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

Norah, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

With an art degree in hand, and the pandemic raging, I was seeking a way to connect with nature and with others through my creations. I picked up a hobby I had been considering, one my sister excelled at and something cheap and easy to start learning: embroidery! It quickly became my only pastime, and I started sharing my work online. Once requests came in to purchase my work, I set up a small Etsy shop and chose the name “Knock Thrice”, to allow room for any creative medium, while keeping the element of whimsy and magic I resonate with. Response to my designs, which originally included clay, jewelry and embroidery on thrifted clothes as well as on new caps and hats, was immediate and effusive. I narrowed my focus to hand embroidered hats, and offered monthly collections on themes such as forests, witches, seaside, Greek gods and goddesses. Often my collection of 30-40 pieces would sell out within minutes once the online store was opened. Embroidering hats was a natural progression for my love of functional and wearable art. My work focuses on the whimsical, and I strive to bring elements of magic, history, and nature into my pieces.

After I simply couldn’t keep up with demand, I knew I had to adjust my approach, and so started working on more complex designs that could be completed by machine embroidery and collaborating with manufacturers. I sell to clients all over the world. Through my designs, I seek to encourage community, playfulness, self-expression and identity. I am fortunate to be able to employ one assistant. Growth has been exponential! I am learning as I go, everything from design and creation to outsourcing, procurement, social media promotion, bookkeeping and even photography and videography for each object I create. Art school gave me the tools to think creatively and approach any new task with commitment and curiosity, but learning through trial and many errors is what has bolstered me to my current position.

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

I am very deliberately creating a new kind of product, which appeals very directly to a specific demographic. I create both one-of-a-kind hand-made embroidered hats as well as small-batch manufactured and machine embroidered sweaters and cardigans with my own designs. I create what I want to see in the world, and connect with others who share my passion for whimsy, magic, nature, all things spooky and adorable. As a queer artist, I am very deliberately making designs which are inclusive, positive, open-hearted and fun. I deliberately offer a wider range of sizes than is normally available in retail fashion, as part of my commitment to inclusivity.

The biggest obstacle for me, funnily enough, has been keeping up with demand and going through natural growing pains at top speed. Keeping product stocked while still coming up with new ideas, and running all social media, product development, and email/customer service on my own was simply becoming too much! I always want to stay connected with my audience, but there came a point where I was struggling to keep up. As I am stabilizing and taking a step back I am able to focus on employing assistants to create something that I simply couldn’t achieve on my own.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Artists who choose to or stumble into making their work also their life go through a unique experience. Success feels absolutely amazing, but failure feels personal, intimate, and devastating. We take from our entire life to create something unique, that only we can do, and when the response isn’t stellar it hits home harder than you can imagine. There is always more work to be done, there is always more to create, and we get little to no outside confirmation of a job well done, of a break earned, of a rest deserved. If you don’t make it, if you don’t imagine it, it simply does not happen.

I am also so fortunate to be able to have complete control on my time and life, but it means I celebrate and commiserate, mostly, alone. My community is amazing, and as I expand to hire fellow creatives and amazing, dedicated workers, my circle expands and I can finally start taking those breaks. But I do ask those, who claim an artists work is flexible and easy, if they want complete control? Do they wish to make every choice? I learned quickly that it’s much harder than even I expected, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.`

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

After 2 years of making hand embroidered hats I finally moved into my own studio space, designed specifically for this work, and was settling down to create more than I ever had before – when I slammed into the biggest obstacle: injury. I started getting shooting pains in my elbows and wrists, despite all my daily stretching and breaks, I had not been able to overcome the RSI that plagues so many creatives. Despite my compression gloves, wrist brace, ice packs, stretches and massages… I couldn’t work. I stopped halfway through a drop stricken with fear and grief that I had caused irreparable damage. I went home to rest and be with family, and to figure out what was the next step.

That’s when I decided to pivot, to make a big change and start working more in design than in hand embroidered work. At the time I was making 2-4 hats per day, 5 days a week, and on weekends too. No wonder I got injured! The shift into manufactured work was scary. I was, and am, an artist first. That is my passion, that is what I want to be doing – moving into a business oriented model meant less art, in my mind. Not to mention the learning curve of working with manufacturers was steep, expensive, and I almost gave up due to the difficulties. However, I pushed through. I found new people to work with, I paid for my mistakes, and have kept evolving to understand this complex system as well as I can. Fortunately, I am still making so much art! Instead of having to whip out work every single day, I can focus on what I am making and make it the best possible version of that thing. I have never been more proud of my work, because it truly feels like my own ideas without the limit of my physical capabilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: knockthrice.ca
• Instagram: @knock.thrice
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/knock.thrice/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/knockthrice
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@knockthrice
• Other: TiktTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@knock.thrice?lang=en