by Jessi Myers
Designing gets me out of bed everyday. The coffee helps too
“
“Michelle is the owner and designer behind MJ’s Off the Hook Designs and Sentry Box Designs, a creative haven for yarn-lovers and popular resource for accessory and home decor crochet patterns.
She is a self-taught crocheter, starting about 7 years ago and becoming obsessed, saying it “helped me cope with stress.” Within 6 months she was selling finished products through FB and a local store. 2 years later, she started selling her own patterns.
Michelle’s fun, beginner-friendly patterns, including her Mermaid Tail Blanket and Hooded Owl Blanket, have gained great popularity on social media leading to a feature on Tyra Banks Fab Life show. She lives in Lakefield Ontario with her husband and 4 kids, aged 8, 12, 15 and 17, and one little kitty the kids affectionately call Whiskers but she calls him Whisky.
FUN FACTS ABOUT MICHELLE
- I’ve worked out for as long as I can remember and started running about 5 years ago, I never thought I could run now I can’t not run.
- I’m a Type A personality and my personality colour is blue.
- Math and Art were my favourite subjects in school and I went to college for accounting.
- I love blueberry tea or any berry flavoured.
- My fav things to make are blankets and cardigans.
- One more thing I love chocolate and Netflix.
WHERE TO FOLLOW MICHELLE
I’m not a hugger but I’d hug ya if you need one 💖“
Amber is the designer for Divine Debris. Her mother taught her to crochet as a child but she didn’t discover a love of the craft until she was working at a craft store in New York back in 2012. She started making her own earrings with thread but quickly moved on to bigger projects and thicker yarns. She launched a blog in 2013 and started selling her own patterns not long after.
As a designer, her style seems to be textured stitch combinations and color pairings, with the goal to create bold and visually interesting designs. When she’s not crocheting, you can find her reading comic books, playing video games, re-watching Bob’s Burgers or out sampling southern California craft beer. She lives in SoCal with her husband and their red-tailed boa, Sal.
FUN FACTS ABOUT AMBER
- I have 6 tattoos, with my favorite being a Wonder Woman tattoo on my back you can see in a few of my pattern photos.
- I have a huge sweet tooth and I love to bake. When the cooler months hit, I make lots of cookies to snack on while crocheting.
- In the last couple years my husband and I started hiking and I never thought I’d say this, but I might be an out-doorsy kind of person.
- I LOVE sour beer. I had my first one a few years ago and fell in love, I just delight in that tart flavor dancing on my tongue.
- My favorite things to make are bags and sweaters these days, a mix of quick and fun.
- Divine Debris is named for a Nine Inch Nails song because in high school, I wore a lot of eye liner and had pink hair (guess some things don’t change with time).