In my Etsy shop you can find just about everything sweet you are looking for--cookies, brownies, tarts, pies, and more. I offer vegan and flourless items as well. If you don't see what you want, let me know and I will do my best to satisfy your sweet tooth! All my ingredients are fresh and no preservatives are used. If you have any special dietary needs let me know that, too. I have a two year culinary degree, several years pastry chef experience and a food safety class certificate.


chocolate ganache brownies with walnuts

Where can people find your baked goods?

For now only on Etsy in my shop, Fancy That Cookies, but this foray into the e-commerce world is really exciting and I am learning a lot of new, interesting things about the Internet that I hope to be able to utilize for a long time to come.

All images by and copyright of Fancy That Cookies, 2009.

Artist Profile: Rosa Murillo

Tell me a bit about yourself name, location, affiliations, personal stuff.
My name is Rosa Murillo, I grew up in Mexico City and I paint and create mixed-media art in North Carolina. Trained in Mexico as an architect, I then moved to the United States, was married, became a mother, and a freelance artist. I started a project called Found Art Tuesday, in which I give away art in unexpected places to unsuspecting individuals.

twist - original painting

Apart from creating art, what do you do?
I am a Mom and a Wife and it's a wonderful job to have. I love my family and I try to spend as much time with them as I can, but at the same time, having time to be alone with my thoughts and doing something creative gives me a sense of fulfillment, makes me happy and makes me feel like ME again, not a mom or wife, but just me. I've found that inspiration and creativity are always around but I need to stop and listen to them so that it can all make sense.

lazarus heart - assemblage box

What first made you want to become an artist?
When I was in architecture school I found that the part of the projects I enjoyed the most were the ones that needed illustrations, model making and design, that's when I discovered that there was more art that I wanted to explore. Life took me in another direction for a few years, until I decided to explore painting as a new experiment, and I fell in love with it.

superhero blue bird - print of original painting

Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
Since I am a mom of two young kids my time to paint is seriously limited. I try to make time for painting whenever I can. The best time for me is when my kids are at school, and I aim to devote at least a few hours a week to the paintings that require more planning. I've been working on smaller projects in between painting and steal a moment whenever I can to play in other mediums. I recently discovered polymer clay and I can't wait to experiment with it more. The most challenging thing for me is not having enough time to materialize all of the things that fly around my mind--I know these ideas could become great projects if I had more time in my days to sit still longer than a minute!

cafe latte - digital file of original painting

What artists have influenced you and inspire you to create?
I like to follow other art and illustration blogs because I feel inspired from so many things that people create. Bloggers usually write about the things that motivates them and what they are interested in--it's a positive drive that I love!

cigar box assemblage supply kit - finished boxes by Rosa

Where else can people find your work?
Along with my Etsy shop, my website includes a selection of my past work and links to my blog where I share the pieces that I create. I also share my process and the things that I've learned along the way. Like many blogs, there's also a number of random things I like to write about besides my art since I have so many interests. My Flickr stream is where you can view my entire portfolio. My YouTube channel features a few instructional videos I designed about epoxy resin, polymer clay and collage. Last but not least, I've also been bitten by the Twitter bug!

My goodness, where am I not--that's the real question!

Photos are by and copyright of Rosa Murillo 2009 - all rights reserved.