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

Hi Jaclyn & Catherine, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Before we started our business, my sibling was the first out of the two of us to take up trying to learn the art of crochet. They self-taught themselves by watching YouTube videos of fellow artists working through plushie crochet patterns. Through this, they learned about a multitude of different stitches and methods to further their craft. I, Jaclyn, took a great interest in watching Catherine be able to make whatever came to their mind and asked for them to help teach me. I struggled a lot keeping track of the different stitches and remembering how to perform them, even with Catherine’s help and utilizing beginner YouTube videos. So, after struggling through completing a few patterns, I decided to put down the crochet hooks and pick up punch needle embroidery. I stumbled across a TikTok video one night and was fascinated by the look of these hand tufted pieces and the endless amount of creativity that could be incorporated into the designs. I quickly ordered a kit from Etsy, and fell in love with the art. Catherine ended up switching their focus from making plushies to making bags, and I felt like I wanted to take a go at crocheting plushies again. After over a year of never picking up a crochet hook, we pulled up a YouTube video for a cow head keychain, and suddenly things just clicked for me. Catherine was very successful in picking up their craft right from the start. Knowing what I know now, I could have continued watching videos and trialing free patterns until I got things right, but I am not sure that would’ve helped me further that aspect of my craft any quicker. Had I attempted to push through the frustration and self doubt, I think it may have convinced me to never pick up a crochet hook again. Shifting my focus from crocheting to punch needle embroidery still allowed me to actively participate in our shared creativity. The positivity and success I experienced in learning to punch needle allowed me to dive back into crochet with an open mind, and I’ve been hooked ever since! We feel that patience, coordination, and counting are amongst some of the most important skills to have when trying to dive into crochet. It seems funny to think that counting is a necessity in crochet, but patterns are all about stitch counts! If your stitch count is off from what is written in the pattern, your finished piece could end up looking totally different than what’s intended. With coordination, everyone learns what works for them and what doesn’t in regard to holding your tools, yarn, etc. And patience is key. As with anything, giving yourself grace and learning from failures helps to improve your skill and success that much more!

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

Hello! We are Jaclyn and Catherine, and are the fiber artists behind Hook and Punch Creations, LLC! We are Cincinnati based, and specialize in crochet purses, crochet plushies, and punch needle embroidery pieces! A few words we would use to describe our style in creating would be alternative, whimsical, mythical, gothic, and peculiar. We are not your average crochet artists. We love thinking outside of the box with our interpretations of our creations, and take great pride in hearing that our work is some of the most unique crochet art people have seen! Our goal with Hook and Punch Creations, LLC is to share our art with the world! The crochet industry can be very oversaturated, so we pride ourselves in trying to stand out from the crowd. The vision, love, work, compassion and time we put into our pieces means the world to us. The reactions on peoples faces when they see our art is unmatched and makes us feel whole. Being able to build community within the artist community, as well as with those outside of it is indescribable.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson we had to unlearn was not every opportunity is a good opportunity. The first ever market we did, we didn’t have much expectations going into it. We didn’t have much inventory and were just happy for the experience. Then the unthinkable happened – we sold out! We were elated, and couldn’t wait to dive into any and every market we got accepted into. However, after our first success we faced failure after failure. We may have made a few sales here and there, but nothing that came close to the time, energy, and effort we had invested. There were even times when we made no sales. Things started becoming disheartening very quickly. It made us wonder if it was worth it to continue. We loved creating and didn’t want to let our dreams go. So we decided that we would take a year to seek out markets that we felt would draw in and cater to our ideal client. It took a lot of time, research, resources, and some serious trial and error, but we finally feel like we have found our people. We are still learning, but we have never felt more fulfilled and successful. It can be hard not to grab every opportunity that comes your way, especially when first starting out, but it’s important to figure out where your time, energy, and hard work is best spent.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For us, the most rewarding aspect of being artists is seeing peoples faces light up when they see our work. The expressed excitement, shock, and awe makes us feel so fulfilled in what we do. We love what we create so much, and invest so much into our craft, so seeing that excitement, admiration, and love for our art be reciprocated by the community keeps us going.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @hookandpunchcreations
• Facebook: Hook and Punch Creations, LLC
• Other: We are also on TikTok – @hookandpunch and have our linktree with all ours socials and upcoming shows in one place!
  linktr.ee/hookandounchcreations