We were lucky to catch up with Diamond Montgomery recently and have shared our conversation below.

Diamond, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I learned how to crochet in 2022 on May 7th. I was scrolling on Instagram one day and constantly kept seeing this big crochet hat to the point were I really started to want it. At the time I was unemployed and the hat was $90, so I couldn’t afford to just buy it. I immediately thought to myself “I’m sure I could easily make this hat myself”. I went to Walmart the very next day, bought me some yarn and crochet hooks for about $15, and ended making the hat that same day.

I honestly don’t think that I could have done anything differently to learn the skill any faster considering it only took me about 5 hours to learn and make the hat. Looking back, no, the hat wasn’t the best crochet hat, but considering that was my very first crochet hat and I made it in one day, I’d say I did a pretty wonderful job. I had to look at a few YouTube tutorials in order to figure out how to hold my hook, do certain stitches, and how to make a general hat. It wasn’t a simple process but when I’m determined, I tend to learn things quickly.

I learned quickly that math, being detail oriented, creativity, and having patience are very important skills that you need in order to crochet. Only obstacle that stood in my way when trying to crochet was that, when I was learning, there were not any really good absolute beginner friendly tutorials that were detailed and slow enough for me to grasp. Luckily, TikTok picked up were YouTube would slack off.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am an artist with many different skills and hobbies, but I specializes in crochet (headwear specifically). My business (11:07) started off as a boutique but after about a year and a half of trying to run it, I realized that it really just wasn’t something I was passionate about. I eventually decided to combine my love for the earth and my love for art by hand painting different animations on canvas tote bags. Although my bags were doing well, the money I was making was not consistent enough so that I could run my business full time. Fast forward, I then randomly picked up crocheting, and that has now become what I do full time. I still do art on the side but not as often as I’d like because crochet takes up a lot of my time.

With crochet you can create anything you want because of how versatile it is. I’ve come up with crochet cowboy hats, turbans, balaclavas, and so much more. I am most proud of my crochet durag that I created because it is a 2 in 1 and can be turned into a head wrap for people who don’t want to wear it as a durag. I just had the thought to create it one random night as I was putting on my beauty supply durag to get ready for bed, and that ended up being the product that changed my entire life. It gave me the confidence I needed to know I could create whatever it is that I wanted in crochet and it is the reason why I am now a self employed entrepreneur.

I’ve also had some really big content creators and celebrities in my items such as an artist named Smino. I had been manifesting giving Smino his balaclava since late December of 2022 and in February (2023) when I went to see him on tour, I was able to not only give it to him but meet him as well. It has been one of my greatest accomplishments this year because since then he has worn it many times and was recently wearing it in one of his music videos. He told me when I gave it to him that he loved it, but seeing him wear it so often just lets me know that he loved it more than I even realized. That small little encounter with him is what also gave me the confidence to know that I was headed in the right direction with my crochet business.

When starting, my goal was to have 11:07 as a household brand that people can rely on for not only fashion, but good quality that lasts a lifetime. It is slowy becoming just that (a household brand) and I love that. It has been all over the U.S. and it has been out of the country to London, Guam, Canada, Greece, and so many more places. Honestly, there is no greater feeling than seeing that your items are loved all over the globe. It’s every artists dream.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Being able to express myself and live off of my art was my main goal for myself. I’ve always worked customer service and warehouse jobs and while I am glad I did, because they helped me get where I am today, I quickly realized that it wasn’t something I could do for the rest of my life. I want to be able to be as creative as I can and share all of my many different talents with the world, whether that is from me teaching through classes/videos, or making my art widely available. My ultimate goal for my brand is affordability and quality. I wanted 11:07’s goal to be to create custom pieces for all individuals at affordable prices because good quality art shouldn’t be a luxury. Everyone deserves art. These are the goals that keep me going!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist/ creative is people knowing or recognizing my brand. I just heard someone (who I didn’t know personally) say my name and brand out loud for the first time, not too long ago, and I literally got chills. I was so happy because it’s so rewarding seeing that other people genuinely love your art and recognize you as an artist. I feel like a lot of times us, artists, have a lot of doubts about our art and are always critiquing it so to have people looking from the outside in, is always a breath of fresh air. It also lets me as a creative know that I’m doing a good job as well. I do all of my own marketing, I make all the products, I come up with my ideas, I do my own website, and so much more, so it’s also rewarding to see that all of my hard work really is paying off.

Contact Info:

• Website: Shop1107.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_diamondalexis_/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/603teddy
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@diamondalexism?_t=8aNgG2riL4k&_r=1