Meet Jessie Rayot

 

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

Hi Jessie, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My life has been a roller coaster of have and have not. There have been times as a child and adult when bills/rent/mortgage getting paid was questionable. I never saw my parents give up, they did whatever it took to make it work. When I needed speech therapy, my father used his small business as a custom woodworker to redecorate the therapists office in exchange for the speech therapy. Because of this, I went from being unable to say my own name, to being the picture of diction and annunciation.

I was raised to believe “If you want it, work hard for it and make it happen,” so that’s what I do. Only it’s not really that easy. I panic, I faulter, I wonder what’s wrong with me. Then I look back at my life and remember all the times I’ve succeeded. I think about what my parents would think if I gave up, and I double down.

It’s hard, but having kids has given me an additional reason to fight. Like my father, I would move mountains to help my kids have the best shot they can in this world. So when I feel the weight of it all on me, and when I start to question myself, I think of all the people who believe in me, and I think of the life I want for my kids. They give me strength.

One more large part is my passion for having a platform to stand against hate. A crochet magazine and craft site may seem like an odd way to do that, but I’ve found it’s surprisingly powerful. People are passionate about their hobbies and their creative time. It relaxes them and opens them up. Creators love to use their skills as a way to bring about change. So I build my platform as big and loud as I can so I can use it to raise the voices of our Queer and BiPOC fam. I refuse to be silent as long as people are treated as less because of who they were born as.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Jessie At Home®, LLC started as a way to share stories and photos of my twins with my family and friends in Feb. 2008. I started adding crafty posts to it, especially crochet and knit patterns. In 2012 we were having financial issues, so I decided it was time to really make JAH a business. Since then my patterns have been internationally published, I’ve won national design awards, and traveled the country teaching and learning.

Throughout the journey I’ve meet the most spectacular people and developed friendships that have kept me going when I thought I couldn’t. These connections led me to purchase Crochet Foundry Magazine in the last few days of 2023. Crochet Foundry focuses on crochet garment patterns, all of which are written is sizes to fit from at least a 32″ – 72″ chest – or corresponding measurements for garments not worn on the torso. The measurement charts we use have been formulated from massive amounts of research by Kim McBien Evens to fit actual modern bodies. Many other measurement charts have issues on the bicep and chest measurements as the sizes get larger. Ours actually fit!

With each issue of the magazine we have a giving theme. I write a bit about it in my Letter from the Editor at the start of the magazine, and then share ads for it throughout the issue. For example, in January 2025 issue, our giving theme was art for/by the visually impaired, as Jan 4th is World Braille Day. We shared ads for organizations that help educate the sited on creating accessible art and experiences, and organizations that help visually impaired artists.

We just opened our “At The Foundry” Patreon page. There the Jessie At Home and Crochet Foundry communities can come and socialize, learn, and share with each other and with me. Community is at the core of my businesses, and our community is family. We have weekly live zoom meetings, we chat, and we support each other. It’s beautiful. I my not be able to change the whole world, but I can provide a little spot in the world where creatives can come together in peace and have one heck of a great time. We may even plot to take over the world from time-to-time.

Crochet Foundry Magazine is currently transitioning to seasonal issues – it’s been monthly for the past few years. March was our last single-month issue. In April we will release an April/May issue, then May will start our seasonal issues with the Summer 2025 issue. Every 3 months there will be a new issue, with each season’s issue being released the month before the season begins.

The main reason for the transition is so that we can focus more on the community. We have already started a monthly crochet along (CAL). We are going to add in a seasonal blog hop where readers can start on our blog, then hop around to other blogs to get free crochet – and maybe even knit – patterns for the season. We also will be using the time to provide more education and book/product reviews. I’m very excited about the focus on our community, after all, we are nothing without them.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I would be nowhere without my ability to develop strong, honest relationships with people. While email can have some personalization to it, I realized early on that nothing beets meeting people in person. I’ve been attending trade shows and conferences since 2012, and the business relationships I’ve built are integral to my success. Not only are people more likely to remember you if they have meet you in person, but when companies and other designers see you at a trade show, they know you are serious.

Another large factor in my journey is my education. I have earned a BFA in Costume Design and Construction from The Theatre School at DePaul University, and an MA in Studio Art (painting and sculpture) from Adelphi University. I was also the Costume Shop Manager and ran the Costume Department for Adelphi University for several years. Then I met a boy, fell in love, and moved to NJ to start a family. From there Jessie At Home was born. My art and costume background, and a love for math, have made my journey as a designer and pattern writer so much easier.

While a passion for making the world a better place hasn’t exactly make success easier, it has a huge impact on my journey. I chose, and continue to choose, to work at being anti-racist and an ally every day. This means I do my best to reach and represent as many communities of people as possible. I reach out to those communities to see what I can do better, and to make sure they are seeing the opportunities I have. Sometimes this means I loose followers, but let’s be real, I don’t want followers or customers who hate. I am a firm believer in the paradox of tolerance, and I run my businesses as such. This may means some people don’t like me, and it also means that those in my community know they are safe, and become even more loyal and passionate.

For your journey, be seen. Develop relationships, even if only online, and make sure they are genuine. You will not succeed in this industry if you don’t like people, it’s just too small an industry to not get along with people. Learn as much as you can. Never stop learning. Take online classes, improve your skills. And lastly, decide how “business only” you will be. Are you a craftivist, do you share opinions, or do you just stick to your theme and not care about any other views? Business only opens you to more people, and sharing passions and craftivism brings you more intense and loyal people. Weigh your pros and cons.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

My biggest obstacle has always been reaching people. Social media is a constantly changing and evolving entity, it seams like as soon as I figure out how to reach an audience, everything changes. Plus, it takes so much time!
I do my best to stay on top of the changes.
Deciding which platforms to focus on, which to give some time to, and which to ignore is a real struggle for me. When a trusted business or colleague has or shares training in this area, I often take advantage of it in hopes of improving my skills.
Recently, I have been working with a marketing agency that specializes in the stitch craft world. They have been amazing, not only with the marketing they have done, but also with the education they have given me to improve what I do.

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