We Interview Anna Fleiss
From Michelle Obama to Virginia Woolf: Anna Fleiss shared with us how she celebrated her heroes in her book Feminist Icon Cross-Stitch.…
Anna Fleiss is an Emmynominated digital media producer. She also recently published an embroidery kit and three cross stitch books. We loved the mix of colourful designs and inspiring stories in her book Feminist Icon Cross-Stitch, and were excited to talk with her more about women, work and keeping creative.
What first drew you to cross stitch and what do you love about it?
I’ve always been pretty creative – I’ve been cross stitching, embroidering and sewing since I was a child and I always have some crafty project that I’m at least halfway through. I learned how to cross stitch when I was about five, and I’ve been cross stitching ever since. There’s something about the organisation of cross stitch with the boxes that I find to be really soothing.
Where did the idea for Feminist Icon Cross-Stitch come from?
I was really inspired by the knitted Pussyhats worn on the Women’s Marches in 2017 – they were this amazing symbol of unity and women’s empowerment. I remember talking to a friend at dinner one night about how I wanted to join into the movement, and she suggested feminist cross stitch and the idea really took hold from there.
How did you decide which women you were going to stitch?
I worked on the list closely with my editor at Running Press. We started with a long list of women we thought would be great for the book and then we narrowed it down. We tried to make sure we were representing a wide variety of feminists and all different types of stories of women changing the world.
Can you tell us about the process behind creating the designs?
I started by looking at tons of photos of each woman to get an understanding of her most prominent features and most iconic looks. I’d make notes about what was most noticeable about them, and
then I’d start building a pattern around those features. So for instance with Frida Kahlo – she’s obviously known for the unibrow and she has a very long face. So I first designed those details before doing anything else.
Is there a particular icon who you enjoyed stitching?
Oh my gosh, I loved all of them so much. But I think my absolute favourite things to stitch tend to be projects with a lot of colour changes in them, so for me I really loved stitching Frida, Rosie the Riveter and Beyoncé. But my favourite finished piece is Eleanor Roosevelt, she was such a hard one to stitch, but as a finished piece I absolutely love how she came out. But as for their stories, honestly, all of them are so inspiring and they are all such trailblazers that I don’t really think I could pick just one favourite!
What are your thoughts on combining the traditionally ‘feminine’ task of sewing with feminist icons?
I think where we are culturally right now is really a place of ‘taking things back’. We’re changing the symbolism of activities and items that had been representative of oppression and turning them instead into icons of strength and courage. I think that the recent ‘craftivism’ movement is just an extension of that.
You’ve recently produced other great books and the Zodiac Embroidery Kit too – how do you fit it all in?
It was definitely a lot of work to be able to balance all of those projects with my job and it was not easy. But, working in digital media I’m very lucky to be working in an all-female department and all the ladies I work with are strong, ambitious, and very talented. I am constantly inspired by them and that definitely helps to motivate me to work as hard as I do.
What are you working on now – will there be any more books?
Haha, I don’t know yet. At the moment I’m taking a little bit of a break: creating three books and a kit in a year and a half was hard! But I think I’ll come back to it soon. Maybe my next project will be an Etsy shop! But I definitely am hopeful for another book in my future as well.
What do you enjoy doing when you have some free time?
I live in Los Angeles, I have a fuzzy black cat named Ziggy, and aside from cross stitch I love to re-do old furniture, I like to cook and I’ve recently been perfecting my pizzamaking skills. Outside of the kitchen I like to hike and play board games with friends.
my absolute favourite things to stitch tend to be projects with a lot of colour changes in them