Just in case you failed to catch my drift in those Pinning Down Indie posts, I am addicted to Pinterest. It is, in fact, my go-to website for sewing inspiration, tutorials, recipes, decor, wedding porn…you name it. And I’m not the only one. People worldwide are collecting their inspirations and storing them here. But why?
I tracked down nd +, one of the pinners featured in the most recent Pinning Down Indie post and bombarded her with questions. Not only did she humor me, a perfect stranger (she drew the line at a DNA sample though), she, too is curious to learn more about why people pin.
Tell me about yourself.
My real name is Nateene. It is actually just an Anglicization of my Chinese name, which sounds similar. And speaking of cross-cultural bridges, I too am a Texan! I was born and raised in Ft. Worth, but spent A LOT of time in Hong Kong as a child. As of now, though, I live in Chicago. I have a degree in Art History and work in the Chi-town art world.
Let me just interject here to point out the coolness of meeting a fellow Texan who frequents Hong Kong and lives in Chicago while I myself am living in Tampa!
Are you a maker?
I, sadly, am not the maker I once was, but I do continue to dabble. If I have the time to create, it’s usually spent taking photographs (I actually began my college career as a photography student!) or in the kitchen. I have recently taken an interest in the GIF making process and its thoroughly digital artyness.
Do you pin with a plan or purpose?
As to how I pin: It’s a little bit of everything. The fashion board is a mixture of consumer lust and personal wardrobe inspiration, while the DIY board is more of an ‘eventually I will make time for these projects and until then I don’t want to forget about them!’ However, the food board is put into use A LOT.
I have made or been inspired by so many of the recipes that I have found on Pinterest. So many.
(I just made the watermelon feta quinoa salad a couple of days ago for a BBQ and it was delicious!)
How do you choose the boards you follow?
I’m always much more interested (not surprisingly) in the boards that contain things that don’t really fit the mold for what pops up in the main feed.
I would much rather look at and explore a board with freshly pinned material than one stuffed with items that have been repinned again and again. Yay for pinning out of the box!
Is there a particular Pinner you just know will have stuff you want to repin?
Two of my favorite pinners have to be n&n and artnau. Between the two of them I always have something new to look at.
Artificial left arm, pinned by n&n
Do you follow any photographers or “chefs”?
Unfortunately, I’m not actually sure if I follow many photographers or chefs! I do really like photographer Lou Mora, though.
Who inspires you and why? This can be someone on Pinterest, an artist whose works you pin or seek out in real life, an author, your favorite neighborhood kid…whoever!
There are so many sources of inspiration to choose from! Pretty much all things vintage draw me in. But I love strong, mouthy women regardless of era. Extra bonus points for a sense of humor. I find my friends incredibly inspiring. My friends have such diverse areas of interest and expertise that I’m never bored or without a place to turn should I have a question (or five.) Everybody from NASA scientists to independent jewelry designers.
This week I stumbled upon a new artist that I hadn’t heard of before: Ignacio Torres, another Texan! His STELLAR series is really, really cool. I hadn’t considered working with GIFs before, but I am now!
I see the pin boards as online collections. Do you collect anything in real life?
The only things I actually collect (not necessarily in a curatorial way) are cameras. About 70% of my little collection was born out of necessity when I was still a photography student and the rest, well, are slightly less essential, but no less loved!
Disclaimer: Not Nateene' actual collection. But you can click on the image to see it and her other camera-related pins.
If you could find out more about any of the pinners you follow, which one would you choose?
I guess I’m most curious to know more about Mariah Kunkel. I love her blog Quite Continental!
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It was amazing to “meet” Nateene and find out so much about a fellow pinner. If you aren’t on Pinterest you are totally passing up a chance to push yourself out of your comfort zone and are missing out on all sorts of serendipitous coolness! I urge you to go collect art from museums too far for you to visit and some art that you would never call art at all, check out the pinners who love Danish furniture, and scroll through bizarre medical findings from the 18th century. There are a million ways to be inspired by these amazing collections. And while you’re at it, why don’t you pin something of your own into the collective inspiration?
Janice Bear designs unique garters (for offbeat brides, burlesque, Tuesdays…) because she believes everything you wear should be a reflection of you – right down to your underpinnings. To learn more about what she does and why she does it, please visit her 
What a fun post! It is so interesting to see who’s behind all the awesome pins!
Thanks, Sarah! It is almost a form of online hoarding – except awesome. And sort of distracting…
I know just how you feel, Janice, I wish I could live inside Pinterest somehow! It’s life without the mess and so much easier to keep organized!! Thanks for the pinning series (as if pinterest didn’t tempt me way to much as it is!)
Jenny, we speak the same language. I guess for a lot of people Tumbler and WeHeartIt serve the same purpose, but I never “got” it until Pinterest. It was pitched to me as a way to keep all my photos AND their sources in one place. I was sold. And now I’m hooked. Really shows what the right marketing approach will do for ya, huh?!