Meet the Maker: Do A Little Dance

Sojung Kim McCarthy’s mother tried to coax her away from a career in craft, as women of her generation in South Korea who demonstrated craft skills usually spent their lives working in sweatshop factories. But the lure of working with thread and fabric was too strong, and Sojung moved to the UK to study illustration and make things she loved. The result is Do A Little Dance – Sojung’s brand of embroidery hoop art and purses inspired by her love of tea, coffee and furry friends. We talk to Sojung and discover that her creative journey began aged six, when she tried to knit with chopsticks…

Being a designer in Korea often means you’re working in a very busy and competitive environment 24/7 (quite literally!) and I couldn’t see myself doing it for the rest of my life. So I ran away to Bournemouth, studied illustration and started making little things that made me happy.

Can you introduce yourself and describe what you do?
I’m Sojung Kim McCarthy, a designer – illustrator – maker originally from Seoul in South Korea. I studied graphic design at university and worked for a few years as an editorial designer for a children’s monthly magazine. But being a designer in Korea often means you’re working in a very busy and competitive environment 24/7 (quite literally!) and I couldn’t see myself doing it for the rest of my life. So I ran away to Bournemouth, studied illustration and started making little things that made me happy.

Tea Time Fox Embroidery Hoop Art by Do A Little Dance

I’m quite obsessed with tea, coffee and furry friends, so these are the themes I constantly use.

I’m quite obsessed with tea, coffee and furry friends, so these are the themes I constantly use. At the moment my main materials are fabric and wool, but I’m interested in using all sorts of materials and techniques, so you never know what you’ll see in my shop next time.

Femininst Embroidered Coin Purse by Do A Little Dance

I was six or seven when I saw some western ladies on TV in their rocking chairs, holding very thin and long chopsticks. They were constantly moving their sticks, with some yarn around their fingers. Mum said it was called knitting, and you could make scarfs and jumpers with needles and yarn. My mind was completely blown…

Do you remember the first time you picked up an embroidery needle? What did you make?
Actually, I don’t remember much about my first embroidery. But somehow the memory of my first knitting attempt is quite clear. I was six or seven when I saw some western ladies on TV in their rocking chairs, holding very thin and long chopsticks. They were constantly moving their sticks, with some yarn around their fingers. Mum said it was called knitting, and you could make scarfs and jumpers with needles and yarn. She couldn’t show me how to do it since she wasn’t the craftiest person in the world, but my mind was completely blown by the idea of creating something using my own hands.

Cute Spring Bunny Embroidered Hoop Art by Do A Little Dance

As in many other countries, craft in Korea is still considered women’s work and therefore not properly valued or appreciated. But no matter how hard I tried I could never stop being excited when I saw beautiful fabric and thread.

So I ran to the kitchen and took two chopsticks, wrapped them with some pink yarn I found somewhere and held them crossed in an x-shape. Trying to remember how the ladies did it on TV, I crossed and un-crossed the chopsticks, unsure of why I was making such slow progress. After 20 or 30 minutes I started to form a big wrapped mass of yarn on my chopsticks, probably because the yarn was stretched or strangled too much. “I think it’s working!” I shouted at my mum who had been watching me the whole time, and she burst out laughing. Soon after that, she signed me up to a knitting class that was hosted by an old lady in the neighbourhood.

Milk Time Kitty Embroidered Hoop Art by Do A Little Dance

My perfect day would be sunny and I would finish it with some sewing in the evening, while my husband watches TV beside me and my cat sits on my lap.

What or who inspires you now?
I get a lot of ideas on the internet – Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram etc – seeing what other artists and crafters are doing, as well as collecting cute animal photos and videos I use as reference. Recently, I’ve fallen in love with the work of Cathy Cullis, Yumiko Higuchi and Laura Carlin. I also regularly visit antique and vintage shops around my area as it helps me understand the world of British craft, which is still very new and fascinating to me.

There are two work tables in my studio, but the one by the window has been taken over by my cat, Baileys, for her long afternoon naps and intense neighbourhood watching. So I do most things on the other table to avoid disturbing her.

Where is your studio and could you describe it for us?
My husband and I moved into our new house a year ago, and I took the biggest bedroom as my studio – a huge luxury I can enjoy because I don’t have kids! There are two work tables in the room, but the one by the window has been taken over by my cat, Baileys, for her long afternoon naps and intense neighbourhood watching. So I do most things on the other table to avoid disturbing her. It has been an enormous help to have this light and spacious room to work, play and make a big mess. My productivity soared after I started working in here – and I still have loads of ideas I haven’t had a chance to realise yet, which is really exciting.

It has been an enormous help to have this light and spacious room to work, play and make a big mess. My productivity soared after I started working in here.

Can you talk us through your creative process?
Sometimes I make small sketches on paper, but I also start many designs by drawing directly on fabric using water-soluble pen. I often improvise by allowing the materials to drive me to the next stage, so I don’t really know what a piece will look like until it’s finished. For example, the flower embroidery hoop art I finished recently were made by adding different types of flowers here and there, until I felt they are done.

Sometimes I start many designs by drawing directly on fabric using water-soluble pen. I often improvise by allowing the materials to drive me to the next stage, so I don’t really know what a piece will look like until it’s finished. For example, the flower embroidery hoop art pieces I finished recently were made by adding different types of flowers here and there, until I felt they are done.

For the little purses, I often pick the main piece of fabric I want to work with, pick some other fabric to go with it, and add various embroidery and statement to complement. This way I can keep every work and day different and interesting.

I get a lot of ideas on the internet, seeing what other artists and crafters are doing, as well as collecting cute animal photos and videos I use as reference. I also regularly visit antique and vintage shops around my area as it helps me understand the world of British craft, which is still very new and fascinating to me.

What does craft mean to you?
Craft is something I tried to walk away from but have been constantly drawn back to. As in many other countries, craft in Korea is still considered women’s work and therefore not properly valued or appreciated. My mum always told me that being so talented in making, especially sewing, was not actually a good thing for a girl. She was born just after the Korean War and a lot of crafty girls in her generation spent their lives working in sweatshop factories, trying to earn pennies to support their families. Mum wanted me to have a job that pays well so I could be an independent woman, and to do that, craft wasn’t an option. But no matter how hard I tried (sorry Mum) I could never stop being excited when I saw beautiful fabric and thread. I love it when a bunch of raw materials that are meaningless in themselves are put together and become something. It feels like someone’s telling me that I didn’t waste my day and that my life means something too.

Celebrate Every Day Embroidery Hoop Art by Do A Little Dance

My mum was born just after the Korean War and a lot of crafty girls in her generation spent their lives working in sweatshop factories, trying to earn pennies to support their families. Mum wanted me to have a job that pays well so I could be an independent woman, and to do that, craft wasn’t an option.

Has the perception of craft in South Korea changed since then, or is it still seen as low-value women’s work?
It’s hard to speak about Korean craft in general, but in the high-end modern craft scene, where craft and modern industrial/product design often cross-over, an increasing number of male designers are getting involved. It’s the same in the fashion industry. However, when it comes to more traditional, everyday craft, certain areas definitely remain as women’s work. For example, knitting or sewing is often seen as what women do as a hobby or a part-time job and, therefore, not proper work for men. I think this happens because craft, like all other areas, is not free from everyday sexism that is still very strong in Korean society.

Hopefully, things have been changing and will change more. After a very rapid industrialisation in the last few decades, Korean people are now realising that they lost a lot of old but valuable things along the way… and craft is one of them. There has been some movement to re-evaluate and modernise traditional craft, while more and more people now recognise the value of the handmade. Perhaps they’ll soon need a platform like Folksy to share their love for craft.

Korean people are now realising that they lost a lot of old but valuable things along the way… and craft is one of them. Perhaps they’ll soon need a platform like Folksy to share their love for craft.

How would you spend your perfect day?
My perfect day used to involve some vigorous shopping but that matters less and less. Now I would just like it to be a sunny day and that I would finish it with some sewing in the evening, while my husband watches TV beside me and my cat sits on my lap.