#142 The Road to The Hook Nook Collection with Jessica Carey

If you're about to give up on your dream, don't. 

More often than not, the difference between success and failure is refusing to give up. And if you're scared? Kick fear in the face because fear is usually your best sign that you're doing the right thing and that you really care about the outcome.

In this episode of The BHooked Podcast you'll hear Jessica Carey's inspiring story of how she kicked fear in the face and went after her biggest dream. Through the ups and downs she had to keep the excitement and fear to herself but when you're hearing this, it's no longer a secret. When we recorded this episode, however, it was well before the cat was out of the bag. I had no idea what the secret was or what we were going to talk about.

About The BHooked Podcast
Brittany's primary goal is to inspire you and help you grow in your craft with The BHooked Podcast. Through her own stories and the stories of each special guest, you'll discover tips and tricks to improve your crochet and knitting skills and find inspiration to achieve your hobby goals. When you want to kick back and learn from yarn industry experts, grab some yarn and turn on The BHooked Podcast. There's never a shortage of all things crochet, knitting or yarn.

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Transcript

Brittany 0:00

You're listening to the Be Hooked Podcast, episode 142 with Brittany. Well, hello there and welcome to episode 142 of the BeHooked podcast. I'm your host, Brittany, and I just want to say a big thank you to you for tuning in today. I've got something a little different in store for you. I have to say I have never gone into a podcast interview not having any idea what we were going to talk about. And that was the case for today's episode. So I want to make sure that you're aware of that, but I also want to let you know that this episode turned out way better than I could have ever imagined. I don't think I could have planned a better chat. Now you are probably familiar with today's guest if you have been a listener of the show for a while. This is now her third time being on the show, and every single time she always brings the goods, and that's why I was pretty confident knowing that even though I'd I didn't know what the secret was or what we were going to talk about. I knew it was going to be good and I could trust Jessica with that. If you follow Jessica from the hook nook on Instagram, you already know what this secret is. But as you know, I record episodes a little bit in advance, so I had no idea about the secret. In fact, I was one of the first people to know, and that was such an honor and so very exciting to hear this for the first time. But like I said, if you are following the hook nook on Instagram and just can what she's doing, you already know what's going on. Now, I don't want to spoil a surprise if maybe you haven't heard what this secret Jessica has, so I won't give any clues as to what it is just yet. But I do want to let you know that Jessica is hosting a giveaway for this episode. So make sure you listen all the way to the end of the episode. I'll have the details for how you can enter and, of course, what you could possibly win. All right, there are a couple of details that I will have listed for you in the show notes page, as well as how you can enter that giveaway. So it's very important that you remember the show notes for today's episode. And that is BeHooked.com slash 142. Just type that into your browser, scroll down a little bit. You'll see the links and resources that we mentioned. I'm sure you'll want to check those out. And also on that page will be the information for how you can get in on this wonderful giveaway. Alright, I don't want to delay anymore. Here's my chat with Jessica from The Hook Nook. Jessica, welcome back to the Be Hooked Podcast. How are you doing today? I'm good. How are you? I am really good. I am so excited about this and I kind of just can't wait. I know you've got this big secret and I'm dying to know what it is. What it is, I'm sort of hearing it for the first time. I literally have gone into this conversation knowing nothing about what we're going to talk about and that has pretty much never happened for any of the episodes. But I thought it to be very fitting because I had you on in episode 11. You were my second interview ever and I was a nervous wreck and it turned out so well. That episode still today is one of the most frequently listened to. We talked about sort of like expressing yourself and your style through your craft, through crochet or through knitting. And then I had you back on in episode 52. We talked a little bit more about like garment making and that sort of thing. So I'll have links to those. If you're listening and you haven't heard those, you should definitely check those out. But I'm really just honored knowing that you've been a big part of the show here and having the opportunity to share in something. And you sort of thought of me when you wanted to share the secret. So I'm dying to know what it is.

Jessica 4:23

Yes. Well, by the time that this airs, it won't be a secret anymore, but it's super exciting to Have you be literally the first person that I get to tell this about because we have this history. And I look to you as someone who inspires me. And you do so much for the community. And so it was just, to me, very fitting to be able to share this with you. So I'm really grateful that you were even open to letting me kind of show up with you having no idea what i'm about to say i'm putting a lot of faith in you

Brittany 4:59

girl i know you won't disappoint though I hope not. Well, you know, the audience knows that these are recorded a little bit in advance. So that's why it's still a secret as of right now. But when you're hearing this on the podcast, it's no longer a secret. But I thought it would be really fun to sort of tee it up this way so that you can get my initial reaction because I really have no clue what this is, what you've been up to. And yeah, what is it? Give it to me.

Jessica 5:30

So, I have been working with my team at American Crafts since last summer, and we have been spending the last over a year working on... our brand new The Hook Nook product collection. Yes, I can't even I'm just the third the first time like I can actually talk about it with someone. So I'm still like having to learn like what that it's okay to talk about. But I know American Crafts in case you aren't familiar is the leading manufacturing company for the United States for craft products. And And they work with a variety of different brands and different industries, but they have never worked in the fiber industry before. And I originally had an idea to create a certain product, the Yarn Passport, which is essentially a scrapbook of sorts, a textural journal, a space where makers and fiber lovers can create kind of keep track of special yarns that they've used. And so it's a very personal, textural amazingness that I felt like I could really benefit from that I felt like others might be able to benefit from as well. And so I had been able to submit a proposal to American Crafts last summer to create this one product, but I also submitted ideas for additional products and they said yes. And within two weeks, I found myself in Utah, visiting with them and meeting my new team and beginning the processes of creating our The Hook Nook collection, which has products ranging from yarn and hooks and different accessories and all like project bag, so many different things that we built and created over the last, over a year now. And Joanne's stores is actually the first place store craft store that has decided to pick it up and so that's very special to me because i've been able to you know first off i've shopped at joanne stores my entire life for craft supplies like that's been my go-to store since day one and then i've been able to work with the joanne in different ways over the last handful of years. And so to have them accept it and be excited about it and want to be the first person, you know, the first people, I suppose, to help promote this and share it with their audiences and customer base, it is just so incredible. And I'm so excited. And I literally can't even believe the day is finally here because it's been a secret for over a year.

Brittany 8:19

I can't even imagine. How on earth did you hold that in for so long? Well,

Jessica 8:26

I it was very, very hard. And so I talked to Jen about my assistant, Jen. She's I mean, anytime I had to talk to somebody about it, I was just like, blah, Jen, you have to have someone that you can talk about it with. But no, I mean, I don't know. For me, I feel like I've kind of been a little bit more with not withdrawn, but just not as a person. I don't know what the word is like online. My online presence, I feel like has been a little bit different over the last year because I just don't know what like I can say or because, you know, I can't share the things that I'm working on. And so it's just been just trying to figure out ways to still come out with new things. But it's it's. I don't even know. I'm just so excited that it's finally here and it feels weird to be able to talk

Brittany 9:13

about it. Yeah, yeah. Now I feel like there's an important lesson there. There are a lot of us in the audience and myself included, we find ourselves in these situations where we're working on a big project and we're doing so in coordination with maybe another brand or another creator and we can't share what we're doing yet at that point. How did you navigate that? How did you figure out what, to put on Instagram because obviously you want to still be present. That's still your community and your friends and you wanna share things with them. But I'm sure you were super busy with doing all of this new stuff, like navigating these new waters. And yet you still had to find time to do what you love and like share that on Instagram. So talk me through that a little bit. Do you have any advice to somebody who might be in a maybe similar situation where they have something big that they're planning, but they can't really talk about it, but they still want to be in their community and contributing to them?

Jessica 10:15

Well, I think for me, it was nice because it allowed me to kind of explore different ways that I could show up for my audience. And that tended to be a little bit more personal. And so I chose to show up instead of sharing so much of, you know, the hook nook as a business brand. I was able to kind of show up as Jessica. And, you know, I've shared my struggles with anxiety and depression and, you know, being able to connect with makers in those more personal ways and, you know, to, you know, kind of taking the lessons that I was learning behind the scenes personally and being able to share those aspects with my audiences. And it also allowed me to, you know, as a business, you know, I still have to be finding ways to show up and be there for my community. And it opened up the doors to be able to work with makers and people in the community more directly. And so, you know, opening up my, my blog to other people to contribute to instead of it being the hook nook being meaning Jessica, it, it allowed the hook nook to be everything that I ever envisioned it to be and to, um, create a space for other people to also be part of. And that, you know, allowed me to still put out content for the makers and also to create this bigger community of makers who get to contribute and collaborate with us. And, you know, I've heard stories from the people who have collaborated with us that being able to be part of this has been So encouraging for them and gotten them out of a rut and allows them to see themselves in a new light. And that's encouraging to me because that's kind of how I am in my own self too, where I always envisioned myself to be someone who wouldn't be able to pan out into something that I felt was meaningful. And so to have all of this stuff happen and to be able to turn it around and give others the chance to feel what I have felt has been honestly like the most amazing thing. But I think it's just finding ways that you can show up for your audiences, even though it's maybe not how you ideally would like to be in that season. Again, it's just a season. And so finding a way to make that season work until the next season starts.

Brittany 12:44

Yeah, I love that explanation saying that it's a season. And that's something that I've heard of recently. It has really helped me through really busy times. Usually this time of year, of course, is really busy for all of us. If we're makers, if we're just creating things for fun, if we're, you know, making gifts for the holidays or that sort of thing, it always seems like this time of year, it's just go, go, go and constantly creating and you finish one thing, put it down for a second, you pick up the next project. and get going, it's really tough to not get burnt out through that time. And I find that I really need to slow down and remember why I'm doing what I'm doing to sort of, I don't know, it just serve as a reminder to myself that this is just a season that, yeah, it's a going to last. At some point, things will slow down. And that has certainly helped me. Now, I think it's really great how you sort of shifted from something that was a little more of a personal brand, we'll say, where things were very focused around you and what you were making and the idea of turning that into a way of hosting and promoting your other makers, lifting them up, other designers. And that's how you've sort of navigated this season of your life. I think that is really cool and really inspirational. And I think our community can really benefit from something like that. Whether you are somebody who's a designer trying to make a name for yourself, trying to just get your designs out there into the world, or as somebody who is really loving your patterns when you're not as able to create as many patterns as you want to. It makes sense to supplement that so that the people who are coming to you for that inspiration, for those designs, always have exactly what they need from you. I think that's really cool.

Jessica 14:50

Thank you. I'm really fortunate that so many people have been open to the idea to collaborate with us because I It's been so meaningful on our end to be able to connect with other people and to discover new people and to share literally like hidden talents that, you know, we always get caught up in the big names and the people who are in the forefront. But, you know, there's everyone like starts from everyone's opens their Instagram page and everyone starts at the bottom. And it's just really nice to be able to show that the number does not equate to quality. And just because you have a different level of social media following, that that doesn't mean that your quality is less. It just means that less people have found you. And so to be able to expose these people to people who might not otherwise have found them has been so, so inspiring and encouraging and motivating and has just made all of this so worth it to me.

Brittany 15:54

For sure. I always like to say that somebody who has a smaller number of followers than somebody else, that really just means that that other person is just the only thing that they have is time on you. They've just been doing it for a little bit longer. Everybody grows on Instagram. Everybody grows as a blog or a business. And the only difference between that person and someone else really is just the time and the persistency with trying to build that community or continuing to go there because that's really what you enjoy as a creator, as your creative outlet.

Jessica 16:34

Absolutely.

Brittany 16:36

Yeah. Now, gosh, I feel like I could go in so many different directions here. I'm and narrow it down to like one question. So I'm curious about this line and what all is included and what all can you say about it at this point? Let's talk to the person who is crocheting for their hobby. They like to make things and gift them. Maybe they do things for charity or that sort of thing. What is it that your product will help them with?

Jessica 17:08

Well, the whole idea behind crocheting The whole collection was being able to relate to the products. When you walk into a store that offers craft products or yarn or tools, they're typically the same tools that our moms, our grandmas, our great-grandmas have all been using because the fiber industry itself hasn't really had a refresh yet. in a very, very long time. And I felt that it was important that as a lot of physical stores are closing because of online sales, that we could figure out a way to bring in new consumers back into the fiber industry. Because even though, I mean, typically it's viewed from people who are outside of the industry or the community, it's viewed as more of a grandma craft or something that your grandma does. And that's not the case at all. And that's important to me to always share is that crochet is cool. I mean, that's one of my favorite tag lines. And to be able to find ways that bring in new crowds into the stores to touch and feel and to experience that incredible feeling that you get when you get to crochet or knit or any fiber craft, And so the products itself were created to be very texturally appeasing or appealing and beautiful. And the colors are just very inspiring and make you want to create with them. And so for the person who is creating as gifts of sorts, The yarn is affordable. That was our big thing, was that it was affordable to the masses. Because a lot of the time, the very beautiful products have that higher price point. And it's very discouraging when we see these things, but we realistically are unable to... you know, pursue using it. And so we created products that were beautiful and amazing and, you know, wonderful quality that, um, suited a lot of budgets and the yarn is just so delicious. And actually, so by this time I'll, everything will be out there, but, um, you know, I even were named all of the, the products, all the yarn types are, um, ways that I feel are very relatable, you know, such as we have small stuff, which is a size three yarn and we have main squeeze, which is a worsted because typically that's, you know, the most commonly used weight of yarn used. And then we have a yummy because yummy, yummy Lux and yummy tweed. And it's very delicious, super just yummy and fiber and then we have ginormous which is exactly as it sounds it's a size seven jumbo and you know it just we wanted it to be something that when people looked at it they knew what it was they knew what they were getting into and it was something again relatable and the packaging you know the team that I worked with created such beautiful packaging that you know I feel I Showcases my brand and, you know, the feeling that I want to emit from the hook nook in the packaging. And it's all beautiful. It's all, you know, in terms of quote unquote Instagrammable, you know, the typically for me and a lot of the labels sometimes are, you know, not on. brand for me to, you know, photograph. And so it's nice to be able to create a label and packaging that, you know, I am excited to take a picture of because it will match, you know, different aesthetics. And just thinking about the millennial crafter and thinking about ways that people are crafting today and the hooks themselves we created to be, you know, scientifically incredible and, you know, to help with your wrist pain and to help, you know, give you a just amazing experience while crocheting and products or accessories that are a little bit sassy and a little bit fun and something that you see and you just have to get. Like it's, it's, I just, I feel like the whole collection is just literally everything that I could have ever envisioned for it to be. And it's a true statement of everything that I feel that I would want to bring. And as a consumer myself, I would want to go into a craft store and see it and feel like, yes, this stuff was made for a crafter like me, a maker like me. And I'm just so incredibly proud of each and every product that we built.

Brittany 21:58

Well, I can't wait to get my hands on some. And I'm sitting here thinking how this really goes full circle to our conversation about expressing yourself with your craft. Creating a project is so much more than just sitting down with a pattern and working some stitches. The choice that goes into selecting the yarn, selecting the colors, the tools that you use, the stitch markers that you have. I mean, all of that, the entire reason why there are so many different varieties of all of that stuff is because every person gravitates to one project. style or one particular thing that they like, be it a certain brand of yarn or a certain texture of yarn or a certain type of crochet hook, we sort of pick our favorites and we stick with them. And it's more of an expression of ourself as a crafter. And I feel like this is probably going to give us just a new set of things to be inspired by and a new way to express ourself, especially for those people who have been following you for a long time, the fans of your patterns, fans of what you're doing, and just overall like Jessica fans, they already relate to you. And now you've created something for them that truly is an expression of yourself. I think that is really, really cool.

Jessica 23:26

Thank you. I'm I'm really proud of it and exactly like you said, you know Choosing our materials and choosing our tools It's it's more than just sitting down and working up something. It's you know It's a very personal experience. Even if we are creating something for someone else It's us who are sitting down with the yarn running through our fingers working each individual stitch, you know taking the hours and hours that it may take to create these projects and that time invested should be something that's meaningful to you and that you feel excited about and proud of and more than just creating things to create something it's it's to be able to turn it into an experience is something that i that's why i crochet is because it is so personal for me and to be able to use products that you know all of the colorways and even the the colorway names like Every aspect of each, every little detail of every single product, I was able to help shift and edit and say, no, I don't like that or no, it wouldn't be used like that. So having it be like this is important. And it's the whole collection is just literally everything that I feel is needed in our industry to let others know want to crochet and want to be part of this industry because again it's not just something cool on the instagram anymore it's it's it's a very personal craft that takes time to learn it takes time to do and we should be able to use materials and tools and accessories that help you know ex whatever the word is i'm trying to look for but It's all a personal experience and to have things that share that bits of ourselves in different ways that we haven't been able to have before is just literally why I am so happy that we were able to do this.

Brittany 25:31

Yeah, and it seems so crazy to think that something like this hasn't already happened before. I'm like so thrilled for you that you were able to do this and that you powered through all of the, I'm sure, hard times hard times that came with something of this magnitude. But like I said, I think it really just takes it full circle and you definitely come across as somebody who is very intentional in what you do and what you create and what you say. And I know this is in a way an extension of that. Creating a project and being more intentional about it is something I am trying to do more of this year. Now previously, I would create anything, anything I wanted to with any type of yarn that I wanted to that stood out to me at the moment. And what I found was that I wasn't always using the thing that I completed or I didn't have an outfit that coordinated with the crazy wild scarf yarn that I had picked out. And I'm finding so much more peace and enjoyment in the craft, having some intention behind it. And honestly, I didn't know that this was going on until I really sat down and thought about it. And it wasn't even me just saying, aha, this is why I'm feeling a little bit worn down. It was hearing somebody else say that they're applying... more intentionality into their life that made me sit down and think about why somebody would say that first of all, because I find it really interesting. I like the way people think and the way they plan and how they find motivation and that sort of thing. But when I thought about it for myself, I thought, oh, I really need to apply more intention to my projects. And I feel like this is something that you've always done really well. So for the person who might be in a similar situation where they're just feeling like they're not inspired by what they have either started, like say they're mid-project, they've been working so many hours on something and they're just not feeling inspired by it anymore, or they've just finished a big project that they've spent weeks or months completing and it's just not speaking to them like it once did can you speak to how you come up with a project idea like the intention behind it and what fuels you through all of that hard all of that time that you put into creating that project

Jessica 28:13

yeah I so I've been there I mean I just actually finished up writing my um my first book which is full of crochet projects and uh to just sit and be super excited about something for so long and then it takes you know a long time or you have other things to focus on or just the fire just dims it's it's really hard to get back onto it but sitting down and reminding yourself like well why like why do I love this craft? Like, why has this been something that I've held on to? And whether you're mid-project, you know, you can set that down and just take a break from it for a little bit. Or just trying to rein in a new focus of why and what you're doing. Because, again, it's very personal. And, you know, even if we're doing things for other people, it's our time spent. And if we're not doing things or creating things that make us feel fulfilled. I mean, at the end of the day, what is the point? Because it's our time that we spent, no one else's. And I just want to be proud of myself in each day and feel like, all right, I did something that makes me feel excited to do it again tomorrow. And, you know, when creating new projects, it's thinking about, well, what kinds of things would I want to make? Like what kinds of things do I want to wear or have or use? And a lot of the times that goes bigger or deeper than the final product. It goes into, all right, well, I'm very, very textural based. Again, why we created the passport is because I love journaling, but there's just something about textures that just feed me. And so thinking about project like oh well I want to make a beanie but all right well what kind of beanie am I making like what kind of yarn am I going to you know do I want to use in this moment today do I want to use something that's very squishy do I want to use a jumbo do I want to use something that's small where I can make you know awesome detail with like it just depends on sitting down and having that discussion with myself like what is it that I want to do in this moment and setting myself up to reaching that goal of speaking to my inner self and doing the things that just, again, intentionality, just that make those hours spent worth it. And, you know, I've worked on projects that I do lose steam on. And, you know, I mean, it happens to all of us. And all that is, is, you know, taking a step back and maybe taking a break from or changing up your idea entirely and just saying, you know what, this is the wrong yarn for this project, or I need to change my hook size, or I just need to completely change my whole idea of what it is that I wanted to make in the first place so that I can, at the end of the day, feel like I did something for more than just someone else, that I did something that made the hours invested, something that can further me in my own making journey because again it's just it's it's me that's doing it and everyone else just gets to have the things that i spent hours on and so i don't want to just sit and waste my hours for the sake of somebody else's enjoyment because it's we're all humans behind the screens and we matter and um feeling connected to your projects is incredibly important to me

Brittany 31:58

Yeah. I always say that time is our most valuable resource. And I am the same as you. I really put a lot of focus on how I'm spending my time. And I like to do a lot of self checks to figure out if the way I'm spending my time right now is just as valuable to me as it was maybe a week ago when I started this. And it doesn't necessarily have to be projects. I mean, this could be any aspect of a maker business. If you put your resources into starting something new, maybe you want to start a blog, you're putting some time into writing the blog posts, that time has to do something for you. And I think for us as makers, it does even more for us because not only does it give us the opportunity to to enjoy ourself more and what we're creating. It also gives us the opportunity to share something with others, maybe share some knowledge, share a pattern, share some inspiration. But it can also go into the realm of physically giving something to someone else. And I think that's just really what's so cool about this craft and why I like to advocate for it so much and help people to learn the craft so that they can sort of spread this around the community. I think the feeling that we get when we do these things, and I'm sure you could agree with this, is just why I do what I do. It's why it feels like my purpose right now.

Jessica 33:36

Yes, yes. No. And I speaking more on that, it's for me through all of, you know, even before it when it was just a personal brand through now to where it's become, you know, a legitimate business. I've learned so much about myself. I've learned new things about, you know, I, I, I've never, I, you know, funny story is I actually submitted a proposal to Joanne stores several years ago for my own yarn brand, but I, you know, I, no one, no one, you don't know what you don't know. And, you know, they said, you know, well, we, you need to work with the manufacturer and blah, blah, blah. But, you know, years ago, I'm like, I don't know how to do that. And so I let it go and just let that a dream just fester in me, but it didn't, I didn't know where to go with it. And so, you know, you learn more, the more you let yourself learn more and you have more experiences and you build on your foundation and build and build and, you know, you are willing to talk with other people and to risk being told no and to just putting yourself out there in your dreams, letting them have space to at least, have the opportunity to flourish um and i've learned so much so much about myself through all of these processes that it's it all i mean i don't have i don't have an ending statement on that but it's just like i'm just so proud to be able to be a maker because at the end of the day i have learned that i am fully capable of doing anything that i set my mind to and i've never thought that, you know, any of my big, crazy, insane dreams were ever too big to ever happen. It's, you know, I'm like, oh, well, that would be really cool if this could happen. And then it's, you know, thinking down the road, like, well, what, what things can I do that kind of get me closer to that, even though I don't know how to get there? How can I, you know, is this decision that I want to say yes or no to? Is that something that will bring me around and make it take longer or maybe not necessarily? I don't know. It's so personal.

Brittany 35:49

I'm sitting here thinking, it reminds me of a quote I recently found and I love it so much. I have it on my computer screen so I can look at it every day. And it's from Picasso. He says, everything you can imagine is real. And I believe that wholeheartedly. Anytime I have an idea, I like to sit on it for a little while to make sure that it's as exciting today as it was maybe a week ago or a week from now or a month from now. Sometimes ideas take a little bit more time to develop, especially bigger ones like this, like the idea of submitting a proposal for a product line. That's a pretty big deal. Once you have that self-check and you know that, yes, this is absolutely something that lights me up, that gets me really excited, that makes me feel like I have a purpose in the community, make it happen. Just do whatever it takes to make that happen. For you, it was emailing somebody that you... maybe didn't have contact with before. And yeah, you didn't know the details. Like you said, you don't know what you don't know. I like to say that as well, because it's so true. Often I feel a little sort of frustrated by the fact that you don't know what you don't know, because it's not comfortable to send an email to a brand or a business and Present to them that you don't know something. You know, it feels icky. It doesn't feel great. But it's totally human. And it really is the first step. Now, it depends on what the idea is. Let's say you want to write a book. Well, the first step is, of course, to come up with the book idea. But just email some publishers. And you might have a contact. You might not. You might have to send a bunch of cold emails. But... That really is the first step to building something like that. Yeah, for

Jessica 37:49

sure. I mean, I feel like – so I didn't – how I was able to send in this proposal was – Jen Evans, she's been my main assistant since January 2017. She's worked with me in so many different ways. But she also works as the marketing specialist for the Heidi Swapp brand, which is a paper crafting brand owned by American Crafts. And she's worked with Heidi for several years, I believe. Don't quote me on this. Jen, don't get mad if this is wrong. But I mean, I believe that she's been working with Heidi for about eight years. So she's already been able to and she's worked also with, you know, Craft Warehouse, which is an independent craft store. She's done so many different things in other aspects of the craft industry. And I had this idea knowing that she has experience in paper crafting. You know, again, my my first vision was to create the yarn passport. And it was just something that I personally really thought would be so cool to be able to have for myself and to be able to share that with others because, you know, we receive all these yarns and materials and fibers and textures that, you know, we just sit on because we don't want to use it because once we use it, it's used. But this way we have a memory of it and like tell the story of how where it came from, all the things. So I had talked to Jen, you know, hey, I'm If I wanted to create this product, how can I do this myself? And so she was telling me, you know, typically it's done this way and this way and this way, but it's going to be expensive. And I don't I definitely do not have the kinds of funds that were necessary to make this happen. And so I, again, just dropped it and let the dream go because I was unable to pursue it in the way that it typically is done. And then a week or so later, maybe less, I don't can't remember, but she had offered to put her name on the line and say, hey, tell her boss at American Crafts that I had this idea for a product. And I asked her boss if I could send in a proposal. And so her boss eventually said yes. And which I about peed my pants when I heard that. Yeah. I spent a good week trying to figure out, well, what the heck is the proposal? How do you write one? What do you include? What, I mean, what, I mean, again, you don't know what you don't know. And so I've spent so much time talking to Jen and trying to research, like, how do I do this in a way that's professional? Because this is a company that, you know, knows what they're doing. They are, they create such incredible products. And I was, I just really would be so proud to work with them. And, um, literally, I don't believe that any other company would be able to do what we were able to do. And after a week of working on it and, you know, trying at least my best of what I felt like it should be, I submitted it and it took a month to hear back. And eventually I did. And I, it was as if the skies just opened and I could not believe that, you know, if you're willing to just put yourself on the line and do things that you're uncomfortable with and just again follow wherever it is that your heart is telling you that you really should invest or try to tap into here because creating products that speak to consumers like me, like today's consumers, it was something that I really, really, really wanted to do and To finally be able to do that with literally the most ideal team of people was just... I sat and cried for so long because I was so grateful and so happy. Like you said, it was so much hard work and it was so much time and so... Just, you know, again, I don't even know how to make products. I don't know what the right answers are in a lot of things. And, you know, it's it's all right, Jessica. Well, we've never worked in the fiber industry. You know, we're going to. let you kind of take control on this which puts so much pressure but you know being willing to stand up in that fear as opposed to just reverting and being like oh indecisive I had to learn how to dig deep inside of myself and what the things were you know decide for myself the things that were important and the things that you know I wanted to see and you know how I my vision for the community itself and the longevity of the community because you know i don't want craft stores to be closing in the next however many years like you know we see all these stores closing but i don't feel that craft stores or anything is something that should be dismissed it's it's so it can be so healing and therapeutic for so many people just to be able to create with their hands and so thinking about the longevity of the industry i just felt you know what if I have everything to lose I have everything to lose and I'm gonna put it all out there and I'm gonna do my best and this is what we came up with and I couldn't be more proud of every single thing that we have like oh my word I am so excited for you to see everything I feel like it does an amazing job of expressing who I am and who I am as a maker and who you know what the gist of things that I hear from the community and I feel like the whole collection itself is just a whole brand new breath of fresh air to an industry that kind of hasn't had the opportunity for refreshing, refreshment, whatever. I'm just so proud that I was able to feel uncomfortable for a season of time to do these big, big things.

Brittany 43:51

Yeah, I think the resounding message here is really just to let your fear empower you and not hold you back. That's what it sounds like to me that you did. You kicked fear in the face and you said, hey, this is what I want to do because this is what I believe the industry needs. And I mean, kudos to you for making it happen, for powering through all of those anxieties. And I'm sure like, oh gosh, just, nervous situations. I can't even imagine how uncomfortable a lot of that was, but I'm really excited for you. I'm excited to see these things and get them in my hands so I can really relate this conversation to that. I know that I won't be disappointed in any way, shape, or form. And I would love to end on where somebody can find this stuff. Now you mentioned it will be available in Joann's. Can you give me a little more detail about when somebody might expect it? I know sometimes some locations will have certain things and others won't. And maybe if their location doesn't have it, is there somewhere they can find it online and that sort of thing?

Jessica 45:04

Yes. So it will be available in select Joann's stores. They will have it available on their website as well for online purchases if it's not available in a store near them. That was incredibly important to me that it was accessible to anybody, that even if they weren't able to go into their local store and see it there, that they had access to be able to purchase it. So I definitely made sure that that was available to everyone. So you'll be able to find a store list on my website. I'll have a blog post showing all of the different products that we came out with. And then it'll also list out the specific stores that it will be available in real life.

Brittany 45:53

Wonderful. Okay. I'll have a link to that post in the show notes. So if you're listening, just head over to the show notes page for this episode and I will have it there so you can check that out. And I'm sure you'll have some pictures on your Instagram feed as well. For somebody who doesn't know who you are, what's your Instagram handle?

Jessica 46:12

My Instagram is the.hook.nook. And by this point, I've got several little sneak peek teasers up. And yeah, I can't wait for you to see it.

Brittany 46:25

I can't wait either. I am so excited for you. This was such an inspirational conversation. I know the really, like I said, the big takeaway here is just to kick fear in the face. Use that as your motivator because typically, at least it's always been true for me, if I go into a situation and I feel a little bit scared, Oh, yes, absolutely. Yes. Okay. Well, Jessica, this has been amazing. Thank you so much again for the honor to be able to share this with the world for the first time, being the first person to hear about it. And I'm just thrilled to have you here on the show. I'm so excited for you. I'm so excited for what you're doing in this industry and keep rocking it, girl. Awesome. Thank you so much, Brittany. All right, that was Jessica from The Hook Nook. Jessica, thank you so much. It was such a pleasure to share in this little secret with you, even though it's not really a secret anymore. It sure was a lot of fun to chat with you. And I'm really glad that we were able to share some of those real life stories with the listeners here, because I know that it's going to help somebody in some way, shape or form. It doesn't matter what you're going through, what you're trying to accomplish right now, whether it's craft related, crochet related, business related, or just anything life related. Kick fear in the face. Go after whatever you want to accomplish. Make that goal your goal, your personal mission to make it happen. Because let me tell you, if you don't try and if you don't believe, you'll never accomplish anything. I also want to make sure that you're encouraged that just because somebody else might have something, might have achieved something, might have a certain number of followers or whatever it might be, just know that that person is only a few steps ahead because of the time, right? They maybe have gotten into it a little sooner than you did, or perhaps that person made that thing their goal. Just because you don't have something that somebody else has, that really just means that it wasn't a goal of yours. Because I know goals can be accomplished. I know dreams can come true. And Jessica's story is a beautiful representation of that. All right, here's the giveaway because I know that's what you're super interested in right now. So all of the Hooknook Collection products are wonderful. As you heard in the podcast, now it's really hard to put a picture to what you're hearing. So what I would encourage you to do is head over to the show notes page, bhooked.com slash 142, and scroll down until you see the links and resources section. I've included a post to Jessica's website where you can have a look at all of the products in this collection. When you're on that page, you can also have a look at the items that will be included in this giveaway. Now, Jessica and her assistant Jen and American Crafts put together this really great assortment package of their different products. So here is what will be included in the giveaway. One lucky listener of the Be Hooked podcast will receive a yarn passport, a six different crochet hooks. We have a 19 millimeter gold crochet hook, a 25 millimeter ruby crochet hook, a 35 millimeter topaz crochet hook, and then we get down to our more standard sizes, an I gold hook, a K ruby hook, an N onyx hook. So those are the six hooks that you can expect in this little assortment, as well as some cloth project labels, gold darning needles, gold stitch markers, metal pins, and gold word brooches. So those are the goodies, and here's what you need to do to get your entry in for this giveaway. You'll head over to the show notes page, behooked.com slash 142, scroll down until you see the entry form right there in the middle of the page, and you'll need to submit your email address and your name, of course, that way I can contact you if you are the winner. And we do ask that the participants are located in the continental U.S. That is where our sponsors can ship to, so I do appreciate that. And when you submit your entry, be certain to pay attention to that page, to that entry form. It's going to give you some opportunities to earn additional entries. This is a really good giveaway, so you want to make sure you get as many entries as you possibly can. So you'll do things like... Follow BeHooked on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Of course, you know I'm trying to grow Twitter and to show this community the value in Twitter. So you'll get some additional entries for doing that, as well as subscribing to my YouTube channel, subscribing to the podcast. And you can find all of the details and how to do that on that entry form after you submit your initial entry. One lucky winner will be selected completely at random on November 22nd and I will contact them via email. So make sure you're looking at your email on November 22nd and don't forget your spam folder. My email might end up in that spam folder, which wouldn't be good. If you're super email savvy, you can add my email address, Brittany at BeHookedCrochet.com to your trusted email list. And that way it won't land in your spam folder. But anyways, that winner will be contacted by me via email. I'll ask for your shipping information and I will forward that on to the folks over at American Crafts so they can get your prize out to you as quickly as possible. Okay, good luck. That'll wrap up today's episode of the Be Hooked podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in this week. I really do appreciate it. And I'll see you next week. Bye-bye.