Today's episode is a special one! I catch up with Jessica Carey, the heart and brains behind the Hook Nook and so many beautiful crochet patterns. She takes us behind the scenes of her business and tells us about what brought her to crochet, how she grew her following through good 'ol trial and error and why she likes to tune out social media from time to time. My favorite part comes at the end when she delves into how crochet has made her more confident and lead her to feel an amazing sense of self worth. Stay tuned for the end when I dive into this idea in a little more detail.

The coolest thing about this podcast journey for me so far has been discovering  why crafting and living creatively are so important to my guests. Jessica did not disappoint here. She made me realize things I didn’t know I knew about myself and I hope you gleaned some of these insights too.  I remember the first time I finished a really tough knitting pattern. It gave me so much confidence. Slowly overtime I took on more complicated projects, that led me to believe that I could figure anything out on my own. I started to build things, cook, keep up with technology and gained confidence working on the back end side of my website. I had always had a huge fear of that stuff. In a way it helped remove this wanting of approval or validation from others in my life. She echos the same thing. It started a domino effect in my life and taught me that I could figure all of these things out on my own and ultimately has led me to feeling like sure, I can run a business, why not. And that is a heck of a lot harder than knitting something. What Jessica has taught me is that crafts or any kind of creative making can teach us that we have the potential to do whatever our brains cook up. Messing up, failing is all ok and part of it...and as Vickie Howell said, think of those missteps as stepping stones. So let’s not discount our knitting or weaving (or building/making in any form!) because it’s all helping us grow and get stronger.

The other thing Jessica touched on which resonated so loudly with me was the idea that as she follows this path, she is setting an example for her children that she can create whatever she wants, so of course, they can too. It goes beyond children to extend to anyone around you as well as yourself. Joy Cho of the Oh Joy blog wrote this so beautifully in the book In the Company of Women. She writes:

Ever since becoming a mother, I am mostly motivated by the desire to set an example for my daughters. I want them to see that they have a mom who created something from nothing, who made her job into what she wanted and who truly loves what she does. I want them to believe they can make their future career into anything they want to and that working can be really fun too!

How can you not love that!? Here are some photos of Jessica in her designs, with her family and that famous crochet puff beanie she mentions in the interview. In case you're interested, her favorite band is the Dirty Heads. I'm excited to check them out.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to the podcast. Find Jessica at the Hook Nook and on Instagram @the.hook.nook. If you like what you hear, I'd so appreciate a review in iTunes or a comment below letting me know all of your thoughts.

Thank you thank you thank you!