About

Who am I?

Hey, i’m Jbo.  I’m a 40-something year old publishing professional who makes stuff, reads, and watches TV.  

The making

Mostly ceramics and yarn or fiber crafts.  Oh and food.  Oh and cocktails.  I like cocktails. Especially while knitting.

I sell weavings and tapestries on Etsy, as Kumquatmay Studio.

The persona

I am a born and raised Jersey girl, but I do NOT want to hear about your stereotypes of Jersey thank you very much. Also, north Jersey has no accent, but we do have a lot of malls. Growing up with amazing bagels as the default option, supermarkets who make mozzarella fresh, great pizza from local joints, and not ever having to pump my own gas is pretty sweet. I’m married to JBB, who is pretty awesome and puts up with my yarn because I have no problem with his comics.  We have two boys, and I still curse way too much.  I’m a proud feminist who tends to get ALL CAPSY about it if I read the news for too long. I can't spell, and I'm overly fond of em-dashes and parentheses which basically just makes me a copyeditor's worst nightmare. 

The blog started because my coworkers insisted upon it.  Apparently I know how to do lots of stuff? And torment them by insisting that it's all easy when you break it down. But really, I think I just retain a lot of random information.

The day job

I was in children’s publishing (but NOT picture books) for 16 years, before going freelance and working in editorial consulting. Ironically my spelling is atrocious, I am overly fond of em-dashes and parentheses, and I haven’t read an adult fiction book in ages (they’re kind of boring, no? Non-fiction, now that’s another story…). Please please please for the love of all that’s good and holy do not send me your book. If you want to employ me as an editorial consultant, my rates are on my site.

The TV

I like pop culture. Especially the cheesy stuff (<3 U AM GOLD).  And the awful reality housewife TV.  And though my love of Law and Order is eternal, I can't with the spinoffs and the "dramas" that are really just stealthily tricking me into watching their terrifying child-in-peril storylines and having nightmares for weeks.  SUV, I'm looking at you....

the rest

All opinions are my own. I speak for no one but myself, and certainly not for my employer, friends, or family. They can all speak for themselves.  If I review something, I'll tell y'all how I got the something, and who paid for it. Links you click may be affiliate links, which means if you buy the item linked to, I get compensation.  I don't ever recommend anything that I don't like myself.