We caught up with the lovely Candy, the amigurumi designer known as Hooked on Candy šæļø
Tell us a little bit about yourself – your background, general day to day life, hobbies (other than crafting).
I live in Bristol with my Husband, two girls and our adorable Shih Tzu Mavis. I have been a civil servant for almost 26 years so unfortunately crochet is still my side hustle! I enjoy reading YA fiction, listening to true crime podcasts and binge watching Netflix… As you may have guessed I am definitely a homebody!
When and why did you start crafting?
I honestly canāt remember a time before crafting! I started making from a young age and have tried everything over the yearsā¦ sewing, cross stitch, knitting, felting and too many others to remember! My Nan taught me the basics of crochet when I used to stay at her house in the school holidays. She was more of a knitter but used to finish off her pieces with gorgeous crochet edges. As I got older I used books and YouTube to teach myself a few more techniques and I was hooked as they say!
What was the inspiration behind Hooked on Candy? Why amigurumi?
When I was pregnant with my eldest I obviously had to crochet her EVERYTHING, but once the blankets, hats and booties were finished I thought Iād move on to a little teddy bear and that was my first ever amigurumiā¦ it was terrible! The stuffing showed through every stitch, I redid the nose and mouth about a hundred times (and still wasnāt happy with it!), and the arms and legs were holding on for dear life.
As my girls got older I found myself with a bit more spare time on my hands. I had been following lots of crocheters on Instagram and thought why not give it a go myself. Despite my first attempt at amigurumi it just felt like the right thing for me to concentrate on and I hoped that my skills had improved over the years!
If you had to choose your favourite pattern youāve done, what would it be? Tough question we know, theyāre all so fab!
Well my most successful pattern to date is definitely the Melonosaurus but Iām probably most proud of Jose the Sock monkey as it was the first pattern I uploaded to Etsy which was a big step for me.
How did the Melonosaurus come about?
I was sat at my desk casually discussing what to design next with my daughter when I mentioned that I was thinking of making a dinosaur. But as there are lots of dino patterns around I wanted to make something a bit different… We then went on to discuss how people really like designs that are a combination of two things and somehow we settled on a dinosaur crossed with a watermelon and the Melonosaurus was born! Once I had the idea settled, the design just flowed really naturally and also inspired a whole host of other fruit dinos!
What are your main inspirations behind your designs?
My tag line from the beginning has been āCute and simple crochet patternsā so that is always my starting point. Once I decide on a design I try to think of the easiest possible way of making it, how to make sure itās super adorable and how to do all that with the least amount of sewing involved! I find inspiration in lots of places but my friends and family are a great source of suggestions and have always been really supportive.
If you are having a creative block, how do you inspire yourself to get back in the creative zone?
Funny you should ask this as I have suffered a creative slump recently!
The first thing I did was reach out to the amazing Instagram crochet community and they really came through with lots of brilliant design suggestions and they were all so kind and understanding ā weāve all been there!Another thing I like to do is make something by another designer. I grab one of my (many) amigurumi books or pick a pattern off of Etsy and get making! Itās lovely just to get back to crocheting with absolutely no pressure as well as supporting other makers.
What holiday do you like designing for the most? Christmas, Halloween etc.
Ooh thatās tough one as we are a big Christmas family but Iām also a horror movie fan and love all things spooky! If I had to pick I would have to say Halloween as there are just so many fun possibilities out there and Iām a firm believer that you can make cute and spooky amigurumi all year round whereas Christmas is much more limiting.
Youāve recently designed for our in-house range, Yarnsmiths. What does your creative process look like when youāve been contacted for a design?
I absolutely love designing for other people!
I really enjoy receiving the design brief and being able to make it in my own style. It also means that I get the chance to design something that I might not necessarily have thought of on my own. Iāve recently become quite brave and have started sketching my initial ideas on my iPad rather than a scrap of paper like I used to! I find this really useful as you can have a play around with the design and colours easily and see what looks best before committing anything to yarn.
Once Iāve got the basic idea sorted Iām afraid I do revert back to paper and just scribble the design down as I go!
Iāve got certain ways I like to make things and techniques that I use a lot so I usually have a pretty good idea of how Iām going to achieve what I want before I get started. But you never really know how something is going to turn out until you actually start making it and picking up your hook and yarn is the only real way to find out.
Sometimes I am super happy with my first attempt then other times I will work on one thing over and over until itās exactly like how I imagined it.
What would you say is your proudest achievement thus far?
When I first started designing my biggest goal was to work with a yarn company and get the opportunity to test out new yarns and I can honestly say Yarnsmiths made that dream come true and I have had the pleasure of testing out a few of your amazing yarn ranges!
We see a lot of amigurumi designers use US terms in their patterns, do you prefer US or UK terms for your patterns and why?
When I write my own patterns and even when I am scribbling down my initial designs I always use US terms. I donāt know why but they just make more sense to me even though I am obviously from the UK!
I really have to concentrate when I am writing up a pattern for a UK company or magazine as I will naturally revert back to using US terms.
What are three things you would love to learn/master/execute? Doesnāt have to be crafting related!
I would love to get more confident in my photography skills. I never realised how important photos would be to being an amigurumi designer and itās something I put a lot of work into before I am happy enough to include them in my patterns or publish them on Instagram.
On a similar note I would like to get better at making videos! Being on camera definitely does not come naturally to me but I know how vital it is to being part of the community and putting yourself out there as a designer.
Having said that I must try to remember that ultimately itās all about the joy of crocheting, the satisfaction of designing something youāre proud of and having fun. I donāt want to get too hung up on social media and making everything perfect.
What are your future plans for Hooked on Candy?
I donāt really have any major plans other than to keep on going!
Iāve already achieved so many things that I never thought I would such as working with yourselves, designing for the Crochet Society and even getting published in Simply Crochet magazine.
I love being part of the crochet community and I am still in awe every time I see someone use one of my designs
We had so much fun chatting with Candy, you can follow her here on Instagram