I am Cony Goncebate. I live in Argentina and am a graphic designer who works with visual animation. If I have to think about how Zany Bunny came to life I can’t help but to travel back in time, back to a curious little girl that asked her mum, every damn day, to get her coloured pencils, markers, temperas, watercolors, and filled sheets and sheets of paper with drawings.
She would ask her nan to show her how to sew, embroider, knit cross stitch (but fabric was something that escaped her patience, believe it or not). She would make her own animals from plush with the patterns that came with the magazines her dad brought every month. Who had a huge library full of story books and novels; she would stay awake every night reading them or writing stories that happened in a magical kingdom. Who loved the smell of oil paint and turpentine from the painting workshop to which she went to paint her animals. In a few words: A bit of a ‘weird’ kid (Including a subscription to the school library, since the age of eight). But that little ‘weird’ kid grew up with a head full of imaginary colourful worlds, sounds and magic. And that way, bit by bit, between drawings, wool and stories (and after finally making friends with crochet, her pending subject) Zany Bunny was born. Her happy world. My happy world. A universe full of monsters with mustaches, unicorns, foxes and vegetarian vampires, who like to get together to drink tea and eat lemon biscuits. Where each character has life of its own, particular tastes and attributes and they all live happily making mischief. A place where I can combine my love for weaving, embroidering and sewing along with my love for writing stories. A place where I can still be that girl for a little while longer
Soy Cony Goncebate. Vivo en Argentina y soy diseñadora y animadora audiovisual. Si tengo que ponerme a pensar cómo nació Zany Bunny no puedo evitar viajar atrás en el tiempo, hasta encontrar a una niña muy curiosa que le pedía a su mamá, todos los santos días, que le diera lápices de colores, marcadores, temperas, acuarelas, y llenaba hojas y hojas con dibujos. Que le pedía a su abuela que le enseñe a coser, a bordar, a hacer punto cruz (pero eso sí, el tejido era algo que escapaba a su paciencia, créanlo o no). Que hacía sus propios animales de felpa con los patrones que venían en una revista que le traía su papá todos los meses. Que tenía una biblioteca enorme llena de libros de cuentos y novelas; y se desvelaba a la noche leyéndolos, o escribiendo historias que transcurrían en reinos fantásticos. Que amaba el olor a óleo y trementina del taller de pintura al que iba a pintar animales. En pocas palabras: una niña un poco “rara” (con suscripción a la biblioteca del colegio, incluida, desde los ocho años). Pero esa niña “rara” creció con la cabeza llena de mundos imaginarios de colores, sonidos y magia. Y así, poco a poco, entre ilustraciones, lanas, cuentos e historias (y tras de amigarse con el crochet, que era su materia pendiente), fue naciendo Zany Bunny. Su mundo feliz. Mi mundo feliz. Un Universo lleno de monstruitos con bigotes, unicornios, zorros y vampiritos vegetarianos, a quienes les gusta juntarse a tomar el té y comer galletitas de limón. Donde cada personaje tiene su vida propia, gustos y cualidades particulares, y todos viven muy contentos haciendo travesuras. Un lugar donde puedo unir mi amor por tejer, bordar y coser junto con mi amor por escribir historias. Un lugar donde puedo seguir siendo esa niña un ratito más.
Tell me more about your design process. How long does it take you to make a complete piece?
My creative process varies, a lot. Depends on the animal. Some characters, like Philip Le Calamar for example, emerged from previous illustrations and sketches and after some tests I started making it with crochet. With others I had the complete opposite, like with Señor Bigotes, who I created while crocheting. Over several dolls and over time I added accessories, taking others off, changing the colours, the size of the eyes until I was happy with the final result. I generally prefer this methodology: Crocheting without knowing what will come out of the needles. I find it much more intuitive and playful. I think it also has to do with the crocheting without patterns, because well…cof...cof... (insert blushed face), I am very absent minded and I forget to count the stitches. So I end up abandoning the pattern and ‘crocheting from memory’. My so-called patterns are annotations in a notebook: “make the fox' tail smaller and the ears bigger’ or ‘the whiskers look cuter if they are longer’. So the time invested in each little animal is very different, sometimes it takes days to draw a sketch until I am happy with it. Other days it’s days of crocheting and unraveling it. When it comes to the characters that have defined designs I like to take my time and invest a lot of love in each detail, like the little mouths, tiny hats or the embroidery.
Cuéntame sobre tu proceso de diseño y creación ¿cuánto tiempo inviertes en el proceso completo de una pieza?
My creative process varies, a lot. Depends on the animal. Some characters, like Philip Le Calamar for example, emerged from previous illustrations and sketches and after some tests I started making it with crochet. With others I had the complete opposite, like with Señor Bigotes, who I created while crocheting. Over several dolls and over time I added accessories, taking others off, changing the colours, the size of the eyes until I was happy with the final result. I generally prefer this methodology: Crocheting without knowing what will come out of the needles. I find it much more intuitive and playful. I think it also has to do with the crocheting without patterns, because well…cof...cof... (insert blushed face), I am very absent minded and I forget to count the stitches. So I end up abandoning the pattern and ‘crocheting from memory’. My so-called patterns are annotations in a notebook: “make the fox' tail smaller and the ears bigger’ or ‘the whiskers look cuter if they are longer’. So the time invested in each little animal is very different, sometimes it takes days to draw a sketch until I am happy with it. Other days it’s days of crocheting and unraveling it. When it comes to the characters that have defined designs I like to take my time and invest a lot of love in each detail, like the little mouths, tiny hats or the embroidery.
Cuéntame sobre tu proceso de diseño y creación ¿cuánto tiempo inviertes en el proceso completo de una pieza?
Mi proceso creativo varía bastante. Depende mucho el bichito. Algunos personajes, como Philip Le Calamar, por ejemplo, surgieron de ilustraciones y bocetos previos y después de algunas pruebas fui pasándolo al crochet. Con otros, sucedió todo lo contrario. Como es el caso del Señor Bigotes, a quien fui creando sobre la marcha directamente mientras tejía. Y a lo largo de varios muñecos y con el tiempo, fui agregandole accesorios, sacandole otros, cambiando los colores, el tamaño de los ojos hasta que quedé conforme con el resultado final. En general me gusta y me divierte mucho más esta última metodología: la de tejer sin saber bien que va a salir de las agujas. Me parece mucho más intuitiva y lúdica. Creo que también tiene que ver con que tejo sin patrones, porque bueno...ejem...ejem…(inserte carita sonrojada), soy muy distraída y se me olvida de contar los puntos. Así que termino abandonando el patrón y “tejiendo de memoria”. Mis supuestos patrones son anotaciones en un cuadernito del estilo: “hacer la colita del zorro más pequeña y agrandarle las orejas” o “los bigotes quedan más simpáticos si son más largos”. Pues entonces el tiempo invertido en cada bichito varía mucho, a veces son días dibujando hasta que estoy conforme con un boceto. Y a veces son días tejiendo y destejiendo. A la hora de tejer los personajes cuyos diseños ya tengo definidos, me gusta tomarme mi tiempo y ponerle mucho amor a los detalles de cada uno, como las boquitas, los mini sombreros o los bordados.
Do you crochet for pleasure or do you also sell your products?
Both. I love to crochet for pleasure because that is how it all started. I crocheted monsters and little animals and then would give them to my friends or their children. Then, bit by bit, friends of friends started to asking me to make them for them or as presents. This faced me with a conundrum, the same one we all go through: put a price on something that we do for true woolly love. Over the years it grew more and more, until through the fan page I was getting orders from people I didn’t know (no longer friends of friends of friends...) that liked my dolls. It was a very emotional moment. The first time I sent an order via post was the turning point when I stopped seeing Zany Bunny as a hobby and started to see it as a real job. I was so worried about it arriving! I made a handwritten letter that I added to the box (I love adding these type of details), the girl that received it wrote back to me and told me it was a very special toy for her child that was about to be born; this kind of approach to a client fills me with joy! I currently sell the little creatures via my fan page, I get orders from all over the country. I am always trying to improve and acquire better tools to continue forming as an entrepreneur and make this project grow along with my dream of living from what I love to do.
¿Tejes por placer o también vendes tus productos?
Both. I love to crochet for pleasure because that is how it all started. I crocheted monsters and little animals and then would give them to my friends or their children. Then, bit by bit, friends of friends started to asking me to make them for them or as presents. This faced me with a conundrum, the same one we all go through: put a price on something that we do for true woolly love. Over the years it grew more and more, until through the fan page I was getting orders from people I didn’t know (no longer friends of friends of friends...) that liked my dolls. It was a very emotional moment. The first time I sent an order via post was the turning point when I stopped seeing Zany Bunny as a hobby and started to see it as a real job. I was so worried about it arriving! I made a handwritten letter that I added to the box (I love adding these type of details), the girl that received it wrote back to me and told me it was a very special toy for her child that was about to be born; this kind of approach to a client fills me with joy! I currently sell the little creatures via my fan page, I get orders from all over the country. I am always trying to improve and acquire better tools to continue forming as an entrepreneur and make this project grow along with my dream of living from what I love to do.
¿Tejes por placer o también vendes tus productos?
Ambas. Me gusta mucho tejer por placer. Porque así fue como comenzó todo. Tejía monstruitos o bichitos y después se los regalaba a mis amigos o a sus hijitos. Luego, poco a poco los amigos de mis amigos empezaron a hacerme encargos para ellos o para regalar. Lo cual me llevó al brete, por el que seguramente pasamos la mayoría de nosotras: ponerle un precio a lo que hacemos por puro amor a las lanas. Con los años todo fue creciendo más y más, hasta que por medio de la fanpage me empezaron a llegar pedidos de personas que no conocía (y que ya no eran amigos de amigos de vecinos de primos de los tíos del gato), a quienes le habían gustado mis muñecos. Fue mucha la emoción de ese momento. Recuerdo que el punto de quiebre entre dejar de ver a Zany Bunny como un hobby y empezar a verlo como un trabajo real fue la primera vez que envié un pedido al interior del país, por medio de encomienda. Estuve preocupada todo el tiempo a ver si llegaban bien los bichitos y no se perdían por el camino. Le hice una carta a mano que despaché junto con la caja (me encanta agregar ese tipo de detalles a los pedidos). La chica que los recibió me respondió muy emocionada, porque era un regalo para su bebé que estaba por nacer; y ese tipo de acercamiento al cliente a mí me llenó de felicidad, porque re-afirmé que no hay nada más lindo que poder compartir algo de tu mundo con los demás. Actualmente vendo los bichitos por medio de mi fanpage, donde me llegan los encargos de varios puntos del país. Todo el tiempo trato de adquirir y mejorar herramientas para poder seguir formándome como emprendedora y hacer que este proyecto crezca a la par de mi sueño de vivir de lo que amo hacer.
Do you have any references in the world of crochet or some other technique, someone that you admire?
Yes! Within the world of crochet, embroidery and wool there are a lot of people I admire. Many of them are part of the first edition of Crochatting, clearly. Hehe. Others, I am fortunate to have meet personally. I have many references in other artistic disciplines, such as literature, painting or comics that I consider highly. Like in illustration, Rèbecca Dautremer, Benjamin Lacombe or Isabelle Arsenault, all of them creating fantastic worlds for us to discover with every brushstroke. Or in film and animation like Wes Anderson, with its beautiful color palette. Or Miyazaki that is synonymous with magic, in my opinion. I declare myself 100% fan of discovering, all the time, people "that do", that tackle, that are original and authentic in their artistic expressions or designs. And by these means they share their vision of the world and mainly of their "inner world" (this concept is the vital axis on which Zany Bunny turns continuously). And with social media we have an open portal to access them constantly, no matter where in the world we are. And those little discoveries enrich our referential universe.
¿Tienes algún referente dentro del mundo del crochet o alguna otra técnica, alguien de quien seas muy fan?
Yes! Within the world of crochet, embroidery and wool there are a lot of people I admire. Many of them are part of the first edition of Crochatting, clearly. Hehe. Others, I am fortunate to have meet personally. I have many references in other artistic disciplines, such as literature, painting or comics that I consider highly. Like in illustration, Rèbecca Dautremer, Benjamin Lacombe or Isabelle Arsenault, all of them creating fantastic worlds for us to discover with every brushstroke. Or in film and animation like Wes Anderson, with its beautiful color palette. Or Miyazaki that is synonymous with magic, in my opinion. I declare myself 100% fan of discovering, all the time, people "that do", that tackle, that are original and authentic in their artistic expressions or designs. And by these means they share their vision of the world and mainly of their "inner world" (this concept is the vital axis on which Zany Bunny turns continuously). And with social media we have an open portal to access them constantly, no matter where in the world we are. And those little discoveries enrich our referential universe.
¿Tienes algún referente dentro del mundo del crochet o alguna otra técnica, alguien de quien seas muy fan?
¡Si! Dentro del mundo del crochet, del bordado y de las lanas hay gran cantidad de gente que admiro. Muchas de ellas forman parte de la primera edición de Crocheteras, claramente. Jeje. A otras, tengo la suerte de conocerlas personalmente. A su vez, tengo muchos referentes en otras disciplinas artísticas, como la literatura, pintura o el comic a quienes considero palabra mayor. Como en la ilustración, de la mano de Rèbecca Dautremer, Benjamin Lacombe o Isabelle Arsenault, todos ellos brindándonos mundos fantásticos por descubrir en cada pincelada. O del cine y la animación como Wes Anderson, con sus hermosas paleta de colores que me dan ganas de gritar de emoción. O Miyazaki que a mi entender es sinónimo de magia. Me declaro 100% fan de descubrir, todo el tiempo, personas “que hacen”, que emprenden, que son originales y auténticas en sus expresiones artísticas o de diseño. Y que por medio de las mismas comparten de su visión del mundo y sobre todo de su “mundo interior” (este concepto es el eje vital sobre el que gira continuamente Zany Bunny). Y con las redes sociales tenemos un portal abierto todo el tiempo para acceder a ellas, no importa en qué parte del mundo estén. Y esos pequeños descubrimientos son los enriquecen nuestro universo referencial.
Do you finish all your projects or do you leave any halfway?
Well… I think that in this woolly worlds we are all ‘Queens/Kings of leaving things halfway’ or have lists and lists of patterns, poor things, they wait patiently until we start them. I think it is because we all have the crochet and knitting gene:
'I WantToCrochetEverythingISeeAndIDontCareIfIDontHaveTime' We try to make twenty dolls, two scarfs and five pullovers. And don't get me started on the blankets! (because the owner of this blog is going to challenge me) But the truth is that I have accumulated several, which I started several years ago, all different and never finished. A good idea would be to join them all and maybe create a "Frankenstein-blanket" for next winter. I also have my own projects that are half finished, because I don’t finish finding the right design and I am very obsessive in that sense. For example, among them is: Confetti, the unicorn. Everyone who knows me knows that I just love unicorns. You don’t even have to know me very well to know that, it’s almost like: "Hello, how are you? My name is Cony and I love unicorns". That's why he's a very important character to me; and even though I have the sketch ready on paper, I'm still not happy with the final results when I crochet it. So I'm letting it rest to see if I can make Confetti look like what I imagine it in my head.
¿Dejas proyectos a medias o sueles empezar y acabar?
Well… I think that in this woolly worlds we are all ‘Queens/Kings of leaving things halfway’ or have lists and lists of patterns, poor things, they wait patiently until we start them. I think it is because we all have the crochet and knitting gene:
'I WantToCrochetEverythingISeeAndIDontCareIfIDontHaveTime' We try to make twenty dolls, two scarfs and five pullovers. And don't get me started on the blankets! (because the owner of this blog is going to challenge me) But the truth is that I have accumulated several, which I started several years ago, all different and never finished. A good idea would be to join them all and maybe create a "Frankenstein-blanket" for next winter. I also have my own projects that are half finished, because I don’t finish finding the right design and I am very obsessive in that sense. For example, among them is: Confetti, the unicorn. Everyone who knows me knows that I just love unicorns. You don’t even have to know me very well to know that, it’s almost like: "Hello, how are you? My name is Cony and I love unicorns". That's why he's a very important character to me; and even though I have the sketch ready on paper, I'm still not happy with the final results when I crochet it. So I'm letting it rest to see if I can make Confetti look like what I imagine it in my head.
¿Dejas proyectos a medias o sueles empezar y acabar?
Pfff. Creo que en este mundo de las lanas todas somos las “reinas en dejar proyectos a medias”. O en tener listas y lista de patrones que, pobrecitos, esperan resignados a que los empecemos. Y creo que es porque todas las crocheteras y tejedoras, tenemos el gen de: “QuieroTejerTodoLoQueVeoPorqueMeEncantaYNoMeImportaSiNoTengoTiempo”. Entonces nos embarcamos a la vez en: veinte muñecos, dos bufandas y cinco pulloveres ¡Y ni hablemos
de las mantas! (porque la dueña de este blog me va a retar). Pero la verdad es que vengo acumulando varias, que empecé hace varios años, todas distintas y nunca terminé ninguna. Una buena idea sería unirlas todas y quizá así crear “un Frankenstein-manta” para abrigarme el próximo invierno. También tengo proyectos propios que quedan finalizados a medias, porque no termino de encontrarle la vuelta al diseño y soy muy obsesiva en ese sentido. Por ejemplo, entre ellos se encuentra: Confetti, el unicornio. Todos los que me conocen un poco saben que simplemente me encantan los unicornios. Ni siquiera hay que conocerme demasiado para saber ese dato, es más bien algo así como: “Hola, ¿Qué tal? Mi nombre es Cony y amo a los unicornios”. Por eso es un personaje muy importante para mi; y si bien lo tengo listo en el boceto del papel, todavía no estoy contenta con los resultados finales cuando lo tejo. Así que lo estoy dejando descansar un poco para ver si logro que Confetti quede tal cual me lo imagino en mi cabeza.
Do you practice any other weaving technique?
Since we are sharing, let me tell you a secret. I'm rather clumsy knitting at with two needles. As I said before, I think it has something to do with my perfectionism. And if one stitch is crooked ... it’s a tragedy! I have to disassemble everything and start over, over and over, over and over... to infinity. Conclusion: I finish knitting a lap every three hours or so, I get tired and I quit. When I was a little girl, my grandmother tried to teach me at least 12,785 times (and my mother a few others), but they all ended the same way: my nan would get tired, she would take the project from me and do it herself faster, because I would knit it too tight, and she would say: “Done! You did a great job!” But she had done it herself! It was a very funny situation. Currently I am interested in embroidery. I love embroidering tiny things, details, especially leaves, flowers and forest and natural elements. It is a technique that I love because it is illustration but with thread. I hope that soon you can see some things I have been doing to add to my collection.
¿Practicas alguna otra técnica de tejido?
Since we are sharing, let me tell you a secret. I'm rather clumsy knitting at with two needles. As I said before, I think it has something to do with my perfectionism. And if one stitch is crooked ... it’s a tragedy! I have to disassemble everything and start over, over and over, over and over... to infinity. Conclusion: I finish knitting a lap every three hours or so, I get tired and I quit. When I was a little girl, my grandmother tried to teach me at least 12,785 times (and my mother a few others), but they all ended the same way: my nan would get tired, she would take the project from me and do it herself faster, because I would knit it too tight, and she would say: “Done! You did a great job!” But she had done it herself! It was a very funny situation. Currently I am interested in embroidery. I love embroidering tiny things, details, especially leaves, flowers and forest and natural elements. It is a technique that I love because it is illustration but with thread. I hope that soon you can see some things I have been doing to add to my collection.
¿Practicas alguna otra técnica de tejido?
Ya que estamos en tren de confesiones, voy a contarles un secreto. Soy bastante torpe tejiendo a dos agujas. Como dije más arriba, creo que es es algo que tiene que ver con que mi obsesión por el perfeccionismo. Y si un punto me queda más o menos torcido…¡se convierte en tragedia! Y tengo que desarmarlo todo y volver a empezar. Así una y otra vez, una y otra vez, ad infinitum. Conclusión: termino tejiendo una vuelta cada tres horas más o menos, me canso y lo abandono. Cuando era chiquita, mi abuela intentó enseñarme al menos 12.785 veces (y mi mamá otras tantas), pero todas terminaban igual: mi abuela se cansaba, me sacaba el tejido y después de retarme un poco porque yo tejía MUY apretado, lo tejía ella en dos minutos, me lo devolvía y me decía: “¡Ay, listo! Te quedó hermoso ¿Viste?”. ¡Pero lo tejía ella! Era una situación muy graciosa. Actualmente me encuentro incursionando mucho en el bordado. Me apasiona bordar cosas chiquititas, detalles, sobre todo hojitas, flores y elementos del bosque y la naturaleza. Es una técnica que me encanta porque es como ilustrar pero con hilos. Espero que pronto puedan ver algunas cosas que estuve haciendo para sumar a mis bichitos e integrarlo junto con la técnica del crochet.
Thank you very much for the interview! It was so much fun to let you know a little bit more about me and my happy Zany Bunny world!
¡Muchas gracias por la entrevista! Fue muy divertido contar un poco de mí y de mi mundo feliz de Zany Bunny.
¡Muchas gracias por la entrevista! Fue muy divertido contar un poco de mí y de mi mundo feliz de Zany Bunny.
This interview was made by Lots of Loops and translated by Marina D. Bárcenas and Orangefox
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