July 25, 2019 • 51 mins
Curious why so many crocheters love working with wooden crochet hooks?
The perfect crochet hook is in the eye of the beholder. So if you're on the hunt for the perfect crochet hook, the best thing you can do is try as many crochet hooks as possible. You'll know it when you find it. The perfect crochet hook will be effortless for you to crochet with. Any sign of frustration from dropping loops, snagging, dragging, will be a thing of the past.
This episode will help you see the benefits of working with wooden crochet hooks so you can decide if they're the right choice for you. In this episode you'll hear from Rick and Danny, the father-son team behind the family business, Laurel Hill. They share how their hooks are made and why they are the perfect wooden crochet hook for so many crocheters.
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
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brittany (00:00):
You're listening to The Be Hooked Podcast, episode
126, with Brittany.
Well, hey there.
(00:31):
Welcome to episode 126 of theBe Hooked podcast.
You know it, the place where welove yarn, we love to learn,
and we truly believe yarn can domore for us than just make
pretty things.
Now, if you've been a listenerfor a while, you know that I
adore my Tulip and Furls Odysseycrochet hooks, and I typically
(00:52):
shy away from wooden crochethooks.
Well, that's what makes thisepisode especially exciting for
me because after I had thisconversation, I'm hopeful to
find my perfect wooden crochethook to go with my other perfect
crochet hook sets.
Perfect Crochet Hooks I mustencourage you to keep looking.
(01:31):
As I went into thisconversation, I had tried three
or four different types ofwooden crochet hook, had this
similar experience with themwhere there was some drag, and
overall they just weren'tenjoyable for me to work with.
And what I learned from Rickand Dani today is that not all
wooden crochet hooks are createdequal.
(01:53):
Just because I tried one in thepast and didn't love it Well,
it just meant that thatparticular wooden hook wasn't
right for me and that they'reall a little bit different.
So in just a little bit, you'llhear from Rick and Danny, my
conversation that I had withthem.
They're a father and son duobehind the family-owned
business, Laurel Hill.
Now, they have a variety ofdifferent tools and notions and
(02:16):
that sort of thing on theirwebsite.
But I was particularlyinterested in learning more
about their signature hook, theLaurel Hill wooden crochet
hooks, primarily because I'mstill on the hunt for that
perfect wooden crochet hook.
Well, if you're on this questas well, or you have an open
mind about trying a new woodencrochet hook, I think you're in
(02:38):
for a real treat with today'sepisode.
Now, we mentioned a fewresources, particularly a couple
posts that will help you sortof make that visual connection
to what you're hearing when theytalk about the hook's
construction and the design.
So I'll have all of that linkedin the show notes at
BeHooked.com slash 126.
Okay, let's get to it, shallwe?
(03:00):
Here is Rick and Danny fromLaurel Hill.
Well, Rick and Danny, welcometo the BHooked podcast.
Thank you both so much forjoining me today.
Hi.
Rick (03:10):
Well, thank you for having us.
Brittany (03:12):
It is my pleasure.
I am just so glad that you allreached out to me about your
wooden hooks and just yourincredible family business.
I am so excited to share yourstory, but also to get into some
of the benefits of woodencrochet hooks, because this is
really something that I can'tspeak to myself from personal
(03:34):
experience.
So thank you guys.
Rick (03:37):
You're very welcome.
Again, thank you for having us,and we love to tell our story,
and any questions you have inregard to wood or our products,
we would love to answer.
Brittany (03:49):
Wonderful.
Well, before we get into that,can you each introduce yourself?
Tell me a little bit about youand what you do for the
business.
Danny, do you want to start?
Danny (04:00):
Sure.
Yeah, my name is Danny Brown.
I'm Rick's son.
Rick started the business along time ago when I was just a
little kid.
And I never really even knewwhat he was doing a lot of time.
He was working out of thebasement and taking calls and
everything.
And when I was in college, Iwent with him to a trade show.
And was that the TNNA show?
Rick (04:23):
Yes, it was, Danny.
Danny (04:24):
And that was in Columbus, Ohio.
And it was so cool to just seewhat dad does.
And he was talking about LaurelHill Hooks, and I have not been
that involved until the lastyear.
I stopped working in thecorporate world, began traveling
a little bit, and then helpingwith the family business.
And yeah, that's been my story.
(04:46):
So for the last year, I've beendoing a lot of the social media
and communications work forLaurel Hill.
Brittany (04:52):
Very cool.
Now, Rick, how did it all getstarted?
Rick (04:56):
Well, we started about 20 years ago.
I had a friend who was adistributor of fiber arts tools,
and he was having troublesourcing some actually knitting
needles at the time.
So I took it upon myself, Ihave an extensive factory
background, and took it uponmyself to go with a group to
(05:21):
Vietnam and locate the rightfactory that had the same type
of philosophical ideas and aftertraveling for a while and
finding the right fit we startedto manufacture knitting needles
for this particular company.
Brittany (05:41):
Okay that's really interesting.
So you started with knittingneedles first.
When did you get into doingsome of the crochet hooks?
Rick (05:51):
You know, we actually private labeled for many
companies, some yarn companies,some fiber arts distributors,
and we really honed our craft.
And then we were asked bysomeone to make a crochet hook.
And we made a very basic,simple crochet hook because
(06:12):
that's all we knew how to do.
And then we went to ourconventions and trade shows and
we were very lucky in thatprocess because representatives
from the Crochet Guild ofAmerica saw what we were trying
to accomplish and they helpedus.
They would actually take ourcrochet hook and they would make
(06:34):
suggestions.
And then we would come back tothe next show after making those
modifications and watchingpeople crochet, and then they
would improve it again.
And this went on for many timesin about, after about eight
series of improvements, we cameup with a crochet hook that we
(06:57):
thought would be best for mostcrocheters.
Brittany (07:00):
Now that's really interesting.
I love that that was a processfor you.
I'm curious to either one ofyou crochet.
Danny (07:07):
Danny, the short answer is no, we don't, we don't
crochet.
Brittany (07:13):
Oh, I would love to teach you.
Danny (07:15):
I'd love to learn.
I would take you up on it.
Because we don't crochet, itbecomes so important to listen
to feedback from our customers.
So that's how we learn is weget feedback from the people who
buy our hooks and get back tous.
Dad always tells people to tella friend.
(07:37):
We just always try to start aconversation around the hooks.
So that's why a podcast likethis is so fun for us to do.
Rick (07:44):
On a personal level, we're both ex-basketball players.
We both played collegiatebasketball.
We have really big hands.
Brittany (07:53):
Yeah.
Rick (07:54):
And it's always been very difficult for me.
But it's something that wewould love to learn.
And I guess that's probably inour future.
Brittany (08:07):
Yeah, it would be really cool to sit down with the
two of you and teach you someof the basics, but I really love
how you stress the importanceof listening to your customers
and listening to feedbackbecause I almost feel like
that's better than having yourown idea in your head of what a
(08:28):
crochet hook could be because Iknow from personal experience
that The perfect crochet hook isdifferent from person to
person.
And factoring in as much ofthat feedback as you can, I feel
like you get a versatile hookthat's right for a lot of
different people.
I
Rick (08:48):
think you absolutely hit the nail right on the head.
And if we came in with our ownbiases, we see so many times
that people are not inclusive.
And once they find what worksfor them, they think that's the
only way.
And our whole companyphilosophy is to be inclusive to
everybody's styles.
(09:09):
And that's why we offer so manydifferent types of hooks and
fiber arts tools.
Brittany (09:15):
Yeah, that's really great.
I love a company that putstheir priority in their
customers.
And you make a pretty boldclaim on your website.
And I love that about thisfamily business.
You call them the best hooks onthe planet.
And there's a lot of confidencebehind that statement.
I would love to just get yourthoughts about that.
(09:38):
Where did that statement comefrom?
And how did you...
I guess, develop the confidenceto know that you have the best
hooks on the planet.
Rick (09:50):
Well, it really comes from feedback.
Again, being at all those showsand having people use our hooks
over a period of 19 years.
And it's not really one thing.
It's a combination of fivedifferent factors.
One thing, of course, you needa great design, which was helped
(10:11):
by the Crochet Guild ofAmerica.
We use repurposed woodmaterials.
Wood is just beautiful.
We have a unique thumb rest,which makes it comfortable for
most crocheters.
And then also, they'rehandmade.
So they're sanded and they'repolished.
(10:33):
They're so smooth.
They're so tactile.
If you just saw them hanging ona shelf, you might say, boy,
those are interesting.
But if I can put it in yourhand, you want it.
Danny (10:49):
Yeah, we see that over and over at trade shows when we
get the opportunity to show themoff.
And we always make sure to puta set in somebody's hands
because they are, like my dadsaid, like a highly tactile
product that people just love toplay with.
Rick (11:04):
And then the last factor is they're reasonably priced.
So we've created an affordableluxury.
And some people will go so faras to
Brittany (11:18):
call them functional works of art.
And there's really something tobe said about doing all of
that, creating our own art withsomething that is somebody
(11:40):
else's work of art.
And I feel like that's what youget with wooden crochet hooks,
especially those that arehandmade.
Rick (11:47):
We're just so pleased that people appreciate that.
And you're absolutely right.
The people that are fiber artsenthusiasts are so visual.
They're so tactile.
They're way more sensitive, Ifeel, than the normal
population.
Brittany (12:03):
Yeah.
Danny (12:04):
Yeah.
And this is art.
And what a cool tool to usethan something that's been hand
polished, hand created fromnatural products, from wood.
Brittany (12:16):
Yeah, you're absolutely right.
Well, I am a believer at thispoint.
I'm waiting for the perfectwooden hook, to be honest.
I've tried several of them.
I'm not totally opposed tothem.
It's just not usually what Ilean to.
And I feel like that's becauseI haven't found that perfect
(12:37):
hook.
So I'm going to have to pick upone of yours and give it a go
and see how it feels.
Okay.
Rick (12:43):
That's what we're talking about.
That's beautiful.
It's so nice that you'reopen-minded enough to give us
that feedback because I thinkone of the problems is someone
might try a wood hook and theylump them all in one category
where it's not like that.
There's specificcharacteristics that stand out
(13:05):
and actually work together togive comfort to the individual
that's doing the crocheting.
Brittany (13:12):
That's a very interesting point.
So let's get into some of thosecharacteristics so we can help
sort of debunk this for peoplethat all wooden hooks aren't
created the same.
So if perhaps a listener hastried one and they think, oh,
well, that one wasn't right forme.
and they have lumped that intowooden hooks in general, let's
(13:33):
sort of shift their perspectiveand probably talk about some of
those characteristics that youmentioned.
First, can you explain a littlebit about how they're made?
Rick (13:42):
Absolutely.
They're made really, well,first I should talk about the
raw materials.
There's ebony wood.
There's, these are allVietnamese woods.
There's Namo say there's Treyand their forest Palm, and
(14:02):
they're all hardwoods, but, uh,the Ebony comes from musical
instrument factories.
And we just use the pieces thatare left over in the production
of those instruments.
So think of like a black pianokey, for example.
And then the Namo Se and Tre,they come from the manufacturer
(14:26):
of cabinets and we deal with thelargest cabinet maker in
Vietnam and we buy all theirscraps, all the pieces of wood
when they're cut to dimensionthat can't be used, we purchase
and then we make our crochethooks out of them.
And then there's the forestpalm, which was the first one we
(14:47):
did and what we made ourknitting needles out of.
And that really comes from apalm tree.
And it's the leaves of thetree, for lack of a better...
Frond, I think.
The frond, which dies offnaturally.
And when they die off, we cutthem and we collect them and
(15:10):
make the crochet hooks.
But they just grow back.
So it's a renewable resource.
And then those pieces, here'swhere the handmade part comes
in.
We set up in a cooperative inVietnam, sort of like a Henry
Ford type of way to producethings.
So it employs a lot of peopleand it takes a lot of human
(15:36):
energy.
And the tasks to make a crochethook is of course to size it,
to sand it, to polish it, tovarnish it, to stencil it, and
so on.
And each person does one ofthose tasks and then passes it
to the next individual whocompletes that task until at the
(16:00):
end of the line, through nineto 11 steps, you get a perfect
crochet hook.
Danny (16:05):
and one thing that I'd like to add there is that we've
had the opportunity to mechanizethis we've been asked you know
do you want to use this piece ofhardware that will just do all
those steps not you know onethrough eleven or nine or
however many steps there arewithout the use of all these
people and we've declined thatwe like that that we have a
(16:28):
handmade process we like thatour hooks are hand polished and
we like that we employ a lot ofpeople by doing it so that's It
was a very conscientious choicethat really my dad made.
Brittany (16:40):
Yeah, that's really great.
I think that's something thatsomebody can really appreciate
that too as a customer to knowthat you're supporting an
operation like that that employsso many people and really puts
a focus on the process.
I think that's reallywonderful.
Rick (16:58):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah, we worked really hard tokeep that real.
Brittany (17:04):
Yeah.
So we have these different woodvarieties.
And I'm curious, though, thequestion that pops into my head
is, is there a purpose for thedifferent wood types other than
just maybe the colordifferences?
Do they work differently?
You know, from a crocheter'sperspective, do they feel
(17:26):
different when you're workingwith them?
Rick (17:28):
They're really all hardwoods with the same density.
The ebony is the heaviest, butyou would not be able to tell by
holding them.
So you touched upon somethingthat was very important, and
that is the colors aredifferent.
So we selected woods that wouldhave different various colors.
(17:49):
So when you're using adifferent color yarn, you would
have that contrast, and it wouldbe easier for the crocheter.
For example, ebony is a verydark wood, so if they were using
a light yarn, it would beeasier for them.
And we have Namo Say, which isa very neutral brown honey
(18:11):
color.
And then Trey would be thelightest one we have.
And that would be great if youwere using a project that
required a darker yarn.
Brittany (18:22):
Okay, yeah, that's something you might not have
thought of before.
A lot of the crochet hooks,they sort of look the same when
you purchase a set.
And you don't even think aboutthe benefits of having a
different colored hook pairedwith, you know, contrast color
yarn, how helpful that could be.
Rick (18:39):
Yeah, the way we learned that is we work with an
organization called Knots ofLove.
and they make chemotherapy capsand some of the people that
volunteer their time are olderpeople and they make hundreds of
caps.
I mean, these people areamazing.
(19:01):
So if they're going to do arepetitive type of motion over
longer periods of time, you wantto make it as easy as possible
for those people to not havefatigue, not just in their
hands, but their eyes.
Brittany (19:17):
Definitely.
Yeah, like I said, that's anaspect you wouldn't have thought
of before.
And you also mentionedsomething that I think is worth
pointing out again is the weightto it.
I know that's something thatcomes up with metal crochet
hooks.
They tend to be heavier and Ifeel like you don't get that
with a wooden hook.
(19:38):
So what are the weight benefitsto these hooks?
Rick (19:42):
You know, for the casual user, I don't think it's
dramatic, but for someone whoreally is compulsive in their
craft and does it quite a bit, Ithink that the wood just really
does help them.
I don't have a way to measurethat, but I have a pencil in my
hand right now, and I have oneof our Laurel Hill J-hooks, And
(20:08):
they feel very similar.
So if you can just imagineholding a pencil, I mean, that's
really all you're doing.
And when I say pencil, I meanif it was nubbed down to six
inches.
Brittany (20:21):
Okay, yeah, so it's about a similar weight.
Danny (20:24):
And it is light.
It's light in your hand.
And I can imagine a lot of themetal hooks would be heavier.
Rick (20:32):
I also think that the unique thumb rest of our hook
allows the individual toposition their thumb and
forefinger the way they want to.
So you're not locked intoholding it one way.
You have some flexibility andif you have some fatigue, you
(20:52):
can slide up or down on thatthumb rest to make it more
comfortable.
Brittany (20:58):
Yeah, have you heard any feedback from some of your
customers who are pencil gripsor knife grips?
Rick (21:06):
That is such a good question.
Again, when we're at tradeshows, we try and actually get a
feel for how many do what.
And I can tell you, after 19years of doing this, it's
impossible.
I don't think that there's twopeople that knit and or crochet
(21:27):
the same way.
And that's why the thumb resthas to have some versatility in
it.
Because You can't lock somebodyinto a way to hold it.
Brittany (21:40):
Exactly.
Rick (21:41):
Yeah.
Brittany (21:43):
If you were able to, I know it's hard to visualize
what the thumb rest might looklike, but if you were to try to
put it into words, how would youdescribe it?
Danny (21:56):
Um, I would say, I mean, if you just took, you know, the
surface of your thumb and kindof project that onto, you know,
onto your crochet hook, um, I, Iguess you would just put it on
top.
I mean, dad, do you have a wayto describe this?
We, I guess this might be agood point for me to point to,
uh, an article that one of ourfriends, Pam Grice wrote, uh,
(22:19):
Pam is the crochetpreneur and,uh, she wrote a blog post about
our, uh, our hooks, uh, calledthe anatomy of a wooden crochet
hook.
Um, and she goes into depthwith pictures and illustrations
of what the taper is, what thethumb rest looks like.
Um, and it's something that wecan pour it along for the show
(22:40):
notes, Brittany.
Um, but it really goes intodepth of, of, you know, how this
hook is constructed and what'sspecial about it.
Brittany (22:48):
That would be great.
I would love to include that inthe show notes so a listener
can go and see it after they'veheard it.
Now, we mentioned a little bitabout the hook itself.
You said in her article shetalks about the taper and that
sort of thing.
Is there anything that you canadd to that or maybe talk about
(23:09):
here in the episode about thehook itself, the shape?
What can somebody expect?
Rick (23:16):
Yes, I think, you know, what's interesting about us is
that at the same time, it's aninline hook, but it's also
tapered.
It's more like a hybrid.
So if I could read a review, itsays at first glance, the
throat of the Laurel Hill hookmight look tapered, but upon
(23:40):
closer inspection, it seems tobe inclined.
Danny (23:43):
Inline.
Rick (23:44):
inline, excuse me.
However, it's actually a littlebit of both.
The throat itself is tapered,but the lip is in line with the
throat, not situated above thethroat.
So it seems to be the perfectbalance between the two styles.
And I understand just verballyspeaking this, it's so difficult
(24:05):
to understand.
But as Danny said, we'llinclude include some diagrams in
the show notes and a completereview so the listeners can
really take a good look andunderstand this better.
Brittany (24:17):
Okay, yeah, that would be great.
And from a crocheter'sperspective on that, that's sort
of music to my ears because thereason I ask this question is
more often knife grips are drawnto tapered hooks because it
just flows better.
That's my own personal style,so that's what I tend to
gravitate towards.
And the inline hook seems toattract pencil grips, which I
(24:41):
have tried for the life of me todo that and just can't seem to
pick up that skill.
So knowing that it's acombination of the two, I feel
like you're giving them aproduct that it doesn't
distinguish between one crochetstyle versus the other.
I have tried another crochethook that uses this that has
(25:04):
sort of like a tapered and aninline sort of in one.
And I actually really enjoyworking with that.
So that tells me that I mightalso really enjoy working with
your hooks.
So that's really good.
Like I said, I'm totally goingto try these out.
Rick (25:20):
Well, thank you.
And the way the thumb rest isdesigned, it flattens out at the
widest point.
So it allows you theflexibility to do it the way you
want to do it.
Brittany (25:34):
That's very cool.
That's important, too, forsomebody who's choosing a tool
that they're going to use forthousands upon thousands of
stitches.
And that same motion, you know,it...
It's really important to have atool in your hand that's
comfortable to work with asyou're sort of putting your
(25:56):
hands and your wrist throughsome repetitive, stressful
motions.
Danny (26:02):
Yeah, I'd love to just build on that topic.
You know, we see so many peopletalking about yarn, and they're
always talking about what yarnthey got and just in the– You
know, in the online community, Ialways see that.
And it blows us away how fewpeople are talking about the
tools that they use.
The tools are there with youevery step of the way.
(26:23):
You know, even project toproject, you're switching out
yarn, but the hooks are in yourhand every project.
So we're really focused on thehooks and the tools that people
use in their projects.
Brittany (26:35):
Yes, and it's something that is going to last.
I've had crochet hook sets foryears and years, and I wouldn't
think about replacing them orgetting rid of them.
It's sort of an investment, butit's, I don't know, it's a
process that you need to put asmuch thought into as you do
(26:56):
planning your projects, if thatmakes sense.
Rick (27:00):
I would totally agree.
And if you're using an heirloomquality tool, especially when
you're learning, you're going toenjoy it more at the beginning,
which will keep you with thehobby longer as opposed to just
being frustrated and throwing itagainst the wall.
Brittany (27:19):
Right.
And when you're using a hookthat's not right for you or that
isn't easy for you to workwith, you'll never continue
because you're alreadyfrustrated from learning.
And then you've got this thingin your hand that might not be
right for you.
It might make it seem like,you're never going to get it.
But in reality, if you just hadthe right hook, then you would
(27:41):
love it and you would continuedoing it.
So I do like to put focus onthe hook too and help people to
find what's right for them, notnecessarily what the perfect
hook is.
I have a lot of listeners askme and viewers of my YouTube
channel, they'll say, Brittany,I want to buy the hook that you
use.
And I tell them, I'll sharewhat hook I'll use and I love
(28:06):
it, but it may not be right foryou.
It's part of the process.
You have to try differentvarieties and see what works and
see what is easiest for you towork with because your stitching
style might be completelydifferent from mine.
So I think that's important toknow from the start, and
(28:28):
especially bringing that back towooden hooks.
If somebody has tried thembefore and didn't like that
particular one, that's certainlyno reason to dismiss all wooden
hooks.
Rick (28:41):
I think that's a great observation and would be very
helpful to your listeners.
And in that vein...
On our site, of course, we loveour Laurel Hill hooks and we
say that they're the best on theplanet, but that doesn't mean
there aren't other great hooksout there for people to use for
(29:02):
different reasons.
And on our website, we have asection called Other Hooks where
we have a comprehensiveoffering of everybody else's
hooks because, again, we want tobe as inclusive as we possibly
can.
And we also like the fact thatthey can take our Laurel Hill
(29:23):
hook and then stack it upagainst another manufacturer.
And then the whole goal isreally to keep the industry
thriving.
And if the people can findthings that they like, they're
going to stay with the hobbylonger and we're all going to do
better.
Brittany (29:40):
Exactly.
A rising tide lifts all boats.
Rick (29:44):
There you go.
Brittany (29:47):
Well, I have to be honest, I'm a little more
partial to working with sort oflike a metal alloy or that sort
of thing.
So for somebody who is in myshoes and they know I sort of
always lean towards metal hooks,let's Just share some of the
(30:07):
benefits of working with woodenhooks, maybe something that we
haven't thought of before.
Why should somebody considergiving that a try?
Danny (30:17):
Well, I will say, and I think this is a concession, that
one of the main benefits of thehook is just aesthetic.
It's beautiful.
It's a beautiful hook.
But one thing I'll say aboutchoosing your wooden hooks is
that not all are made the samein terms of the polish,
especially.
So that's one thing that wesee.
(30:37):
People will say, I don't wantto use a wooden hook because I
think it'll catch.
And so that is true with somewooden hooks.
But with ours, they're handpolished.
They're very smooth.
And that's a very importantpart of making a wooden hook.
So a lot of times when peoplesay, you know, wooden hook isn't
for me, they're gettingliterally caught up on the fact
(30:58):
that it's not smooth enough.
health.
And then as far as thefunctional aspects, there are
some cases where you need a verysturdy piece of metal to do
what you're doing with the yarn.
You're going to put so muchtorque on it that it could break
a wooden hook.
But we find that the percentageof people that are doing that
(31:20):
kind of work is usually prettylow.
And it's usually specific typesof stitches where you really
need to go in there and pullsomething hard.
Dad, do you
Rick (31:31):
have anything else to add here?
No.
No, you're doing a real goodjob.
There are some people that havean enormous amount of tension
when they crochet.
And that's just the way theyare.
And in our smaller sizes, theycan break the head.
And it's very unusual.
(31:53):
And we give them another hook.
All our hooks are guaranteedfor a year.
And then if they continuouslydo that, wood hooks are not for
them.
It's just not for their style.
And that's okay.
We have metal hooks for thosepeople.
(32:13):
So it's best to try.
We always say try it, you'lllike it.
It's just an old catchphrase.
But until you actually put itin your hand and try it on a
specific project or just make aswatch, you're really not going
to know what that experience islike.
And one thing I should say isyou can't just try it for five
(32:38):
or ten minutes.
You know, give it a few hoursand get used to it and then make
an educated
Brittany (32:46):
decision.
Or a full project even.
That's usually what I try to dowhen I am testing out a new
hook.
I make it a point to finish aproject with it because you
really don't get the feel for itunless you're finishing
hundreds and maybe eventhousands of stitches.
Rick (33:04):
Yeah, there's a lot of muscle memory that goes into
that.
And you can't give it a testdrive for 10 minutes and make an
educated decision.
I agree with you 100%.
Brittany (33:18):
For sure.
Now, Danny mentioned somethingelse that brings up an
interesting topic, and that'sthe polish and then the tension.
There's got to be arelationship between the two.
Can you elaborate on that alittle bit more?
Rick (33:33):
Absolutely.
As Danny mentioned, all thesehooks are sanded.
And then they're polished.
And then there's a polyurethanethat allows it to slide.
But it has to be perfectlysmooth before that polyurethane
is put on there.
And what's really interestingis that when someone knits with
(33:58):
wool over a period of time, itactually smooths it even more.
You can tell when someone'smade 200 chemotherapy caps, you
can see the difference of itwhen they've done that and when
we issue it to them.
It just looks more polished.
(34:20):
You're actually polishing itbecause the wool has some fiber
in it that's abrasive, andthey're actually better.
years later than when you firstget them.
Brittany (34:35):
That's very interesting.
What about your experience withsome of the other fibers, maybe
acrylics or cottons or thatsort of thing?
Do you see the same effect withthose?
Rick (34:45):
We really do, and to be honest, I've never measured it.
I always say wool because I seethe most of that, and cotton.
The only question I would havewould be acrylic.
I really don't know aboutacrylic.
But still, I would think thatthe rubbing on the surface would
(35:07):
polish it.
But I think like a wool orcotton would be the best.
Brittany (35:14):
Okay.
So perhaps somebody who likesto crochet with those types of
fibers, this seems like it wouldbe a really great fit.
Rick (35:25):
Absolutely.
And, you know, what we talkedabout earlier is I think that
everyone should try one.
You know, we don't have anyminimums.
They can go online to our site,order one hook and see if it's
right for them.
Brittany (35:40):
Yeah, and we will definitely include the
information in the show notespage.
So after you've listened, ifyou're ready to give this a try,
and I will take the challengewith you, because like I said,
I'm a woman of my word.
I want to give these a try andsee if I love them better than
any of the other wooden hooksthat I've tried.
Because the great thing aboutthe knit and crochet industry is
(36:04):
that there are so many creativepeople in the industry that we
have an endless supply ofresources and why not why not
give it a try and you never knowif if you could find your next
favorite hook so I will take thechallenge with you and the the
last question that comes to mindis sort of taking it back again
(36:29):
to the crocheters style whatabout a crocheter who has maybe
some issues with hand fatigue orarthritis or that sort of
thing, are there any addedbenefits to using a wooden hook
for these people?
Rick (36:45):
Absolutely.
And it's not just the hook, butit's the thumb rest.
I would say the unique thumbrest on our hook is what sets it
apart.
And again, I have to givecredit to the Crochet Guild of
America because they We just hada straight shaft when we first
(37:05):
made hooks and they're the onesthat encouraged us to help their
population.
And it really started a wholecategory for us because we now
have a category that's justarthritis friendly tools.
And we looked throughout thewhole industry, and we grouped
(37:26):
them together to make it easyfor people that have problems
with repetitive stress syndromeor arthritis.
So it really inspired us to tryand help as many people as we
could.
And we're also amazed of howmany people experience it,
especially when they crochetedfor 20 plus years it seems to be
(37:51):
a cumulative type of uhsyndrome so we've again we've
learned a lot from justlistening and getting feedback
from people that have been doingthis for a very long time
Brittany (38:04):
okay yeah very good to know Now, I want to do
something a little bit, well,not totally different.
We've been experimenting withit here on the show for a couple
of weeks now.
I love to, you know, think ofas many questions as I think a
listener might have, but whatbetter way to have their
(38:25):
question answered than to havethem provide it themselves.
So I will typically post anInstagram story with the sneak
peek of the guests.
So I highlighted you allyesterday in an Instagram story
and gave them the opportunity toask you their questions.
So I would love to get to a fewof those.
Rick (38:45):
Sure.
That's great.
Brittany (38:48):
All right.
So the first one comes fromFrench Fry 213.
She wants to know if they areavailable at major craft stores.
Rick (38:59):
You know, we don't sell to major craft stores, and let me
tell you why.
Because these are handmade, wecan't make the type of
quantities to offer them to amajor craft store.
So we sell mostly to end usersonline at our own site.
(39:21):
And we also have a distributorthat sells to retail yarn
stores.
And of course, we love theretail yarn stores because those
people are teaching otherpeople how to crochet.
And we find them to be a veryvaluable component to this whole
industry.
But we can't sell light to aMichael's because if the demand
(39:46):
is so high, we can't fill it.
It's just the way wemanufacture them.
We don't just spit them out.
Danny (39:54):
Yeah, so to get Laurel Hill hooks, people would go to
our website, which islaurelhillonline.com.
That's where we sell to endusers.
And then there are some smallershops around the world that
also carry our hooks.
Brittany (40:08):
Okay, good to know.
And that sort of answersGwendolyn 50's question of where
you can actually purchase thehook.
So I will have a link to yourwebsite in the show notes page.
I know you have a lot ofdifferent resources on there.
So what I would like to do isinclude the main page, but then
also include where you can lookfor these hooks specifically,
(40:31):
the Laurel Hill wooden hooks.
Rick (40:33):
Great.
That'd be wonderful.
Thank you very much.
Brittany (40:36):
Awesome.
Okay.
Rick (40:38):
One thing, you know, we always kid each other is we're
the best kept secret in thefiber arts industry.
And that's not a good thing.
Brittany (40:48):
Well, the secret's out now.
Great.
Okay.
So our next question comes fromStitched X Steph.
Will the varnish wear off overtime and expose splinters?
Rick (41:01):
Yeah, I think Dad kind of touched on that.
I touched on it, but there wasonly one woman who, again, was a
knots of love person whoactually wore out a size K
crochet hook.
I was amazed.
Of course she sent it back, andof course we sent her three
(41:23):
back to her.
We were amazed.
So it is possible.
And she did it.
That was not a defectivecrochet hook.
She just did so much crochetingthat it is possible, as we
learned from this one woman, towear the varnish off.
(41:45):
But that's one out of 19 years.
Brittany (41:51):
So not very common then.
That's good toknow. Alright right now
"colorful hooker" wants to knowhow to make them not squeak.
Rick (42:01):
You know i must be honest i've never heard that one before
Brittany (42:05):
yeah
Rick (42:06):
but there is a company and we actually offer it i think in
our accessories it's a needlewax it's a needle and hook wax
uh-huh And I'm pretty sure it'smade out of beeswax and other
natural wax products that youcan actually put on the hook,
(42:28):
which will actually make it goeven faster.
And I don't know if it willtake the squeak out or not,
because I've never heard of thesqueak before.
Have you heard about thatbefore?
Brittany?
Brittany (42:41):
I have seen it firsthand with plastic crochet
hooks.
It does have a squeak to it.
Rick (42:47):
With plastic?
Brittany (42:49):
Yeah, on plastic.
So I...
I can't say that I haveexperienced that too much with
wooden hooks.
My experience from using thatmaterial is more the drag on the
yarn from the hook.
So I feel like I have to work alittle bit harder, which for
me, that sounds like it's moreof a tension issue.
(43:10):
I know that I crochet moretightly than a lot of people, so
I'm putting more tension on it.
Plus, I'm sure the polishingcomes into play too.
And I've...
It probably depends on the hookitself and the production and
that sort of thing.
Rick (43:27):
Yeah, again, I've never...
And I'm trying to remember.
It's kind of loud in tradeshows, as you know.
But I've never heard our woodhook squeak.
And it's probably because ofthe sanding and the...
polyurethane keeps it verysmooth.
(43:51):
So it doesn't ever pull thatmuch, which would create a
squeaking sound.
Brittany (43:56):
Yeah.
I wonder if there's somethingto the fiber on that as well.
I could see where certainacrylics and maybe even cotton,
because I know cotton squeaks alot more with plastic.
I wonder if the fiber hassomething to do with it, the
interaction between the polishand your tension and the hook
(44:16):
itself.
Rick (44:17):
Wow, it's really interesting.
You know, I would suggest thatshe should try a little needle
wax and see if that eliminatesthe problem for her.
Brittany (44:27):
Okay, I will link to that.
That is something that I havenot heard of, so I'm interested
to check that out myself.
Rick (44:34):
Great.
Brittany (44:35):
All right, so our next question comes from Unwind by
Luane.
They want to know what to lookfor and what to ask for when
choosing a wooden hook.
Danny (44:47):
I would say the polish.
As I talked about earlier, thebiggest complaint that we hear
from other wooden crochet hooksis that it catches on the yarn.
And so the fact that we arehand polished and such a smooth
hook is something, probably ourbest selling point compared to
other wooden providers.
Brittany (45:09):
Okay, that's a good tip.
So is there anything like aspecific type of of varnish that
they should look for?
Is that something that'snormally disclosed?
Rick (45:20):
No, it really wouldn't be.
I think really what they needto do is just pick it up and try
it.
There's nothing like your ownpersonal experience.
It's so hard to see somethingon a hookboard and just saying
this is going to work for me ornot work for me.
(45:41):
We encourage all the storesthat carry our hooks to put them
on a table with a few differentyarns and just let the people
touch them and use them.
And that's really the only wayyou'll know if it's right for
you.
Brittany (45:57):
Yeah, and that's a great piece of advice to end on.
If there is one thing that...
Yes.
Yes.
Rick (46:32):
Couldn't agree more.
And it's amazing how loyalpeople become to the hooks that
they like.
They will fight you for them.
Once they know what works forthem, they'll come back to you
for years and years and years.
And that's why it's soimportant that they try
different things.
Brittany (46:53):
Yes.
Well, this has been a reallywonderful conversation.
Who would have thought that youcould talk so much about wooden
crochet hooks, but we were ableto capture so much stuff that I
never even thought of.
And again, like I said, Idefinitely want to give these
hooks a try.
(47:14):
So thank you for theopportunity to share this with
my audience as well as theopportunity to open my eyes to
another fun hook.
So thank you.
Rick (47:25):
Well, again, thank you so much for this exposure, for the
opportunity to tell you aboutwood hooks and really how
comprehensive it is.
It's not just picking up onething.
It's like learning about awhole new thing.
Brittany (47:42):
Very true.
And that is my biggest takeawayfrom this conversation is just
that.
And not all wooden hooks arecreated equal.
Rick (47:51):
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Can we use that?
Brittany (47:55):
Yes.
Yes, you certainly can.
Rick (47:57):
Thank
Brittany (48:00):
you.
And one more time, too.
Can you let our listeners knowwhere they can see these hooks
and where they can give them atry?
Danny (48:10):
Absolutely.
You can find us atlaurelhillonline.com.
You can also follow us onInstagram at
laurelhillknitcrochet.
And as far as in person, it'skind of state by state, place by
place.
So we'd encourage you, yeah, goto your local yarn shop and ask
(48:30):
for us.
And, you know, always, we'realways available online as well.
Brittany (48:36):
All right.
Well, thank you, Rick.
Thank you, Danny.
This has been wonderful.
Rick (48:39):
Thank you so much, Brittany.
Thank you, Brittany.
Greatly appreciate it.
Brittany (48:45):
All right.
That was Rick and Danny fromLaurel Hill.
Aren't they such an incredibleteam and just so helpful?
I'm so excited I had theopportunity to connect with them
and to share their wisdom aboutwooden crochet hooks.
Now, remember, you can findthat post that Dani referred to
in the show notes, and I'llinclude a link to the Laurel
Hill crochet hooks, the ones weprimarily spoke about today, so
(49:08):
that you can check them out foryourself.
Now, I was serious earlier whenI said that I'm taking the
challenge with you.
If you're not a typical woodencrochet hook user, let's take
this challenge together.
You know that I haven't foundthe right wooden hook, but I'm
happy to report that theseLaurel Hill crochet hooks are on
their way to me as I'mrecording this, and I cannot
(49:30):
wait to give them a try.
Now this episode was sponsoredby my Blueprint course, Tunisian
Crochet for Beginners.
If you're looking to changethings up a little bit and try a
new set of skills, Tunisiancrochet is a really great way to
go.
This course will walk youthrough the basics of Tunisian
crochet and help you completeyour first three Tunisian
(49:52):
crochet projects.
So to see the course detailsand to sign up, visit
bhooked.com slash tcfb.
That's Tunisian crochet forbeginners.
And I look forward to teachingyou this new skill.
All right, that'll wrap up thisweek's episode.
Thank you so much for tuningin, for subscribing, and of
(50:12):
course for submitting yourquestions for Rick and Dani
through my Instagram stories.
By the way, if you want to getin on that, you'll need to
follow me on Instagram atBeHooked and keep an eye on my
stories.
When I'm about to speak to aguest, I'll post a story where
you can submit your question.
It'll be a little box rightthere on your screen and you can
just type in your question andhit submit.
(50:33):
Sound good?
Okay, now have a wonderfulweekend and I will see you next
week.
You're listening to The Be Hooked Podcast, episode
126, with Brittany.
Well, hey there.
(00:31):
Welcome to episode 126 of theBe Hooked podcast.
You know it, the place where welove yarn, we love to learn,
and we truly believe yarn can domore for us than just make
pretty things.
Now, if you've been a listenerfor a while, you know that I
adore my Tulip and Furls Odysseycrochet hooks, and I typically
(00:52):
shy away from wooden crochethooks.
Well, that's what makes thisepisode especially exciting for
me because after I had thisconversation, I'm hopeful to
find my perfect wooden crochethook to go with my other perfect
crochet hook sets.
Perfect Crochet Hooks I mustencourage you to keep looking.
(01:31):
As I went into thisconversation, I had tried three
or four different types ofwooden crochet hook, had this
similar experience with themwhere there was some drag, and
overall they just weren'tenjoyable for me to work with.
And what I learned from Rickand Dani today is that not all
wooden crochet hooks are createdequal.
(01:53):
Just because I tried one in thepast and didn't love it Well,
it just meant that thatparticular wooden hook wasn't
right for me and that they'reall a little bit different.
So in just a little bit, you'llhear from Rick and Danny, my
conversation that I had withthem.
They're a father and son duobehind the family-owned
business, Laurel Hill.
Now, they have a variety ofdifferent tools and notions and
(02:16):
that sort of thing on theirwebsite.
But I was particularlyinterested in learning more
about their signature hook, theLaurel Hill wooden crochet
hooks, primarily because I'mstill on the hunt for that
perfect wooden crochet hook.
Well, if you're on this questas well, or you have an open
mind about trying a new woodencrochet hook, I think you're in
(02:38):
for a real treat with today'sepisode.
Now, we mentioned a fewresources, particularly a couple
posts that will help you sortof make that visual connection
to what you're hearing when theytalk about the hook's
construction and the design.
So I'll have all of that linkedin the show notes at
BeHooked.com slash 126.
Okay, let's get to it, shallwe?
(03:00):
Here is Rick and Danny fromLaurel Hill.
Well, Rick and Danny, welcometo the BHooked podcast.
Thank you both so much forjoining me today.
Hi.
Rick (03:10):
Well, thank you for having us.
Brittany (03:12):
It is my pleasure.
I am just so glad that you allreached out to me about your
wooden hooks and just yourincredible family business.
I am so excited to share yourstory, but also to get into some
of the benefits of woodencrochet hooks, because this is
really something that I can'tspeak to myself from personal
(03:34):
experience.
So thank you guys.
Rick (03:37):
You're very welcome.
Again, thank you for having us,and we love to tell our story,
and any questions you have inregard to wood or our products,
we would love to answer.
Brittany (03:49):
Wonderful.
Well, before we get into that,can you each introduce yourself?
Tell me a little bit about youand what you do for the
business.
Danny, do you want to start?
Danny (04:00):
Sure.
Yeah, my name is Danny Brown.
I'm Rick's son.
Rick started the business along time ago when I was just a
little kid.
And I never really even knewwhat he was doing a lot of time.
He was working out of thebasement and taking calls and
everything.
And when I was in college, Iwent with him to a trade show.
And was that the TNNA show?
Rick (04:23):
Yes, it was, Danny.
Danny (04:24):
And that was in Columbus, Ohio.
And it was so cool to just seewhat dad does.
And he was talking about LaurelHill Hooks, and I have not been
that involved until the lastyear.
I stopped working in thecorporate world, began traveling
a little bit, and then helpingwith the family business.
And yeah, that's been my story.
(04:46):
So for the last year, I've beendoing a lot of the social media
and communications work forLaurel Hill.
Brittany (04:52):
Very cool.
Now, Rick, how did it all getstarted?
Rick (04:56):
Well, we started about 20 years ago.
I had a friend who was adistributor of fiber arts tools,
and he was having troublesourcing some actually knitting
needles at the time.
So I took it upon myself, Ihave an extensive factory
background, and took it uponmyself to go with a group to
(05:21):
Vietnam and locate the rightfactory that had the same type
of philosophical ideas and aftertraveling for a while and
finding the right fit we startedto manufacture knitting needles
for this particular company.
Brittany (05:41):
Okay that's really interesting.
So you started with knittingneedles first.
When did you get into doingsome of the crochet hooks?
Rick (05:51):
You know, we actually private labeled for many
companies, some yarn companies,some fiber arts distributors,
and we really honed our craft.
And then we were asked bysomeone to make a crochet hook.
And we made a very basic,simple crochet hook because
(06:12):
that's all we knew how to do.
And then we went to ourconventions and trade shows and
we were very lucky in thatprocess because representatives
from the Crochet Guild ofAmerica saw what we were trying
to accomplish and they helpedus.
They would actually take ourcrochet hook and they would make
(06:34):
suggestions.
And then we would come back tothe next show after making those
modifications and watchingpeople crochet, and then they
would improve it again.
And this went on for many timesin about, after about eight
series of improvements, we cameup with a crochet hook that we
(06:57):
thought would be best for mostcrocheters.
Brittany (07:00):
Now that's really interesting.
I love that that was a processfor you.
I'm curious to either one ofyou crochet.
Danny (07:07):
Danny, the short answer is no, we don't, we don't
crochet.
Brittany (07:13):
Oh, I would love to teach you.
Danny (07:15):
I'd love to learn.
I would take you up on it.
Because we don't crochet, itbecomes so important to listen
to feedback from our customers.
So that's how we learn is weget feedback from the people who
buy our hooks and get back tous.
Dad always tells people to tella friend.
(07:37):
We just always try to start aconversation around the hooks.
So that's why a podcast likethis is so fun for us to do.
Rick (07:44):
On a personal level, we're both ex-basketball players.
We both played collegiatebasketball.
We have really big hands.
Brittany (07:53):
Yeah.
Rick (07:54):
And it's always been very difficult for me.
But it's something that wewould love to learn.
And I guess that's probably inour future.
Brittany (08:07):
Yeah, it would be really cool to sit down with the
two of you and teach you someof the basics, but I really love
how you stress the importanceof listening to your customers
and listening to feedbackbecause I almost feel like
that's better than having yourown idea in your head of what a
(08:28):
crochet hook could be because Iknow from personal experience
that The perfect crochet hook isdifferent from person to
person.
And factoring in as much ofthat feedback as you can, I feel
like you get a versatile hookthat's right for a lot of
different people.
I
Rick (08:48):
think you absolutely hit the nail right on the head.
And if we came in with our ownbiases, we see so many times
that people are not inclusive.
And once they find what worksfor them, they think that's the
only way.
And our whole companyphilosophy is to be inclusive to
everybody's styles.
(09:09):
And that's why we offer so manydifferent types of hooks and
fiber arts tools.
Brittany (09:15):
Yeah, that's really great.
I love a company that putstheir priority in their
customers.
And you make a pretty boldclaim on your website.
And I love that about thisfamily business.
You call them the best hooks onthe planet.
And there's a lot of confidencebehind that statement.
I would love to just get yourthoughts about that.
(09:38):
Where did that statement comefrom?
And how did you...
I guess, develop the confidenceto know that you have the best
hooks on the planet.
Rick (09:50):
Well, it really comes from feedback.
Again, being at all those showsand having people use our hooks
over a period of 19 years.
And it's not really one thing.
It's a combination of fivedifferent factors.
One thing, of course, you needa great design, which was helped
(10:11):
by the Crochet Guild ofAmerica.
We use repurposed woodmaterials.
Wood is just beautiful.
We have a unique thumb rest,which makes it comfortable for
most crocheters.
And then also, they'rehandmade.
So they're sanded and they'repolished.
(10:33):
They're so smooth.
They're so tactile.
If you just saw them hanging ona shelf, you might say, boy,
those are interesting.
But if I can put it in yourhand, you want it.
Danny (10:49):
Yeah, we see that over and over at trade shows when we
get the opportunity to show themoff.
And we always make sure to puta set in somebody's hands
because they are, like my dadsaid, like a highly tactile
product that people just love toplay with.
Rick (11:04):
And then the last factor is they're reasonably priced.
So we've created an affordableluxury.
And some people will go so faras to
Brittany (11:18):
call them functional works of art.
And there's really something tobe said about doing all of
that, creating our own art withsomething that is somebody
(11:40):
else's work of art.
And I feel like that's what youget with wooden crochet hooks,
especially those that arehandmade.
Rick (11:47):
We're just so pleased that people appreciate that.
And you're absolutely right.
The people that are fiber artsenthusiasts are so visual.
They're so tactile.
They're way more sensitive, Ifeel, than the normal
population.
Brittany (12:03):
Yeah.
Danny (12:04):
Yeah.
And this is art.
And what a cool tool to usethan something that's been hand
polished, hand created fromnatural products, from wood.
Brittany (12:16):
Yeah, you're absolutely right.
Well, I am a believer at thispoint.
I'm waiting for the perfectwooden hook, to be honest.
I've tried several of them.
I'm not totally opposed tothem.
It's just not usually what Ilean to.
And I feel like that's becauseI haven't found that perfect
(12:37):
hook.
So I'm going to have to pick upone of yours and give it a go
and see how it feels.
Okay.
Rick (12:43):
That's what we're talking about.
That's beautiful.
It's so nice that you'reopen-minded enough to give us
that feedback because I thinkone of the problems is someone
might try a wood hook and theylump them all in one category
where it's not like that.
There's specificcharacteristics that stand out
(13:05):
and actually work together togive comfort to the individual
that's doing the crocheting.
Brittany (13:12):
That's a very interesting point.
So let's get into some of thosecharacteristics so we can help
sort of debunk this for peoplethat all wooden hooks aren't
created the same.
So if perhaps a listener hastried one and they think, oh,
well, that one wasn't right forme.
and they have lumped that intowooden hooks in general, let's
(13:33):
sort of shift their perspectiveand probably talk about some of
those characteristics that youmentioned.
First, can you explain a littlebit about how they're made?
Rick (13:42):
Absolutely.
They're made really, well,first I should talk about the
raw materials.
There's ebony wood.
There's, these are allVietnamese woods.
There's Namo say there's Treyand their forest Palm, and
(14:02):
they're all hardwoods, but, uh,the Ebony comes from musical
instrument factories.
And we just use the pieces thatare left over in the production
of those instruments.
So think of like a black pianokey, for example.
And then the Namo Se and Tre,they come from the manufacturer
(14:26):
of cabinets and we deal with thelargest cabinet maker in
Vietnam and we buy all theirscraps, all the pieces of wood
when they're cut to dimensionthat can't be used, we purchase
and then we make our crochethooks out of them.
And then there's the forestpalm, which was the first one we
(14:47):
did and what we made ourknitting needles out of.
And that really comes from apalm tree.
And it's the leaves of thetree, for lack of a better...
Frond, I think.
The frond, which dies offnaturally.
And when they die off, we cutthem and we collect them and
(15:10):
make the crochet hooks.
But they just grow back.
So it's a renewable resource.
And then those pieces, here'swhere the handmade part comes
in.
We set up in a cooperative inVietnam, sort of like a Henry
Ford type of way to producethings.
So it employs a lot of peopleand it takes a lot of human
(15:36):
energy.
And the tasks to make a crochethook is of course to size it,
to sand it, to polish it, tovarnish it, to stencil it, and
so on.
And each person does one ofthose tasks and then passes it
to the next individual whocompletes that task until at the
(16:00):
end of the line, through nineto 11 steps, you get a perfect
crochet hook.
Danny (16:05):
and one thing that I'd like to add there is that we've
had the opportunity to mechanizethis we've been asked you know
do you want to use this piece ofhardware that will just do all
those steps not you know onethrough eleven or nine or
however many steps there arewithout the use of all these
people and we've declined thatwe like that that we have a
(16:28):
handmade process we like thatour hooks are hand polished and
we like that we employ a lot ofpeople by doing it so that's It
was a very conscientious choicethat really my dad made.
Brittany (16:40):
Yeah, that's really great.
I think that's something thatsomebody can really appreciate
that too as a customer to knowthat you're supporting an
operation like that that employsso many people and really puts
a focus on the process.
I think that's reallywonderful.
Rick (16:58):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah, we worked really hard tokeep that real.
Brittany (17:04):
Yeah.
So we have these different woodvarieties.
And I'm curious, though, thequestion that pops into my head
is, is there a purpose for thedifferent wood types other than
just maybe the colordifferences?
Do they work differently?
You know, from a crocheter'sperspective, do they feel
(17:26):
different when you're workingwith them?
Rick (17:28):
They're really all hardwoods with the same density.
The ebony is the heaviest, butyou would not be able to tell by
holding them.
So you touched upon somethingthat was very important, and
that is the colors aredifferent.
So we selected woods that wouldhave different various colors.
(17:49):
So when you're using adifferent color yarn, you would
have that contrast, and it wouldbe easier for the crocheter.
For example, ebony is a verydark wood, so if they were using
a light yarn, it would beeasier for them.
And we have Namo Say, which isa very neutral brown honey
(18:11):
color.
And then Trey would be thelightest one we have.
And that would be great if youwere using a project that
required a darker yarn.
Brittany (18:22):
Okay, yeah, that's something you might not have
thought of before.
A lot of the crochet hooks,they sort of look the same when
you purchase a set.
And you don't even think aboutthe benefits of having a
different colored hook pairedwith, you know, contrast color
yarn, how helpful that could be.
Rick (18:39):
Yeah, the way we learned that is we work with an
organization called Knots ofLove.
and they make chemotherapy capsand some of the people that
volunteer their time are olderpeople and they make hundreds of
caps.
I mean, these people areamazing.
(19:01):
So if they're going to do arepetitive type of motion over
longer periods of time, you wantto make it as easy as possible
for those people to not havefatigue, not just in their
hands, but their eyes.
Brittany (19:17):
Definitely.
Yeah, like I said, that's anaspect you wouldn't have thought
of before.
And you also mentionedsomething that I think is worth
pointing out again is the weightto it.
I know that's something thatcomes up with metal crochet
hooks.
They tend to be heavier and Ifeel like you don't get that
with a wooden hook.
(19:38):
So what are the weight benefitsto these hooks?
Rick (19:42):
You know, for the casual user, I don't think it's
dramatic, but for someone whoreally is compulsive in their
craft and does it quite a bit, Ithink that the wood just really
does help them.
I don't have a way to measurethat, but I have a pencil in my
hand right now, and I have oneof our Laurel Hill J-hooks, And
(20:08):
they feel very similar.
So if you can just imagineholding a pencil, I mean, that's
really all you're doing.
And when I say pencil, I meanif it was nubbed down to six
inches.
Brittany (20:21):
Okay, yeah, so it's about a similar weight.
Danny (20:24):
And it is light.
It's light in your hand.
And I can imagine a lot of themetal hooks would be heavier.
Rick (20:32):
I also think that the unique thumb rest of our hook
allows the individual toposition their thumb and
forefinger the way they want to.
So you're not locked intoholding it one way.
You have some flexibility andif you have some fatigue, you
(20:52):
can slide up or down on thatthumb rest to make it more
comfortable.
Brittany (20:58):
Yeah, have you heard any feedback from some of your
customers who are pencil gripsor knife grips?
Rick (21:06):
That is such a good question.
Again, when we're at tradeshows, we try and actually get a
feel for how many do what.
And I can tell you, after 19years of doing this, it's
impossible.
I don't think that there's twopeople that knit and or crochet
(21:27):
the same way.
And that's why the thumb resthas to have some versatility in
it.
Because You can't lock somebodyinto a way to hold it.
Brittany (21:40):
Exactly.
Rick (21:41):
Yeah.
Brittany (21:43):
If you were able to, I know it's hard to visualize
what the thumb rest might looklike, but if you were to try to
put it into words, how would youdescribe it?
Danny (21:56):
Um, I would say, I mean, if you just took, you know, the
surface of your thumb and kindof project that onto, you know,
onto your crochet hook, um, I, Iguess you would just put it on
top.
I mean, dad, do you have a wayto describe this?
We, I guess this might be agood point for me to point to,
uh, an article that one of ourfriends, Pam Grice wrote, uh,
(22:19):
Pam is the crochetpreneur and,uh, she wrote a blog post about
our, uh, our hooks, uh, calledthe anatomy of a wooden crochet
hook.
Um, and she goes into depthwith pictures and illustrations
of what the taper is, what thethumb rest looks like.
Um, and it's something that wecan pour it along for the show
(22:40):
notes, Brittany.
Um, but it really goes intodepth of, of, you know, how this
hook is constructed and what'sspecial about it.
Brittany (22:48):
That would be great.
I would love to include that inthe show notes so a listener
can go and see it after they'veheard it.
Now, we mentioned a little bitabout the hook itself.
You said in her article shetalks about the taper and that
sort of thing.
Is there anything that you canadd to that or maybe talk about
(23:09):
here in the episode about thehook itself, the shape?
What can somebody expect?
Rick (23:16):
Yes, I think, you know, what's interesting about us is
that at the same time, it's aninline hook, but it's also
tapered.
It's more like a hybrid.
So if I could read a review, itsays at first glance, the
throat of the Laurel Hill hookmight look tapered, but upon
(23:40):
closer inspection, it seems tobe inclined.
Danny (23:43):
Inline.
Rick (23:44):
inline, excuse me.
However, it's actually a littlebit of both.
The throat itself is tapered,but the lip is in line with the
throat, not situated above thethroat.
So it seems to be the perfectbalance between the two styles.
And I understand just verballyspeaking this, it's so difficult
(24:05):
to understand.
But as Danny said, we'llinclude include some diagrams in
the show notes and a completereview so the listeners can
really take a good look andunderstand this better.
Brittany (24:17):
Okay, yeah, that would be great.
And from a crocheter'sperspective on that, that's sort
of music to my ears because thereason I ask this question is
more often knife grips are drawnto tapered hooks because it
just flows better.
That's my own personal style,so that's what I tend to
gravitate towards.
And the inline hook seems toattract pencil grips, which I
(24:41):
have tried for the life of me todo that and just can't seem to
pick up that skill.
So knowing that it's acombination of the two, I feel
like you're giving them aproduct that it doesn't
distinguish between one crochetstyle versus the other.
I have tried another crochethook that uses this that has
(25:04):
sort of like a tapered and aninline sort of in one.
And I actually really enjoyworking with that.
So that tells me that I mightalso really enjoy working with
your hooks.
So that's really good.
Like I said, I'm totally goingto try these out.
Rick (25:20):
Well, thank you.
And the way the thumb rest isdesigned, it flattens out at the
widest point.
So it allows you theflexibility to do it the way you
want to do it.
Brittany (25:34):
That's very cool.
That's important, too, forsomebody who's choosing a tool
that they're going to use forthousands upon thousands of
stitches.
And that same motion, you know,it...
It's really important to have atool in your hand that's
comfortable to work with asyou're sort of putting your
(25:56):
hands and your wrist throughsome repetitive, stressful
motions.
Danny (26:02):
Yeah, I'd love to just build on that topic.
You know, we see so many peopletalking about yarn, and they're
always talking about what yarnthey got and just in the– You
know, in the online community, Ialways see that.
And it blows us away how fewpeople are talking about the
tools that they use.
The tools are there with youevery step of the way.
(26:23):
You know, even project toproject, you're switching out
yarn, but the hooks are in yourhand every project.
So we're really focused on thehooks and the tools that people
use in their projects.
Brittany (26:35):
Yes, and it's something that is going to last.
I've had crochet hook sets foryears and years, and I wouldn't
think about replacing them orgetting rid of them.
It's sort of an investment, butit's, I don't know, it's a
process that you need to put asmuch thought into as you do
(26:56):
planning your projects, if thatmakes sense.
Rick (27:00):
I would totally agree.
And if you're using an heirloomquality tool, especially when
you're learning, you're going toenjoy it more at the beginning,
which will keep you with thehobby longer as opposed to just
being frustrated and throwing itagainst the wall.
Brittany (27:19):
Right.
And when you're using a hookthat's not right for you or that
isn't easy for you to workwith, you'll never continue
because you're alreadyfrustrated from learning.
And then you've got this thingin your hand that might not be
right for you.
It might make it seem like,you're never going to get it.
But in reality, if you just hadthe right hook, then you would
(27:41):
love it and you would continuedoing it.
So I do like to put focus onthe hook too and help people to
find what's right for them, notnecessarily what the perfect
hook is.
I have a lot of listeners askme and viewers of my YouTube
channel, they'll say, Brittany,I want to buy the hook that you
use.
And I tell them, I'll sharewhat hook I'll use and I love
(28:06):
it, but it may not be right foryou.
It's part of the process.
You have to try differentvarieties and see what works and
see what is easiest for you towork with because your stitching
style might be completelydifferent from mine.
So I think that's important toknow from the start, and
(28:28):
especially bringing that back towooden hooks.
If somebody has tried thembefore and didn't like that
particular one, that's certainlyno reason to dismiss all wooden
hooks.
Rick (28:41):
I think that's a great observation and would be very
helpful to your listeners.
And in that vein...
On our site, of course, we loveour Laurel Hill hooks and we
say that they're the best on theplanet, but that doesn't mean
there aren't other great hooksout there for people to use for
(29:02):
different reasons.
And on our website, we have asection called Other Hooks where
we have a comprehensiveoffering of everybody else's
hooks because, again, we want tobe as inclusive as we possibly
can.
And we also like the fact thatthey can take our Laurel Hill
(29:23):
hook and then stack it upagainst another manufacturer.
And then the whole goal isreally to keep the industry
thriving.
And if the people can findthings that they like, they're
going to stay with the hobbylonger and we're all going to do
better.
Brittany (29:40):
Exactly.
A rising tide lifts all boats.
Rick (29:44):
There you go.
Brittany (29:47):
Well, I have to be honest, I'm a little more
partial to working with sort oflike a metal alloy or that sort
of thing.
So for somebody who is in myshoes and they know I sort of
always lean towards metal hooks,let's Just share some of the
(30:07):
benefits of working with woodenhooks, maybe something that we
haven't thought of before.
Why should somebody considergiving that a try?
Danny (30:17):
Well, I will say, and I think this is a concession, that
one of the main benefits of thehook is just aesthetic.
It's beautiful.
It's a beautiful hook.
But one thing I'll say aboutchoosing your wooden hooks is
that not all are made the samein terms of the polish,
especially.
So that's one thing that wesee.
(30:37):
People will say, I don't wantto use a wooden hook because I
think it'll catch.
And so that is true with somewooden hooks.
But with ours, they're handpolished.
They're very smooth.
And that's a very importantpart of making a wooden hook.
So a lot of times when peoplesay, you know, wooden hook isn't
for me, they're gettingliterally caught up on the fact
(30:58):
that it's not smooth enough.
health.
And then as far as thefunctional aspects, there are
some cases where you need a verysturdy piece of metal to do
what you're doing with the yarn.
You're going to put so muchtorque on it that it could break
a wooden hook.
But we find that the percentageof people that are doing that
(31:20):
kind of work is usually prettylow.
And it's usually specific typesof stitches where you really
need to go in there and pullsomething hard.
Dad, do you
Rick (31:31):
have anything else to add here?
No.
No, you're doing a real goodjob.
There are some people that havean enormous amount of tension
when they crochet.
And that's just the way theyare.
And in our smaller sizes, theycan break the head.
And it's very unusual.
(31:53):
And we give them another hook.
All our hooks are guaranteedfor a year.
And then if they continuouslydo that, wood hooks are not for
them.
It's just not for their style.
And that's okay.
We have metal hooks for thosepeople.
(32:13):
So it's best to try.
We always say try it, you'lllike it.
It's just an old catchphrase.
But until you actually put itin your hand and try it on a
specific project or just make aswatch, you're really not going
to know what that experience islike.
And one thing I should say isyou can't just try it for five
(32:38):
or ten minutes.
You know, give it a few hoursand get used to it and then make
an educated
Brittany (32:46):
decision.
Or a full project even.
That's usually what I try to dowhen I am testing out a new
hook.
I make it a point to finish aproject with it because you
really don't get the feel for itunless you're finishing
hundreds and maybe eventhousands of stitches.
Rick (33:04):
Yeah, there's a lot of muscle memory that goes into
that.
And you can't give it a testdrive for 10 minutes and make an
educated decision.
I agree with you 100%.
Brittany (33:18):
For sure.
Now, Danny mentioned somethingelse that brings up an
interesting topic, and that'sthe polish and then the tension.
There's got to be arelationship between the two.
Can you elaborate on that alittle bit more?
Rick (33:33):
Absolutely.
As Danny mentioned, all thesehooks are sanded.
And then they're polished.
And then there's a polyurethanethat allows it to slide.
But it has to be perfectlysmooth before that polyurethane
is put on there.
And what's really interestingis that when someone knits with
(33:58):
wool over a period of time, itactually smooths it even more.
You can tell when someone'smade 200 chemotherapy caps, you
can see the difference of itwhen they've done that and when
we issue it to them.
It just looks more polished.
(34:20):
You're actually polishing itbecause the wool has some fiber
in it that's abrasive, andthey're actually better.
years later than when you firstget them.
Brittany (34:35):
That's very interesting.
What about your experience withsome of the other fibers, maybe
acrylics or cottons or thatsort of thing?
Do you see the same effect withthose?
Rick (34:45):
We really do, and to be honest, I've never measured it.
I always say wool because I seethe most of that, and cotton.
The only question I would havewould be acrylic.
I really don't know aboutacrylic.
But still, I would think thatthe rubbing on the surface would
(35:07):
polish it.
But I think like a wool orcotton would be the best.
Brittany (35:14):
Okay.
So perhaps somebody who likesto crochet with those types of
fibers, this seems like it wouldbe a really great fit.
Rick (35:25):
Absolutely.
And, you know, what we talkedabout earlier is I think that
everyone should try one.
You know, we don't have anyminimums.
They can go online to our site,order one hook and see if it's
right for them.
Brittany (35:40):
Yeah, and we will definitely include the
information in the show notespage.
So after you've listened, ifyou're ready to give this a try,
and I will take the challengewith you, because like I said,
I'm a woman of my word.
I want to give these a try andsee if I love them better than
any of the other wooden hooksthat I've tried.
Because the great thing aboutthe knit and crochet industry is
(36:04):
that there are so many creativepeople in the industry that we
have an endless supply ofresources and why not why not
give it a try and you never knowif if you could find your next
favorite hook so I will take thechallenge with you and the the
last question that comes to mindis sort of taking it back again
(36:29):
to the crocheters style whatabout a crocheter who has maybe
some issues with hand fatigue orarthritis or that sort of
thing, are there any addedbenefits to using a wooden hook
for these people?
Rick (36:45):
Absolutely.
And it's not just the hook, butit's the thumb rest.
I would say the unique thumbrest on our hook is what sets it
apart.
And again, I have to givecredit to the Crochet Guild of
America because they We just hada straight shaft when we first
(37:05):
made hooks and they're the onesthat encouraged us to help their
population.
And it really started a wholecategory for us because we now
have a category that's justarthritis friendly tools.
And we looked throughout thewhole industry, and we grouped
(37:26):
them together to make it easyfor people that have problems
with repetitive stress syndromeor arthritis.
So it really inspired us to tryand help as many people as we
could.
And we're also amazed of howmany people experience it,
especially when they crochetedfor 20 plus years it seems to be
(37:51):
a cumulative type of uhsyndrome so we've again we've
learned a lot from justlistening and getting feedback
from people that have been doingthis for a very long time
Brittany (38:04):
okay yeah very good to know Now, I want to do
something a little bit, well,not totally different.
We've been experimenting withit here on the show for a couple
of weeks now.
I love to, you know, think ofas many questions as I think a
listener might have, but whatbetter way to have their
(38:25):
question answered than to havethem provide it themselves.
So I will typically post anInstagram story with the sneak
peek of the guests.
So I highlighted you allyesterday in an Instagram story
and gave them the opportunity toask you their questions.
So I would love to get to a fewof those.
Rick (38:45):
Sure.
That's great.
Brittany (38:48):
All right.
So the first one comes fromFrench Fry 213.
She wants to know if they areavailable at major craft stores.
Rick (38:59):
You know, we don't sell to major craft stores, and let me
tell you why.
Because these are handmade, wecan't make the type of
quantities to offer them to amajor craft store.
So we sell mostly to end usersonline at our own site.
(39:21):
And we also have a distributorthat sells to retail yarn
stores.
And of course, we love theretail yarn stores because those
people are teaching otherpeople how to crochet.
And we find them to be a veryvaluable component to this whole
industry.
But we can't sell light to aMichael's because if the demand
(39:46):
is so high, we can't fill it.
It's just the way wemanufacture them.
We don't just spit them out.
Danny (39:54):
Yeah, so to get Laurel Hill hooks, people would go to
our website, which islaurelhillonline.com.
That's where we sell to endusers.
And then there are some smallershops around the world that
also carry our hooks.
Brittany (40:08):
Okay, good to know.
And that sort of answersGwendolyn 50's question of where
you can actually purchase thehook.
So I will have a link to yourwebsite in the show notes page.
I know you have a lot ofdifferent resources on there.
So what I would like to do isinclude the main page, but then
also include where you can lookfor these hooks specifically,
(40:31):
the Laurel Hill wooden hooks.
Rick (40:33):
Great.
That'd be wonderful.
Thank you very much.
Brittany (40:36):
Awesome.
Okay.
Rick (40:38):
One thing, you know, we always kid each other is we're
the best kept secret in thefiber arts industry.
And that's not a good thing.
Brittany (40:48):
Well, the secret's out now.
Great.
Okay.
So our next question comes fromStitched X Steph.
Will the varnish wear off overtime and expose splinters?
Rick (41:01):
Yeah, I think Dad kind of touched on that.
I touched on it, but there wasonly one woman who, again, was a
knots of love person whoactually wore out a size K
crochet hook.
I was amazed.
Of course she sent it back, andof course we sent her three
(41:23):
back to her.
We were amazed.
So it is possible.
And she did it.
That was not a defectivecrochet hook.
She just did so much crochetingthat it is possible, as we
learned from this one woman, towear the varnish off.
(41:45):
But that's one out of 19 years.
Brittany (41:51):
So not very common then.
That's good toknow. Alright right now
"colorful hooker" wants to knowhow to make them not squeak.
Rick (42:01):
You know i must be honest i've never heard that one before
Brittany (42:05):
yeah
Rick (42:06):
but there is a company and we actually offer it i think in
our accessories it's a needlewax it's a needle and hook wax
uh-huh And I'm pretty sure it'smade out of beeswax and other
natural wax products that youcan actually put on the hook,
(42:28):
which will actually make it goeven faster.
And I don't know if it willtake the squeak out or not,
because I've never heard of thesqueak before.
Have you heard about thatbefore?
Brittany?
Brittany (42:41):
I have seen it firsthand with plastic crochet
hooks.
It does have a squeak to it.
Rick (42:47):
With plastic?
Brittany (42:49):
Yeah, on plastic.
So I...
I can't say that I haveexperienced that too much with
wooden hooks.
My experience from using thatmaterial is more the drag on the
yarn from the hook.
So I feel like I have to work alittle bit harder, which for
me, that sounds like it's moreof a tension issue.
(43:10):
I know that I crochet moretightly than a lot of people, so
I'm putting more tension on it.
Plus, I'm sure the polishingcomes into play too.
And I've...
It probably depends on the hookitself and the production and
that sort of thing.
Rick (43:27):
Yeah, again, I've never...
And I'm trying to remember.
It's kind of loud in tradeshows, as you know.
But I've never heard our woodhook squeak.
And it's probably because ofthe sanding and the...
polyurethane keeps it verysmooth.
(43:51):
So it doesn't ever pull thatmuch, which would create a
squeaking sound.
Brittany (43:56):
Yeah.
I wonder if there's somethingto the fiber on that as well.
I could see where certainacrylics and maybe even cotton,
because I know cotton squeaks alot more with plastic.
I wonder if the fiber hassomething to do with it, the
interaction between the polishand your tension and the hook
(44:16):
itself.
Rick (44:17):
Wow, it's really interesting.
You know, I would suggest thatshe should try a little needle
wax and see if that eliminatesthe problem for her.
Brittany (44:27):
Okay, I will link to that.
That is something that I havenot heard of, so I'm interested
to check that out myself.
Rick (44:34):
Great.
Brittany (44:35):
All right, so our next question comes from Unwind by
Luane.
They want to know what to lookfor and what to ask for when
choosing a wooden hook.
Danny (44:47):
I would say the polish.
As I talked about earlier, thebiggest complaint that we hear
from other wooden crochet hooksis that it catches on the yarn.
And so the fact that we arehand polished and such a smooth
hook is something, probably ourbest selling point compared to
other wooden providers.
Brittany (45:09):
Okay, that's a good tip.
So is there anything like aspecific type of of varnish that
they should look for?
Is that something that'snormally disclosed?
Rick (45:20):
No, it really wouldn't be.
I think really what they needto do is just pick it up and try
it.
There's nothing like your ownpersonal experience.
It's so hard to see somethingon a hookboard and just saying
this is going to work for me ornot work for me.
(45:41):
We encourage all the storesthat carry our hooks to put them
on a table with a few differentyarns and just let the people
touch them and use them.
And that's really the only wayyou'll know if it's right for
you.
Brittany (45:57):
Yeah, and that's a great piece of advice to end on.
If there is one thing that...
Yes.
Yes.
Rick (46:32):
Couldn't agree more.
And it's amazing how loyalpeople become to the hooks that
they like.
They will fight you for them.
Once they know what works forthem, they'll come back to you
for years and years and years.
And that's why it's soimportant that they try
different things.
Brittany (46:53):
Yes.
Well, this has been a reallywonderful conversation.
Who would have thought that youcould talk so much about wooden
crochet hooks, but we were ableto capture so much stuff that I
never even thought of.
And again, like I said, Idefinitely want to give these
hooks a try.
(47:14):
So thank you for theopportunity to share this with
my audience as well as theopportunity to open my eyes to
another fun hook.
So thank you.
Rick (47:25):
Well, again, thank you so much for this exposure, for the
opportunity to tell you aboutwood hooks and really how
comprehensive it is.
It's not just picking up onething.
It's like learning about awhole new thing.
Brittany (47:42):
Very true.
And that is my biggest takeawayfrom this conversation is just
that.
And not all wooden hooks arecreated equal.
Rick (47:51):
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Can we use that?
Brittany (47:55):
Yes.
Yes, you certainly can.
Rick (47:57):
Thank
Brittany (48:00):
you.
And one more time, too.
Can you let our listeners knowwhere they can see these hooks
and where they can give them atry?
Danny (48:10):
Absolutely.
You can find us atlaurelhillonline.com.
You can also follow us onInstagram at
laurelhillknitcrochet.
And as far as in person, it'skind of state by state, place by
place.
So we'd encourage you, yeah, goto your local yarn shop and ask
(48:30):
for us.
And, you know, always, we'realways available online as well.
Brittany (48:36):
All right.
Well, thank you, Rick.
Thank you, Danny.
This has been wonderful.
Rick (48:39):
Thank you so much, Brittany.
Thank you, Brittany.
Greatly appreciate it.
Brittany (48:45):
All right.
That was Rick and Danny fromLaurel Hill.
Aren't they such an incredibleteam and just so helpful?
I'm so excited I had theopportunity to connect with them
and to share their wisdom aboutwooden crochet hooks.
Now, remember, you can findthat post that Dani referred to
in the show notes, and I'llinclude a link to the Laurel
Hill crochet hooks, the ones weprimarily spoke about today, so
(49:08):
that you can check them out foryourself.
Now, I was serious earlier whenI said that I'm taking the
challenge with you.
If you're not a typical woodencrochet hook user, let's take
this challenge together.
You know that I haven't foundthe right wooden hook, but I'm
happy to report that theseLaurel Hill crochet hooks are on
their way to me as I'mrecording this, and I cannot
(49:30):
wait to give them a try.
Now this episode was sponsoredby my Blueprint course, Tunisian
Crochet for Beginners.
If you're looking to changethings up a little bit and try a
new set of skills, Tunisiancrochet is a really great way to
go.
This course will walk youthrough the basics of Tunisian
crochet and help you completeyour first three Tunisian
(49:52):
crochet projects.
So to see the course detailsand to sign up, visit
bhooked.com slash tcfb.
That's Tunisian crochet forbeginners.
And I look forward to teachingyou this new skill.
All right, that'll wrap up thisweek's episode.
Thank you so much for tuningin, for subscribing, and of
(50:12):
course for submitting yourquestions for Rick and Dani
through my Instagram stories.
By the way, if you want to getin on that, you'll need to
follow me on Instagram atBeHooked and keep an eye on my
stories.
When I'm about to speak to aguest, I'll post a story where
you can submit your question.
It'll be a little box rightthere on your screen and you can
just type in your question andhit submit.
(50:33):
Sound good?
Okay, now have a wonderfulweekend and I will see you next
week.
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