We recently connected with Erin Reiko Bissot and have shared our conversation below.

Erin Reiko, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Most of my knowledge as a crochet artist/designer is surprisingly self-taught. As a young child, I was drawn to anything that let me express my creativity – painting, drawing, sewing, and most importantly, fiber arts. The first time I had ever been introduced to crochet & knitting was when I saw a handmade scarf at my Aunt’s house, and I was hooked immediately (pun intended). That same day I was taken to Michael’s craft store to pick out my very first crochet hook and ball of yarn. At first, I was shown the basic building blocks, but it wasn’t until I discovered crochet books & dictionaries that I truly began to teach myself the more advanced techniques & develop my own style. In the years that followed, the art of crochet always held a special place in my heart.

They say hindsight is 20/20, and now that it’s been two decades since my introduction into the creative world I feel that there are countless ways I could have kickstarted my learning process. The absolute best way to learn a new skill is practice, practice, practice! Diving head first into your craft, getting your hands dirty (so to speak), and learning through trial and error. Growing up in a more traditional household, the creative field was not viewed seriously – and because of this I never fully allowed myself the proper engagement or time that’s crucial to expanding any skill set. Now that crochet designing and fiber arts is my full-time job, much of my work is spent experimenting and practicing with new techniques, stitches & fibers. I can only imagine where my art would be today, had I been more consistent from the start.

Exposing yourself and trying different styles/niches within your craft also plays a huge role in the creative journey! Believe it or not – up until college I had only ever seen crocheted scarves and blankets. It wasn’t until the start of my Youtube career when I realized there were endless possibilities. Social media wasn’t as popular as it is now and little did I know, artists were able to crochet their entire wardrobes. For me, seeing another crocheter make a wearable crop top was absolutely groundbreaking at the time. Once I realized there was a huge variety of items I could make, and hundreds of different styles to make them in, I felt completely awakened to the possibilities of art. Even now, I will occasionally stumble across a particularly niche creation that I’ve never seen before, and this continuously inspires me to think outside of the box and mesh multiple styles into something entirely unique. If you never try anything new, you will never create beyond your limitations.

Erin Reiko, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those who are new to my line of work, I’d love for you to get to know me a little further! My name is Erin, I’m 30 years old, and I’m a full-time crochet artist and fiber-arts designer. Not only do I create educational tutorials and videos on Youtube, I also run my own small business hand-dyeing scrumptious yarns and fibers.

I primarily focus on creating a balanced mixture of functional & fashionable clothing, accessories, and home decor pieces. My style of design is described as eclectic – playing on modern, everyday silhouettes while implementing textural /visual elements such as intricate stitch patterns or the use of multi-dimensional fibers. A fluctuating balance of each element is what creates my personal style.
My designs are also known for being extremely versatile & complimentary. As an open-minded artist, I find beauty in all types of fashion – whether its soft feminine pieces, casual unisex garments, bold & vibrant accessories, or unique home decor! Just as our personalities are multi-faceted, it is the same with my art.

I began to take my creative path seriously in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. I felt so lost in life and needed some kind of creative outlet, so I made the decision to share my artistic journey on Youtube! It didn’t take long for me to discover my creative purpose, which is teaching & instructing others on how to create their own handmade items. I like to think of my channel as the 411 to the crochet/fiber world. I’ve made hundreds of videos centered around all things crafting – step by step crochet tutorials, creative process vlogs, rug tufting experiments, yarn discussions, etc. If you want to learn how to crochet your own sweater, shorts, rug, pillow – I have a tutorial for it all!

With my small business, I create hand-dyed yarns for other crocheters/knitters in a wide array of colorways and I provide several fiber bases to accommodate everyone’s personal preference – such as wool, cotton, silk, linen, etc. As an indie yarn dyer, I hand paint these fibers with a unique combination of colors and hues that you don’t usually find at big box stores. Hand-dyed fibers are exciting to work with because you can fully customize your garment’s fiber content and color design.

What sets my work & art apart from others in my field is my versatility and the sharing of knowledge. Many designers create pieces that are geared towards generic sizing, whereas my specialty is centered around teaching how to crochet items for anyone’s unique shape and style. I love to utilize the fundamentals of clothing construction and encourage my audience to manipulate simple techniques in order to adapt to their own specific preferences. Needless to say, my patterns are accommodating and beginner-friendly!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The overall driving force in my creative journey all boils down to one overreaching theme : encouraging other like-minded creatives to fashion their own handmade items. Whether that be clothing, accessories, functional and/or aesthetic artwork for their home, etc. – it’s important to explore your own version of self-expression. By taking a slower, more sustainable approach to fashion & design, I want to encourage my audience to find value & appreciation in crafting their own projects completely by hand. Through my platforms, I aim to motivate everyone to try something new, get out of their comfort zone, and provide them with as much knowledge as possible.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

In my experience, I’ve come to realize those who do not create art, whether in their spare time or for a living, fail to grasp the core value of handmade artistry. I feel there is a major lack of understanding when it comes to just how much personal time, effort and truly hard work goes into crafting things completely by hand. There is this heavy expectation of immediate results & instant gratification that is rather unrealistic to achieve. The process of making art can take several weeks, even months to get “just right”, and requires patience and discipline.

That being said – working as a full-time artist is not possible without discipline and consistency. My Youtube channel has taken 4 years of constant filming, editing, crocheting and experimenting on a religious schedule. Finding the right audience & building a supportive community doesn’t happen overnight, much less over a year. Retaining the career path of a creative requires so much more than just the bare minimum – you have to work at it every single day (yes… even on weekends).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://erinreiko.com/
• Instagram: @erin_reiko
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/itserinb

Image Credits

Jordan Rey Abad