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

Hi Tamsin, thanks for joining us 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.

In 2020, I was looking for something creative to spend my time doing during the early months of Covid. While housetraining our newly adopted puppy took up much of my time, I knew I needed something else to fill my days while my then college and high-school-aged daughters were spending their hours in online school, and my husband was holed up in the home office.

Having been raised by a creative family in the mountains of NC, I’d been exposed to plenty of art forms and various types of multimedia crafts. As a child, I had opportunities to learn about textile arts, such as wool combing, yarn spinning and dyeing, knitting, cross-stitching, sewing, and crocheting. While I never pursued fiber arts in any professional way (I was a special education teacher for many years), I’d always had a fondness for these mediums.

After deciding I wanted to learn how to crochet properly, I ordered a couple of books and read several articles. The learning curve was initially very slow, and there were some frustrating challenges, but almost immediately, I found that I was absolutely smitten with crochet. I started by making scarves and small blankets (anything with right angles was right in my comfort zone!). Soon, after some experimenting, I was able to branch out into crocheting hats and simple bags.

Ultimately, what ended up capturing my heart was amigurumi (the Japanese art of crocheting or knitting small stuffed creatures or dolls). This skill was definitely easier to learn visually, and knowing there wouldn’t be any in-person classes available, I turned to YouTube. I was amazed at the generosity of amigurumi artists worldwide, who were willing not only to make detailed tutorial videos but also to answer my many questions. The more I learned about amigurumi, the more joy I found it brought me. While I genuinely enjoy creating crochet projects like hats, bags, scarves, and sweaters, my real passion is amigurumi. It takes so much patience to learn (a sense of humor is also a must!), but being able to create a crocheted animal or doll from a ball of yarn and a hook is a fantastic feeling. Seeing a child’s or parent’s reaction (whether it’s a custom order or a crafts show sale) is an overwhelmingly rewarding feeling. It has been over four years since I started my crochet journey, and I believe I’m only at the beginning of what there is to learn.

In short:
How did I learn? Books and online tutorials, LOTS of trial and error, patience, and a sense of humor.
What would I have done to speed up the learning process? I’d have started with YouTube earlier, and (now that there’s no quarantine) I’d probably have taken a class or spoken at length with an amigurumi artist locally.
What skills are most essential? Patience. Patience. Patience. Also, creativity and the ability to laugh at yourself.
What obstacles stood in my way? Just access to other artists/professionals because of the timing and being at home.

Tamsin, 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?

I was raised in the lovely city of Asheville, NC. Both of my parents are artists (my mom is a gallery artist working with porcelain and hot glass, and my dad is a talented architectural woodwork designer). I studied special education at Western Carolina University and had a truly rewarding career as a lead teacher and administrator working with children with autism. I married my college sweetheart, and we’ve raised our two beautiful daughters here in Charlotte, NC.

In 2020, looking for a creative way to pass the time during Covid, I began crocheting. I started by making winter hats and market bags for family and friends, then quickly learned about the creative art of amigurumi (Japanese for crocheting or knitting small stuffed animals and dolls). With the generous help of online amigurumi artists, I learned the basics, and I absolutely fell in love with this process. I have focused the majority of my efforts on designing patterns and creating charming amigurumi toys.

In March 2022, I created M&L Mercantile LLC. ‘M&L’ stands for ‘Mouse & Lamb’. Mice are often portrayed in books and movies as industrious and creative. Think Mary, Jaq, and Gus from Cinderella, Stewart Little, Despereaux, and Remy from Ratatouille (yes, a rat but mouse-adjacent and arguably the most talented-winning critics’ hearts in a multi-Michelin Starred Parisian restaurant). Lambs are…well…where wool comes from, and some of my favorite yarns are made from lamb’s wool.

In December 2022, I started my Etsy shop. Everything in my shop is designed and made by me. I love the process of creating the patterns for my products (although I don’t yet sell any of my patterns). I offer a fully customizable variety of crochet winter hats, market bags in a multitude of sizes and colors, an assortment of home decor items, and a collection (also fully customizable) of small amigurumi critters-in-jars and keychains. I love working closely with customers to create the exact item they have in mind.

Early in 2024, I did my first crafts show/arts festival. This experience was completely magical for me. Designing and outfitting my booth was such a fun process. I adored being face-to-face with my customers! This interaction allowed me to answer questions about my products, describe my process, talk about materials, and get ideas for new creations. While I hand-make everything I sell in my booth and use mainly my own patterns, selling at a crafts fair gives me the opportunity to utilize a few patterns designed by other talented crochet artists, which allows me to offer a larger variety of products. I have already applied to and been accepted into three more craft shows/vendor events this year, and I am so excited to be out in my community interacting with my customers.

I plan to update my Etsy shop with many of my new products in the new year. I love my ‘word-of-mouth’ customers and will definitely continue taking and making custom orders for baby showers, birthdays, and any other occasions. Moving forward with M&L Mercantile, I plan to increase my focus on local crafts shows and work on growing my social media.

I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish in just over four years. I’ve had so much fun building my business! Crochet often gets a bad rap as being an ‘old lady’ sport. However, I’ve found that today’s crochet artists tend to be a little edgy and have fantastic senses of humor, and I’ve enjoyed being welcomed into this particular community. I’ve had amazing and unending support and encouragement from my family and many close friends. I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to grow my business and for the people I’ve gotten to meet and learn from. It has truly been a journey of joy.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Learning the art of crochet, specifically, is a very visual process. Being able to read a pattern is ideal if you’re trying to create something that someone else has designed. However, if there is a complicated section in a written pattern or a step that is difficult to understand, watching another crochet artist complete it in real-time can be the difference between finishing a project successfully or having to abandon it or, maybe worse, having the end result be unrecognizable. Similarly, if you’re trying to learn how to write your own patterns, often it can be very helpful to have an expert talk you through the process by showing you examples.

I began my crochet journey by reading books and articles. While I eventually found my way to YouTube and the brilliant and talented crochet artists there who are willing to share knowledge, I later realized that there is a whole world of pattern sharing, technique teaching, question answering, and general encouragement from the crochet community on many social media platforms. I’ve learned so much from artists on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, as well as smaller sites like Ribbler, Ravelry, Crochet Coach, Crocheting 101, and many more.

Had I known about these resources earlier in my learning process, I would have been able to avoid a great deal of frustration and potentially shorten my learning curve. I would definitely recommend that anyone interested in learning to crochet take advantage of the many online resources from the very beginning of their journey.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I’ve found such a sense of calm and zen throughout my journey with crochet. The joy that designing and making amigurumi and other crochet creations has given me has kept me enthusiastically coming back, more days than not, to explore new and different techniques, yarns, tools, and patterns and to keep making new and challenging pieces.

As much as I’ve adored learning and creating crochet, I’ve loved seeing the reactions of the people who receive one of my creations more. The genuine happiness on a little kid’s face when they fall in love with a toy in my booth and have it officially named before it’s even been paid for is the sweetest. The videos I’ve been sent from happy clients who gave one of my pieces to a new mom at a baby shower or a new baby’s big sister are among my favorite moments. I absolutely love bringing joy to people and making them smile with something that I’ve created.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mlmercantile.etsy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlmercantileshop?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=M2M0Y2JmOTAyOA==

Image Credits

Highlander Creative (Landon Orrand)