Hi, I’m Erin, and welcome to Perfect Imperfection!
Why “Perfect Imperfection?” Well, you see, I’m a bit accident prone. And that carries over into some of the things that I attempt to do. Sometimes things are fixable, sometimes they’re not. I tried to break this site before it was live (I’m not used to this fancy HTML5 stuff where everything’s easier and more responsive – I used to hard code websites, all this stuff is still strange to me). This is my journey of both self- and craft discovery.
The Craft World
Sewing is my favorite hobby – whether it’s making something, fixing something, ripping apart my mistakes and repurposing, doing embroidery, or doing cross stitch, if there’s a sewing needle in my hand, I’m happy. My grandmother taught me how to sew when I was little, and both she and my mother worked in sewing factories.
Sewing is such a love of mine, and such a strong link that I have with my grandmother, that I used that as inspiration for one of my tattoos, and it’s a memorial to her. One of the best gifts I ever received was for my birthday around the time I got that tattoo. I learned how to sew on my grandmother’s sewing machine. A heavy duty, solid steel beast that punctured my mother’s lung when she tried to move it at one point. My parents got it reconditioned for me. The first time I took the cover off the machine after receiving it, I cried. The smell of the oil used in the machine brought my grandmother back, if only for a few minutes.
I enjoy being a photographer, but my bigger passions are photo restoration and graphic design. I need to do more of both. Find me over on Instagram. It’s entertaining. I’m working on building a bigger Twitter presence as well.
Fandom
I’m a nerd. I know that, I acknowledge that, and most importantly, I embrace it. When I fall for something, I fall hard. I’m a Potter-head, a Whovian, a Tribute, and a SPN fan. Love love love Fringe. I’ve admittedly had a thing for Joshua Jackson since The Mighty Ducks. And don’t get me started on Pacey, yum. Most recently I joined the Forever fandom. A show that mixes supernatural elements (immortality) with CSI? Yes, please. (ABC has since killed off Forever.)
Huge fan of the Bioshock series. Between the graphics and the music, I’m in heaven. 1 & 2 are my favorites. The 3rd – it was gorgeous, but not my favorite.
Music tastes are quite varied. Not to sound like an old fogie, I don’t know much about current music. I am, however, a big fan of Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, and Pitbull’s older stuff (back when he sounded like he was having fun, not just churning out what he’s churning out now). And there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Dolly Parton. I like tacky, what can I say. And she’s the queen.
And dinosaurs. Love dinosaurs. So does Eyecon. Meet him here.
Fibromyalgia & Blood Clots, Oh My!
I have Fibromyalgia. Not a whole lot of fun. It evolved from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which I was diagnosed with in high school. Replaced being tired with being in pain. I try to not dwell on it too much. I have good days and I have bad. The phantom pain takes some getting used to.
In November, 2014, my life kind of turned upside down. I was taken to the ER for what I thought was a pulled muscle in my ribs (I was just coming off of a cold – thought I coughed too hard) – and the pain was only increasing. This test, that test, and a trip to the CT scanner later, the doc said I had bilateral pulmonary embolisms. At 32 I thought I was still pretty young and never thought it could happen to me. But it did, and now I’m trying to make a lot of changes to make sure I don’t get them again. A pulmonary embolism really isn’t as much fun as it sounds – I don’t recommend them. Six months later, I still have pain in my ribs. But I’m still breathing, and some days, that’s a lot.
The Day Job
I have an MBA in Marketing from Florida Institute of Technology, and work in Search Engine Marketing for a small (but quickly growing) agency. I really enjoy what I do. I have the creativity that I want and the restrictions I need. Trying to describe a client’s services in 35 characters per line isn’t as easy as it sounds.
In the past I worked as a TV commercial ad trafficker, I ran the master control for a TV station, and I did a whole lot of other gigs at the station in my years there – technical director, graphics, audio, video editor, audio tech, videographer, and field go-fer. I was a reporter once. My tone is too flat for reporting.
For more on my professional life, look me up on LinkedIn.
The Other Stuff
Plans have recently changed across almost all front. So I’m working on getting things back on track. In the mean time, I’m keeping myself busy with lots of projects (both house- and craft-related), thinking about taking some free classes online about how to code, and hanging out with my cats. They’re pretty cool. You’ll see a lot of them over on Instagram. And I’m experimenting with hair color. Currently trying out purple.
– e