Hi there! My name is Lauren and I'm a fiber artist and pattern designer. That's not what I really thought I'd be saying in my 30s, but life is a long and winding road. In the past I was a cook and a production assistant, among other things, and it feels like the main thing I learned there was creativity and improvising are going to be needed basically everywhere. I started to crochet and do cross stitch as a kid, maybe 5 or 6? I promptly got frustrated with both and dropped them til college, when for some reason my fingers understood the lessons from years before, and now they're two of my main hobbies.
Adding ADHD into that mix makes it make a bit more sense, I think. And also explains why my patterns include yet more crafts, including needle tatted lace. Really the only craft I'm afraid to get into is quilting, because there just isn't enough space in my house. Last year I had two friends ask me about making things for them by the winter holiday season, both asking why I didn't have a business doing it already. So I was working on them for a few weeks, a set of stockings and my first amigurimi. I have to credit the pattern maker, I learned a ton making that bear. I also managed to get most of the way through the project before I realized I had the wrong side out, but that I consider a valuable lesson about how different a shape can look that way.
Now add to this a few more things. The Pandemic took a toll, of course, and had us staying at home much more. I was already a stay at home mom, that was only so much of a change, but it meant not going out to see friends as much, and nights in led my partner and I to binging Critical Role. Now I have always been into the fantasy genre. I've read
mythology, fiction, and old fantasy books almost exclusively since I was a kid. Rennisance Fairs are what I wait for each year. That show, my books, and our two weekly Pathfinder games had it on my brain a bit, while I worked on these projects. In each of our games, my partner plays a crit fisher of one flavor or another - lots of additional rolls for more damage types for him. So as a DM and as a player, I've watched the search for dice happen A LOT.
So I was trying to figure out shapes to make something of my own, and watching the dice dig, and the idea of a little potion bottle to keep those dice separate popped into my head. The first ones were plainer, but some of my friends liked it and asked if I could design a bigger one. The bigger one I experimented into creating was smaller than the final design. The shape was less thought out, the color change wasn't clean. And, to my horror, I realized that I had done them accidentally in "wrong side"! I tried making one with the right side out - it was round that way, and flopped over. And the friends asking for them didn't like the look as much. After five different combinations of joins, right side/wrong side, and finishing touches, they still liked the original.
Now, almost all of my patterns have some variety of the right side / wrong side switch, because I stumbled my way into experimenting with them and figured out some really cool (to my mind at least) things. I've actually had to stop making new designs while I got my site figured out and off the ground, but kept writing them down, so I have a backlog of cool things coming up. I've been pulled into social media groups and exactly the right side of tiktok for me, and I'm loving being surrounded by people who share my interests. I'm learning and creating more every day, and loving every minute of it.
I'm hoping to use this platform to build a community here where people can talk about experimenting with non-traditional crafting designs, combining mediums to bring forth all sorts of new and strange things. I plan to promote brands that are good to their customers, continue putting out cool designs and tutorials, and to spotlight businesses with product swaps and reviews. I want to have a place where my non-mainstream friends can feel safe and seen. I want to get to a point where I can donate to causes that I haven't really been able to help with, like the situation with the pipeline, and the Trevor project. Sounds like something for you? Welcome.
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