Each piece of art at Ragged Dog is made by artist Stacie Fletcher's talented hands. Friends, family, and fans often wonder about the sources of her inspiration, but she is rarely able to give an answer. Instead, she gives a warm, questioning smile, a slight shake of her head, and simply says 'I don't know'...

It seems her inspiration lies within and when she sits down in front of her sewing machine, her own creativity combines with influences from her life and journeys to produce these functional and beautiful items. Stacie allows her raw materials to guide her to a finished piece - perhaps the antique and vintage objects speak through her of their own journeys as well.

Even if Stacie isn't able to articulate where her idea for a pillow customized with a thread-sketch of a family's home came from or why right before Valentine's Day, she suddenly had the idea to create a set of mittens that allowed lovers to hold hands in the freezing South Dakota cold, or where she expects to find inspiration for her next invention, we did get her to answer a few questions about herself.

born:
Mitchell, SD
(home of the Worlds Only Corn Palace ~ I know ~ you're jealous, right?)

art education:
Mattie Goldammer's School of Sewing
(you can't find it on google ~ thanks Grandma for all you taught me!)

current career:
Owning an art & framing gallery ~ Archival Elements
(you can find Ragged Dog stuff there too)

career plan b:
Back up dancer for Justin Timberlake
(a girl's got to have a realistic plan in case the gallery thing doesn't work out)

career plan c:
Secret Service Agent
(in the highly unlikely event Justin doesn't hire me)

biggest fears:
Having nothing to do, bungee jumping
(though luckily between the gallery and my intensive dance and agent training classes, not to mention creating new items for Ragged Dog, I'm not sure I'll ever run out of things to do)

favorite quotes:
”The only real failure in life is failure to try.”
“Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.”
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
(and one of my own - I believe there is beauty in imperfection.)

next big goal:
A country ranch with horses, goats, and other small rescue animals.
(we already have a house full of animals ~ a dog, 2 cats, and a bird ~ and could use the extra space!)

favorite studio music:
Foxnews & CNN
(I am a complete news junkie)

i’ll know i’ve made it when:
Actually I think I knew I made it when I realized that that question is irrelevant.
(thank goodness that's the last question ~ you're probably tired of reading about me by now, but thank you for visiting the site!)