Nemesis Productions

1. Tell me about your favorite place in the world...

My favorite place is Chicago. I just love that city, with all of my being. The food, the people, the stores, the architecture, the L...I love it all.

...Do you believe location influences creativity?

I definitely think that location influences one's creativity. If a person is happy where they are, surrounded by friends and family in a supportive environment, the creativity and inspiration will just flow. I find it easier to focus on the task at hand, and have greater motivation to do the things I enjoy.

I currently hate where I am, and I feel that it has a negative effect on my drive to work some days. When you are somewhere (whether in geographical location or life in general) that you do not like, it can be a huge distraction. Stress can wreak havoc on the creative process for me, and I think that there are days that it can be hard for me to really get myself motivated if I don't have orders waiting. I'm also less inclined to have a sudden urge to grab the camera and explore.

2. With no exaggeration I must say that Nemesis a favorite of mine, the winged Greek Goddesses, daughter of night… to what degree, if any, did the mythology influence your name choice?

I have a long association with that name. It began with the haunted attraction acting troupe I belong to. (I'm inactive now because I live in another state, but I am still technically a member.) It's a fraternal organization, meaning there are ranks or levels of membership. There is basically a mentoring program where a "Knight" can "Squire" a member, and at the end of the season a group of Knights votes on the Squires to decide if their acting and makeup techniques and skills are accomplished enough to move up in rank. When I attained Knight status, I chose the name of Nemesis for the reason you listed above, as well as others. I was a nemesis to many of the members of the group, especially some of the other girls, because I could look feminine and even sexy and still scare people (among other reasons, some earned, most not). That's not very easy to do, and it's an accomplishment I'm still proud of.

When I went on to DJ, Nemesis just seemed like a natural choice. Then, when I progressed to promoting shows, I chose Nemesis Productions for the name to encompass all of my endeavors. I've always loved that particular goddess, and I feel it's a kind of an empowering thing. A nemesis can be a blessing in disguise. Those people can drive us to excel, to improve ourselves and learn new things, to reach levels of skill we might not have strived for otherwise.

Only through adversity do we learn our true natures...

3. Give us your personal definition of “Spooky Girl”…

I think, first and foremost, it means being slightly different then the accepted norm in mainstream society for women. I have always been drawn to things that are unique, and I think being a Spooky Girl (or Grrrl) is special. While I associate it with lovely doom and gloom (of the good kind), it can be any woman who likes to live outside the box.

Instead of sugar, spice and everything nice, we like spiders, bats, and black cats.

4. If you suddenly had the ability to create any one thing, what would it be?

I would love to create my own home. I've actually done a mock up of my dream house for a set design class I took in school, and it would be wonderful to do something like that in real life.

5. Tell us the remarkable story of one photo shoot or photo find….

I think that would have to be the first photo "shoot" I went on. It was a total last minute fluke. My room mate at the time is a member of a few urban exploration groups and online communities, and one of these groups had scheduled an exploration get together in Gary, IN. I woke up that weekend morning after being out until dawn (ah, I miss Chicago!) with a migraine. I had a tiny little Kodak EasyShare 4.0 mp camera, nothing at all special, but I was always taking pictures with it, and he knew that I liked photographing things, so he asked me if I wanted to go with him. I hemmed and hawed for a minute, took some migraine medicine, and decided to go for it.

It was awesome. I still want to go back with the camera I have now and visit those places again. Every time I look at the images I took that day, I'm amazed at the images I managed to get with that camera! I think my favorite place was the church we went to, with the post office being a close second. I've always had a soft spot for churches. It's the arches and stained glass that get me. There is such beauty in entropy.

6. Tell us about your favorite scent….

I don't know if I can pick just one. I'm a scent junkie. I would have to say that I am definitely very drawn to spicy, oriental scents (my favorite designer perfume is Spellbound by Estee Lauder), but I really don't think I could only live with one scent.

7. Your top seven favorite artists, musicians, or fellow Etsians…

Another hard question! There are so many people to admire, and so much wonderful work. I think one of my all-time favorite photographers is Ansel Adams. I love black and white photography, and his is just stunning.

As far as bands go, I'd have to go with Gary Numan, Combichrist, Portishead, Cruciform Injection and Cervello Elettronico right now. I love music, and am especially drawn to industrial and powernoise.

I love a bunch of Etsy people. There are so many talented and funny individuals on there that I am hard pressed to pick any one of them above the other. I would like to give some love to my friend Jenn who has a shop, since she really helped me when I first started and has continued to be very supportive. Her shop is FreyasFire.

(FreyasFire specializes in glass pendants, such as the one shown right-->)

8. If you could buy from one shop on etsy, no price restrictions, whose would it be and why?
I think it would have to be this bed.

It would make me feel like a tree/forest elf straight out of Lord of the Rings. (Yep, I'm a nerd.) Just imagine sleeping in a bed like that! So amazing.

9. And as I always do, this is your chance to ask yourself a question you wish I’d ask you, and answer.

I think a good question to ask me is: Where would I like to be in 5 years, personally and professionally?

First off, I have to say back in the Chicagoland area. I would like to have a degree in technical theatre, or I should say finish the one I started and then earn a bachelors. A brick and mortar store with fun, sassy, and talented employees would be wonderful. I would like to have children by then. Two would be good, one boy, one girl. A garden to grow my own herbs and botanicals. I would love to be filling regular wholesale and consignment orders.

I would like to be somewhere where both my husband and I can be happy and do the things we enjoy.

Best wishes to you Nemesis, for more details about her work see her Etsy shop here. If you, like me, are itching to see those Chicago shots, my only advice is go to Etsy, become a member if you must, add this artist to your favorites, and watch for updates.