Who Made Your Scrunchies: Meet Mollie
In our first edition of, “Who Made Your Clothes”, we want to introduce you to Mollie - the designer and maker behind our Daisy Scrunchies!
She is one amazing boss babe for so many reasons, so let’s get to know her a little bit better!
As a knitter and a crocheter, do you have a preference between the two? Which did you learn first?
Oh, that's a tough call! Perhaps I'll begin by answering your second question first - my mama taught me to knit when I was 4 years old! I really only knew how to knit in rows, back and forth, back and forth, knitting these crazy-long scarves with so so many holes in it...You know the ones I mean, the half hot-pink, half purple ones! I don't think my mom knew what to do with them, haha! I'm sure I have them in my keepsake box, down in the basement somewhere.
Eventually, I got bored of it, as all kids do, and moved onto friendship bracelets, and hemp bracelets for a while. Then came university! I learned to crochet in second year while I was supposed to be studying for a physics final. My first crochet project was an @allaboutami puff stitch beanie, with the wrong weight yarn (Bernat Chunky), so it turned into more of a bag than a beanie. Haha.
Clearly, I was ambitious and wanted to hit the ground running. I won't bore you with what happened next, but eventually, I decided a small business selling crochet headbands would be a great way to supplement my serving job income, and so Whiteowlcrochetco. was born!
At the time, I LOVED crochet! Knitting wasn't even on my radar anymore. But somehow, through Instagram, and scrolling aimlessly at night through everyone's feeds, I fell in love with it again! There's just a simplicity you get from knitting that you just can't seem to get from crochet. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they both have their perks! Knitting is great for simplicity, and thin, drapey pieces, while crochet is great for when I want speed, and ease of structure (I think I might be better at reconstructing clothing with crochet than knitting. To be determined haha).
I love that your mom helps with your business. Has she always been a part of White Owl Crochet Co.?
Whiteowlcrochetco. has always been my baby, but like my entire life, my mom is always there to help with anything I need! In 2016, I prepared for my very first market all on my own, but my mom was there to help me set up and sell, and boy, did she sell!
From there, my mom got back into knitting! I reminded her how to knit in the round, and she picked up double-brim beanies like nobody's business! She loves having something to do with her hands while she watches TV, so this was perfect for the both of us. I supply her with yarn, she supplies me with beanies! She has since learned to crochet, although she really prefers knitting since she doesn't have to watch what she's doing all the time.
One of the things I find most fascinating about you is your area of study in university. What led you to astrophysics?
Oh! Thank you, haha. Hmm. Well, in highschool, my physics teacher had us write an essay basically tearing down the physics of the Star Wars movies. That was pretty cool. Then the next year, he had us select an astronomy topic instead, and I selected the Big Bang. This led to my learning of other theories like the Big Crunch, notable figures like Hubble and Hoyle, and I decided I wanted to be a cosmologist!
Then I got to fourth-year university and realized how freaking hard cosmology is. Haha. I nearly failed it in undergrad due to working so many jobs, but I got a 95% in my Masters! Anyway, I didn't end up becoming a cosmologist - I studied star-formation instead. Stars are still pretty cool.
Your patterns offer the most incredible range of sizes and options for customization, that I can’t imagine the math that goes into developing them. Why is it important to you to offer this for your designs?
Okay. We're going to get a little personal here.
For a while, I didn't show who I was on Instagram. I didn't show my face, I barely took photos of my hands even. I tried to make the focus about my work, not who I was. And that's because the stress of my education and life, and whatever... whatever the reason was, it caused me to gain weight. And I wasn't proud of it. I thought that my friends and family that hadn't seen me in a while, but followed me on Instagram, would judge me for it, show the photo to their friends like... "Woah. What happened to her?", because that's what our society is like. That's what it's like for women. I know, because at one time or another, I've said something similar, or thought something similar.
In short, I wasn't posting photos of myself, because I thought in my own mind that at my weight, I wouldn't be accepted. Obviously, that's not right. I went to the Our Maker Life meet-up a few years in a row, and had a few revelations: 1. Nobody knew who I was regardless of how many followers I had. 2. If I think everybody *else* is beautiful in their own skin, why don't I think I'm beautiful? Why can't I treat myself with the same love and respect I treat everyone else?
I'm now beginning to post more of myself, and my body, as you'll see. And to some, I'm just average. I don't have anything to worry about. But you don't know what people are battling in their own minds. So for me, offering more sizes in my designs is self-healing. I already think both slim humans and fat humans are beautiful in their own bodies, but I want them to feel beautiful, and wanted, and accepted, in their own bodies, too. I want them to feel welcome in this community, feel welcome to share photos of themselves, and not feel limited to only sharing photos of their work.
As for the amount of options, that's more of my indecision showing through. When designing a pattern, a lot of creativity comes out! I'm thinking "Oh! What about this? And what if people want this?" So, I make it happen! I don't want to put people off purchasing my pattern because of something as silly as "Oh, I'd buy this pattern if only the sleeves were a little longer". You know what I mean? I might as well just take care of that for them, even if it only takes 1-5 hours more of my time! Why not?
You’ve been releasing some killer designs lately. Is this something that you want to continue doing more of?
You're so sweet! Thank you! I'd love to, of course! I'm going to balance it with market season, as I do love love love doing that too. So June/July I'll stop and get back to market prep. Maybe I'll pick it back up again if a design just won't shake!
What are your goals for 2019? Any upcoming projects or collaborations you’re working on?
Obtain a big-girl job! I'm all graduated from my Masters now, and I'm hoping to not be a server/bartender forever hehe. It'd be killer to make this a full-time gig, but I have a lot to learn before that becomes a reality! Some collaborations are secret for now, but keep your eye on my Instagram, you'll find out soon enough!
So, were we right? Do you love her as much as we do? If you want to know more about Mollie, you can follow or message her on Instagram @whiteowlcrochetco.
