Where did the name Pussy Cap come from?
My buddy Lisa and I were having breakfast at the Heidelberg in Laguna Beach one Sunday morning and I was bemoaning the expense of maintaining my websites, so she suggested I sell something on them to help defray the costs. I said I didn't have anything to sell and she said, "Baloney - you have all kinds of things to sell. Your beanie caps for example." One thing led to another and by the time we were onto our second cappuccinos of the morning we were throwing all sorts of crazy ideas around.
One silly name led to another and then Lisa said something about them being as soft as pussy cats and from pussy cats she went to pussy caps and it took off from there with our conversation covering the gamut. So anything you can imagine we might have said, we did. The minute Lisa said Pussy Cap I knew she was onto something so I raced home, registered the domain and created this website that afternoon.
How long does it take you to make a cap?
Usually about three to four hours. Depends on the yarns and how involved the pattern of the cap is. Thicker yarns crochet up faster than thinner yarns and caps that use two or three yarns together can take a lot longer to work up than a single strand does. Some yarns are easier and faster to work with than others because they slide along themselves and the crochet hook more easily. So the time it takes to make a Pussy Cap is mostly determined by the yarns and the difficulty of the pattern. And sometimes by how many glasses of wine I had with dinner.
Is this a gay thing?
Oh my gawd, this is the question that everyone thinks but no one has the cojones to ask. Of course it's a gay thing. Everything in my life is a gay thing, except of course for the things that aren't.
Why are Pussy Caps so expensive?
Mostly because the yarns I use are high-quality natural fibers, with hand-dyeing and/or handspinning often adding to the cost. The better or rarer the yarn the more expensive it usually is and I'm committed to using the very best and the most beautiful yarns I can find. The other factor involved in the price of Pussy Caps is the time it takes me to make them. Even though I'm a fast hooker it still takes the time it takes and I'm comfortable making a few bucks for my time.
Are you going to mass-market Pussy Caps?
No. The idea started out small and is gaining momentum but my plan is to keep making only one-of-a-kind caps and doing only as many as I'm able to do in my spare time. Pussy Caps are wearable art and the concept would lose its flavor if I moved into any kind of mass-marketing where someone other than me would be making them.
Isn't crocheting something women do?
Yeh, but some of us guys like crocheting and knitting too - more than you might imagine really. I crochet because I can and because I like the rhythmic movement of the hook through the yarn and the amazing feel of the fibers in my hands. (Is that a feminine thing?) And I do it because it's immensely creative.
I get really excited about combining different kinds and colors of yarns and seeing what I can come up with. I get a lot of satisfaction from every single cap I make and usually find myself wanting to keep and wear most of them rather than sell them. The one thing I never feel when I'm crocheting is feminine - I just feel like me and I'm a guy who's an artist and that's who I am even when I'm crocheting.
Do you do custom work other than caps?
Yes and no. I do real basic crocheting; none of the fancy stitches and stuff that my grandma was so good at. I'm more about the yarns and the colors than I am about the fancy techniques. I'm actually pretty amazed that I can do a cap at all because it takes a lot of thought and counting to round them off at the top so that they fit your head right. I'm dyscalculic so counting down the top of a cap pushes me right to the edge.
Yes, I can crochet simple things like scarves, throws and baby blankets but for the time being I'm only doing Pussy Caps and by special order only, Pussy Tails. For everything else there's your grandma.
Who designed and built your website?
I did
Who does your photography?
I do
Who crochets your caps?
I do
Who writes your copy?
I do
Who handles your shipping?
I do
What charities do you support?
Me
Do you have a boyfriend?
No
Do you want one?
Yes
Do you have a MySpace or Facebook page?
Hell no. I have six websites and a blog. Isn't that enough?
Got a question?
