With summer coming to an end and my Fall / Winter Blog Maker Call approaching, I have had time to reflect on the last year and a half of Makers featured on this blog. There has been over 100 Makers along with their maker stories, designs, and tutorials. Each Maker has come sharing their best work, giving their all, as well as being vulnerable in sharing their own unique Maker story. We have been moved, motivated, and inspired!!! For some Makers, it took a huge leap of faith and courage to apply for the call, and now we are here celebrating each and every one of them! Each designer and Maker that has been featured thus far has been over-the-top amazing and I am just so stinking grateful to be able to connect with each of you!!
With all the Makers featured here, there has been four designers that have come back again and again to share their talents with The Hook Nook readers and you have loved what they have shared! They have continually shared their patterns and talent with you and I am so grateful for their devotion to this community! I am so excited to have asked them to join me for 2019-2020 as the official The Hook Nook Dream Team. This group of talented designers will be featured often on the blog and will come along with me on this amazing fiber journey and be part of The Hook Nook story!
Scroll down to check out my THN Dream Team members and, if you know them, be sure to comment and congratulate them!! If they are new to you, don't forget to follow them on social media! You won't want to miss anything they have up their sleeves!
Erin Greene
Erin Greene's love for all things crochet, bizarrely began in college with her career-ending basketball injury, and her desire to remain productive and continue challenging herself. She is now the crochet artist and owner behind ekayg, based out of New York and specializes in designing unique toy designs for babies and children. She finds a lot of inspiration from her own children! Along with the crochet designs, she also blogs weekly sharing the occasional craft or recipe, as well as her faith, in the hopes of sharing the love of Jesus through her journey as a Maker!
We love how Erin describes her designs: I love designing children's toys! Specifically when designing dolls and toys for little girls, my goal in mind is to create characters outside of the normal stereotypical look. I was once told about a little girl who wanted to dress up as a princess, and she felt that in order to look the part, she needed to straighten her gorgeous curly hair. Little girls of all sizes, shapes, and looks should have dolls and toys that can help them visualize and imagine that they can be whatever they want to be, no matter what they might look like. That is why I created this princess puppet pattern with different hair styling options!
Brianna Iaropoli
Brianna is the Maker Mama and Designer behind Life and Yarn who always has her coffee in one hand and her hook in the other! You can find her dreaming up new designs and ways to contribute to this community in meaningful and positive ways all while sitting cross-legged on the floor with her little guy, and a belly about to burst with baby #2. Brianna loves texture, exciting stitches and is on a mission to bring you one of a kind crochet designs that are not only wonderful to make, but flattering and fashionable!
We love Brianna's enthusiasm for this community: Crochet has been something that I have picked up and put down countless times my entire life! It has taken me in so many different directions, but I am thrilled to say that I have finally found what I am meant to do with it! I believe my crochet calling is to bring you fun, inspiring and modern crochet designs! I am truly a creative at heart and nothing makes me happier than to see all of you enjoy making pieces that I feel are a part of me! It makes my heart so full when this amazing community gets excited about a project that I have poured my heart into! The past year or so has really been one amazing journey for me trying to find my space in the maker community, and I am glad to have found it!
Follow Brianna at Life and Yarn and on Instagram or Facebook here.
Chenoa Wilcox
Chenoa Wilcox is the creator behind jellyKNITTING, the creative outlet where she shares her creations, takes custom orders, and is (finally!) starting to publish her patterns. When she isn’t knitting or crocheting, Chenoa is either working in a biology lab, playing with snails in hot springs (does that even count as graduate school?), or trying to train her cats to stop stealing her yarn. Chenoa is slowly replacing all the fast-fashion pieces in her closet with hand-made knit and crochet items, from sweaters to dresses to hats and scarves.
Why we can relate with Chenoa: Creating garments is art, and there is something deeply personal about the things I create and the level of detail I put into my designs. Part of what keeps me falling in love with yarn again and again - everyone who crafts puts their heart and soul into their projects. Each and every project, big or small, is a labor of love. Every thing you make has a little piece of you in it.
Follow Chenoa on her website, Instagram or Facebook here.
Shannon Eckler
Shannon Eckler is a crochet designer and fiber artist from Upstate New York. After completing her Bachelor’s in Psychology and working in her field, Shannon found an outlet in crochet. What started as a hobby has now become a passion for Shannon. Shannon’s inspiration comes from texture, beautiful fiber, and earth toned colors. Shannon loves to design cool crochet garments that are simple to make, inspired by her own personal style, and are oh so cozy & cute! Shannon likes to incorporate her work with her love of crochet, and has recently been working on some adaptive design projects as well as a Yarn Bomb to help raise awareness for World Cerebral Palsy Day! When Shannon is not designing she likes to spend her time advocating for those with disabilities, listening to music/podcasts, and spending time with her cat, Monty. You can find her patterns as well as finished creations on her shop!
Why we understand and connect with Shannon: Crochet has been my guiding light. It is my passion, an outlet, and a way for me to connect with others. Crochet allows me to become an artist, feel unique, and loved. I am no longer questioning who I am, but rather where I want to go. I can’t wait to share more with the world and explore more of my craft!
Follow Shannon on Instagram.
I know you are going to love what this dream team will bring to The Hook Nook readers! Brianna has already started sharing her favorite stitches with our new blog series, Favorite Stitches. If you are wanting to learn more about how you can participate as a Maker here on The Hook Nook, check out this link and click on "Blog Questions" to learn more. But DEFINITELY be sure to sign up for my newsletter because that's where you'll be the first to know more details about the next Fall/Winter Maker call, and when it goes live! To sign upto the bottom of this page and plug in your email under "Stay in the Loop" - BOOM! That's it!
A GINORMOUS thank you to the 100+ Makers that have collaborated with us and have shared their talents with all of us!! I couldn't have made this community the place it is without each and EVERY one of you!
xo,
Jessica
