Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julie Pergrem. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Julie , first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
“Imposter Syndrome” has been my middle name for many years. I had always thought that confidence would grow as middle age approached, but the exact opposite happened to me. By the time I hit 50, I didn’t think I was good enough for anything, despite a very supportive family. So when I picked up this little crochet hobby two years ago, I never dreamed that it would become a pretty great side hustle–I was making things that you don’t normally see in amigurumi form. But the more stuff I made, the more people kept saying “Oh, you should sell that stuff on Etsy!” or “you should do craft fairs!” And every time someone said that, I naturally brushed it off with “I’m not good enough for that,” and “I could never.” But the library where I work has an annual craft fair, and I have some very creative co-workers who participate. One of them suggested I share a table with her. The fair was months away, so I knew I had time to back out, LOL! But the more stuff I made, I thought, “maybe I will have enough for my own table.” And “maybe someone WILL buy this.” I also had my own built in excuse of “Aww, who wants buy a crocheted mothman?” (this was my parachute in case I went down in flames–the things I make are pretty niche). So I reserved my own table, ignored the nightmares, and did it. And people bought stuff; in fact they bought the stuff that I didn’t expect to sell! The Wendigo, the Hopkinsville Goblin, the Chupacabra…people wanted these things! My crocheted spiders were a hit as well.
So…maybe I was on to something?
Anyway, that confidence momentum did not let up, which is remarkable for me, and I have some pretty supportive people in my life who have helped with that. I have since conquered two other craft events, including The Covington Cryptid Block Party, which is the jewel in my nerd crown. And I am now confident enough to keep going and try other things, like amigurumi likenesses of pop culture figures.
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?
I am making stuff that I have never seen in amigurumi form. Not just cryptids, but other things, like characters from t.v. shows. It’s stuff that I would shop for, if that makes sense! I have made most of the main characters from the tv show “Severance” (and I got a ‘like’ from Ben Stiller on Bluesky when I posted my little Mark S. and Helly R. dolls), Roy Scheider from “All that Jazz,” Puddles Pity Party, and the entire cast of the 1975 Brian DePalma film “Phantom of the Paradise.” (See? I told you I was niche!) I try to make them like little caricatures, so I have a standard–they have to look like them! I’ve seen other dolls people have made with generic faces, but I try to capture the absolute soul of these people. The best compliment I can get is someone saying, “Oh my God! How did you make it look just like him??”
I also just recently made a couple of the critters from the FX series, “Alien: Earth” to go with my Ripley, Newt, and xenomorphs I crocheted earlier this year.
I have also started taking requests. I made a Buffy the Vampire Slayer doll for a friend, and Ted Lasso for my sister.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The most important thing that helped me was to realize that I don’t need to be perfect; my creations do not have to be perfect. Each item is original and unique–I have realized that what I am doing is basically sculpting with yarn. There’s room for error, and sometimes the flaws are what make it beautiful.
That leads to another important quality: stepping back and looking at each item with different eyes. Stepping outside of myself. Sometimes the flaws that I see are just not visible nor important to another person. And sometimes mistakes look intentional!
Finally, I learned that the tools and yarn make a huge difference. When I was starting out, I was frustrated because there are some really crappy crochet kits out there, that include terrible yarn. (Yes…yarn can be absolutely awful.) Amazon sells crochet kits that are abysmal. You must think of your tools and materials as investments. With pretty much everything else in the world, you get what you pay for.
The biggest advice I can give is simple: believe in yourself. I have a slip of paper in my car that my husband wrote to me after a giant meltdown I had while learning how to crochet. It’s faded, but it’s still a touchstone. It says, “Believe in Yourself.”
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
My biggest area of growth has been gaining the confidence to create my own patterns, or simply make something up as I go along. As I stated earlier, crochet/amigurumi is basically sculpting with yarn. So if I need to make a Ruth Bader Ginsburg doll, I look at some pictures, then use the skills I have to make her real.
If I start seeing that something isn’t working, I simply go back and pull out the stitches (called “frogging”) and try again.
Sometimes I forget to write stuff down as I go (because I get on a roll), which is annoying when I can’t recreate something perfectly, but I’ve gotten better at that habit! I keep a pad and pen next to me at all times.
I still purchase patterns online to support other artists, but there are also wonderful sources like Ravelry that have all sorts of ideas and free patterns, and there are other crocheters who have blogs that provide more patterns and inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/undeadamigurumi/
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