Sarah Neuburger, the artist behind The Small Object, can turn surfaces as unsuspecting as fingerprints and clothespins into quirky, collectable characters. Her handmade gifts are charming and rather kawaii, despite her Southern roots. From stationery to rubber stamps, she's adorned her collection with her unique characters, and most of her products are (you guessed it) small, therefore all the more precious and keepsake-worthy.



Sarah/The Small Object sat down for a little Q&A with SuicideGirls to share the background and inspiration behind her charming work.

SG: Tell me a little about your background.

TSO: I find great pleasure in being born in a town called Normal, IL because I wonder endlessly why someone would name a town Normal. I didn't actually live in Normal, I was just born there. Right now I live in Columbia, SC which is where I've been for the past couple of years. I went to graduate school at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and lived in Brooklyn and Jersey City for about six years before I moved back down to Columbia. I opened my online shop about a year and a half ago which allowed me to send parcels of my work out all over.

SG: What materials do you work with? What is your objective regarding your work?

TSO: While I was in college I spent a summer doing a work exchange program at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, which is located in Gatlinburg, TN. It was an amazing summer filled with classes like experimental cloisonné and small-scale furniture design while spending the evenings silkscreening and listening to bluegrass music and drinking homemade Panther Piss in the woods.

But the best part was learning so many different techniques and skills with such a varied mix of experience levels. Having been raised by a mother who labored days over articulately flowered Barbie doll birthday cake dresses and sewed our own stuffed animals and Jams shorts, I was very much into making things--all sorts of things. Things you hang on the wall, things you fire, things you draw, things you cut and solder, things you saw and nail, everything.



I want to make things for our everyday--whether they be useful recipe cards or a collage for your bedroom. Which is also why I chose SVA since you didn't have to chose an artistic discipline, you just made stuff and you got a studio space to do that in for a couple years. So while I used to make mural size drawings, my stuff has gotten smaller but the materials run the gamut. I like learning new things so this year was making things like the stuff I made with hand carved stamps + iron-on transfers while sourcing out new products that I can have made from my own designs
like my rubber stamps.

SG: What inspires or influences your work?

TSO: Geez, what doesn't influence my work? Sometimes I think that this is all my head thinks about.. whatever I come into contact with: the children's books I read to my niece and nephew or drawings we make together, or magazines or photos on Flickr or an ad campaign I see at a bus stop. Its everywhere.



SG: What do you do when you feel drained of inspiration or out of ideas?

TSO: Usually, I make something I used to do all the time when I was younger which sometimes turns into something new now. If I'm really out of ideas, I'll make myself some new pants, from a pattern, and zone out. Right now, I can cut and sew a pair in about 30 minutes. Not having to think about how to make them is incredibly relaxing to me, I started using this pattern about 10 years ago so I could probably cut it out in my sleep now. It's all I wear. Ever.

SG: What's your favorite texture?

TSO: To eat: crunchy outside, soft inside. To draw: flat and smooth. To feel: soft and chilly.

SG: What are some of your guilty pleasures?

TSO: Martha Stewart and ruffles.

SG: What's next for The Small Object?

TSO: The holidays are coming, so I'm working on lots of stuff for my shop. I want to do some drawings with watercolor and make some street maps. I've fallen hardcore for maps this past year. I will do a couple of craft shows but mainly just look forward to some cooler temperatures and driving to see some snow.


This interview was conducted by boygirlpartay, a painter and fellow crafter generally interested in all things small.