Featured Artist Jolene of Knothing But Crafty

There are some people that are just creative from the start and Jolene is one of those people.  After her parents separated and it was just her and her mom, Jolene had to find ways to occupy herself; while some might find trouble, Jolene found creativity!  She would take odds and ends and make furniture for her dolls or watch creative segments on TV and then run off to try to recreate them on her own.

Jolene’s grandmother was also a creative lady who passed along her love of yarn and taught her to crochet.  She calls her grandmother her “crochet yarn role model” and is quick to make something new and take it to her grandmother for her opinion and advice.  In a way, Jolene is showing love and appreciation for her to continue the art she was lovingly taught.

Other than being surrounded by skeins and skeins of beautiful colors of yarn, Jolene has a busy life.  She had a long term long distance relationship, and after losing her job decided to pack up and move cross country to be with him!  After a short time inFlorida, the couple again packed and moved toNorth Carolinafor his job.  While she lovesNorth Carolinashe will always be a bit of aCaliforniagirl and compares the trees and mountains that she now sees with those of the west coast.  In addition, Jolene loves to read to relax at the end of her day as well as play with photography.  For a time, she was even able to use a dark room and develop and edit her own images…but now, without a dark room, she is keeping herself occupied with her SLR camera and Photoshop-which she admits she is not a huge fan of, but you make due with what you have.  Maybe, one day, she will be able to make a dark room of her own and return to the developing and editing that she loves.  Jolene also loves to draw, paint, and do embroidery.

With all that said, what really gets Jolene’s heart racing is yarn!  She has found that the possibilities are endless with what you can create with this versatile stuff as well as innumerable colors and textures to work with.  She currently is selling her crochet work, but never one to leave well enough alone, is teaching herself to knit.  Jolene hopes to one day sell her knitted creations alongside her crochet art.

After years of making things for herself, family, and friends, Jolene heard about Etsy and took the leap into online selling.  She was at square one and had no idea where to start!  She purchased a handmade gift for her boyfriend and began to ask that seller questions.  She was lucky enough to find a seller that was willing to offer some advice and tell her about other selling venues and KnothingButCrafty was born!  She has fallen in love with selling her handmade work because she now has an opportunity to make things she normally wouldn’t as well as know that there are people out there that like, buy and use her creations!  Awesome feeling!  Jolene has not ventured, yet, into the world of craft shows and fairs, but after learning about this talented lady, I can imagine that you lucky people inNorth Carolinawill soon see her work in person locally.

Jolene is happy to offer advice to others considering selling their own handmade work and encourages them to find other artists and ask questions!  While they might not all be willing to help, many are happy to mentor a new artist on the art of online selling as many creative people really do want to see other creative artists succeed.  You may stumble, and there is a definite learning curve, but you will never know unless you try.

Are you ready to see what this talented fiber artist can do with a bit of yarn and a hook?  Well, she is currently selling her art on ArtFire and you can follow her activities on FaceBook.  Jolene recently set up a Blog, which is a work in progress, but she plans on sharing her trials and errors on her knitting journey.  So what are you waiting for?  Hope on over and prepare to fall in love with KnothingButCrafty’s artwork!