Today we’d like to introduce you to Josefina H..
Hi Josefina, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hi! I’m Josefina (some people call me Red) and I’m a multifaceted artist who has been moving through art mediums for work and as hobbies my whole life! While I think I’ve done a little bit of everything, my three main focuses right now are Crochet, Jewelry Making, and Photography.
I started with photography, because that was the hobby I had a child that I really enjoyed and wanted to carry further. I started studying black and white/film photography when I was just twelve years old. That quickly developed into a passion for portrait and fashion photography, creating stories through images. Throughout high school I studied dark room photography and began to work with digital photos, mainly through senior portraits and sport photography (not entirely my choice, but what was available to me at the time). I loved the idea of capturing moments or memories, even if I wasn’t always very good at it. In college, I was able to shift my focus to portrait photography of varying kinds, and spent as much free time as possible learning how to take the type of photos that told stories, how to use lighting to my advantage, and so much more. This lead to weekend long workshops in Los Angeles, NYC, and Miami, with intensive learning periods, shooting periods and sometimes crunch-time editing. My Father, who was and is always a big supporter of my dreams, started paying for a subscription to Vogue magazine, so I could study fashion photography further.
By 2016 I had had some limelight attention for work I had shot with a couple reality stars, and had built up an pretty impressive portfolio, for someone who was also cosplaying as a college student during the day 🤣. I kid.
It took roughly ten years to graduate with my two B.A. Degrees (one in psychology and one in vocal performance), and my Minor in History, because of how much life I was trying to squeeze into any resemblance of “downtime”. I would finish classes at noon on a Friday, head straight to the airport, fly out to LA, land, go to bed, wake up attend a workshop or shoot all weekend long, and take a red-eye flight home, Sunday night to be in class on Monday morning. All while doing over 20 credits a semester. (Now that I’ve lived it, I wouldn’t recommend ANYONE do that with a course-load that high. The sleepiness was real come those Monday’s.) But it was a career I wanted, and I had entered into, when it was still a very heavily male-dominated field. There were several workshop and even event environments where I wasn’t treated kindly because “established” photographers felt I was a threat. I wish I was kidding. Nowadays, so much has changed, there are fantastic female photographers in every genre, and I do feel the overall photography space is far kinder to newcomers.
Crochet is newer, in terms of careers. It was also a skill I picked up around the age of twelve, having been interested in a local-to-me-at-the-time yarn store. Pretty colors always caught my eye. I spent three years going to that yarn store almost every weekend. I got lessons in both crochet and knitting and did a little a both, independently, as a hobby. As I grew up, crochet stuck more. I think it’s hard to forget how to use a hook, more than it is to forget how to use double pointed knitting needles to make mittens 😅. But I always worked on these projects as gifts or for fun. I would make hats, scarves and baby blankets as gifts. I would also start larger blanket projects and then scrap them, or leave them in little crafting piles around an apartment, until I was ready to pick them up again.
In 2020, when the world shut down, was also the year I had graduated. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to be, and with my Father requiring more care, at home, I felt I couldn’t travel to LA as much, any longer. So I needed something new. And quickly.
I had done quite a bit of work as a writer, but ultimately decided that the field was too competitive at the time, and I didn’t feel like I wanted to fight for/or audition for my job every couple of weeks/months. Creative writing brings me joy, but not enough joy to want to get up for every morning. And that was the biggest thing for me. I HAVE to do something that bring creativity into focus daily, otherwise, I get bored and I’m not a good worker. (At least I am self aware 😆). I remember crochet being helpful for me to focus especially where listening was involved. Busy hands often gave me clearer ears. So wondered if people can make a living from it, so I ended up deep diving those possibilities for a couple weeks/a month, and decided I wanted to give it a try.
I had already been online self-marketing/self-promoting my photography for well over a decade at this point, so I knew how to brand myself, and how to show up online. It was now about making things that people wanted. And I wanted to give that a try. Being a 90’s child meant that Beanie Babies were a huge part of my life and I still have many of the other childhood stuffed animals I grew up with. They were marketed as collectible to us, and I think that mentality has really stuck with millennials across the board. People seek out the comforts they were raised on, as adults, because they get to finally express themselves *for* themselves.
While I do make a lot of fast makes – like keychains – I do also make a lot of collectible items that are intended to be heirloom items. Things made to last, or meant to be treasured.
Two and half years later, I have vended at numerous markets, have had my creations sent to 16 different states and 13 different countries, which is absolutely wild to me!
It’s important to note that I’m not at full-time income just yet, as with any self-made venture, full-time status can take a while to build. But I’ve made more than I initially ever thought I would, and I keep trending in upwards directions, so I’d say I’m on the way to full-time employment. This has only worked out because I have spent the other half of my time caregiving for my Father, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2023. Crochet can be taken “on the go,” so I could work and be near him at the same time. If he needed to be somewhere, I can take him, and also take work with me. It also meant he got to be my test audience for anything new that I created and he was always still fascinated that I can make these things out of “simple string” – as he calls it. Often times I’d catch him watching my hands work, rather than watching the tv, because he wanted to know “what I’m making now”. 😂 It was a good bonding experience for the memories.
Jewelry making is a newer endeavor still. This has separate branding from my crochet and my photography, and brings me back to my clay-working desires as a kid. I have always been a big fan of crystals, color-work, and jewelry wearing, my whole life. At one point, I wore a ring on each finger just for the fun of it (now I only wear rings on 6 of my fingers – the first 3 of each hand 😆). Now I get to combine all those little fascinations into one big thing.
I made my first round of Halloween pieces last year as a “soft-launch” of the jewelry idea, and they sold relatively well for the market event I was at – with no prior promotion – so I’m hoping this too can also go somewhere fun. This adventure is called Way of the Wild Jewelry, and was inspired by my deep connection to nature, my indigenous roots, my love for color, and animals of all kinds. Future designs will include elements of nature, nature magic, animals, color, and my crystal knowledge, to bring you pieces that both enhance your mood, provide calming and healing energy, as well as pops of color to your life.
Who knows where the next few years will take us, or where I’ll be. But hopefully, I will be somewhere making art of some kind.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not. I think every avenue, especially creative ones, comes with its challenges.
I’ve said this before, but the journey into photography, was a complex one. I was definitely on the “younger” end of photographers in the fashion industry (early 2012 – which is now 14 years ago) and often felt like I had to “fight” to be taken seriously. A large number of the older photographers (particularly men) felt that I was a “child” or I was “model age” and they didn’t understand why I wanted to be behind the lens, rather than in front of it. Of course, when they saw the finished photos, their minds were changed. But it was a repeating occurrence in person and online.
There’s also been public criticism due to the kinds of works I often created. This was barely noticeable on a good day, but any kind of viral post would bring in those who didn’t like art, were jealous, didn’t like the subject, etc. That could be very hard to deal with at times. Humans aren’t meant to see that much negativity at once. And social media, while easily accessible and useable, can “drop you off” in the wrong place. When people want to be miserable, they certainly can be. So learning how to navigate that took some time.
Crochet kind of came by accident.
In 2020 when the world shut down, I was searching for what I wanted to do, job wise. I was starting to caregive for my father, so I needed something at home. I was freshly graduated from college, and was trying to figure out the next chapter.
I revisited my writing for a bit. Taking a summer course intensive about fiction writing. It was during one of those courses – over zoom – that I was crocheting a baby blanket while I was actively listening to the class – and started to wonder if people made a living from crochet. Afterwards, I started looking into it, and found out that yes, people do! Like with anything, the build up is slow. New logo, new website, new skills, new inventory, etc., new reach. Nothing like that happens overnight.
I did have a slight leg up because I was able to convert *some* of my photography following into my crochet following. So that did give me a little boost. But there have definitely been some struggles. I got a lot of judgment from people who were wondering why I’d “switch” careers (misunderstanding that travel wouldn’t be on the table while I caregave), I had a couple of friends vocalize that this “wasn’t a real job,” and there have been some people who were jealous of my artistic creativity, so much so that they sabotaged the friendship (*”she can do this too? why is she so good at art and I’m not?” – I’m not kidding this was a legit incident), and then there were the newfound complications of navigating the handmade market scene.
Not every market is made equal. Some markets are pop-up events, some are a one day only, some are a three day weekend. And there are small challenges with each one. And all of them, when you’re a new artist are a risk.
Some of that risk is small – a small entrance fee, a new audience, and the general concern if you’ll sell anything there. Some are much larger risks – a high entrance fee, a higher demand to be the “face” of your brand if you want to sell, because you’re competing with more people, wanting to have an “outstanding” brand when you’re placed next to direct competitors.
And then comes the show-runners. Are they dedicated to the art space and making this a safe and unique place for everyone, or is it a cash-grab where the very bare minimum is put in and maybe some key safety components are overlooked?
Sometimes you don’t know until after you get there.
Sometimes, you’ll find out beforehand because artists will give others the heads up. And sometimes, a good market’s reputation will exceed them and you know it’ll be a good show, no matter what.
There are also gambles with outdoor vs. indoor marketing. So I would say there is a learning curve there. But once you find markets that work for you, you’re likely to keep returning to them, over and over again. Especially if the community there also makes it worthwhile.
Jewelry is a newer endeavor, so the challenges there are quite different. I would say the biggest, at the moment, is the upfront costs. I started my brand, Way of the Wild Jewelry, because I’m allergic to a lot of the metals used in the “fun” jewelry you see everywhere. And I know many others struggle with the same thing. But to find quality materials, and then get those materials in bulk, has a higher upfront cost than a lot of other hobbies. So that’s been interesting to navigate. But still a fun endeavor. Get back to me in a year and I might have some new thoughts lol.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a multifaceted artist, I do a lot!
With photography, I specialize in storytelling & portraiture, the most, I think.
I’m most known for my glamour/fashion work, as well as limelight exposure with the celebrities I have gotten to work with, but I think that the storytelling theme runs through all of it. The phrase “a picture can tell a thousand words” is true. I like photos that can invoke an emotion or a good reaction. I like when photos can give insight to a person, by seeing a part of their soul. And those are certainly all goals I aim for whenever I am doing shoots.
In the 18 years I’ve been a photographer, there are only 10 photos that I truly think of as “most proud of” and it has to do with the story behind how those photos got created, as well as the image itself. I think the storytelling, is in a way, what sets me apart from others. There are so many kinds of photographers and there are some really great photos out there. But the storytelling always sets photographers apart from the rest, I feel.
With crochet, I specialize in unique plushies and collector items. I love a good challenge and a good detail. I like making smaller things too – the cute things – but I definitely have a lot of fun with challenges. I don’t know if I’m “known” for anything just yet. As I mentioned before, this brand is still building. But if I had to guess – use of color. I’m a 90’s baby and grew up with a lot of Lisa Frank vibes (before the stories came out), but I’m happiest around colorful things. I love the feeling of whimsy, of bright and inviting colors, but also, this brand is a lot about healing the inner child and letting them play. Crochet has so many ways it can be done and what it means to people. But really embracing the opportunity to play and heal is what I think sets me apart from others. I love seeing the joy that my creations can bring, especially at in person markets. It’s really fun getting to see how the creations resonate with someone. Everyone can prosper from having fun moments in their lives.
With jewelry, I’m just getting started, so it’ll be fun to see where that adventure takes me, overall!
What’s next?
With crochet – branching out to some larger markets that aren’t immediately local for me. There have been some really cool ones that I have been eyeing for years, but as I wasn’t able to travel, I couldn’t sign up for. I’m largely booked up, market wise, for the rest of this year, but I’d love to explore a few new options next year.
Similarly, I’ll be able to travel for photoshoots again. I’ll be rebuilding that audience and working on new shoot collaborations at some point during the 2027 year.
The overall theme for 2027 is focusing on making full-time revenue streams from all the avenues of art that I do. I’d love to see the jewelry take off a bit. I’d love to be able to make some really fun creations.
I have a lot more time now. Bittersweet, but those caregiving duties have come to an end, as my father passed earlier this summer.
There’s more time to do so much more now. I hope that it will lead to a couple of good (but intentional) brand partnerships as well.
In terms of looking further ahead, I would like to open a storefront (maybe two) that are fully brick and mortar. Those are a long way off, at this moment, but is a goal I have in my back pocket. I love to travel, and I love meeting all the cool people in doing so, but I’m also not 20 anymore. I’d love to have something grounded and rooted, as well. Still fully creative, but a space that can help bring artistic community together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sweetieknots.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetieknots
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetieknots
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SweetieKnots
- Other: www.josefinaphoto.com & www.wayofthewildjewelry.com
