The start of my crochet journey is very precious, as it all began with someone I deeply loved — my great-grandma. She taught me when I stayed with her during the holidays as an 11-year-old. It wasn’t the only thing she taught me. She also gave me my first coffee (thank you grandma for my coffee addiction 😁) and made me cut my own bread for breakfast.
Since then, it felt like the crochet hook became a part of my body. I was making doilies, Christmas and Easter decorations, constantly searching for new patterns and ideas.
I became the youngest member of some crochet communities online, and it was a space that gave me a feeling of being appreciated. Crochet became my safe space during hard times. I hated school, and for all nine years I felt terrible having to go there every day. I was crocheting under the table during classes, creating my own little safe world.
I also earned my first money selling Christmas decorations and pieces as a 12-year-old kid. I would have never expected that I was already on the right path.
During my teenage years and high school, with my growing interest in music, I had less time for crochet. It completely disappeared from my life when I started university, trying to fulfill expectations and get a “useful” job in society as a software developer. It was a blind path, and I went through a lot of stress and burnout in my first job experience. The creativity I expressed through organizing events and concerts at the university club was what kept me going during those times.
In the end, I reconnected with myself during my Erasmus program. I was staying in Crete, and I finally stepped out of my stress bubble. I realized it was not my path. I started crocheting again with a sweet little project — making small bear toys for kids in refugee camps. At the end of my stay, I made a dress for myself, and that fully brought me back to my crochet path.
I quit university, and everyone was angry and didn’t understand, because I was very close to getting my degree. But I felt like I couldn’t keep wasting even a little more time on something that didn’t make sense to me.
I started traveling and always had some side job for a few months. In crochet, I began working on more interesting designs and also my first freehand pieces. One of them was a linen top for beautiful Tina, who I stayed with at her amazing place in Norway with her herd of horses.
I traveled to many different places, including the UK, Spain, Romania, Albania, the USA, Thailand, and Australia. I worked on farms, in kitchens, in customer service, doing traffic surveys, office jobs…
I was very lucky to end up in New Zealand during COVID. I stayed as a volunteer in a yoga community for a year and had so much free time that I could invest in art. There was no rush — everything was just flowing — and I started designing my first crochet pieces in my new style.
I also joined the rave community, mostly around psytrance, and found my long-lost love — dance. There was something special about that experience because I felt like I was living with my tribe. It felt familiar. I had been missing this in my life before — the connection to nature and to each other as human beings without masks.
The tribal vibe, nature, art, and creativity around me deeply inspired my designs, and I found myself in it. This also brought my first custom orders.
Since coming back to Europe, the path has just been opening. I’ve been working on more and more exciting projects with wonderful people. I’ve visited many raves and festivals and met so many interesting souls. I started writing my patterns and building my social media.
I have to say — it’s not an easy path. Many times I struggled with money problems, body pain, and very hard personal situations, including an abusive relationship. I was constantly finding ways to reach the right people. So many times I felt defeated and asked myself if I should just give up — if what I do has value, if it makes sense.
But here we are, and I am still on this path, always finding new motivation and receiving support from thousands of people I could have never imagined.
It’s still not easy, but I keep believing. I keep following my calling because I feel like this is what I’m meant to do. It challenges me on all levels, and I keep building myself — improving my mindset, body, communication, beliefs, and emotional reactions through meditation, yoga, exercise, music, and small daily habits.
New doors are opening. I live surrounded by the most amazing people. I started DJing and deepening my love for music, and I keep discovering new beautiful things.
I’m still in the process of finding all the people of my tribe and the best way to share the best of me with those who are interested and tuned to the same frequency.
I aim to share love, creativity, support, and connection — to nature and to ourselves.
Are you from the same tribe? 💛