Crochet Renee'
Industry Insider Interview
Welcome to Industry Insider. Today, we will be hearing from the lovely Vashti Braha. I had the opportunity to meet Vashti for the first time at the Chain Link Conference in 2008 in Manchester, NH. Then we got to hang out together some last year at the TNNA market in Columbus, OH, along with some of her pals (want me to name drop....? I could, but let's just talk about Vashti!)
Vashti's name was familiar to me before I had ever met her, as I had seen many of her designs in the crochet magazines that come to my house with alarming regularity. (Hey, it's a business expense. I have to stay on top of things, ya know?)
Be sure and check out Vashti's blog; she has some pictures of designs that she will soon be offering for download on sale...I love the Whipped Cream Apron as well as the Love Pod Boa. She has a design sensibility that I just really like and know you will too. So if this is the first time you are hearing about her, I guarantee, it's not going to be the last!
Vashti wearing her "Penelope Lace Wrap". Isn't it pretty? Photo courtesy of Vashti Braha. CR: Wow, Vashti, you are really "hot" in the crochet world right now! It seems like everywhere I turn, I am seeing the Five Peaks Shawl and your Tokyo Jacket was nominated for a Flamie! For those who may not be familiar, tell us a little more about the Flamie awards and what being nominated means to you.
VB: That has a nice ring to it, Renee! -- that I'm "really 'hot' in the crochet world right now". After designing for 6 years, I find I'm less sure of what constitutes "hot" in the crochet world. Maybe because the crochet world is expanding a lot, thanks to the internet. I wonder if there's more than one crochet world sometimes.
Anyway, I'm happy to see the Five Peaks Shawl appealing to folks for the same reasons that I like it--that it's a new way to experience Tunisian crochet (a "cornerstart" pattern with eyelets), in a geometric shape that really does make a shawl cling to one's shoulders.
Renee, it's been so rewarding to be nominated for a Flamie! I wasn't nominated last year and it was just plain fun to participate in the voting and to have a crochet awards night. My heart is overflowing to the whole Crochet Liberation Front and to Mary Beth Temple of Getting Loopy for the big part her podcasting plays in the Flamies event.
Anyway, I'm happy to see the Five Peaks Shawl appealing to folks for the same reasons that I like it--that it's a new way to experience Tunisian crochet (a "cornerstart" pattern with eyelets), in a geometric shape that really does make a shawl cling to one's shoulders.
Renee, it's been so rewarding to be nominated for a Flamie! I wasn't nominated last year and it was just plain fun to participate in the voting and to have a crochet awards night. My heart is overflowing to the whole Crochet Liberation Front and to Mary Beth Temple of Getting Loopy for the big part her podcasting plays in the Flamies event.
CR: It's really cool that you won the Fearless Leader Award for High Fashion. Would you care to expound on this achievement?
I'm still a little stunned. It's a very great honor for me because to have more high fashion crochet projects is what spurred me to begin designing professionally in the first place! It has never been enough to see crochet on fashion couture runways. I want more patterns written for crocheters with the new looks I see on the international stage. This kind of designing is the most challenging and the most rewarding for me, but at the same time I'm never satisfied with what I've done so far. Winning the award spurs me on more than ever.
It's weird for me as a crocheter and CGOA member to see big name fashion designers use crochet while at times (in the USA) hearing crochet compared with hand knitting as being less fashionable, stylish, and chic! Crochet IS quite edgy on the runway and outside of the US sometimes, and so of course it can be for crocheters too.
CGOA supported me in this focus from the very beginning. Then-president Nancy Brown designated me the guild's "trend sleuth" so that we could produce trend reports for our professional members for a time. Marty Miller asked me to teach a "Trendy Crochet" breakout session each year at Professional Development Day. I learned a tremendous amount about the big business of trend forecasting from these experiences.
Some of my designs that have garnered the most attention as fashion crochet patterns are the Tokyo Jacket, Barcelona, Baroque Tabard, and Renaissance Tunic. It so happens that these (and many others) were all contracted by Cari Clement of Caron International! I love Cari's vision and strong commitment to publishing fashionable crochet. When I would be in the midst of designing something for her and have a decision to make, I would put it to the WCGOI test: "Would Cari groove on it?" This kind of rapport is important for a freelancing designer to have. As a designer I'd like to see Caron win the "Most Crochet-Friendly Yarn Company" sometime!
Tokyo Jacket: http://naturallycaron.com/projects/tokyo/tokyo_3.html
Barcelona Jacket: http://naturallycaron.com/projects/barcelona/barcelona_1.html
Baroque Tabard: http://www.caron.com/projects/shadows/sss2_baroque_tunic.html
Renaissance Tunic: http://www.caron.com/projects/ss/SS8_renaissance_tunic.html
Cari's blog with her most recent entry about my award and the Tokyo Jacket: http://blog.naturallycaron.com/2010/04/21/vashti-doris-kim-are-flamie-winners/
CR: How did you initially come to crochet and what was the first design you ever sold?
VB: My mother taught me when I was nine. We did '70's crochet together :-) For example, we had the worsted weight acrylic yarns to play with, and we explored "afghan crochet", "Cro-Hooking" (double-ended), hairpin and broomstick ("Jiffy Lace" I think it was called) with this yarn, pattern leaflets, and a few hook sizes.
She taught me knitting at the same time but the minute I understood how to crochet, I felt so free because I knew I could make what I pictured in my head. I felt armed with a survival skill--if I were dropped in a jungle like Tarzan, I could crochet myself a hammock, ladder, backpack, etc. I really imagined these things! I remember thinking, "How could I crochet something that would hold water though?" Meanwhile I set to work crocheting clothes for my sister's dolls.
The first design I ever sold is a toss up between two batches of 6 or 7 designs each. It was in 2004 and I don't remember whose check arrived in the mail first. Gwen Blakely Kinsler and Nancy Brown of the CGOA told me to just sketch up a few ideas and I kept sketching! One batch was sold to DRG--a variety of bags and home decor. The other batch was 3 variations of skirt and top sets and a puffy pink glam capelet for Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss.
First proposal sketch ever (for DRG): http://flickr.com/gp/vashtirama/207y41
Copy of first proposal sketch I sent to Jean & Rita: http://flickr.com/gp/vashtirama/4DM2d0
CR: I am aware that you are a huge fan of Jelly Yarn(R). Share with us what it is you love about it, because not everyone is familiar with it (myself included).
VB: I love the specific ways that it's not like any other yarn, and I love its overall offbeat edgy retro-futuristic look. It's stretchy, super strong, virtually indestructable, waterproof, and some of it glows in the dark. Crocheting the crystal-clear version is like being able to crochet glass sculptures. How else can you do that?? To me even the simplest crochet stitch has an intricate anatomy, and I can view crochet's innards thanks to see-through Jelly Yarn. It's also a total kid magnet if I crochet it in public!
photo of innards: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vashtirama/1554577759/
(to purchase Jelly Yarn (R), visit www.jellyyarns.com )
CR: I have really admired the designs you have revealed on your blog for your independent pattern website that's soon to be launched. What was your motivation for going "indie"?
VB: My primary motivation is three-pronged: to be freed up to design and write patterns my way, to publish them the 21st century way, and to connect directly with other crocheters. If one of my designs appeals to a crocheter, I want the pattern to include ALL of what s/he needs to enjoy crocheting it and using the finished project. Depending on the project and the crocheter, this means having visual aids like photo tutorials, color coding, stitch symbols, etc. If I could be on hand to actually sit side by side with crocheters using my patterns, I would! The next best thing I can imagine is video clips (I'm learning how to do these to my satisfaction next) and online crochet-alongs (abbreviated CAL). It means more photos from a crocheter's point of view (stitch closeups, 360-degree views of a sweater, etc). It also means extra info in the pattern text about choosing different yarns, customizing fit, or designer's tips on a tricky stitch, for example; and for many folks, fewer pattern abbreviations!
Connecting directly with other crocheters is big for me. I love blogging and participating in online crochet communities, however when I've designed for other publishers (i.e. freelanced professionally) I'm required to be secretive about what I'm working on. This also usually means withholding what I'm discovering about crochet while I'm designing something until it's published. Sometimes it's not published for a year. Freelance crochet designing usually does not pay me well enough to compensate for factors that make it less fun. I have to follow my bliss.
Secondary motivations are: Fashion fads and trendy or niche items are fun for me to design, and self-publishing them on the 'net simply makes the most sense. Another is that I have quirky and exploratory design ideas. My pattern website is actually going to have about 6 different "departments" or "rooms" of patterns. As I prepare them for e-publishing, I notice that some kinds of projects need very different kinds of formatting, whereas when published in a print magazine or book, all project types have the same format. To me that unnecessarily shortchanges some designs.
Another motivation is that I have this strong streak of crochet activism. It's what fueled my years on CGOA's board of directors (Crochet Guild of America). I feel that in the long term best interests of crochet, pattern publishing needs to be more distinct from yarn selling. Yarn companies make a lot of fantastic crochet patterns possible, and many of them are FREE. I think free patterns are important--they keep people learning how to crochet, resuming crochet, or trying new kinds of projects. They're free at a cost, and the yarn company is absorbing that cost. If a crochet pattern is not produced to promote a particular yarn, then what can it be instead? To me, it's critical for the future of crochet itself that crochet leaders explore this question.
CR: Another crochet specialty that you have is crocheted jewelry. I know you offer tips on working with wire and other jewelry materials. Are these techniques you have developed yourself or have you a background in jewelry making as well?
VB: I don't think of myself as drawing on any jewelry making background but there is a little. I had a small macrame jewelry business in the '70's--it was with fine linen cord. And I did some silversmithing in college. Primarily I look at how jewelry is traditionally done so that I can mess with it. What is the language of jewelry and how do I want to use crochet for jewelryspeak? I imagine I'm in an era (or galaxy) where crochet is the method, and jewelry can be anything I want it to be.
CR: Who would you say has had an influence on your design career and/or your design sensibility?
VB: That's a LOT of people because crochet design has brought with it a huge circle of friends and other influential people! My life is dramatically enriched. But I think you might mean more specifically. As mentioned above, Gwen and Nancy managed to make design proposals sound like a piece of cake; at the same time, I met Marty Miller who explained CGOA's remarkable Mentor Program for aspiring crochet professionals. She gave me the tangible sense of being a designer by profession (a huge shift in my self concept) and how fun it can be. Doris Chan is another core influence, in every possible way I'd say, even design sensibility because of the way her crochet flows and communicates elegantly. Her standards are very high and I know her well enough to know her design process. Jennifer Hansen was the earliest inspiration (2002 maybe?) because she started right off making bold modern style statements with crochet using upscale materials.
CR: What other skills do you possess? Any strange ones?
VB: I'm an ex-professional calligrapher. I almost always win at Boggle. Until I turned 40 I was a perfect speller and proofreader (I mean like a machine!). I've always had interchangeable senses and used to think everyone did--I taste numbers and music, see colors and feel textures in names and scents, like that. I am somewhat psychic, and have healing ability in my hands. Is that strange enough? :-)
CR: What else can we expect from you in the next year and where do you see yourself in five years in terms of your design career?
VB: In the next year you should see a lot more of me. I'm bottled up right now, waiting these next few months for the doors of my pattern website to be flung open (the URL will be www.DesigningVashti.com ). I post any updates about it on my main blog: http://designingvashti.blogspot.com . I hope people will find me in Twitter and in Ravelry, where I also post updates (my username in both places is "vashtirama"). I also began a pattern support blog at http://crochetpatterncompanion.blogspot.com/ .
When my site's up there will be no more lag between when I design something and when I show it. I don't have to keep what I'm working on under wraps when my site is up. I'm starting out with lots of downloadable single patterns. I expect that from there I'll add booklets, kits, and classes. This year is a jumping off point. I could go many directions, depending on what I learn from my customers. So I'll have a better sense of what 5 years from now looks like by the end of this year!
CR: Thanks for sharing, Vashti! It's been great chatting with you and I hope to see you soon!
CR: I have really admired the designs you have revealed on your blog for your independent pattern website that's soon to be launched. What was your motivation for going "indie"?
VB: My primary motivation is three-pronged: to be freed up to design and write patterns my way, to publish them the 21st century way, and to connect directly with other crocheters. If one of my designs appeals to a crocheter, I want the pattern to include ALL of what s/he needs to enjoy crocheting it and using the finished project. Depending on the project and the crocheter, this means having visual aids like photo tutorials, color coding, stitch symbols, etc. If I could be on hand to actually sit side by side with crocheters using my patterns, I would! The next best thing I can imagine is video clips (I'm learning how to do these to my satisfaction next) and online crochet-alongs (abbreviated CAL). It means more photos from a crocheter's point of view (stitch closeups, 360-degree views of a sweater, etc). It also means extra info in the pattern text about choosing different yarns, customizing fit, or designer's tips on a tricky stitch, for example; and for many folks, fewer pattern abbreviations!
Connecting directly with other crocheters is big for me. I love blogging and participating in online crochet communities, however when I've designed for other publishers (i.e. freelanced professionally) I'm required to be secretive about what I'm working on. This also usually means withholding what I'm discovering about crochet while I'm designing something until it's published. Sometimes it's not published for a year. Freelance crochet designing usually does not pay me well enough to compensate for factors that make it less fun. I have to follow my bliss.
Secondary motivations are: Fashion fads and trendy or niche items are fun for me to design, and self-publishing them on the 'net simply makes the most sense. Another is that I have quirky and exploratory design ideas. My pattern website is actually going to have about 6 different "departments" or "rooms" of patterns. As I prepare them for e-publishing, I notice that some kinds of projects need very different kinds of formatting, whereas when published in a print magazine or book, all project types have the same format. To me that unnecessarily shortchanges some designs.
Another motivation is that I have this strong streak of crochet activism. It's what fueled my years on CGOA's board of directors (Crochet Guild of America). I feel that in the long term best interests of crochet, pattern publishing needs to be more distinct from yarn selling. Yarn companies make a lot of fantastic crochet patterns possible, and many of them are FREE. I think free patterns are important--they keep people learning how to crochet, resuming crochet, or trying new kinds of projects. They're free at a cost, and the yarn company is absorbing that cost. If a crochet pattern is not produced to promote a particular yarn, then what can it be instead? To me, it's critical for the future of crochet itself that crochet leaders explore this question.
CR: Another crochet specialty that you have is crocheted jewelry. I know you offer tips on working with wire and other jewelry materials. Are these techniques you have developed yourself or have you a background in jewelry making as well?
VB: I don't think of myself as drawing on any jewelry making background but there is a little. I had a small macrame jewelry business in the '70's--it was with fine linen cord. And I did some silversmithing in college. Primarily I look at how jewelry is traditionally done so that I can mess with it. What is the language of jewelry and how do I want to use crochet for jewelryspeak? I imagine I'm in an era (or galaxy) where crochet is the method, and jewelry can be anything I want it to be.
CR: Who would you say has had an influence on your design career and/or your design sensibility?
VB: That's a LOT of people because crochet design has brought with it a huge circle of friends and other influential people! My life is dramatically enriched. But I think you might mean more specifically. As mentioned above, Gwen and Nancy managed to make design proposals sound like a piece of cake; at the same time, I met Marty Miller who explained CGOA's remarkable Mentor Program for aspiring crochet professionals. She gave me the tangible sense of being a designer by profession (a huge shift in my self concept) and how fun it can be. Doris Chan is another core influence, in every possible way I'd say, even design sensibility because of the way her crochet flows and communicates elegantly. Her standards are very high and I know her well enough to know her design process. Jennifer Hansen was the earliest inspiration (2002 maybe?) because she started right off making bold modern style statements with crochet using upscale materials.
CR: What other skills do you possess? Any strange ones?
VB: I'm an ex-professional calligrapher. I almost always win at Boggle. Until I turned 40 I was a perfect speller and proofreader (I mean like a machine!). I've always had interchangeable senses and used to think everyone did--I taste numbers and music, see colors and feel textures in names and scents, like that. I am somewhat psychic, and have healing ability in my hands. Is that strange enough? :-)
CR: What else can we expect from you in the next year and where do you see yourself in five years in terms of your design career?
VB: In the next year you should see a lot more of me. I'm bottled up right now, waiting these next few months for the doors of my pattern website to be flung open (the URL will be www.DesigningVashti.com ). I post any updates about it on my main blog: http://designingvashti.blogspot.com . I hope people will find me in Twitter and in Ravelry, where I also post updates (my username in both places is "vashtirama"). I also began a pattern support blog at http://crochetpatterncompanion.blogspot.com/ .
When my site's up there will be no more lag between when I design something and when I show it. I don't have to keep what I'm working on under wraps when my site is up. I'm starting out with lots of downloadable single patterns. I expect that from there I'll add booklets, kits, and classes. This year is a jumping off point. I could go many directions, depending on what I learn from my customers. So I'll have a better sense of what 5 years from now looks like by the end of this year!
CR: Thanks for sharing, Vashti! It's been great chatting with you and I hope to see you soon!
VB: Thanks for inviting me to be a part of your Industry Insider Interviews Renee!
For my readers, let me know who you would like to learn more about and I will do my best to feature them here!
