Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chere Brower. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chere, 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?

I learned my first fiber art technique (knitting) on a trip to see family when I was 13 years old. I remember seeing my younger cousin working on something and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. When I asked her to teach me, what resulted was a few hours of multiple ladies surrounding me and working hard to impart their knowledge. I was a third of the way into my first scarf when I left that trip and I was hooked on crafting.

The most important aspect of my learning process was just practice, practice, practice. I was not the kind of creative who was naturally good at it whatsoever. Many of my early projects for the first several years were….I’ll be kind to myself and just say ‘wonky’.

Once I started trying patterns and regularly venturing out of my comfort zone, my skills increased. I’d say the most important skills were tension and pattern reading. This goes for both knitting and crochet and it’s the kind of skill that has to be developed through, once again, regular practice.

The main obstacle that stood in the way of me learning more was honestly just myself. I would put down the yarn for long stretches at a time, especially when the lack of satisfactory results on projects started to get to me. But to my credit, I always picked it back up eventually.

Chere, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a woman of many hats. First and foremost, I am a mother and wife. Behind that, I have a veritable collection of hobbies that I’m passionate about – fiber art, reading, writing, cooking, and dance being the main ones. I was diagnosed with ADHD late in life which I credit as being the reason I’m able to have such an explosion of interests and create such a variety of things.

It wasn’t until I had been crafting up fiber art for over a decade that I finally decided to start trying to sell my finished items. I signed up for my first craft fair in 2018 as a way to cope with my husband deploying by giving myself something to focus on while he was gone. The base we lived by had quarterly fairs, so that year I would spend three months planning out my next table setup and creating cool new inventory to show off. Ma Chere Galleria became an official business the next year.

I am the kind of person who always wants to be moving forward, so I don’t tend to create the same kinds of items more than a handful of times, if that. I do have three main categories (women, children, and home) but I won’t hesitate to make something that doesn’t fit any of them. I want to provide a variety of fun decor, accessories, and gifts that my buyers can be sure are special and unique. Many of my items are one of a kind.

If you swing by my craft fair table or visit my online shop, you’ll find colorful throw pillows with large embroidered accents, textured hats, argyle scarves, wall hangings, baby shoes, cotton washcloths, even occasional baskets or chunky blankets, all made by my two hands.

I am of the belief that for every individual item I make, there’s someone out there who will love it. It’s well worth giving me a follow on social media because you never know when I’m going to post the item that speaks to you!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing is easily the feedback that I get from others on my art in real time. I’m pretty sure we all as creatives struggle with imposter syndrome from time to time. I had it terribly at my first craft fair, feeling like a kid who scribbled on the wall at an art show and claimed I was participating too. Being able to do craft fairs and see the public reactions to my pieces has boosted my self esteem as a fiber artist tremendously.

There’s nothing better than watching the face of someone as they stoically scan my table when they see something that makes their eyes light up and a smile break out. It’s so rewarding to hear exclamations of “oh my goodness, how precious” or “look at THAT” to a friend as they point out a piece that spoke to them. Even just seeing people who are walking by and not stopping elbow a friend to point at something in my booth is a wonderful compliment. Nobody does something like that just to be nice. Whatever I have made was, in that moment, truly worth taking a moment to admire.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

At the moment, yes there is! When I decided to start doing fiber art as an official business that came with more than a few impulsive purchases of yarn in bulk. Before I knew it, I had amassed a horde of a few hundred skeins of different sizes, weights, and materials. My current goal is to chew what I bit off, so to speak, and use up every last strand of yarn I impulsively bought. Once that’s done, I’ll pick a new mission in my business life and keep my yarn shopping to reasonable levels.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MaChereGalleria.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherebrower/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaChereGalleria/

Image Credits
Chere Brower