September 12, 2019 • 65 mins
You don't have to be a designer to use your surroundings to inspire projects.
Truth is, you can inject little aspects of you, your likes and your world into anything you make. This episode and my chat with Vincent from Visuvios Crafts opened up my eyes to unique ways to find inspiration for projects and I'm even more energized to start something new.
So whether you publish your designs or you just like to free style projects for your self or others, we can all benefit from Vincent's unique perspective on finding inspiration from the world around you.
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 Oaked Podcast, episode
133, with Brittany.
Well, hello there and welcometo episode 133 of the Be Hooked
(00:36):
podcast.
You know, the place where wejust love yarn, we love to
learn, and we truly believe yarncan do more for us than just
make pretty things.
And we're sort of talking alongthose lines again today,
specifically addressingdesigning and where you draw
inspiration from.
And I have a really specialguest who can share that with us
(00:57):
in such a differentperspective.
Now, we talk a lot aboutdesigning here.
We talk a lot aboutinspiration.
I find it really interesting tosee where designers get their
inspiration from.
So even if an episode isn'tabout designing, I like to add
that in there just to see wherethey get their inspiration
because I know it can help younot just as a designer, but even
(01:19):
as a creator.
Well, I was just completelysurprised by Vincent's responses
to where he gets hisinspiration from.
It's completely innovative.
It's different and it'sactionable.
He knows I'm a steps kind ofgal.
I love to break things downstep by step.
He was able to do thatperfectly.
(01:39):
So this is one of thoseepisodes where if you are a
designer, you're trying to findyour place in the creative
community, you probably want totake notes.
Now, before we get to allthings inspiration and how to
translate that into a designwith Vincent from Vesuvius
Crafts, I want to let you knowthat the show notes can be found
at behooked.com slash 133.
(02:01):
I'll have the links toVincent's website.
And his Instagram handles, youcan connect with him there.
But it's also a really greatplace for you to leave your
comments and your questions.
Down at the bottom of thatpage, there's a comment section,
and that's where we cancontinue the conversation after
this episode happens.
We can talk about ourinspiration for where we get our
(02:24):
designs, and you'll hear me addsome of my design inspiration
little tidbits in there as well.
But I'm really more interestedin where you get your
inspiration from.
So after listening to the show,if you want to head over to the
show notes, behooked.com slash133, scroll down to the show
notes page.
Tell me where you get yourinspiration from as a designer
(02:45):
or just as somebody who'screating something from nothing.
You don't have to be a designerand publish them to really
utilize these tips for where tofind inspiration from.
All right, now this is a goodone.
I'm super excited about it.
Here's my chat with Vincent.
Vincent, hi, welcome to theshow.
I have been waiting for thisone for so long.
I'm excited you're here.
Vincent (03:06):
I'm so glad to be here as well, Brittany.
Thank you for having me.
Brittany (03:11):
Yes, it's been a long time coming.
You and I met in Chicago lastyear at the Our Maker Life
event.
And I think we talked at thatpoint about having you on the
show and, you know, how lifejust gets a little bit crazy.
And here we are, like, actuallyover a year later, and we
finally have you here.
So I'm excited about it.
Vincent (03:31):
Yeah, me too.
I'm very excited.
I was like, A littlestarstruck.
I was like, oh my gosh, it'sBrittany.
Like she's here at Our MakerLife and I'm getting to meet her
in person.
So yeah, it was a lovelyexperience for me as well.
Brittany (03:45):
Oh my gosh.
And that's so funny.
That's so funny to hear becauseI'm just me, you know, just
little old me.
I don't really feel likespecial or anything like that.
But it's really interestingwhen you're in people's feeds,
you know, on Instagram and whenyou're on YouTube and that sort
of thing.
You do sort of develop thatfeeling or that sense for
(04:11):
people.
I know I have that as well.
There's a couple of YouTubechannels that I really watch.
There's a couple ofentrepreneurs that I really
admire.
And I think if I ever saw anyof them in person, I would be so
geeky and would probably make afool of myself.
So I get it.
Yes.
Vincent (04:29):
Yes.
Brittany (04:30):
Well, what have you been up to in a year?
It's been a long time.
I know you're designing a lotof things.
So what have you done since OurMaker Life?
Vincent (04:39):
Oh, gosh.
So within this past year, I'vepretty much designed and
released about 10 differentpatterns between like that Our
Maker Life and this year's OurMaker Life.
Sadly, I was not able to get aticket, but that's okay.
That brought about my one of mylike most recent designs that
(05:01):
was inspired by the speakers whowere there so that's what i've
been doing and it's been a realjoy to like create and
collaborate with all the othermakers and big businesses within
the fiber industry so i meanlike when i say big businesses i
mean like line brand or umlovecraft's people like that as
well as like jessica of the hooknook i um Did a design for her
(05:23):
blog that was really fun.
It was like 50% knitting and50% crochet all in one design.
So it was really cool to beable to like teeter totter
between the two crafts in onepiece of fabric.
And then I collaborated withlike Claire of Ottoman Indigo,
whose yarns I had loved formany, many moons.
(05:46):
And then Jake of Is That KenYarn?
Brittany (05:50):
Oh, cool.
Okay.
That's really interesting.
You know, for the first time Istarted knitting and crocheting
in the same project, that was somuch fun.
It was a challenge because whenyou're knitting stitches, it's
so much thinner and like thedrape is a lot better than it is
with crochet.
So I found it reallychallenging, but it was a fun
(06:13):
challenge.
Vincent (06:14):
Yeah.
I'm glad to hear that otherpeople are starting to do that
because I hadn't seen it in anyother designs.
And I was like, I wonder howthis will work out if you place
them together in one object andit's not just like you have a
crochet edging on like a wholeentire knit garment.
(06:35):
So I agree.
Brittany (06:37):
I have been challenged by my YouTube community to
create a garment or some kind ofwearable that blends knitting
and crochet.
And I'm like, oh gosh, you guyswould suggest that.
I'm really happy.
But at the same time, I'm like,wow, that is going to be really
challenging for me as adesigner and as a creator, just
(06:57):
because there's so much thatgoes into garments and making
them fit properly for differentbody types and different sizes.
And then you've got differentgauge to work with.
I don't know if it will beanytime soon, but I'm certainly
accepting the challenge fromthem.
So I do plan to do moreknitting and crochet projects in
(07:18):
one.
I feel like for me, it's areally good way to blend those
two things.
Like I've been crocheting for along time and doing the
patterns for a long time.
And I really added the knittingpart Yeah.
Wow.
(07:40):
I was like, oh my gosh, I haveto share this with other people
because I can't possibly be theonly one who totally gets
crochet, but does not getknitting.
And when it clicked, I'm like,man, I got to share that.
(08:02):
But it's a little bit trickybecause they're two very
different things.
And it can be a little bitconfusing for people coming in.
They're like, oh, you're thecrochet person.
You do a lot of that stuff, buthere you are knitting and
that's kind of confusing.
So I think putting the two intoone project is a good way to
Yes.
Yeah.
Vincent (08:39):
Yes, I completely agree.
Brittany (08:42):
Yeah.
So I don't want to get too offtrack with that.
I know we're going to talk alot about designing and your
inspiration.
You've done a lot of, well, yousaid you've done 10 designs in
a year.
That's a lot.
That's a ton of work.
I know so much goes into that.
So you have done this sort ofcreative process over and over
(09:02):
and we'll get there.
But I really want to know alittle bit about your backstory.
Yeah.
How long you've been crochetingand how did you learn?
Vincent (09:11):
So I've been crocheting for about nine, almost 10 years
now.
Granted, I was making likelittle swatches on and off for
the first few years.
So it wasn't like a super bigcompleted garments in the first
few years, but nine to 10 years.
And I originally got startedbecause my grandma taught me the
(09:34):
chain when I was really areally little kid, but I didn't
really take it any further thanthat.
It was just like the initialcrochet chain and then I was
like, okay, I'm going to gooutside now and then years later
I learned like the bare bonesbasics from some old books and
they had like these kind ofcrappy black and white photos
(09:56):
that didn't really help me getfrom photo A to photo B but I
somehow pieced it together andlike learned what yarn over and
like pull through and you havelike three live loops on your
hook now like I learned all ofthat eventually And it really
(10:17):
was tricky learning from a bookbecause having a person there to
tell you, like, no, that'swrong in the middle of those
steps is, like, so, so helpful.
And then eventually, like, Ilearned from YouTube, which was
so much more helpful than books.
So I had been, like, scouringall of the Internet and...
(10:38):
I eventually came across yourYouTube channel.
Oh, hey.
Yeah, and so I had watched alot of YouTubes before that, but
in that, like, stumble down,like, the YouTube black hole, I
had stumbled across yourbeginner crochet series, I want
to say, like, maybe four or fiveyears ago, and that really
(10:59):
helped solidify all the littleskills that I thought I knew,
but it really helped, like,Yeah, I think
Brittany (11:19):
that's the best of both worlds.
I was never one to really learnthrough books and still am not
today.
I would really love to try likemacrame and that sort of thing.
And my mom did that many, manyyears ago.
And I think that's the best ofboth worlds.
She let me borrow some of herbooks and she was like, this is
how I learned.
You can make some really coolthings.
And I had the books for a whileand man, I just couldn't
(11:41):
connect the dots.
My brain just doesn't work thatway.
So thank God for you too.
But I think that's cool thatyou were able to sort of do the
hardest part first.
Like the learning through thebooks is definitely more
difficult.
And then you were able to justhave confidence in what you
taught yourself that you weredoing it right through the
videos.
Vincent (12:00):
Yes.
Brittany (12:02):
Nowadays, well, actually, I want to go to
knitting, too, because you alsoknit.
Now, did you knit first or didyou crochet first?
Vincent (12:12):
So I crocheted first and I would see like these
gorgeous patterns and I'm like,oh, I want to make that.
And then I would.
click it and eventually, theseare free patterns at this point.
As a college student, didn'thave the budget for that, but I
would see these free patternsand I would click on them and
then start to read it.
(12:33):
And I'm like, oh, this saysthat this pattern is knit.
I don't know how to knit.
I know how to crochet.
So after like hitting the walla couple of times with patterns
that I was so set on making, Iwas like, well, time to go ahead
and teach myself how to knitbecause I saw this heavily
cabled wrap and I was like,that's a me-sized scarf.
(12:54):
So I want to be able to gooutside in the morning with the
horses because I was studyinganimal science in school.
And in the morning here inGeorgia, it's pretty icy.
It's not like snow, but it'sicy.
So when I saw that, I was like,ooh, that cable knit wrap would
be perfect.
So off to the races I went andI started to learn how to knit.
(13:17):
So it was definitely trickycoming from one hook to having
two needles because, like, themechanics, I just...
really, really different whenyou compare them, even though
they're similar in the fact thatwe use yarn.
It was just really, reallydifferent.
And I learned continental easy,like the continental style
where you have the yarntensioned in your left hand.
(13:37):
Because all the videosoriginally had English, and I
didn't know that there was adifference.
I just saw people holding it intheir right hand and wrapping
the yarn.
And I was like, what is thissorcery?
I don't understand.
Yeah.
Brittany (13:51):
That's funny.
So did you learn throughYouTube or did you go to books
for that?
Vincent (13:55):
YouTube.
Immediately YouTube.
As soon as I started learningfrom YouTube, I never went back
to books.
I think the only thing that Iwould consider like book-ish or
like written word would be maybelike going to websites that
have like patterns ortechniques.
(14:15):
So sort of like written wordbut not like– a book.
It's more informative than justthe books.
Brittany (14:25):
Yeah, yeah.
I did the same thing.
I gravitated towardscontinental knitting first
because coming from crochet,that's what I knew.
I knew how to tension the yarnin my left hand or my
non-dominant hand.
Vincent (14:37):
Yes.
Brittany (14:38):
And I don't know.
I don't know when the shifthappened.
It was pretty early on.
I was watching– there's anotherYouTube channel.
I think it's wonderful.
Her name is Stacey with VeryPink Knits.
I'm sure so many people haveheard of her.
But I watched a lot of hervideos and she is a flick
knitter.
And I was like, ooh, that looksreally cool.
(14:59):
I want to try that.
So I did an entire project withthat style and I haven't went
back.
So I don't know.
It looks– Pretty weird probablyto see me tension the yarn in
my left hand with crochet andthen you watch my knitting
videos and you're like, what areyou doing?
Why are you holding it withyour right hand?
But for me, it just feels a lotmore natural.
(15:20):
But I do try to go back andforth because I know a lot of my
audience are crocheters.
I'm just so much more clunkyand slow with continental
knitting now.
Especially the purl stitch.
That one gets me.
I'm super slow atpurling continental.
Vincent (15:34):
Oh, wow.
Brittany (15:37):
Yeah.
Also, I heard that you havehorses and that you love horses.
I have to geek out about thatbecause my childhood was–
completely involved with horses.
I started riding.
I took riding lessons when,gosh, I think I was like six or
seven when I first started.
And I stuck with it all the wayuntil I was about 23, I think,
(16:05):
basically when I went to collegea little bit later than most
people.
So that was about the time thatI had already started college.
But I just really couldn't keepup with it anymore.
And I sold my horse at the timeand I am...
gosh, I would do anything tohave him back.
Right now, as we're recordingthis, he would be 22 if he's
(16:29):
still alive.
He's just the sweetest, mostbeautiful boy ever.
Vincent (16:34):
That's so cool.
It's really awesome when youcan connect with makers on, yes,
the yarn level, but then onceyou have connections outside of
that, it's even more exciting.
It's so cool to know thatyou're a horse person, too.
I went Oh, yeah.
(16:55):
Because I feel like that wouldjust fit me so well.
They're
Brittany (17:15):
so majestic and just beautiful.
So if you're listening andyou're like, what on earth are
you talking about?
If you've ever seen anyknight-style movies, you know,
the big, black, beautiful horseswith kind of like longer fur,
like longer hair around theirfeet and like a really long mane
and a really long tail, that'sa Frisian.
(17:37):
They're just gorgeous.
Vincent (17:39):
Yes. Perfect description.
Brittany (17:41):
yes so i had my horse was an appaloosa and he had one
blue eye and one brown eye andit was so cool i bought him as a
two-year-old he was a horsethat came through the barn that
i worked at i worked at thisbarn in the summer and bought
him as a two-year-old And let'ssee, that would have been in
(18:04):
2000.
I'm aging myself a little bithere.
And I kept him until I, gosh, Idon't remember how old he was
when I sold him, but I sold him.
I had him for several years.
So we showed together.
I trained him.
I was the one who broke him.
He was like the only horse thatdidn't throw me off and like
(18:25):
step on me.
Vincent (18:25):
Yeah.
Brittany (18:27):
Which I think is why it was a match made in heaven.
Yes.
Brother Dunn is his name.
Oh,
Vincent (18:33):
cool.
Brittany (18:34):
I wouldn't have done anything to have Bubba back.
Vincent (18:36):
yeah that's awesome
Brittany (18:38):
anyhow I'm going down a rabbit trail again here so at
some point your crocheting andyour knitting turned into more
than just something to occupyyour hands because nowadays
you're designing and you'republishing your own patterns so
when did you start doing thatlike what did that journey kind
of look like we're setting us uphere to transition now into
(18:59):
your like designing journey likehow you go from nothing to
something
Vincent (19:05):
Yeah, so...
Like you said, originally Istarted out with turning to
knitting and crochet as a way tosort of escape from my college
studies and just like decompressand relax because like
chemistry and things like thatwere really heavy and a lot of
(19:27):
mind work focusing on theclasswork.
And so it was really great toturn to knitting and crochet to
just relax and make littlesquares of things But then once
I got the hang of it, I startedmaking the physical products
like many people do makephysical products over and over
(19:49):
and over for maybe like amarket.
I didn't do too many of those.
I just kind of sold on my ownwebsite.
But now I've started to designand I published my first pattern
in 2017.
So that was really exciting forme.
I was actually very nervous todo that.
even though I love being ableto share my creations with other
(20:12):
makers in that way, in additionto selling physical items, it's
just something that'snerve-wracking about, like, will
people like this pattern?
Will they give it good reviews?
Or will nobody actuallypurchase it who's actually not
related to me?
Like...
Will random people buy this, orwill it just be like, my mom
(20:34):
bought my pattern?
And I'm thankful.
I'm thankful that my mom wouldbuy my pattern, even though she
doesn't knit or crochet, eventhough...
Um, she's not in the makerworld per se yet, cause I'm
going to teach her how to knit.
Um, yeah.
And I think she's going to getit.
I think she's going to get thehang of it really quickly.
Um, but it's cool when other,you feel, uh, that other people
(20:59):
resonate with your work.
So that was my first pattern in2017 and it was a cable knit
scarf.
So I didn't have to worry aboutlike all the tricky stuff, like
garments and waist shaping andbust and things like that.
But that was my first patternand it's it's really cool
because it connects you withother makers and at that point
(21:20):
in time I didn't have like agroup of people that I knew who
also crocheted or knit so it wasjust sort of like me and then I
found the like Instagramcommunity of makers and then I
was like oh there's more thanjust me there's not like yeah
Just me here.
Brittany (21:38):
Yeah.
That's really cool.
I like the– well, that's areally good tip there in itself
to start with something reallysimple when you're getting into
designing.
Gosh, my first– the firstcrochet pattern I ever
published, I'm not practicingwhat I preach here.
So it was a flower.
So it was worked with popcornstitches in the round.
And for me, it was prettysimple because I had made so
(22:02):
many of them.
But– I would say something likea scarf or a wrap or even a
shawl to some extent can bereally easy as your first design
because you're not workingwith, like you said, garments,
shaping, different sizes, andthat sort of thing.
Now, the maker and the designercommunity is really unique
(22:24):
because...
All of our individual stylestend to shape like what we
design and what we create.
And so that's why there's sucha big variety of things for
people to enjoy when they'reusing our free patterns, when
they're buying our patterns thatwe've put out there.
Vincent (22:41):
Yes.
Brittany (22:43):
When you started with scarves, you did that because–
or with a scarf because it wasso– simple it was really easy it
was probably something that youwanted for yourself did you
stick with accessories or um didyou did you shift your focus a
little bit so what type ofdesigns do you like to focus on
nowadays
Vincent (23:04):
yeah i agree um it is so cool being able to see all
the unique people um And likepeople's individual styles.
And that's sort of like what Ido now with the designs that I
focus on.
I try to relay my style, butalso give things that I feel
(23:25):
other people will connect to.
So I've been doing a lot ofbags as of late.
I really like that because...
You can wear them year-round,even when it's hot, and they're
very useful, they're veryfunctional, but you can also
make them very beautiful indesign.
I think my design aestheticwould probably include, like,
(23:48):
texture...
cable knit deliciousness andtapestry crochet wrapped up in
like a beautiful earth tonespalette.
I feel like that's sort of likemy wheelhouse.
So I've been designing shawlsand I'm working on some
sweaters, sneak peek, working onsome sweaters and I think bags.
(24:11):
So yeah, that's sort of like mywheelhouse my bread and butter
as of late
Brittany (24:16):
yeah and you know i have to ask this question
because my episode with ron hehe brought something to the
table that i had never eventhought about before he was
saying that his designs are verybright and very colorful and
that's what he was really knownfor but he said in all reality
(24:37):
like you'll probably find mewearing like a green shirt Yes.
Like pretty much every day.
So it's like his personalstyle, how he likes to dress and
probably the way he decorateshis home and that sort of thing
is different than the stuff hecreates.
Do you find that you're likethat or does your design sense
sort of match your personalstyle?
Vincent (25:01):
I would say it's like a mix of both for me.
Like I really love and– In myheart of hearts, I love a
neutral palette.
I love the grays and thingsthat you can wear every day, and
having those basics set outfirst, and then you can add on
(25:22):
your pops of color so you canhave a fun, funky shirt, but
then...
not have people like realizethat you wear this shirt maybe
like once a week once more thanonce a week and it's like oh you
love that tie-dye shirt so ilove to like translate that into
my designs as well somethingthat you can utilize as often as
(25:45):
you like but i also realize asa designer um it's fun to switch
things up with your color colorpalettes so that you can market
to different people um thereare some people who stay with
like that neutral i only workwith gray taupe black and white
and then there's some people wholike work with crazy colors and
(26:06):
i think i'm a little bit inbetween the both of those worlds
because i really love both buti realize i don't wear just one
color all the time even thoughmy favorite color too is green
um i've been working i've i Formy Twilight at Calgary bag, I
think you may have seen it.
(26:26):
It's like a really big tote bagthat I made, and it was in this
purple-y colorway, inspired byChantal of Nittitude, inspired
by her hair.
Brittany (26:36):
Oh, yeah.
Vincent (26:37):
And then the blue was inspired by her husband, Todd,
one of his shirts that he waswearing.
And so for me, that purple-ycolorway, my eyes would skip
right over that color.
But...
As a designer, it was reallycool to push myself outside of
my comfort zone of green,mustard, rust, and maybe
(27:00):
charcoal or black, and work withthat because it was really fun.
So yeah, hopefully I didn'tjust give a long tangent, but...
I think that answered yourquestion of my style of color
and things like that.
Brittany (27:13):
Yeah, it was super useful.
Now, I would have to say I tendto agree with that.
I feel like I'm pretty similar.
I am in this sort oftransitionary phase where I feel
like I'm really figuring outwhat I like.
I don't know if that's justsomething you figure out when
you're in your 30s, like all ofa sudden you know who you are.
But I feel like I'm goingthrough that right now.
And I– love like the the colorof my office for example is like
(27:39):
a powdery blue it's more oflike a powdery silver blue and i
just look at it and i just loveit and pair that with like a
blush color or sort of like acoppery orange like a real tone
down like a mute that's sort oflike the color palette that's in
here and i think because i'msurrounded by it every day um I
(28:02):
just am really, really drawn tothese colors.
So I'm tending to shift my yarnchoices in that direction.
But I still really love abright color.
I really appreciate avariegated yarn that has long
sweeping color changes and it'ssuper bright.
So every now and then I throwone of those in there.
(28:22):
But I do tend to like reallyneutrals now.
And that's sort of where I getmy inspiration from.
I think you get yourinspiration from a really unique
place, though.
And I want to kind of turn inthat direction now and start
talking about where you startwhen you want to create
something new and what yoursource of inspiration is.
Maybe you can repeat that, likehow you're using the makers.
(28:45):
And then if there's anothersource of inspiration, too.
Vincent (28:50):
Yeah.
Okay.
So in terms of my designing, Inormally pull inspiration from a
little bit of everywhere.
I normally start with what typeof design I want to create.
So like, is this going to be ashawl or is this going to be a
bag or is it going to be, I'mnot really like a hat person.
(29:13):
Like I realized I like makinghats for myself because I
realized I have a big head andlots of hair.
So it's It was really good tohelp me understand how to make a
hat for my head.
But I realized everybody likesto wear hats differently.
Some people like them snug.
Some people like them loose.
Some people like them slouchy.
So for me, I used to like avoidhats like the plague, but now
(29:36):
I'm a little bit more open toit.
So it's sort of like what doesI start off with?
What type of design I want tocreate?
Doesn't matter what it is.
And then I pull inspirationfrom like a number of places.
For the most part, you'llrealize that I am a big nature
kid.
I like a lot of the colors thatwe see in nature and flowers
(29:58):
and trees and like the water,different landscapes.
But I also like the motifs ofarchitecture so, so much.
It's I love researching thelittle details that are in
architecture from around theworld.
into my design.
(30:38):
I really like that.
maybe even like sounds.
So for me, I'm very much amusic person.
If you see me without myheadphones on, you're in for a
treat because I normally listento music very often.
So sometimes I get inspired bylike even a mood, like that
feeling you get when you're onvacation and you wake up to see
(31:01):
the sunrise as the birds arechirping and you're just like
sitting in the peace of thatexperience.
Like that can just inspire adesign for me out like so often.
It's wonderful.
So I think I pull inspirationfrom a lot of different places.
I know some people go to thestore, the mall, and see what's
(31:21):
on the shelves.
But for me, I pull inspirationfrom the things I feel and see
and listen to around me and inthe world.
Brittany (31:31):
Yeah, those are some really unique answers, too.
I have never really heard ofsomebody...
Drawing an inspiration frommusic and like a feeling.
That's really cool that you'reable to translate that feeling
into a project.
Do you have any advice on howto do that?
Do you think that's somethingthat anybody can do or do you
(31:52):
think that's just more of likeyour personality?
I
Vincent (31:57):
think...
It depends on the person.
I know some people are just notdesigners and they want you to
hand me the pattern.
I'll try to follow it to thebest of my ability.
But then I believe that in myheart of hearts, everybody can
design and pull from inspirationlike that.
It's not too tricky.
I feel like...
(32:18):
Let's say music.
Just looking at a piano, youcan pull inspiration from the
keys itself.
Like some of the keys are whiteand are longer than the black
keys, which are shorter in termsof like distance coming from
the body of the piano.
So you could...
Turn that motif of having ashort black line and then a long
(32:43):
white line and then a shortblack line, a long white line
into like the bottom of ablanket.
And it can be like this almost,you know how they represent
like music waves or sound waves?
where it's sort of like thoselines coming up from the bottom
of your screen.
You can translate that visuallyjust directly to a blanket, and
(33:06):
that can be the bottom inwhatever color you want it to
be.
It doesn't have to be black andwhite.
It could be your favorite colorcombination, and that could be
at the bottom of your blanket,and you can put that at the top
of the blanket.
And so you'll have a longrectangle with these sort of...
lines coming up towards themiddle and then you'll have that
(33:29):
on the bottom and top like youcan you can translate that to a
design literally it doesn't haveto be like an emotional
metaphoric translation it can belike a literal translation of
like what you see and that'sreally easy and really fun and
it's something that's supersimple and you can put that in
your home like it's notsomething that that may be just
(33:51):
like seasonal like it's not likea santa hat and you can only
use that during like thechristmas time or it's not like
um a hanukkah like motif thatyou can only use at a specific
time it's like something that'stimeless and that's just really
cool in terms of like color sothat's how like anyone can pull
(34:14):
inspiration from anywhere.
Hopefully that's helpful.
Brittany (34:17):
I think it is.
It sounds like it's more of aperspective shift.
It's not that you can't openyour eyes or maybe you just
don't realize these things, butyou're just maybe not trained to
think that way.
So I think if there's anybodywho's struggling with pulling
inspiration from around them,that just open your eyes a
(34:39):
little bit more and realize thatLiterally anything that you
see, you could potentially turn,you know, turn that into
something.
You could, like you said,seeing the, like the waveforms.
I feel like I totally missed iton that one because as a
podcaster, I see those waveformsevery single week.
But I never thought to put thatinto a project.
(35:02):
So it's just, I think someoneneeded to hear that in order for
them to say, oh, yeah, I couldtotally do that.
Vincent (35:11):
Yeah.
Good.
Brittany (35:13):
I'm excited.
Yes, I think it was veryhelpful.
So from there, what does yourdesign process look like?
Like from start to finish,you've got the inspiration.
What do you do next?
Vincent (35:26):
Okay, so I've got my inspiration and we're going to
go with this like piano blanketidea.
So I've got the inspiration.
I saw the piano and I want tocreate something from that
motif.
I'll start brainstorming theidea next.
So I'll write down as muchinformation as I can immediately
(35:47):
in my little design journal sothat I don't forget any parts of
my example.
So I'll just draw out therectangle really quickly and
that will work.
represent my blanket I don'thave to write dimensions right
now I'll just draw that out thenI'll draw lines representing
the waveform waveforms on likethe bottom and the top of the
(36:07):
blanket and then now I have likea rough sketch of the blanket
then I'll write down what kindof yarn do I want to use do I
want to use like an acrylic fora baby blanket because you want
like a new mom to not have toworry about like spit up and
like other kinds of things thatend up on blankets so you can
(36:28):
choose that or if you want tomake this like a super luxe
blanket that's like cashmere orjust like a super superwash
merino that you want to likelast generations as like
something for someone who's nota baby then you can write that
down um then after what type ofyarn i would think about like
(36:49):
what hook size is or if you'reknitting it what needle size is
because that will also impactyour fabric so think of like
like your yarn weights and thenthe combination of what hook
size or needle size you're usingwith that yarn weight So if you
have a larger than what isrecommended hook size with
(37:10):
hooks, that yarn weight, let'ssay worsted weight, and you go
up a hook size or two, that'llgive you a nice squishy fabric
that has a little bit more airin between the stitches.
And then that way you canenvision like, do I want this a
really dense fabric or do I wantit like a very squishy fabric
that'll keep me warm, but it'sstill like really soft next to
(37:34):
the skin.
That's what I write down withlike the hook size, the yarn, my
inspiration.
then I would start to focus onthe color palette and the The
dimensions.
There we go.
The hook size.
And then I would focus on thecolor palette and your
dimensions.
So if you want the blanket tobe like a twin size blanket or
(37:59):
you want it to be a throw orAfghan, or if you want it to be
like a me size blanket as a sixfoot two man, like if you want
to be able to wrap yourself upin a burrito and that sort of
size blanket, you can writethose sorts of things down.
So those are like all of thethings that I do in terms of
brainstorming.
then I'll take this like roughpencil sketch and then I'll
(38:22):
sketch it out digitally so thatI can draw my color combinations
on the actual sketch.
If you've seen any of thethings that I've done before,
like maybe my green whack-a-molebag, it's a color work bag.
So I really want it to be ableto draw out my colors on the bag
(38:43):
so that I can see, no, actuallyI don't like this as much as I
thought I would like it in myhead.
So I would do that for thepiano blanket, sketch it out
with the colors.
And that way you don't like buyall of this yarn and then you
don't like the colors together.
So That's inspiration, thenbrainstorming, and then the
sketch.
I would draw my sketches onpaper and digitally, but you can
(39:05):
just draw them out on paperwith colored pencils.
That's A-OK, too.
I think either way, justsketching it out and planning
before really helps your walletthank you instead of wanting to
fight you because you've boughtall this yarn and now you don't
like the colors together.
But then what you actually doby the yarn, I'd swatch it
because if you want your hook Ifyou envisioned a hook size and
(39:30):
you start working with it andyou don't like that fabric, then
you can adjust it with yourswatch.
And then you're off to theraces.
Then you're done.
That's what I would consider mydesign process from inspiration
to actually starting thesample.
Brittany (39:45):
Yeah.
I like that you put so muchpreparation into it because–
Yeah.
And then you realize thesethings and you're like, huh.
(40:15):
Okay, so if I would have spentlike an hour every day or so for
a few days to plan this outbeforehand, I now wouldn't have
to frog 10 hours worth of workbecause you're talking about a
blanket year.
So that's a lot of work thatyou're investing, a lot of time
that you're investing.
I think that's a really goodtip too as a designer because
especially if you're a maker, ifyou're selling your patterns
(40:38):
online, And you're depending onthat income.
You know, time is money.
Yes.
So a business is there to makemoney.
Yes.
As dirty as that might sound,you know, that's– That's the
reality of it.
People need to make money toearn a living, and some of us do
that with creating our designs,whether it's a full-time income
(41:00):
or a part-time income orsomething like that.
So you really do have to thinkabout the time that you're
investing into it to make surethat you are profitable because
you need to be profitable.
Vincent (41:13):
Yes, very important.
At the end of the day, we areall– yes, we are all makers, but
we are also all– businesspeople and we need to take that
side of our business intoaccount as well.
So I agree, it's veryimportant.
Brittany (41:29):
Yes.
Well, I like that you used theexample of a blanket here too
because that leads me perfectlyinto a question that somebody
had for you on Instagram.
And that's how do you not losesteam when you're working on a
big project?
Like do you think it'senjoyable the entire time or is
(41:50):
it more realistic to say thatyou have to push yourself and
kick yourself through that alittle bit?
Vincent (41:56):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, that's a good question.
So I've made like a couple ofhuge blankets, just like the one
we're envisioning now.
Like I did a Harry Potterblanket that was like crochet
color work for my brother who islike almost as tall as me.
So it definitely took a longtime to make that.
Or my like Black Pantherblanket that was like little
(42:18):
intricate details of likecrosses and triangles and things
like that, where it's likerepeating and it's so small and
it slows you But I really try tomake it an enjoyable
experience, especially whenyou're designing, when you are
designing something, you have tomake it enjoyable for you so
that the people who work yourpattern can also enjoy the make
(42:40):
it an enjoyable experience.
So I try to design things thathave.
interesting milestones to reachum whether it's a motif or a
colored way difference um orlike a difference in techniques
like i try to make itinteresting so like our piano
blanket you'll start off withmaybe just like a little wedge
(43:03):
at the bottom a little wedge ofmaybe all black so this is just
mindless double crochets andthis is just to get the blanket
started and you can see how wideit is and you're just working
up like a wedge of black thenyou'll be excited to reach the
point where you're actuallydoing like the thinking section
(43:27):
of the blanket when you're doinglike a background of white and
then a line of black that'sgonna be eventually turning into
your piano key.
But right now, as we're workingin like a printer fashion, so
row by row, it's just like alittle bit of white, a little
bit of black, a little bit ofwhite, a little bit of black, a
(43:50):
little bit of white, and so onand so forth.
So now you've gone from justhaving a double crochet
background of black to now doingsome fun math of just making
sure you have the pictureworking up properly.
And that's where the fun reallycomes in for me.
I get to see the picture cometo life or the motif print up
(44:14):
like a printer and it's cool tojust watch that and experience
that part.
So I really enjoyed thatmilestone.
And then after that littlewedge of the piano keys is done,
maybe in the center, you'llswitch back to just solid white
for the big chunk of theblanket, but we'll do some fun
(44:35):
texture stitches there.
And that'll keep, keep it freshand you won't think okay I've
been working on this piano keysection for two three weeks and
I don't know I don't think I canfinish this blanket but then
you get excited about the nextsection and then from the center
I would just do everything inreverse so you have your texture
(44:56):
stitches in the middle then youhave your piano key focus on
the math section and then youfinish off the blanket coasting
downhill with a black doublecrochet wedge at the end so So
that's how I like to keep itinteresting.
Switch things up, keepmilestones, keep it fun, make it
interesting with color.
Even when you work withvariegated yarn or hand-dyed
(45:19):
yarn, just seeing the colorstitch for stitch, seeing colors
fly through your fingers issuch a special experience.
So I would not even discountlooking at the difference in
each of your stitches, notfocusing on the overall picture
at first, but...
It can be like a stitch bystitch experience.
Brittany (45:39):
I love this tip.
I think it is so great forsomebody to think that way when
they're designing to havedifferent milestones.
I always sort of joke aboutthis, but there's so much truth
to it that when you're workingon something and you start to
get bored, change colors becauseit feels like a completely
different project at that point.
And those milestones arepowering you through those
(46:03):
bigger projects.
Vincent (46:05):
Yep, for sure.
Brittany (46:06):
Now, I also know that it's really important for you
personally to highlight thebeauty of being yourself through
your designs.
And I think that is one waythat we can really set ourselves
apart as designers and reallyfind what we have to offer this
community.
So how are you able toaccomplish this?
(46:26):
And how would you suggestsomebody accomplish this for
themselves in their own designs?
Vincent (46:33):
Okay, awesome.
So yes, I love telling peopleto like appreciate who you are,
highlight who you are throughyour designs.
And for me, I think the bestexample of highlighting my
personal style or just mypersonality would be maybe my,
(46:55):
one of my yoga mat bags that Idid last year.
There's this, there's, like agold and black bag that I've
done that has like a lotusflower on it.
And I love the colors.
The colors are very me.
And I feel like that's one wayto translate your personal style
into your work.
(47:17):
It's work with colors that youenjoy because without even
talking to you, someone justpassing by can sort of create
their own story Yes,stereotypes.
We don't want to fall intostereotypes, but they can create
their own story of who youmight be based on the colors
(47:38):
that you're wearing in a sweaterthat you've made or the colors
that you're wearing in a bagthat you've made.
Someone can...
Just get a story from just thecolors.
So that's one way you cantranslate who you are into your
work.
Another way that I translatedmyself into that specific bag
was the motifs that I used.
(47:58):
So as a little kid, I used toreally, really enjoy X-Men, like
the cartoon X-Men.
version of x-men yeah uh andthen i also really enjoyed my
parents took me to like disneywhen i was small and we got to
see lion king like the play
Brittany (48:18):
oh yeah that was my favorite movie
Vincent (48:20):
powerful. Oh Yay!
Brittany (48:21):
I love lion king.
I still know every single word
Vincent (48:25):
yes
Brittany (48:27):
but i haven't seen the play.
Vincent (48:28):
Be Prepared was my favorite.
Brittany (48:29):
Yes.
Vincent (48:31):
I don't know.
I think the villains, like theDisney villains, had so much
soul.
They were just somisunderstood.
But yes, that was a reallypowerful moment for me, seeing
the play and the actors actuallycoming out into the audience
and interacting with me.
That was very powerful for me.
(48:51):
So I combined both of thosethings that I enjoyed into my
design by...
Combining like this X motif onthe bottom to like translate
X-Men and then also have like anAfrican mud cloth motif sort of
in the body of the bag totranslate sort of my connection
(49:13):
to being an African American aswell as...
the love of Lion King and justthe things that I saw, the, the
fabrics, the textures, all ofthe colors, I translated all of
that and tried to combine thatinto one project.
And that's how I justhighlighted me as a person.
Like I love the African mudcloth vibe, but it's a yoga mat
(49:37):
bag because we're focusing onlike hell and just trying to,
you know, do self self care.
Um, and then X-Men just havingfun with enjoying, enjoying
yourself on a Saturday morning.
So that's how I highlightedmyself.
Um, and that's how I like toencourage other people to
highlight themselves, like put,put things that are special to
(49:59):
you and your design, um, be itlike a motif or just like a
texture or colors.
Like you can get those thingsto translate and create a story
without even having to speak tosomeone.
Um,
Brittany (50:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Now, I'm also curious aboutyour experience as a man in the
(50:36):
maker community.
That's something I don't reallyget to talk about a whole lot
because there seems to be a lotmore women who crochet than
knit, or at least that's how itlooks on the surface.
I would love to have more menon the show and just hear their
experience and that sort ofthing.
Do you think that has anyinfluence on your designs, your
(50:58):
inspiration and that sort ofthing?
Vincent (51:00):
I would say yes, yes and no sometimes.
So being a man in the makerindustry is very interesting
because from the outsideperspective, it does look like a
heavily woman-predominatedindustry.
Wow, is that the word?
(51:21):
Using a heavilyfemale-dominated industry.
Yes, that was correct.
It looks like a heavilyfemale-dominated industry, but
it's not that men aren't here.
So it was, for me, when I firststarted knitting and
crocheting, I too thought mendidn't just make their own
things when really, inreality...
(51:44):
If you needed to make somethingout of necessity, you were
going to learn how to knit orlearn how to crochet.
So there's always been menmaking things for themselves if
you needed to make something.
You just don't see that asheavily promoted nowadays.
And I don't know why that is.
Maybe going back to genderstereotypes and things like
(52:06):
that.
But I feel like it's...
not only is it creative, but itcan also be very functional and
utilitarian to be able to makesomething for yourself.
So I don't look at it assomething that's like girly.
It's like, this is cool.
I get to express myself.
I get to share my creativitywith other people.
(52:28):
And so as a man, it's veryinteresting to be able to, like
I explained with my, the yogamat bag, it's, It's cool to be
able to put the things that Irelate to as a six foot two
black man with long locks, likeput that into my creations and
(52:53):
the creation be able to stillresonate with somebody who
doesn't look like me, whodoesn't live in the same area as
me, or who doesn't have thesame background as me.
It's...
Things that I would have toworry about in terms of making
sure a lady feels comfortablewith my presence.
(53:15):
All of that discomfort ornervousness automatically goes
out of the window because we canconnect with yarn.
So my experience as a man hasbeen interesting because I have
to...
I have to honestly always thinkabout making sure someone feels
(53:37):
comfortable with my presence,not necessarily my crafts or my
creativity, but just my being issomething that I've learned to
navigate so that not only I feelwelcome and comfortable and
excited about being in thecrafting space, but that you
(54:02):
learn how to connect with otherpeople and make them feel
comfortable.
So I think as a man, I feltwelcome to begin with.
I didn't feel shameful aboutcrocheting or embarrassed that I
crocheted or knit, but it wasmore so understanding how to
navigate and make other peoplefeel safe and comfortable in
(54:22):
your space so that you canconnect on a deeper level.
And it's not anything like...
I am trying to go on a datewith you or like I'm trying to
get your phone number it's it'sliterally like we're here all
here to talk about yarn and havefun with that so that's my
experience as a man in themaking industry and it's been
(54:44):
very interesting
Brittany (54:44):
yeah I appreciate the perspective I think it's it's
really interesting to hear butyou know at the at the end of
the day crocheting and knitting,it's an art form.
And we're all artists.
We all share that.
We all share our love of yarn.
And I don't think it matters ifyou're male or female.
If you dig yarn and that's howyou like to express yourself,
(55:07):
the more the merrier.
I really want there to be moremale designers because...
we need more patterns forthings for men.
I know for me, it's difficultfor me to design men's things
because although I can use myhusband as sort of like my dress
(55:27):
form to take measurements andthat sort of thing, that's one
body type.
So I feel less qualified, Iguess, or less able to design
practical, fitting clothes malethings and i i really do feel
like there's a shortage of malehat patterns male sweater
(55:48):
patterns and that sort of thingand i think we could really use
that because i know that ifthere were more of those
resources available to me iwould be more likely to make
those things so i love it whenwe have a male designer in the
community
Vincent (56:01):
yeah me too i i also noticed that um there was slash
still sort of is a shortage ofmen's patterns.
So I'm very excited to try tooffer those things to the maker
community because in the past, Irealized I actually used to
(56:24):
modify women's sweater patternsso that I could wear them.
Yes, because I couldn't findmen's sweater patterns that I
liked.
So of course there weredesigners that I love, like I
love Jared Flood I love MichelleWang, but I didn't feel like
there were the same number ofvarious offerings as there are
(56:49):
for women's patterns.
So I would take a women'ssweater pattern and I would pull
the motif from the sweaterpattern.
And then I would put it on asilhouette that is flattering to
me.
Like I don't necessarily needany waist shaping or I don't
need any like shaping for dartsor like bust or anything like
(57:10):
that.
Like I don't need that.
Like it's kind of a boring tubesometimes, but like you can
still create things that flatterthe silhouette because I know
nowadays people like that broadshoulders look and then like
sort of a tapered, taper fromthe chest to the waistline.
That's the general silhouettethat you would see on most male
(57:36):
garments.
And so I would knit that shapefor myself, but then pop in the
motif so that I could still havemy little piece of fun and join
in on the excitement of thepattern, but still wear
something that does not actuallylook like I just...
bought like a lady's sweaterand put it on and they're like
(57:59):
oh okay that that waist shapinglooks real lovely on yes sir
Brittany (58:03):
yeah and that's another just creative
representation of how you findinspiration and turn that into
something that's useful for you
Vincent (58:12):
yeah
Brittany (58:14):
well Bringing it all together, you have given us so
many good tips about where tofind inspiration, how to turn
that into a design in like astep-by-step fashion.
I love that because I am asteps kind of gal, so you're
really speaking to my heart withthat one.
But out of all of the goodstuff that we've talked about
(58:34):
and all the tips that you'vegiven, what's your number one
tip for a listener to turn aninspiration into a design?
Vincent (58:41):
Okay, that's a great question.
My number one tip for all ofyou listeners to turn your
inspiration into a design at theend of the day is to live your
life and soak in the magic ofeverything around you, be it the
minute moments of the mundaneor the soul-shaking moments that
(59:02):
will live as cherished memoriesfor lifetimes or generations.
You can have inspiration in apuppy a happy puppy greeting you
as you come home from work orlike when you wake up the sun
shining through the leaves orlike being proposed to in like a
special way where you're likein the forest and on a hike and
(59:25):
you get proposed to and you'llremember that forever like you
can find the magic in all ofthose moments and turn that into
a design so live your life andsoak in the magic of everything
around you
Brittany (59:38):
I love it I love it that was so eloquent and I think
that will really stick with usso thank you for that and
Vincent this has been so amazingI really don't want this
conversation to end but I dowant to give people a chance to
connect with you becauseobviously you have a lot of
really great advice to giveyou've got a lot of good designs
to share so where is the bestplace for a listener to go right
(01:00:02):
now to just connect with youafter hearing the show
Vincent (01:00:06):
okay so um I'm, always available to connect with and
speak with via my Instagram ofVesuvio's Crafts.
My business is Vesuvio'sCrafts, even though my name is
Vincent, and you can connectwith me on Instagram and my
website.
I'll be having, at this point,you should see sneak peeks and
(01:00:28):
teasers for my upcoming fall andwinter collection of pattern
designs.
So that's where you can connectand join in, in my little
crafty corner of the I
Brittany (01:00:40):
love it.
Your crafty corner of theinternet.
I will have those linked in theshow notes so you don't have to
remember those or try to figureout how to spell that.
I'll have it linked in the shownotes so it's right there and
ready for you.
And Vincent, thank youseriously on behalf of all of my
listeners.
This has been so wonderful.
I'm so glad we were finallyable to get this worked out.
(01:01:00):
Thank you.
Vincent (01:01:02):
Yes.
Thank you, too.
I really appreciate it.
And I feel very honored andhumbled to be here with you and
your audience.
Brittany (01:01:10):
All right.
Once again, that was Vincentfrom Vesuvius Crafts.
I encourage you to check himout on Instagram so you can see
what he has going on and bringwhat he just said to life.
It's really cool to see hisdesigns now after hearing where
he gets his inspiration from.
It's like a completelydifferent perspective for me.
So again, you can find hisInstagram handle.
(01:01:31):
It's Vesuvius Crafts, but I'llhave that in the show notes as
well.
So you don't have to worryabout remembering that or
spelling it if you're on the goor if you're dry I'll have that
there for you.
The show notes are atBeHooked.com slash 133.
Also, don't forget to sharewhere you get your inspiration
from in the comment section ofthat page.
(01:01:52):
Or because I'm really trying toshow this community the value
in Twitter and how great it isfor conversations, tweet me
about it.
My handle is atBeHookedCrochet.
That's just the letter B.
And tell me where you get yourdesign inspiration from.
I can't wait for that.
I'm challenging you to do thatso that we can continue the
(01:02:14):
conversation on Twitter.
But of course, if you'd ratherleave the comment on the show
notes page, that is available toyou as well.
One last thing I want tomention before I go is that this
episode was brought to you bymy blueprint course, Tunisian
Crochet for Beginners.
Tunisian crochet is one ofthose skills that I learned as a
result of having a lot of handand wrist fatigue, but still
(01:02:37):
needing to craft and create.
I didn't want to let go of myhooks or yarn.
And as you heard at thebeginning of this episode, me
and knitting were not friendsfor quite a while.
So I found Tunisian crochet...
after I started doing thestandard crochet, but before I
started knitting.
And it was so much fun.
It opens up a whole new worldof different stitches, but it
(01:02:59):
also can recreate stitches fromboth crochet and knitting.
Did you know that?
You can create crochet stitcheswith your Tunisian hook.
You can create knit-likestitches with your Tunisian
hook.
And you can create somethingcompletely different.
So it's like this hybrid thattakes it up a notch.
It can be totally unique, butit can also do other things.
(01:03:21):
So I teamed up with Blueprint,which is formerly known as
Craftsy, to bring you acompletely beginner course on
Tunisian crochet.
So I'll run you througheverything from...
what hook you need to getbecause they are a little bit
different.
And I'll walk you through yourfirst three projects because
there's really no better way tolearn than to create something
as you're learning.
(01:03:42):
You're getting that instantgratification or nearly instant
gratification and you'relearning something in the
process so you'll be more likelyto stick to it.
So to find out more informationon Tunisian crochet for
beginners, just head over tobehooked.com slash TCFB.
That's behooked.com slash TCFBfor Tunisian crochet for
(01:04:04):
beginners.
And I can't wait to be a partof your learning journey and
help you with Tunisian crochet.
All right, now that'll do forthis week's episode of the Be
Hooked podcast.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
It's been so, so much fun.
I really, really enjoyed thisconversation and bringing you
those interesting and differentperspectives for where to find
(01:04:25):
inspiration and how to translatethat into your designs.
Or again, if you're not adesigner, into the things that
you're already making.
So let's not forget to thankVincent over on Instagram for
his time and his wonderfulwisdom here on the show.
And I will see you next week,my friend.
Have a wonderful weekend.
(01:04:45):
Bye for now.
You're listening to the Be Oaked Podcast, episode
133, with Brittany.
Well, hello there and welcometo episode 133 of the Be Hooked
(00:36):
podcast.
You know, the place where wejust love yarn, we love to
learn, and we truly believe yarncan do more for us than just
make pretty things.
And we're sort of talking alongthose lines again today,
specifically addressingdesigning and where you draw
inspiration from.
And I have a really specialguest who can share that with us
(00:57):
in such a differentperspective.
Now, we talk a lot aboutdesigning here.
We talk a lot aboutinspiration.
I find it really interesting tosee where designers get their
inspiration from.
So even if an episode isn'tabout designing, I like to add
that in there just to see wherethey get their inspiration
because I know it can help younot just as a designer, but even
(01:19):
as a creator.
Well, I was just completelysurprised by Vincent's responses
to where he gets hisinspiration from.
It's completely innovative.
It's different and it'sactionable.
He knows I'm a steps kind ofgal.
I love to break things downstep by step.
He was able to do thatperfectly.
(01:39):
So this is one of thoseepisodes where if you are a
designer, you're trying to findyour place in the creative
community, you probably want totake notes.
Now, before we get to allthings inspiration and how to
translate that into a designwith Vincent from Vesuvius
Crafts, I want to let you knowthat the show notes can be found
at behooked.com slash 133.
(02:01):
I'll have the links toVincent's website.
And his Instagram handles, youcan connect with him there.
But it's also a really greatplace for you to leave your
comments and your questions.
Down at the bottom of thatpage, there's a comment section,
and that's where we cancontinue the conversation after
this episode happens.
We can talk about ourinspiration for where we get our
(02:24):
designs, and you'll hear me addsome of my design inspiration
little tidbits in there as well.
But I'm really more interestedin where you get your
inspiration from.
So after listening to the show,if you want to head over to the
show notes, behooked.com slash133, scroll down to the show
notes page.
Tell me where you get yourinspiration from as a designer
(02:45):
or just as somebody who'screating something from nothing.
You don't have to be a designerand publish them to really
utilize these tips for where tofind inspiration from.
All right, now this is a goodone.
I'm super excited about it.
Here's my chat with Vincent.
Vincent, hi, welcome to theshow.
I have been waiting for thisone for so long.
I'm excited you're here.
Vincent (03:06):
I'm so glad to be here as well, Brittany.
Thank you for having me.
Brittany (03:11):
Yes, it's been a long time coming.
You and I met in Chicago lastyear at the Our Maker Life
event.
And I think we talked at thatpoint about having you on the
show and, you know, how lifejust gets a little bit crazy.
And here we are, like, actuallyover a year later, and we
finally have you here.
So I'm excited about it.
Vincent (03:31):
Yeah, me too.
I'm very excited.
I was like, A littlestarstruck.
I was like, oh my gosh, it'sBrittany.
Like she's here at Our MakerLife and I'm getting to meet her
in person.
So yeah, it was a lovelyexperience for me as well.
Brittany (03:45):
Oh my gosh.
And that's so funny.
That's so funny to hear becauseI'm just me, you know, just
little old me.
I don't really feel likespecial or anything like that.
But it's really interestingwhen you're in people's feeds,
you know, on Instagram and whenyou're on YouTube and that sort
of thing.
You do sort of develop thatfeeling or that sense for
(04:11):
people.
I know I have that as well.
There's a couple of YouTubechannels that I really watch.
There's a couple ofentrepreneurs that I really
admire.
And I think if I ever saw anyof them in person, I would be so
geeky and would probably make afool of myself.
So I get it.
Yes.
Vincent (04:29):
Yes.
Brittany (04:30):
Well, what have you been up to in a year?
It's been a long time.
I know you're designing a lotof things.
So what have you done since OurMaker Life?
Vincent (04:39):
Oh, gosh.
So within this past year, I'vepretty much designed and
released about 10 differentpatterns between like that Our
Maker Life and this year's OurMaker Life.
Sadly, I was not able to get aticket, but that's okay.
That brought about my one of mylike most recent designs that
(05:01):
was inspired by the speakers whowere there so that's what i've
been doing and it's been a realjoy to like create and
collaborate with all the othermakers and big businesses within
the fiber industry so i meanlike when i say big businesses i
mean like line brand or umlovecraft's people like that as
well as like jessica of the hooknook i um Did a design for her
(05:23):
blog that was really fun.
It was like 50% knitting and50% crochet all in one design.
So it was really cool to beable to like teeter totter
between the two crafts in onepiece of fabric.
And then I collaborated withlike Claire of Ottoman Indigo,
whose yarns I had loved formany, many moons.
(05:46):
And then Jake of Is That KenYarn?
Brittany (05:50):
Oh, cool.
Okay.
That's really interesting.
You know, for the first time Istarted knitting and crocheting
in the same project, that was somuch fun.
It was a challenge because whenyou're knitting stitches, it's
so much thinner and like thedrape is a lot better than it is
with crochet.
So I found it reallychallenging, but it was a fun
(06:13):
challenge.
Vincent (06:14):
Yeah.
I'm glad to hear that otherpeople are starting to do that
because I hadn't seen it in anyother designs.
And I was like, I wonder howthis will work out if you place
them together in one object andit's not just like you have a
crochet edging on like a wholeentire knit garment.
(06:35):
So I agree.
Brittany (06:37):
I have been challenged by my YouTube community to
create a garment or some kind ofwearable that blends knitting
and crochet.
And I'm like, oh gosh, you guyswould suggest that.
I'm really happy.
But at the same time, I'm like,wow, that is going to be really
challenging for me as adesigner and as a creator, just
(06:57):
because there's so much thatgoes into garments and making
them fit properly for differentbody types and different sizes.
And then you've got differentgauge to work with.
I don't know if it will beanytime soon, but I'm certainly
accepting the challenge fromthem.
So I do plan to do moreknitting and crochet projects in
(07:18):
one.
I feel like for me, it's areally good way to blend those
two things.
Like I've been crocheting for along time and doing the
patterns for a long time.
And I really added the knittingpart Yeah.
Wow.
(07:40):
I was like, oh my gosh, I haveto share this with other people
because I can't possibly be theonly one who totally gets
crochet, but does not getknitting.
And when it clicked, I'm like,man, I got to share that.
(08:02):
But it's a little bit trickybecause they're two very
different things.
And it can be a little bitconfusing for people coming in.
They're like, oh, you're thecrochet person.
You do a lot of that stuff, buthere you are knitting and
that's kind of confusing.
So I think putting the two intoone project is a good way to
Yes.
Yeah.
Vincent (08:39):
Yes, I completely agree.
Brittany (08:42):
Yeah.
So I don't want to get too offtrack with that.
I know we're going to talk alot about designing and your
inspiration.
You've done a lot of, well, yousaid you've done 10 designs in
a year.
That's a lot.
That's a ton of work.
I know so much goes into that.
So you have done this sort ofcreative process over and over
(09:02):
and we'll get there.
But I really want to know alittle bit about your backstory.
Yeah.
How long you've been crochetingand how did you learn?
Vincent (09:11):
So I've been crocheting for about nine, almost 10 years
now.
Granted, I was making likelittle swatches on and off for
the first few years.
So it wasn't like a super bigcompleted garments in the first
few years, but nine to 10 years.
And I originally got startedbecause my grandma taught me the
(09:34):
chain when I was really areally little kid, but I didn't
really take it any further thanthat.
It was just like the initialcrochet chain and then I was
like, okay, I'm going to gooutside now and then years later
I learned like the bare bonesbasics from some old books and
they had like these kind ofcrappy black and white photos
(09:56):
that didn't really help me getfrom photo A to photo B but I
somehow pieced it together andlike learned what yarn over and
like pull through and you havelike three live loops on your
hook now like I learned all ofthat eventually And it really
(10:17):
was tricky learning from a bookbecause having a person there to
tell you, like, no, that'swrong in the middle of those
steps is, like, so, so helpful.
And then eventually, like, Ilearned from YouTube, which was
so much more helpful than books.
So I had been, like, scouringall of the Internet and...
(10:38):
I eventually came across yourYouTube channel.
Oh, hey.
Yeah, and so I had watched alot of YouTubes before that, but
in that, like, stumble down,like, the YouTube black hole, I
had stumbled across yourbeginner crochet series, I want
to say, like, maybe four or fiveyears ago, and that really
(10:59):
helped solidify all the littleskills that I thought I knew,
but it really helped, like,Yeah, I think
Brittany (11:19):
that's the best of both worlds.
I was never one to really learnthrough books and still am not
today.
I would really love to try likemacrame and that sort of thing.
And my mom did that many, manyyears ago.
And I think that's the best ofboth worlds.
She let me borrow some of herbooks and she was like, this is
how I learned.
You can make some really coolthings.
And I had the books for a whileand man, I just couldn't
(11:41):
connect the dots.
My brain just doesn't work thatway.
So thank God for you too.
But I think that's cool thatyou were able to sort of do the
hardest part first.
Like the learning through thebooks is definitely more
difficult.
And then you were able to justhave confidence in what you
taught yourself that you weredoing it right through the
videos.
Vincent (12:00):
Yes.
Brittany (12:02):
Nowadays, well, actually, I want to go to
knitting, too, because you alsoknit.
Now, did you knit first or didyou crochet first?
Vincent (12:12):
So I crocheted first and I would see like these
gorgeous patterns and I'm like,oh, I want to make that.
And then I would.
click it and eventually, theseare free patterns at this point.
As a college student, didn'thave the budget for that, but I
would see these free patternsand I would click on them and
then start to read it.
(12:33):
And I'm like, oh, this saysthat this pattern is knit.
I don't know how to knit.
I know how to crochet.
So after like hitting the walla couple of times with patterns
that I was so set on making, Iwas like, well, time to go ahead
and teach myself how to knitbecause I saw this heavily
cabled wrap and I was like,that's a me-sized scarf.
(12:54):
So I want to be able to gooutside in the morning with the
horses because I was studyinganimal science in school.
And in the morning here inGeorgia, it's pretty icy.
It's not like snow, but it'sicy.
So when I saw that, I was like,ooh, that cable knit wrap would
be perfect.
So off to the races I went andI started to learn how to knit.
(13:17):
So it was definitely trickycoming from one hook to having
two needles because, like, themechanics, I just...
really, really different whenyou compare them, even though
they're similar in the fact thatwe use yarn.
It was just really, reallydifferent.
And I learned continental easy,like the continental style
where you have the yarntensioned in your left hand.
(13:37):
Because all the videosoriginally had English, and I
didn't know that there was adifference.
I just saw people holding it intheir right hand and wrapping
the yarn.
And I was like, what is thissorcery?
I don't understand.
Yeah.
Brittany (13:51):
That's funny.
So did you learn throughYouTube or did you go to books
for that?
Vincent (13:55):
YouTube.
Immediately YouTube.
As soon as I started learningfrom YouTube, I never went back
to books.
I think the only thing that Iwould consider like book-ish or
like written word would be maybelike going to websites that
have like patterns ortechniques.
(14:15):
So sort of like written wordbut not like– a book.
It's more informative than justthe books.
Brittany (14:25):
Yeah, yeah.
I did the same thing.
I gravitated towardscontinental knitting first
because coming from crochet,that's what I knew.
I knew how to tension the yarnin my left hand or my
non-dominant hand.
Vincent (14:37):
Yes.
Brittany (14:38):
And I don't know.
I don't know when the shifthappened.
It was pretty early on.
I was watching– there's anotherYouTube channel.
I think it's wonderful.
Her name is Stacey with VeryPink Knits.
I'm sure so many people haveheard of her.
But I watched a lot of hervideos and she is a flick
knitter.
And I was like, ooh, that looksreally cool.
(14:59):
I want to try that.
So I did an entire project withthat style and I haven't went
back.
So I don't know.
It looks– Pretty weird probablyto see me tension the yarn in
my left hand with crochet andthen you watch my knitting
videos and you're like, what areyou doing?
Why are you holding it withyour right hand?
But for me, it just feels a lotmore natural.
(15:20):
But I do try to go back andforth because I know a lot of my
audience are crocheters.
I'm just so much more clunkyand slow with continental
knitting now.
Especially the purl stitch.
That one gets me.
I'm super slow atpurling continental.
Vincent (15:34):
Oh, wow.
Brittany (15:37):
Yeah.
Also, I heard that you havehorses and that you love horses.
I have to geek out about thatbecause my childhood was–
completely involved with horses.
I started riding.
I took riding lessons when,gosh, I think I was like six or
seven when I first started.
And I stuck with it all the wayuntil I was about 23, I think,
(16:05):
basically when I went to collegea little bit later than most
people.
So that was about the time thatI had already started college.
But I just really couldn't keepup with it anymore.
And I sold my horse at the timeand I am...
gosh, I would do anything tohave him back.
Right now, as we're recordingthis, he would be 22 if he's
(16:29):
still alive.
He's just the sweetest, mostbeautiful boy ever.
Vincent (16:34):
That's so cool.
It's really awesome when youcan connect with makers on, yes,
the yarn level, but then onceyou have connections outside of
that, it's even more exciting.
It's so cool to know thatyou're a horse person, too.
I went Oh, yeah.
(16:55):
Because I feel like that wouldjust fit me so well.
They're
Brittany (17:15):
so majestic and just beautiful.
So if you're listening andyou're like, what on earth are
you talking about?
If you've ever seen anyknight-style movies, you know,
the big, black, beautiful horseswith kind of like longer fur,
like longer hair around theirfeet and like a really long mane
and a really long tail, that'sa Frisian.
(17:37):
They're just gorgeous.
Vincent (17:39):
Yes. Perfect description.
Brittany (17:41):
yes so i had my horse was an appaloosa and he had one
blue eye and one brown eye andit was so cool i bought him as a
two-year-old he was a horsethat came through the barn that
i worked at i worked at thisbarn in the summer and bought
him as a two-year-old And let'ssee, that would have been in
(18:04):
2000.
I'm aging myself a little bithere.
And I kept him until I, gosh, Idon't remember how old he was
when I sold him, but I sold him.
I had him for several years.
So we showed together.
I trained him.
I was the one who broke him.
He was like the only horse thatdidn't throw me off and like
(18:25):
step on me.
Vincent (18:25):
Yeah.
Brittany (18:27):
Which I think is why it was a match made in heaven.
Yes.
Brother Dunn is his name.
Oh,
Vincent (18:33):
cool.
Brittany (18:34):
I wouldn't have done anything to have Bubba back.
Vincent (18:36):
yeah that's awesome
Brittany (18:38):
anyhow I'm going down a rabbit trail again here so at
some point your crocheting andyour knitting turned into more
than just something to occupyyour hands because nowadays
you're designing and you'republishing your own patterns so
when did you start doing thatlike what did that journey kind
of look like we're setting us uphere to transition now into
(18:59):
your like designing journey likehow you go from nothing to
something
Vincent (19:05):
Yeah, so...
Like you said, originally Istarted out with turning to
knitting and crochet as a way tosort of escape from my college
studies and just like decompressand relax because like
chemistry and things like thatwere really heavy and a lot of
(19:27):
mind work focusing on theclasswork.
And so it was really great toturn to knitting and crochet to
just relax and make littlesquares of things But then once
I got the hang of it, I startedmaking the physical products
like many people do makephysical products over and over
(19:49):
and over for maybe like amarket.
I didn't do too many of those.
I just kind of sold on my ownwebsite.
But now I've started to designand I published my first pattern
in 2017.
So that was really exciting forme.
I was actually very nervous todo that.
even though I love being ableto share my creations with other
(20:12):
makers in that way, in additionto selling physical items, it's
just something that'snerve-wracking about, like, will
people like this pattern?
Will they give it good reviews?
Or will nobody actuallypurchase it who's actually not
related to me?
Like...
Will random people buy this, orwill it just be like, my mom
(20:34):
bought my pattern?
And I'm thankful.
I'm thankful that my mom wouldbuy my pattern, even though she
doesn't knit or crochet, eventhough...
Um, she's not in the makerworld per se yet, cause I'm
going to teach her how to knit.
Um, yeah.
And I think she's going to getit.
I think she's going to get thehang of it really quickly.
Um, but it's cool when other,you feel, uh, that other people
(20:59):
resonate with your work.
So that was my first pattern in2017 and it was a cable knit
scarf.
So I didn't have to worry aboutlike all the tricky stuff, like
garments and waist shaping andbust and things like that.
But that was my first patternand it's it's really cool
because it connects you withother makers and at that point
(21:20):
in time I didn't have like agroup of people that I knew who
also crocheted or knit so it wasjust sort of like me and then I
found the like Instagramcommunity of makers and then I
was like oh there's more thanjust me there's not like yeah
Just me here.
Brittany (21:38):
Yeah.
That's really cool.
I like the– well, that's areally good tip there in itself
to start with something reallysimple when you're getting into
designing.
Gosh, my first– the firstcrochet pattern I ever
published, I'm not practicingwhat I preach here.
So it was a flower.
So it was worked with popcornstitches in the round.
And for me, it was prettysimple because I had made so
(22:02):
many of them.
But– I would say something likea scarf or a wrap or even a
shawl to some extent can bereally easy as your first design
because you're not workingwith, like you said, garments,
shaping, different sizes, andthat sort of thing.
Now, the maker and the designercommunity is really unique
(22:24):
because...
All of our individual stylestend to shape like what we
design and what we create.
And so that's why there's sucha big variety of things for
people to enjoy when they'reusing our free patterns, when
they're buying our patterns thatwe've put out there.
Vincent (22:41):
Yes.
Brittany (22:43):
When you started with scarves, you did that because–
or with a scarf because it wasso– simple it was really easy it
was probably something that youwanted for yourself did you
stick with accessories or um didyou did you shift your focus a
little bit so what type ofdesigns do you like to focus on
nowadays
Vincent (23:04):
yeah i agree um it is so cool being able to see all
the unique people um And likepeople's individual styles.
And that's sort of like what Ido now with the designs that I
focus on.
I try to relay my style, butalso give things that I feel
(23:25):
other people will connect to.
So I've been doing a lot ofbags as of late.
I really like that because...
You can wear them year-round,even when it's hot, and they're
very useful, they're veryfunctional, but you can also
make them very beautiful indesign.
I think my design aestheticwould probably include, like,
(23:48):
texture...
cable knit deliciousness andtapestry crochet wrapped up in
like a beautiful earth tonespalette.
I feel like that's sort of likemy wheelhouse.
So I've been designing shawlsand I'm working on some
sweaters, sneak peek, working onsome sweaters and I think bags.
(24:11):
So yeah, that's sort of like mywheelhouse my bread and butter
as of late
Brittany (24:16):
yeah and you know i have to ask this question
because my episode with ron hehe brought something to the
table that i had never eventhought about before he was
saying that his designs are verybright and very colorful and
that's what he was really knownfor but he said in all reality
(24:37):
like you'll probably find mewearing like a green shirt Yes.
Like pretty much every day.
So it's like his personalstyle, how he likes to dress and
probably the way he decorateshis home and that sort of thing
is different than the stuff hecreates.
Do you find that you're likethat or does your design sense
sort of match your personalstyle?
Vincent (25:01):
I would say it's like a mix of both for me.
Like I really love and– In myheart of hearts, I love a
neutral palette.
I love the grays and thingsthat you can wear every day, and
having those basics set outfirst, and then you can add on
(25:22):
your pops of color so you canhave a fun, funky shirt, but
then...
not have people like realizethat you wear this shirt maybe
like once a week once more thanonce a week and it's like oh you
love that tie-dye shirt so ilove to like translate that into
my designs as well somethingthat you can utilize as often as
(25:45):
you like but i also realize asa designer um it's fun to switch
things up with your color colorpalettes so that you can market
to different people um thereare some people who stay with
like that neutral i only workwith gray taupe black and white
and then there's some people wholike work with crazy colors and
(26:06):
i think i'm a little bit inbetween the both of those worlds
because i really love both buti realize i don't wear just one
color all the time even thoughmy favorite color too is green
um i've been working i've i Formy Twilight at Calgary bag, I
think you may have seen it.
(26:26):
It's like a really big tote bagthat I made, and it was in this
purple-y colorway, inspired byChantal of Nittitude, inspired
by her hair.
Brittany (26:36):
Oh, yeah.
Vincent (26:37):
And then the blue was inspired by her husband, Todd,
one of his shirts that he waswearing.
And so for me, that purple-ycolorway, my eyes would skip
right over that color.
But...
As a designer, it was reallycool to push myself outside of
my comfort zone of green,mustard, rust, and maybe
(27:00):
charcoal or black, and work withthat because it was really fun.
So yeah, hopefully I didn'tjust give a long tangent, but...
I think that answered yourquestion of my style of color
and things like that.
Brittany (27:13):
Yeah, it was super useful.
Now, I would have to say I tendto agree with that.
I feel like I'm pretty similar.
I am in this sort oftransitionary phase where I feel
like I'm really figuring outwhat I like.
I don't know if that's justsomething you figure out when
you're in your 30s, like all ofa sudden you know who you are.
But I feel like I'm goingthrough that right now.
And I– love like the the colorof my office for example is like
(27:39):
a powdery blue it's more oflike a powdery silver blue and i
just look at it and i just loveit and pair that with like a
blush color or sort of like acoppery orange like a real tone
down like a mute that's sort oflike the color palette that's in
here and i think because i'msurrounded by it every day um I
(28:02):
just am really, really drawn tothese colors.
So I'm tending to shift my yarnchoices in that direction.
But I still really love abright color.
I really appreciate avariegated yarn that has long
sweeping color changes and it'ssuper bright.
So every now and then I throwone of those in there.
(28:22):
But I do tend to like reallyneutrals now.
And that's sort of where I getmy inspiration from.
I think you get yourinspiration from a really unique
place, though.
And I want to kind of turn inthat direction now and start
talking about where you startwhen you want to create
something new and what yoursource of inspiration is.
Maybe you can repeat that, likehow you're using the makers.
(28:45):
And then if there's anothersource of inspiration, too.
Vincent (28:50):
Yeah.
Okay.
So in terms of my designing, Inormally pull inspiration from a
little bit of everywhere.
I normally start with what typeof design I want to create.
So like, is this going to be ashawl or is this going to be a
bag or is it going to be, I'mnot really like a hat person.
(29:13):
Like I realized I like makinghats for myself because I
realized I have a big head andlots of hair.
So it's It was really good tohelp me understand how to make a
hat for my head.
But I realized everybody likesto wear hats differently.
Some people like them snug.
Some people like them loose.
Some people like them slouchy.
So for me, I used to like avoidhats like the plague, but now
(29:36):
I'm a little bit more open toit.
So it's sort of like what doesI start off with?
What type of design I want tocreate?
Doesn't matter what it is.
And then I pull inspirationfrom like a number of places.
For the most part, you'llrealize that I am a big nature
kid.
I like a lot of the colors thatwe see in nature and flowers
(29:58):
and trees and like the water,different landscapes.
But I also like the motifs ofarchitecture so, so much.
It's I love researching thelittle details that are in
architecture from around theworld.
into my design.
(30:38):
I really like that.
maybe even like sounds.
So for me, I'm very much amusic person.
If you see me without myheadphones on, you're in for a
treat because I normally listento music very often.
So sometimes I get inspired bylike even a mood, like that
feeling you get when you're onvacation and you wake up to see
(31:01):
the sunrise as the birds arechirping and you're just like
sitting in the peace of thatexperience.
Like that can just inspire adesign for me out like so often.
It's wonderful.
So I think I pull inspirationfrom a lot of different places.
I know some people go to thestore, the mall, and see what's
(31:21):
on the shelves.
But for me, I pull inspirationfrom the things I feel and see
and listen to around me and inthe world.
Brittany (31:31):
Yeah, those are some really unique answers, too.
I have never really heard ofsomebody...
Drawing an inspiration frommusic and like a feeling.
That's really cool that you'reable to translate that feeling
into a project.
Do you have any advice on howto do that?
Do you think that's somethingthat anybody can do or do you
(31:52):
think that's just more of likeyour personality?
I
Vincent (31:57):
think...
It depends on the person.
I know some people are just notdesigners and they want you to
hand me the pattern.
I'll try to follow it to thebest of my ability.
But then I believe that in myheart of hearts, everybody can
design and pull from inspirationlike that.
It's not too tricky.
I feel like...
(32:18):
Let's say music.
Just looking at a piano, youcan pull inspiration from the
keys itself.
Like some of the keys are whiteand are longer than the black
keys, which are shorter in termsof like distance coming from
the body of the piano.
So you could...
Turn that motif of having ashort black line and then a long
(32:43):
white line and then a shortblack line, a long white line
into like the bottom of ablanket.
And it can be like this almost,you know how they represent
like music waves or sound waves?
where it's sort of like thoselines coming up from the bottom
of your screen.
You can translate that visuallyjust directly to a blanket, and
(33:06):
that can be the bottom inwhatever color you want it to
be.
It doesn't have to be black andwhite.
It could be your favorite colorcombination, and that could be
at the bottom of your blanket,and you can put that at the top
of the blanket.
And so you'll have a longrectangle with these sort of...
lines coming up towards themiddle and then you'll have that
(33:29):
on the bottom and top like youcan you can translate that to a
design literally it doesn't haveto be like an emotional
metaphoric translation it can belike a literal translation of
like what you see and that'sreally easy and really fun and
it's something that's supersimple and you can put that in
your home like it's notsomething that that may be just
(33:51):
like seasonal like it's not likea santa hat and you can only
use that during like thechristmas time or it's not like
um a hanukkah like motif thatyou can only use at a specific
time it's like something that'stimeless and that's just really
cool in terms of like color sothat's how like anyone can pull
(34:14):
inspiration from anywhere.
Hopefully that's helpful.
Brittany (34:17):
I think it is.
It sounds like it's more of aperspective shift.
It's not that you can't openyour eyes or maybe you just
don't realize these things, butyou're just maybe not trained to
think that way.
So I think if there's anybodywho's struggling with pulling
inspiration from around them,that just open your eyes a
(34:39):
little bit more and realize thatLiterally anything that you
see, you could potentially turn,you know, turn that into
something.
You could, like you said,seeing the, like the waveforms.
I feel like I totally missed iton that one because as a
podcaster, I see those waveformsevery single week.
But I never thought to put thatinto a project.
(35:02):
So it's just, I think someoneneeded to hear that in order for
them to say, oh, yeah, I couldtotally do that.
Vincent (35:11):
Yeah.
Good.
Brittany (35:13):
I'm excited.
Yes, I think it was veryhelpful.
So from there, what does yourdesign process look like?
Like from start to finish,you've got the inspiration.
What do you do next?
Vincent (35:26):
Okay, so I've got my inspiration and we're going to
go with this like piano blanketidea.
So I've got the inspiration.
I saw the piano and I want tocreate something from that
motif.
I'll start brainstorming theidea next.
So I'll write down as muchinformation as I can immediately
(35:47):
in my little design journal sothat I don't forget any parts of
my example.
So I'll just draw out therectangle really quickly and
that will work.
represent my blanket I don'thave to write dimensions right
now I'll just draw that out thenI'll draw lines representing
the waveform waveforms on likethe bottom and the top of the
(36:07):
blanket and then now I have likea rough sketch of the blanket
then I'll write down what kindof yarn do I want to use do I
want to use like an acrylic fora baby blanket because you want
like a new mom to not have toworry about like spit up and
like other kinds of things thatend up on blankets so you can
(36:28):
choose that or if you want tomake this like a super luxe
blanket that's like cashmere orjust like a super superwash
merino that you want to likelast generations as like
something for someone who's nota baby then you can write that
down um then after what type ofyarn i would think about like
(36:49):
what hook size is or if you'reknitting it what needle size is
because that will also impactyour fabric so think of like
like your yarn weights and thenthe combination of what hook
size or needle size you're usingwith that yarn weight So if you
have a larger than what isrecommended hook size with
(37:10):
hooks, that yarn weight, let'ssay worsted weight, and you go
up a hook size or two, that'llgive you a nice squishy fabric
that has a little bit more airin between the stitches.
And then that way you canenvision like, do I want this a
really dense fabric or do I wantit like a very squishy fabric
that'll keep me warm, but it'sstill like really soft next to
(37:34):
the skin.
That's what I write down withlike the hook size, the yarn, my
inspiration.
then I would start to focus onthe color palette and the The
dimensions.
There we go.
The hook size.
And then I would focus on thecolor palette and your
dimensions.
So if you want the blanket tobe like a twin size blanket or
(37:59):
you want it to be a throw orAfghan, or if you want it to be
like a me size blanket as a sixfoot two man, like if you want
to be able to wrap yourself upin a burrito and that sort of
size blanket, you can writethose sorts of things down.
So those are like all of thethings that I do in terms of
brainstorming.
then I'll take this like roughpencil sketch and then I'll
(38:22):
sketch it out digitally so thatI can draw my color combinations
on the actual sketch.
If you've seen any of thethings that I've done before,
like maybe my green whack-a-molebag, it's a color work bag.
So I really want it to be ableto draw out my colors on the bag
(38:43):
so that I can see, no, actuallyI don't like this as much as I
thought I would like it in myhead.
So I would do that for thepiano blanket, sketch it out
with the colors.
And that way you don't like buyall of this yarn and then you
don't like the colors together.
So That's inspiration, thenbrainstorming, and then the
sketch.
I would draw my sketches onpaper and digitally, but you can
(39:05):
just draw them out on paperwith colored pencils.
That's A-OK, too.
I think either way, justsketching it out and planning
before really helps your walletthank you instead of wanting to
fight you because you've boughtall this yarn and now you don't
like the colors together.
But then what you actually doby the yarn, I'd swatch it
because if you want your hook Ifyou envisioned a hook size and
(39:30):
you start working with it andyou don't like that fabric, then
you can adjust it with yourswatch.
And then you're off to theraces.
Then you're done.
That's what I would consider mydesign process from inspiration
to actually starting thesample.
Brittany (39:45):
Yeah.
I like that you put so muchpreparation into it because–
Yeah.
And then you realize thesethings and you're like, huh.
(40:15):
Okay, so if I would have spentlike an hour every day or so for
a few days to plan this outbeforehand, I now wouldn't have
to frog 10 hours worth of workbecause you're talking about a
blanket year.
So that's a lot of work thatyou're investing, a lot of time
that you're investing.
I think that's a really goodtip too as a designer because
especially if you're a maker, ifyou're selling your patterns
(40:38):
online, And you're depending onthat income.
You know, time is money.
Yes.
So a business is there to makemoney.
Yes.
As dirty as that might sound,you know, that's– That's the
reality of it.
People need to make money toearn a living, and some of us do
that with creating our designs,whether it's a full-time income
(41:00):
or a part-time income orsomething like that.
So you really do have to thinkabout the time that you're
investing into it to make surethat you are profitable because
you need to be profitable.
Vincent (41:13):
Yes, very important.
At the end of the day, we areall– yes, we are all makers, but
we are also all– businesspeople and we need to take that
side of our business intoaccount as well.
So I agree, it's veryimportant.
Brittany (41:29):
Yes.
Well, I like that you used theexample of a blanket here too
because that leads me perfectlyinto a question that somebody
had for you on Instagram.
And that's how do you not losesteam when you're working on a
big project?
Like do you think it'senjoyable the entire time or is
(41:50):
it more realistic to say thatyou have to push yourself and
kick yourself through that alittle bit?
Vincent (41:56):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, that's a good question.
So I've made like a couple ofhuge blankets, just like the one
we're envisioning now.
Like I did a Harry Potterblanket that was like crochet
color work for my brother who islike almost as tall as me.
So it definitely took a longtime to make that.
Or my like Black Pantherblanket that was like little
(42:18):
intricate details of likecrosses and triangles and things
like that, where it's likerepeating and it's so small and
it slows you But I really try tomake it an enjoyable
experience, especially whenyou're designing, when you are
designing something, you have tomake it enjoyable for you so
that the people who work yourpattern can also enjoy the make
(42:40):
it an enjoyable experience.
So I try to design things thathave.
interesting milestones to reachum whether it's a motif or a
colored way difference um orlike a difference in techniques
like i try to make itinteresting so like our piano
blanket you'll start off withmaybe just like a little wedge
(43:03):
at the bottom a little wedge ofmaybe all black so this is just
mindless double crochets andthis is just to get the blanket
started and you can see how wideit is and you're just working
up like a wedge of black thenyou'll be excited to reach the
point where you're actuallydoing like the thinking section
(43:27):
of the blanket when you're doinglike a background of white and
then a line of black that'sgonna be eventually turning into
your piano key.
But right now, as we're workingin like a printer fashion, so
row by row, it's just like alittle bit of white, a little
bit of black, a little bit ofwhite, a little bit of black, a
(43:50):
little bit of white, and so onand so forth.
So now you've gone from justhaving a double crochet
background of black to now doingsome fun math of just making
sure you have the pictureworking up properly.
And that's where the fun reallycomes in for me.
I get to see the picture cometo life or the motif print up
(44:14):
like a printer and it's cool tojust watch that and experience
that part.
So I really enjoyed thatmilestone.
And then after that littlewedge of the piano keys is done,
maybe in the center, you'llswitch back to just solid white
for the big chunk of theblanket, but we'll do some fun
(44:35):
texture stitches there.
And that'll keep, keep it freshand you won't think okay I've
been working on this piano keysection for two three weeks and
I don't know I don't think I canfinish this blanket but then
you get excited about the nextsection and then from the center
I would just do everything inreverse so you have your texture
(44:56):
stitches in the middle then youhave your piano key focus on
the math section and then youfinish off the blanket coasting
downhill with a black doublecrochet wedge at the end so So
that's how I like to keep itinteresting.
Switch things up, keepmilestones, keep it fun, make it
interesting with color.
Even when you work withvariegated yarn or hand-dyed
(45:19):
yarn, just seeing the colorstitch for stitch, seeing colors
fly through your fingers issuch a special experience.
So I would not even discountlooking at the difference in
each of your stitches, notfocusing on the overall picture
at first, but...
It can be like a stitch bystitch experience.
Brittany (45:39):
I love this tip.
I think it is so great forsomebody to think that way when
they're designing to havedifferent milestones.
I always sort of joke aboutthis, but there's so much truth
to it that when you're workingon something and you start to
get bored, change colors becauseit feels like a completely
different project at that point.
And those milestones arepowering you through those
(46:03):
bigger projects.
Vincent (46:05):
Yep, for sure.
Brittany (46:06):
Now, I also know that it's really important for you
personally to highlight thebeauty of being yourself through
your designs.
And I think that is one waythat we can really set ourselves
apart as designers and reallyfind what we have to offer this
community.
So how are you able toaccomplish this?
(46:26):
And how would you suggestsomebody accomplish this for
themselves in their own designs?
Vincent (46:33):
Okay, awesome.
So yes, I love telling peopleto like appreciate who you are,
highlight who you are throughyour designs.
And for me, I think the bestexample of highlighting my
personal style or just mypersonality would be maybe my,
(46:55):
one of my yoga mat bags that Idid last year.
There's this, there's, like agold and black bag that I've
done that has like a lotusflower on it.
And I love the colors.
The colors are very me.
And I feel like that's one wayto translate your personal style
into your work.
(47:17):
It's work with colors that youenjoy because without even
talking to you, someone justpassing by can sort of create
their own story Yes,stereotypes.
We don't want to fall intostereotypes, but they can create
their own story of who youmight be based on the colors
(47:38):
that you're wearing in a sweaterthat you've made or the colors
that you're wearing in a bagthat you've made.
Someone can...
Just get a story from just thecolors.
So that's one way you cantranslate who you are into your
work.
Another way that I translatedmyself into that specific bag
was the motifs that I used.
(47:58):
So as a little kid, I used toreally, really enjoy X-Men, like
the cartoon X-Men.
version of x-men yeah uh andthen i also really enjoyed my
parents took me to like disneywhen i was small and we got to
see lion king like the play
Brittany (48:18):
oh yeah that was my favorite movie
Vincent (48:20):
powerful. Oh Yay!
Brittany (48:21):
I love lion king.
I still know every single word
Vincent (48:25):
yes
Brittany (48:27):
but i haven't seen the play.
Vincent (48:28):
Be Prepared was my favorite.
Brittany (48:29):
Yes.
Vincent (48:31):
I don't know.
I think the villains, like theDisney villains, had so much
soul.
They were just somisunderstood.
But yes, that was a reallypowerful moment for me, seeing
the play and the actors actuallycoming out into the audience
and interacting with me.
That was very powerful for me.
(48:51):
So I combined both of thosethings that I enjoyed into my
design by...
Combining like this X motif onthe bottom to like translate
X-Men and then also have like anAfrican mud cloth motif sort of
in the body of the bag totranslate sort of my connection
(49:13):
to being an African American aswell as...
the love of Lion King and justthe things that I saw, the, the
fabrics, the textures, all ofthe colors, I translated all of
that and tried to combine thatinto one project.
And that's how I justhighlighted me as a person.
Like I love the African mudcloth vibe, but it's a yoga mat
(49:37):
bag because we're focusing onlike hell and just trying to,
you know, do self self care.
Um, and then X-Men just havingfun with enjoying, enjoying
yourself on a Saturday morning.
So that's how I highlightedmyself.
Um, and that's how I like toencourage other people to
highlight themselves, like put,put things that are special to
(49:59):
you and your design, um, be itlike a motif or just like a
texture or colors.
Like you can get those thingsto translate and create a story
without even having to speak tosomeone.
Um,
Brittany (50:11):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Now, I'm also curious aboutyour experience as a man in the
(50:36):
maker community.
That's something I don't reallyget to talk about a whole lot
because there seems to be a lotmore women who crochet than
knit, or at least that's how itlooks on the surface.
I would love to have more menon the show and just hear their
experience and that sort ofthing.
Do you think that has anyinfluence on your designs, your
(50:58):
inspiration and that sort ofthing?
Vincent (51:00):
I would say yes, yes and no sometimes.
So being a man in the makerindustry is very interesting
because from the outsideperspective, it does look like a
heavily woman-predominatedindustry.
Wow, is that the word?
(51:21):
Using a heavilyfemale-dominated industry.
Yes, that was correct.
It looks like a heavilyfemale-dominated industry, but
it's not that men aren't here.
So it was, for me, when I firststarted knitting and
crocheting, I too thought mendidn't just make their own
things when really, inreality...
(51:44):
If you needed to make somethingout of necessity, you were
going to learn how to knit orlearn how to crochet.
So there's always been menmaking things for themselves if
you needed to make something.
You just don't see that asheavily promoted nowadays.
And I don't know why that is.
Maybe going back to genderstereotypes and things like
(52:06):
that.
But I feel like it's...
not only is it creative, but itcan also be very functional and
utilitarian to be able to makesomething for yourself.
So I don't look at it assomething that's like girly.
It's like, this is cool.
I get to express myself.
I get to share my creativitywith other people.
(52:28):
And so as a man, it's veryinteresting to be able to, like
I explained with my, the yogamat bag, it's, It's cool to be
able to put the things that Irelate to as a six foot two
black man with long locks, likeput that into my creations and
(52:53):
the creation be able to stillresonate with somebody who
doesn't look like me, whodoesn't live in the same area as
me, or who doesn't have thesame background as me.
It's...
Things that I would have toworry about in terms of making
sure a lady feels comfortablewith my presence.
(53:15):
All of that discomfort ornervousness automatically goes
out of the window because we canconnect with yarn.
So my experience as a man hasbeen interesting because I have
to...
I have to honestly always thinkabout making sure someone feels
(53:37):
comfortable with my presence,not necessarily my crafts or my
creativity, but just my being issomething that I've learned to
navigate so that not only I feelwelcome and comfortable and
excited about being in thecrafting space, but that you
(54:02):
learn how to connect with otherpeople and make them feel
comfortable.
So I think as a man, I feltwelcome to begin with.
I didn't feel shameful aboutcrocheting or embarrassed that I
crocheted or knit, but it wasmore so understanding how to
navigate and make other peoplefeel safe and comfortable in
(54:22):
your space so that you canconnect on a deeper level.
And it's not anything like...
I am trying to go on a datewith you or like I'm trying to
get your phone number it's it'sliterally like we're here all
here to talk about yarn and havefun with that so that's my
experience as a man in themaking industry and it's been
(54:44):
very interesting
Brittany (54:44):
yeah I appreciate the perspective I think it's it's
really interesting to hear butyou know at the at the end of
the day crocheting and knitting,it's an art form.
And we're all artists.
We all share that.
We all share our love of yarn.
And I don't think it matters ifyou're male or female.
If you dig yarn and that's howyou like to express yourself,
(55:07):
the more the merrier.
I really want there to be moremale designers because...
we need more patterns forthings for men.
I know for me, it's difficultfor me to design men's things
because although I can use myhusband as sort of like my dress
(55:27):
form to take measurements andthat sort of thing, that's one
body type.
So I feel less qualified, Iguess, or less able to design
practical, fitting clothes malethings and i i really do feel
like there's a shortage of malehat patterns male sweater
(55:48):
patterns and that sort of thingand i think we could really use
that because i know that ifthere were more of those
resources available to me iwould be more likely to make
those things so i love it whenwe have a male designer in the
community
Vincent (56:01):
yeah me too i i also noticed that um there was slash
still sort of is a shortage ofmen's patterns.
So I'm very excited to try tooffer those things to the maker
community because in the past, Irealized I actually used to
(56:24):
modify women's sweater patternsso that I could wear them.
Yes, because I couldn't findmen's sweater patterns that I
liked.
So of course there weredesigners that I love, like I
love Jared Flood I love MichelleWang, but I didn't feel like
there were the same number ofvarious offerings as there are
(56:49):
for women's patterns.
So I would take a women'ssweater pattern and I would pull
the motif from the sweaterpattern.
And then I would put it on asilhouette that is flattering to
me.
Like I don't necessarily needany waist shaping or I don't
need any like shaping for dartsor like bust or anything like
(57:10):
that.
Like I don't need that.
Like it's kind of a boring tubesometimes, but like you can
still create things that flatterthe silhouette because I know
nowadays people like that broadshoulders look and then like
sort of a tapered, taper fromthe chest to the waistline.
That's the general silhouettethat you would see on most male
(57:36):
garments.
And so I would knit that shapefor myself, but then pop in the
motif so that I could still havemy little piece of fun and join
in on the excitement of thepattern, but still wear
something that does not actuallylook like I just...
bought like a lady's sweaterand put it on and they're like
(57:59):
oh okay that that waist shapinglooks real lovely on yes sir
Brittany (58:03):
yeah and that's another just creative
representation of how you findinspiration and turn that into
something that's useful for you
Vincent (58:12):
yeah
Brittany (58:14):
well Bringing it all together, you have given us so
many good tips about where tofind inspiration, how to turn
that into a design in like astep-by-step fashion.
I love that because I am asteps kind of gal, so you're
really speaking to my heart withthat one.
But out of all of the goodstuff that we've talked about
(58:34):
and all the tips that you'vegiven, what's your number one
tip for a listener to turn aninspiration into a design?
Vincent (58:41):
Okay, that's a great question.
My number one tip for all ofyou listeners to turn your
inspiration into a design at theend of the day is to live your
life and soak in the magic ofeverything around you, be it the
minute moments of the mundaneor the soul-shaking moments that
(59:02):
will live as cherished memoriesfor lifetimes or generations.
You can have inspiration in apuppy a happy puppy greeting you
as you come home from work orlike when you wake up the sun
shining through the leaves orlike being proposed to in like a
special way where you're likein the forest and on a hike and
(59:25):
you get proposed to and you'llremember that forever like you
can find the magic in all ofthose moments and turn that into
a design so live your life andsoak in the magic of everything
around you
Brittany (59:38):
I love it I love it that was so eloquent and I think
that will really stick with usso thank you for that and
Vincent this has been so amazingI really don't want this
conversation to end but I dowant to give people a chance to
connect with you becauseobviously you have a lot of
really great advice to giveyou've got a lot of good designs
to share so where is the bestplace for a listener to go right
(01:00:02):
now to just connect with youafter hearing the show
Vincent (01:00:06):
okay so um I'm, always available to connect with and
speak with via my Instagram ofVesuvio's Crafts.
My business is Vesuvio'sCrafts, even though my name is
Vincent, and you can connectwith me on Instagram and my
website.
I'll be having, at this point,you should see sneak peeks and
(01:00:28):
teasers for my upcoming fall andwinter collection of pattern
designs.
So that's where you can connectand join in, in my little
crafty corner of the I
Brittany (01:00:40):
love it.
Your crafty corner of theinternet.
I will have those linked in theshow notes so you don't have to
remember those or try to figureout how to spell that.
I'll have it linked in the shownotes so it's right there and
ready for you.
And Vincent, thank youseriously on behalf of all of my
listeners.
This has been so wonderful.
I'm so glad we were finallyable to get this worked out.
(01:01:00):
Thank you.
Vincent (01:01:02):
Yes.
Thank you, too.
I really appreciate it.
And I feel very honored andhumbled to be here with you and
your audience.
Brittany (01:01:10):
All right.
Once again, that was Vincentfrom Vesuvius Crafts.
I encourage you to check himout on Instagram so you can see
what he has going on and bringwhat he just said to life.
It's really cool to see hisdesigns now after hearing where
he gets his inspiration from.
It's like a completelydifferent perspective for me.
So again, you can find hisInstagram handle.
(01:01:31):
It's Vesuvius Crafts, but I'llhave that in the show notes as
well.
So you don't have to worryabout remembering that or
spelling it if you're on the goor if you're dry I'll have that
there for you.
The show notes are atBeHooked.com slash 133.
Also, don't forget to sharewhere you get your inspiration
from in the comment section ofthat page.
(01:01:52):
Or because I'm really trying toshow this community the value
in Twitter and how great it isfor conversations, tweet me
about it.
My handle is atBeHookedCrochet.
That's just the letter B.
And tell me where you get yourdesign inspiration from.
I can't wait for that.
I'm challenging you to do thatso that we can continue the
(01:02:14):
conversation on Twitter.
But of course, if you'd ratherleave the comment on the show
notes page, that is available toyou as well.
One last thing I want tomention before I go is that this
episode was brought to you bymy blueprint course, Tunisian
Crochet for Beginners.
Tunisian crochet is one ofthose skills that I learned as a
result of having a lot of handand wrist fatigue, but still
(01:02:37):
needing to craft and create.
I didn't want to let go of myhooks or yarn.
And as you heard at thebeginning of this episode, me
and knitting were not friendsfor quite a while.
So I found Tunisian crochet...
after I started doing thestandard crochet, but before I
started knitting.
And it was so much fun.
It opens up a whole new worldof different stitches, but it
(01:02:59):
also can recreate stitches fromboth crochet and knitting.
Did you know that?
You can create crochet stitcheswith your Tunisian hook.
You can create knit-likestitches with your Tunisian
hook.
And you can create somethingcompletely different.
So it's like this hybrid thattakes it up a notch.
It can be totally unique, butit can also do other things.
(01:03:21):
So I teamed up with Blueprint,which is formerly known as
Craftsy, to bring you acompletely beginner course on
Tunisian crochet.
So I'll run you througheverything from...
what hook you need to getbecause they are a little bit
different.
And I'll walk you through yourfirst three projects because
there's really no better way tolearn than to create something
as you're learning.
(01:03:42):
You're getting that instantgratification or nearly instant
gratification and you'relearning something in the
process so you'll be more likelyto stick to it.
So to find out more informationon Tunisian crochet for
beginners, just head over tobehooked.com slash TCFB.
That's behooked.com slash TCFBfor Tunisian crochet for
(01:04:04):
beginners.
And I can't wait to be a partof your learning journey and
help you with Tunisian crochet.
All right, now that'll do forthis week's episode of the Be
Hooked podcast.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
It's been so, so much fun.
I really, really enjoyed thisconversation and bringing you
those interesting and differentperspectives for where to find
(01:04:25):
inspiration and how to translatethat into your designs.
Or again, if you're not adesigner, into the things that
you're already making.
So let's not forget to thankVincent over on Instagram for
his time and his wonderfulwisdom here on the show.
And I will see you next week,my friend.
Have a wonderful weekend.
(01:04:45):
Bye for now.
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