I am jumping up and down with excitement! As many of you know, I've been collaborating with
Crochet by Jennifer.
Last summer, she called for testers on her page and I filled out her form. She is extremely talented and I love working with other designers. Jennifer usually does not have other designers test for her and I can completely understand that, but lucky for me, a few of the gals who know both of us talked her into letting me join. We hit it off and get along great because we have respect for one another and will not cross boundaries when it comes to items to design. We have come to find out that we are a lot alike and I appreciate the opportunity to design dresses and other clothing to match her wonderful creativity!
Now that you know how we met, it is my pleasure to introduce you to her.
What is your main business focus?
Designing crochet patterns. I no longer sell custom orders as I found it took too much time away from designing. I just want to continually grow and improve. Lately I've been going back and re-writing all my older patterns because I've learned so much in the past couple of years.
What is your greatest accomplishment or what are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the fact that I have turned something I love doing into a successful career and that I can stay home with my younger daughter. My job doesn't even feel like work to me because I love it so
much. The fact that I can earn a living doing what I do is just a bonus to me. I love the fact that my husband is proud of me too, and tells people all about my work.
What is something you struggle with?
Finding enough time in the day to do everything I want to do! My "list" of things to design is so long I'll never see the end of it. I also struggle with time management and making sure I work on all aspects of
my business equally. My Facebook page, blog, website, etc are things that I would like to build up even more in the future so I can always be interacting with people and sharing my patterns.
What advice would you give someone starting out?
Take the time to learn your craft thoroughly. I rushed into designing a little too quickly and I had no idea how it would snowball. I wish I'd gotten into it a little more slowly and tried more patterns before I
started selling my own designs. My own personal ethic is that I don't view other designer's patterns because I don't want to be influenced or feel that I am copying, but I wish I had seen more of what was out there
before I joined the designing crowd. There are several designers whose work I admire, but I have never tried their patterns.
Is there someone in the craft community that you admire and why?
Vita of Mon Petit Violon. I think her designs are gorgeous and she's a lovely person. :)
Thank you Jennifer for taking your time to share a little about who you are. I've heard of Mon Petit Violon and I've even seen her designs floating around on different social media sights. I had to go check out her FaceBook page and sadly, I wasn't a fan - Until now :) I have to agree, she has some amazing designs!
Well, there you have it in a nutshell. She is such an amazing designer and I'm thrilled that we are working together. If you are not a fan of her's yet, check out her other shops and become a fan on Facebook.
