Get To Know: Croochet

Justine Durrant

Jenn is a multi talented crafter! She enjoys many artsy things, but her crocheting is truly amazing and adorable! I could honestly but every one of her creations and fill my daughter's toy box with them. I really love that she gives back and supports places such as the Marine Mammal Rescue! You can see that she puts a lot of love and care into each and every one of her items.

A word from the designer:

Hi! My name is Jenn and my shop is Croochet. Friends who grew up with me know that I really really, really love arts and crafts. In the past, I've done paintings (acrylic, oil, pastal, charcoal...), ceramic, sketching, clay...etc. To be honest, I still wonder why I had not pursued the arts field in post secondary.... Regardless though, I am happy with graduating with a degree in applied biology! Crocheting is something that I was always interested in, but never had a chance to learn. When that opportunity came up a few years ago, I dived right into it!
"Why crochet and not knitting?" I am frequently asked. Well, because sigh I'm a pretty simple-minded person who seems to only be able to work with 1 hook rather than 2 needles. When I first learned to crochet, all I made were scarves and coasters from diagrams in books. (For some reason, Youtube was not the first thing that popped into my mind...) Eventually, I wanted to make plushes.

My first attempted project was my favorite animal: the whale!! It took a longgggg time (and numerous tweeking sessions) until they reached their final, present chubby form. Because I learnt to crochet in rounds by joining rounds, these Croochet signature whales are one of the few plushes that has the 'ribbed' look. I also made some pokemon season 1 starters (i.e. the beloved Pikachu team) and cacti. Anyway, long story short, this is pretty much how I got started!
Currently, I am working on new items as well as an on-going collaboration with the Vancouver Aquarium on fundraising for the Vancouver Marine Mammal Rescue. Every few months, I donate a batch of my chubby blushing whales to the aquarium and ALL proceeds will go towards the Rescue in helping to rehabilitate and rescue wild, distressed animals. I am extremely grateful that I am able to give back locally with the skills I have.
A special thank you to my very first customer, David, who bought a cactus set from me. His encouragement is the reason why I had the confidence to start an online shop. In addition, I love all the messages and e-mails that my followers and customers regularly send me/leave on instagram. It is truly amazing to be in this community where everyone is so supportive and kind! Thank you to everyone who has made a purchase from Croochet. You are not only supporting me, you are also indirectly contributing to the Marine Mammal Rescue!

A word from the Maker Heart team:

Thank you for sharing your cute creations with us Jenn. You are an inspiration and have definitely inspired me to try get more involved in raising money for charities! We hope to see more from you on the Maker Heart blog soon.