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Hands Occupied

Colorful, contemporary knit & crochet.

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Meet Jumbo Jibbles

August 22, 2012 Leave a Comment

I’ve been encouraging my friend Amy to submit answers to some interview questions for a feature on this blog for a while now, and I was super excited when she recently emailed me with some A’s for my Q’s. Readers, meet Amy Brown, the crafter behind Jumbo Jibbles, a.k.a. the crafter who made nutsawesomelyamazing giant artichoke and asparagus photo booth props for my wedding.

HO: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your business.
JJ: It all started when I made a joke and someone took me seriously.  A new friend (Heidi, you) was having a wedding with a very specific theme, and I mused that it would be funny to have a giant artichoke and asparagus in the photo booth at the reception.  They turned out splendidly and it gave me the confidence to explore fabric sculpture.  I began an Etsy store to sell my stuffed stuff, as well as my smaller clay sculptures.  When I moved to California, I was suddenly in a new market where I could advertise myself as specialized childcare provider in arts enrichment, due to my wide talent base in crafting.  Years later, it still seems like a joke when I tell people, “I sew giant stuffed vegetables” or “I’m an arts and crafts tutor”.  My elevator speech is “I take what’s in your head and put it in your hands”, and when someone asks me, “Can you do this?” I say yes and learn how to do it.

(Photo by Dan Hartley.)

HO: Why did you decide to go in to business making this/these particular product(s)?
JJ: Making the big veggies was a lot of fun, and there wasn’t much market saturation (I’m totally pretending I know industry terms right now when I don’t). Word of mouth was helpful, as well as an internet presence, in getting me puppet commissions, another skill I didn’t have before I said “yes”.  I’ve only just started doing fairs, and my products have a “pop” to them visually that draws people in.  My creations make people happy.

HO: Do you have a day job, pets, a family, or a partner? How to you balance everything?
JJ: I’m currently in a charmed situation having gone from breadwinner to house-spouse temporarily.  My spouse is incredibly supportive. I supplement my hobby-cum-business with freelance arts and crafts instruction for individual children and the occasional art party.  I’m still getting used to the free-fall feeling of being in charge of my own success, but I have the luxury of being able to focus solely on growing my business and skills without a 9-5.  I do almost all the housecleaning and cooking, but I cook what I want and spend the rest of my time making crazy-ass crafts.

HO: What’s your favorite thing to make or do when you’re not running your business?
JJ: My home and work life have so blended lately, that’s a hard question.  I’m living in a city for the first time in my life, and I like to explore it.  And if I happen to wander into a new used bookstore in my wanderings, I’ll bring home a stack of new books to lose myself in.

outer space pendant jumbo jibbles

HO: Where can we find you online? (Website, Facebook, Etsy, Twitter, etc.)
JJ: I am on Etsy, (try to) maintain a blog of my projects and teaching, am on twitter, tumblr and mostly active on Facebook.  Sure, I’m on Pinterest, but I have to have some time left over for work!  If you Google “Amy Brown”, you’ll get nothing but the fairy fantasy artist, but “Jumbo Jibbles” is all mine!

Filed Under: Crafter Features Tagged With: crafters, features, giant asparagus, jumbo jibbles, san jose, west coast

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a knitting, crochet and crafts designer. She first learned to knit at age 8 from a grandmother who saw in her a need for something to keep her busy. She's now a full time designer, video host, blogger & teacher. You can keep up with her designs and more by following handsoccupied on your favorite social network.

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Heidi Gustad modeling the Intarsia Mountain afghanHi! I’m Heidi Gustad, a Knit & Crochet Designer obsessed with colorful knitting, crochet & yarn crafts. In this picture, I’m wearing my favorite vintage Norwegian sweater.
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handsoccupied

Yarn craft designer & blogger, partial to primary colors, vintage style, & most needlecrafts. ✂️ 🎙️Co-host, @seriouscrafts podcast.

Heidi Gustad 🧶💛🧵
Instagram post 18034073425224368 For those asking, here’s my Christmasy Soldotna from the front. ↩️ Full details on the blog, link in bio. 🎄🧶🎅🏼 #handmadewardrobe
Instagram post 18107597614079331 The Mini Rebel Sweater is now available on Ravelry (link in bio) and is being released along with the latest @fireflyfiberarts Fandom Fibers box! (Kits are exclusively available from Firefly btw!) Swipe to see all 8 sweaters designed for Fandom Fibers over the last couple years. #fandomfibers .
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Between the mini fandom sweaters & the now-legendary hamster sweater story (thanks to sharing it on @seriouscrafts) - who’da thunk these would become such a thing? 🧶☺️❤️ Guess it’s just about time to make human-sized sweater patterns to, eh? #handsoccupied
Instagram post 17896375633420961 Christmas handmade sweater alert! 🎄 Head to the blog (link in bio) today to read about my Christmasy take on the Soldotna Crop sweater pattern by @boylandknitworks, including tips for customizing for fit! 📐 Yes, it’s okay to incorporate shaping in your knitwear, even on a sweater with positive ease. 😉❤️
Instagram post 17907716131385211 Feeling festive this fine weekend with my sidekick Storm. 🐩🎄❄️
Instagram post 18043011205209234 Happy weekend, everyone! There are several new faces today, so to you, I say welcome! 😊 I’m Heidi, the knitting, crochet and yarn crafts designer behind Hands Occupied. I’m based in Chicago, where I work out of a small studio space, the Hands Occupied Studio. Every week I host an open Craft Night and on the last Sunday of the month we have a Crafternoon. They’re all free and open to anyone who wants to hang out and craft with others (snacks are always welcome!). .
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A little about me: I’m a knit and crochet pattern designer, but I’m really about all things string, from crochet to macramé. Lately I’ve been particularly obsessed with contemporary latch hook and punch needle trends. However, in my recent handmade wardrobe projects I’ve been drawn to everything vintage. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Funny how that works! 😆.
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In addition to the blog, design work, and the Studio, I co-host the Very @seriouscrafts Podcast, a top 10-ranked crafts podcast heading into our third season in 2020! 🎙 That about covers it - thanks so much for indulging a long caption 🙏🏼 , and I’m so glad to have you here! ☺️❤️💛💙 #handsoccupied #veryseriouscrafts
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