Pollevie – live the colour

Pollevie stands for a lot of colour, which fits perfectly to our motto "colour your business". Why are your handcrafted objects so colourful?

Color has always been part of my life. Because my dad worked for Shell we lived in many different countries such as Oman, Borneo, England, Holland and traveled often. I was born in Asia on Borneo and my mother liked to do lots of crafts which of course involved lots of color. Asia was a great source of inspiration Everything there from the clothes to temples, houses, holy items are richly decorated with patterns, gold, and all sorts of combinations of color. This is where my love for color started. Now still I love to travel to see different countries, and get inspiration from. Not only do I use lots of color in my work, i also dress colorful. Often I wear flowers in my hair, or feathers and you will not often see me in black. I think it makes me smile from the inside, and when I walk the streets, it makes other people happy too. I always get compliments about my use of color. Nowadays I live in the flower district of Holland, very near to Lisse where the Keukenhof is. Lots of inspiration comes from nature as well. Especially from the flowers which bloom here in the spring.

How did you come to your unmistakable cheerful style?

It has grown through the years of travelling this globe. I have always loved richly decorated items which stand out. With crochet I can make what my mind thinks up, and what I can't find in the shops or online. I like to use loads of flowers because there are so many different ones in shapes and sizes and colors of course. They are a source of endless inspiration. My work is 3D and freestyle, which means you can feel lots of texture on all my pieces such as polkadots, flowers, stripes. That's what makes it interesting to both look at and touch. Oilily is always great for inspiration too and Pip studio. They combine all sorts of patterns together, as I do on my pieces. Sometimes I think up a combination which is way too much, but because it is crochet it is easily taken away again.

What does colour do to people?

I think it makes them happy! For me it's a way to express myself and color the world happier with my palets of color, which always have pink and glitter in them somewhere.

What do the visitors of your workshop definitely take home with them (beside a fun and a good mood)?

A new way of looking at crochet. Try different things, and don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone. Take your gorgeous clutch outside and see what happens.

You have a very big followership in social media. Is the interaction with your followers a full-time job or how do you handle the contact with your fans?

I do! Officially I am a teacher, which is my job for 2 days in the week (Monday and Tuesday) I teach at a primary school in my village. As I am a standalone mum of three kids which I manage during the week. Besides that, crochet is my big time hobby, and the thing I try and squeeze in everywhere I can. I will take it with me to work to do in my lunchbreak, on planes when I travel, I stand crocheting flowers while waiting for dinner to cook, and when the kids are off to bed, I enjoy the quiet of my living room and get loads of time crocheting too. It is becoming a full time job, but made easy with these great phones we have nowadays, and a fast internet connection, which we have in Holland. I try to answer everybody! I think that if you have taken the time to leave a comment, you should get my attention. I also think that is one of the reasons I do so well. I try to limit it to three times a day that I really pick up the phone to do social media. And I enjoy it thoroughly. ??

Have you ever been to h+h cologne? What are your plans and what do you expect from your visit at the fair?

No, I have never been. This will be the very first time and I hope to talk to lots of people. Also I will be searching for new brands of yarn which I might possibly use or new kinds of yarn. I have been told it is a great show and I am very honored to be giving a workshop there.