We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Miriam Macklin a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Miriam, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.

I taught myself how to crochet in 2020! It was during the peak of COVID, when everyone was quarantined and I craved a new skill/hobby to keep myself entertained and feeling fulfilled with myself. I’ve always aspired to be a ‘jack of all trades,’ so this was another talent to add onto my mental resume. Learning to crochet was definitely one of the hardest skills I’ve learned. I never new my patience could be tested so vigorously. It took weeks before I was able to successfully complete my first simple square after hours of YouTube tutorials and piles of knotted yarn from failed attempts. Seeing where I am now; though, I am thankful for my determination and unwillingness to give up. I refused to let this skill go un-mastered. Here we are – 4 years later – and I have designed some of the most mind blowing pieces that I would not have even fathomed the day I first picked up that crochet needle. Knowing what I know now, I would have put more focus into learning about the different hook sizes and wide variety of stitch styles. It would have made my first projects much more neatly crafted. I would have also prioritized maintaining strong wrists and hands early on to prevent injury. The most essential skill in crochet is by far just having the patience for it. I refuse to let any obstacle stand in my way of perfecting my craft – but poor time management often hinders the progress.

Miriam, 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?

Absolutely! I’ve been all about fashion since a little girl – making sure my parents bought me every clothing accessory for my Bratz and Barbie dolls! Playing ‘dress up’ was a sport to me. I had to be the best dressed no matter where I was at. Now I will say, my idea of being the ‘best dressed’ looked VERY different as a child than it does to me now. I’m honestly embarrassed by some of the looks my younger self put together in the name of fashion haha! But it is a passion that stuck with me forever. Growing up, I had a vision for myself attending UCLA school of fashion. Obviously that is not how my story played out – but it goes to show that your passions always have a way of finding you. I actually graduated with my Bachelors in Psychology and am preparing to get my Masters. Aside from fashion, the mind has always fascinated me. I’m even able to apply many of my learnings into the business itself. I currently manage an Autism Therapy Center in Charlotte, Nc and soon will continue my education to become a Clinical Psychologist – making sure my craft remains a priority and not letting my creative flow die out. My son, Jayden, helps keep my creativity flowing! Knowing that one day, all of my accomplishments will directly reflect on him keeps me going. I think that’s one thing that sets me apart from others. They say “a jack of all trades is a master of none” and I am determined to prove that to be wrong. As far as what I would like my followers and fans to know – every stitch is done with pure love. I used to think that the greatest feeling with crochet was completing the project, but have quickly learned that the true greatest feeling is seeing someone else wearing and loving one of my designs.

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

I have a specific vision for my life and I will stop at nothing until it has become reality.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

You meet the most interesting people in the simplest ways. A conversation sparked a friendship, which built trust – that later blossomed collaboration and brought a partnership alive. My business partner helped me tap into a new demographic of people with a different perspective and ideology.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.designerexclusive.company.site
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/thedesignerexclusive