February 8, 2014
As reported by Amy Kaspar in the Chicago Knitting Examiner on January 28, 2014, “Women Taking Action, an organization founded by Kamilah Paden and Angela Underwood to further the education and empowerment of women in both their personal and corporate worlds, held their day-long workshop at the University of Illinois at Chicago.”
Today, Megan keeps very busy selling her hats at shows like One-of-a-Kind and also has a shop on Etsy.
See for
yourself on Lisa’s beautiful website and enjoy!
As reported by Amy Kaspar in the Chicago Knitting Examiner on January 28, 2014, “Women Taking Action, an organization founded by Kamilah Paden and Angela Underwood to further the education and empowerment of women in both their personal and corporate worlds, held their day-long workshop at the University of Illinois at Chicago.”
The keynote speaker was Shirley a New York-based designer, who had
previously worked in corporate America before making the daring decision to
become a knitwear designer. Paden's keynote address, “Finding the Courage to
Follow Your Bliss” was focused on her personal journey and how her story can be
an inspiration to others to follow their own path they carve for themselves.
Shirley’s closing remarks resonated with everyone when she told them what her
husband had once said to her, "If someone
made you work this hard, you would quit immediately."
Once a year,
the fantastic designer craft exhibit, One-of-a-Kind, comes to the Chicago Merchandise Mart. Made
famous by the Kennedy family, the enormity of the Mart tells you what a
large and important show this is. I look forward to going each year, more for
inspiration than for buying; but I always manage to purchase at least one
“must-have’ while I’m there. The variety of jewelry, especially earrings, usually
gets my attention!
Always
noteworthy is the variety of high quality handcrafts presented by dedicated
makers. This year was no exception, and there was an unusually vivid presence of
crochet throughout the show. I met 3
women who are working hard to maintain the artful and positive image of crochet
through their handmade products. Any time I see upscale, quality crochet, I am
proud and excited, and I have to know more about the designers. My guess is that they would whole-heartedly agree with Shirley Paden's husband!
I would like to
introduce you to Michele, Megan and Lisa because I know you’ll enjoy knowing
more about them and their passion for crochet!
Michele Costa
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| Michele Costa |
After twenty
years of working in television and event production with a move to Chicago from
New York City included, Michele has parlayed her love of crochet into a
business called Midwest Crochet. I
particularly like her business name since I am Midwest born and bred. She
explained that since her initials, “MC.” and Midwest Crochet are the same and
since she lives in the Midwest, it would be a clever name. I agree!
A crocheter
for thirty years, Michele has run her crochet business for 4 years. Her
business started to blossom when she was working the night shift in a practical
job at a call center. Between calls, Michele found
herself crocheting to pass the time. (An ideal job, I’d say, in any crocheter’s
eyes!) Co-workers bought a few hats and the word began to spread about Michele’s
crocheting talents. She now has a successful Etsy store and was honored to be featured on the Etsy
blog.
Providing
instructions for others to make her designs was always a goal, but at first
Michele didn’t have the know-how to write patterns. “I wanted to reach out to
beginners, and because I always had trouble following other peoples’ crochet
instructions, I decided to write patterns more like tutorials than step-by-step
instructions.” Michele finds that this
appeals to others like her. Later, her second Etsy store was opened to feature her patterns.
Describing her love of crocheting full time professionally as her “happy place,” Michele exclaims, “I
love it so much! I am still blown away after 4 years when
someone buys one of my creations or a pattern! It’s like the feeling I had with
my very first sale; I get that giddy 'school-girl' feeling!” Michele is also
very clear on which yarns work best for her designs and sales. “I am madly in
love with Serenity by Premier Yarns,” she says. It is acrylic, soft and no one
is allergic to it. I also love the Super
Traveler Collection by Dragonfly
Fibers. The yarns are hand-dyed chunky weigh,t and that weight is very unique for a
hand-dye company.”
Megan Keach
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| Megan Keach |
Her degree
in Theatre Arts and Costume Craft feeds perfectly into Megan’s small business,
This One Chicago, where she sells crocheted hats. A full-time staff person in
the costume department at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois,
Michele performed in regional theater after graduation from Illinois Wesleyan
University. She told me that she taught herself to crochet and knit while in college
and at that time, she made lots of blankets. When she switched to making hats,
other students wanted to buy them. “Frankly,” says Megan, “I was surprised that
people wanted to give me money for the hats!” Starting out slowly, Megan sold 5
hats in an “artsy” vintage store and that encouraged her to innovate and
experiment with the idea of a small business.
The name of
Megan’s business, This One Chicago, is unique also. “I was born in Chicago,” she explains. “I still
have strong connections here and my designs are practical for the people of
Chicago. When my customers are shopping and deciding on a specific hat, usually
“one” jumps out at them and they say, ‘This is the one.’"
“I have to
have the courage of my design convictions,” explains Megan. “My aesthetic comes
from more of a theatrical perspective due to the skills I’ve learned and the
oddities I’ve seen in the theater business. I do classic millinery and once
made traditional bonnets for a production of Pride & Prejudice. From the
beautiful fabrics I’m exposed to and the patterning and shapes that allow for a
good silhouette, I’ve learned how to really shape a crocheted hat. There may be
a scrap of fabulous silk left over which I then turn into a rosette
embellishment to create a one-of-a-kind hat."
"You’d be
surprised at how much crochet is found in theatrical productions! Once I
crocheted an apron for a 'poor peasant' woman. It was several hours of work for
a brief time on stage! I have also crocheted to simulate chain mail. With the use
of metallic paint on top of the crochet, no one is the wiser from the
audience’s perspective!”
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| Megan at One-of-a-Kind |
Michele
explains that from her point of view, theater and crocheted hats influence each other.
“Each one’s unique creative angle feeds on the other.” Michele recalls that in
the early days of her business, she worked with yarns that were donated to the
costume shop. “We had no room to stock the left-overs; so if it felt good or was pretty, I made use
of it in my hats. Many of the yarns I used had labels and many of the hats were
also made from ‘mystery’ yarns!”
Today, Megan
tracks the fiber content in her hats so that she can inform her customers when
they ask. Her business has grown so that this year she plans to begin to buy
her yarn wholesale and she favors Lion Brand Thick ‘n Quick because
crocheted with a small hook, she achieves a sturdiness to the body of the hat
that holds its shape.”
Today, Megan keeps very busy selling her hats at shows like One-of-a-Kind and also has a shop on Etsy.
Lisa Toland
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| Lisa Toland at One-of-a-Kind |
Born in New
Zealand of Lebanese decent, Lisa came to the United States with her parents and
siblings when she was 12 years old. She explained to me the evolution of her
gorgeous wire crochet jewelry. “My parents opened a store on Union Street in
San Francisco, and I would go with them to the Wholesale Mart in the city. There I
saw so many things that inspired me, but I wanted to make my own collections of
things!”
Lisa told me
that she comes from a long line of needle artists and designers. “My
grandmother was a Manageress of a suit factory in New Zealand, and my mother has designed jewelry
for over thirty years,” she explained.
“I always wanted to design and I followed my mom around, learning from
her. At first, I played around with crochet and then I got more serious and taught
myself from a book.”
It has now
been sixteen years since Lisa began to crochet with wire. She explained that
her love of old things and the romance of times past inspire her work. “I find
the work women did three to five generations back to be wonderful. They achieved amazing skills in the needle
arts that were sophisticated. There is preciousness about what they created
that I try to emulate. Today there are still artisans working in villages in
China, Vietnam and Northern India that do beautiful work. I’m inspired by that
way of life.”
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| Lisa's jewelry at One-of-a-Kind |
At times,
Lisa feels that women’s work is not taken seriously. She says, “I’m not sure
the artistry and skill that goes into fiber work is always appreciated. It
takes so much time and skill to run a business featuring handmade art. Today it
is very difficult.” Since this is the third successful One-of-a-Kind show for
Lisa, I would say she is proving that having a unique and well-made product
defies the odds.
“My crochet work is adornment and it is
ornamental. It has a vintage feel. I use fabric, embroidery threads and beads
along with the wire crochet.” Today, crocheting with wire is much more popular
due to some books and patterns that have been published. Lisa believes that
this has contributed to more appreciation and more sales for her. “It is not
always about the money from sales,” she explains. "I get good feedback and that
keeps me going. I also do lots of educating at these shows. I’m constantly
asked, ‘What is it?’; ‘How do you do it?’ or I hear comments like, ‘I’ve never
seen anything like this before.’ Or ‘This is not my mother’s crochet!’”
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