Hooks, Hustle & Handmade: One Maker’s Creative Journey
Hooks, Hustle & Handmade:
One Maker’s Creative Journey
Jen, March 2026
Jen, March 2026
We found Jem by accident.
was scrolling on Instagram, as one does, and I stopped on a crochet video, there's something mesmerising about watching someone create.
The piece was tiny. Impossibly detailed earrings taking shape as I watched. The fairy lights caught my eye first. Then I saw it. The unmistakable back triangle of one of our WFH Desks sitting quietly in the background. A comment on her reel turned into a conversation in our DMs, which led to a video chat where I heard Jem’s story.
And it’s a good one.
It Started With Obsession, Not Strategy
Jem didn’t set out to become a business owner. She just fell in love with micro crochet.
“Once I discovered it, I became very quickly obsessed,” she says.
The problem?
She was making so many earrings.“ I couldn’t possibly keep them all. I couldn’t give that many away to friends either… I started selling them, so I didn’t start drowning in earrings.”
That’s it. No five-year plan.
No marketing degree.
No brand strategy document. Just too many earrings and a willingness to try.
She started selling in a local café. Then moved onto Etsy. “It took a little while to get that first sale,” she says.
“I don’t even remember celebrating it. I was probably just anxious to get it sent out.”
That first sale wasn’t a viral moment. It was quiet. Careful. Earned. And four years later, she’s still here.
The Reality of a Handmade Business
Earrings are a luxury. “They’re not a necessary item,” she says. “So there are definitely peaks and troughs.” Holiday boosts. Quieter months. High days. Low days.
And like many sole business owners, she admits something most people don’t say out loud:
"I often connect myself with how well my business is doing.” If sales dip, it’s easy to feel like you’re failing. But architecture school taught her something valuable. When you present a project, it can get torn apart in critique. Brutal sometimes. And you have to learn to separate yourself from the work.
“Your self-worth isn’t your project,” she says. “And your self-worth isn’t your business either.”
That separation? She’s still working on it. Most of us are.
Structured Creativity
Before crochet, there was film school and an architecture degree.
She worked for five years at Weta in Wellington, creative environments built on structure, detail, and disciplined thinking.
When she talks about crochet, she describes it almost like architecture. "It's structured, but still creative. The stitches need to work into the same areas."
"There's freedom, but within a system."
That tension - structure and creativity - seems to define her work. And maybe her personality, too.
Creative, but disciplined. Open-ended, but structured.
The Parts No One Talks About
Running your own business sounds romantic.
Freedom. Creativity. Making your own hours.
And yes, Jem loves that she can shape her own day. But she’s honest about the hard parts.
Content creation is the toughest. “If I don’t make content around my business, I don’t get to promote it,” she says. “And less people hear about it."
She loves photography, warm tones, sunshine, colour. Her Instagram reflects what she’s drawn to. But with the shift toward video and reels, she’s had to adapt.
Trial and error. Scheduling posts at 6am. Experimenting. Posting daily in the early days just to build momentum.
This is what turning a hobby into a business looks like: Crocheting.
Editing.
Packing orders.
Answering messages.
Using Pomodoro timers to get through tasks you don’t love.
Reminding yourself that slow weeks aren’t personal. Not glamorous. Real.
"It's a lot of work,
but it's definitely
rewarding."
Protecting the Joy
One of the most honest things she shared was this:
“Turning your hobby into a business definitely takes a little bit of the fun away.”
When something becomes income, there are days you have to create even when you don’t feel like it.
So she protects it. She still sets aside time to crochet just for herself. Not for Instagram.
Not for content.
Not to sell. Just to create.
“I think it’s important to make that time to just create… and not try to make it something Instagram-worthy."
That boundary matters.
Building a Space That Supports the Work
As her business grew, so did the physical space it needed. Crochet tools on one side. Laptop on the other.
Editing. Filming. Packing.
She needed more room to spread out, craft on one side, laptop on the other, and the flexibility to stand when her energy shifted.
“If I get a bit restless, I can move to the standing corner and keep working instead of just walking around the house.”
Her workspace fills with morning sunlight. Lamps. Fairy lights. Plants. Other artists’ work. Her own photography. Cozy. Intentional. Warm. Not just aesthetic, functional.
A space that supports the structure behind the creativity.
"...it’s important to make that time to just create…"
“If I get a bit restless, I can move to the standing corner and keep working instead of just walking around the house.”
This is Who Our Customers Are
Jem didn’t start with a strategy. She started with curiosity.
With too many earrings.
With a willingness to try.
Four years later, she’s still here.
Still adapting.
Still learning.
Still separating herself from the numbers.
This is who builds from home. Creative.
Structured.
Resilient.
Honest about the ups and downs.
And we love that our desks get to sit quietly in the background while they do.
See what Jem’s making on Etsy, and unlock her creative tips and tutorials on Patreon.
