We were lucky to catch up with Stevie Lucas recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stevie, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My grandmother started to teach me how to crochet and sew when I was six years old. It was really challenging, especially since I’m left-handed. My grandmother thought I was holding the hook wrong, so she always put it in my right hand to correct me. I learned how to do a lot of things right-handed because of this. It definitely slowed things down for me because I’m wired to do things a certain way. We lived in a very old-fashioned, Mennonite community. Being left-handed was sort of frowned upon.

Sewing always came easier to me since we used a machine. If I had to sew something by hand, I would switch back and forth between hands. I actually figured out how to sew faster than tying my shoes. My parents weren’t really sure how to help me either because they’re both right-handed.

We moved away later in the same year my grandma started to teach me how to crochet. After that, I was on my own. I had to figure out how to do things by myself. The internet wasn’t the same back in the 90’s, so I didn’t have access to the same resources people take for granted now. YouTube and Ravelry didn’t exist. I would read books from Wal-Mart and try to figure things out by looking at the pictures.

I taught myself how to read patterns when I was in high school. Freshman year is when I started my business, but I knew I would have better luck getting more commissions if I had access to more skills. I started to teach myself how to knit with some books and it came to me so much easier. I think knowing how to crochet first and understanding how pulling a loop through a loop in a more complex way really helped me understand knitting since there were fewer steps involved. It was very important to me to learn as much as I could, so I would drill myself on the terms used in patterns and timed myself to see if I could get faster. I joined theater class at school so that I could work in the wardrobe department. I would sacrifice my lunch period sometimes to work on costumes for upcoming shows and my teacher would pick me up on the weekends to work. I was very dedicated to my craft and made it my top priority.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Stevie Lucas, a fiber artist that streams on Twitch in the Makers & Crafting community. I write patterns, make things with yarn or resin, then sell them in my store or make specialized commissioned pieces. I can make anything from hats to amigurumi plush dolls.

I’m nonbinary (they/them), demi-sexual panromantic and try to include a bit of activism into my work. I focus a lot on LGBTQIA+ issues as well as advocate for the disabled community. My chronic illness, interstitial cystitis, has left me disabled and unable to work a regular job, so I use my platform to bring awareness to a lot of the issues and challenges that come with that.

I feel like being a fiber artist is who I was always meant to be. It’s been a huge part of my life since I was a child and it’s a skill that I’ve always been able to fall back on. With streaming becoming popular, starting a channel was a very natural step to take. It allows me to connect with those already familiar with my work, people interested in learning more about what I do, and can even introduce people to new things. I love being able to show people the endless possibilities with knitting and crochet and it’s really nice to have some company while I work.

Being so open about my experiences has led to others finding their most authentic selves. I’m very proud to be a part of people’s journey to self-discovery and I’m proud that I’ve helped people learn how to advocate for themselves when it comes to their health.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The first step is understanding that what we do as creatives is real work. There’s a bit of unfair judgment that people have towards artists that’s caused some disrespect and even resentment. People tell me to get a real job all the time. When I ask them what they think that means, they usually describe “a 9-5 that pays a living wage”. They have no idea how many hours a week we put into what we do or that it often pays more than what we would make if we got a job making minimum wage. In a lot of cases, artists still have to work a day job.

The next step is hearing us when we speak about our struggles. There are times when we try to bring awareness to unfair policy changes certain platforms make or even legislation that makes what we do more challenging than it needs to be. That’s usually when we get hit with “get a real job”. Art is essential in our day to day and we need artists to create. In order to do that, we need to make sure our rights are represented and that we have allies to support us. This effects everyone just as much as it does artists.

Last, understand the power of word of mouth, social media, and go to as many shows as possible. If you see your artist friends on social media make a post of their latest work, share the post with credit or show it off to as many people as possible. Maybe spend a little time learning how to help increase visibility to help boost the algorithm since it changes all the time. If someone you know is about to have a baby, ask someone to make a blanket or sweater as a gift. If there is a craft fair or convention coming to your town, try to make it out, especially if there’s someone you know that’ll be selling there. You never know what kind of cool things people are making and it may even inspire you to start do it yourself. Plus, it’s always encouraging when we see our friends come out to support us. If you have a few dollars to spare each month, you can subscribe to your favorite artists on Twitch, Patreon, K0-fi, or wherever they may have memberships set up. Every little bit helps.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I don’t do what I do because it’s the easy way out. Nothing about what I’m doing is easy. I’ve worked in just about any type of industry you can think of; retail, food, insurance, healthcare, independent film, warehouse, and hospitality. I can give you banking advice and drive a forklift. I’ve done just about everything, so when I say that running a business as an artist is the hardest job I’ve ever had, I hope that carries some weight.

I chose to follow this path and give it everything I have because it’s what drives me. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I want to do is get to work and start making things. No one gave me permission to start doing this. If anything, people heavily advised against it. With my stubbornness and persistence, I was able to get to where I am today. I still have a lot of room to grow, but I thrive on that challenge.

I’ve met a lot of people that wish they could give it a shot, but feel like they can’t for whatever reason. My advice is to start small. If you aren’t sure about which craft you want to try out, then try little kits and see what you enjoy the most. There’s a community out there for just about anything, so there will always be people interested in what you do. I never thought that I could have a successful knitting channel on Twitch, but I was very surprised after giving it a shot. You’ll never know what you’ll discover on your journey. The first step is always the hardest, but it’s absolutely worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ko-fi.com/mystikdesigns
• Instagram: @mystikdesigns
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/magicineverystitch
• Other: Twitch: @ninjaknitter Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/mystikdesign, www.etsy.com/shop/yourstitcherfriend