Joanne Eyles of rocket.and.pearl

by Jordan Gould July 28, 2019

For this featured artist blog, I decided to interview Joanne Eyles of rocket.and.pearl. I fell in love with her love of neutrals and textured pieces. I am always amazed by her unique style and the pieces she creates. Joanne is incredibly talented and I love how she can recycle scrap pieces of rope, into the most beautiful pieces of art. She is not only a fibre artist but a mom to twin girls, a very inspiring lady. Read on to see how she does it, and go head over to her Instagram page to see more of her work.

Let's start off with your name and where you're from?

I am Joanne. I live in Warwickshire which is where I am from but I have lived all over England.

I love to find out about how people first came into their craft, how and when did you first get into macrame and weaving?

Like most crafters I have always been drawn to making things and have pretty much tried all of the crafts. The first time I tried macrame I followed a tutorial I saw on Pinterest, and then a free kit that came with Mollie makes magazine. I think seeing all the incredible weaves on Pinterest got me interested to try it for myself; the possibilities just seemed endless!

Out of the two, which one are you drawn to the most... macrame or weaving?

This is a really tough question! Well I definitely class myself as a macrame artist who weaves on the side, but I'm drawn to each one differently.

I love macrame because it is so easy to get setup and just go. Weaving takes a lot more time from start to finish but the choice of materials is so much more vast. I also find weaving more therapeutic but I prefer string to wool.

Can I just say both? :)

I'm absolutely in love with your sequined weaves, where did you get your inspiration for these? and how long did they take to make?

Lindsay at Hello hydrangea used sequins in one of her tutorials so that is where the idea came from. My designs came about just freestyling. I did a lot of doing and re-doing to get the finished product though. They took a really long time but i mainly sewed the sequins on in the evening whilst watching tv, so it was quite relaxing.

We all have our favorite go to fibers, which is your favorite to work with and why?

I used to pretty much just use 3mm single twist but now i'm in love with 8mm it is just so so so chunky and satisfying. 5mm is my bread and butter stuff though. I've used 3ply several times and just don't enjoy it. You're much more likely to get rope burn too!

As a mom of 3 myself, I know how hard it is to juggle making and mom life sometimes...

How do you juggle ? Do you have any tips or tricks you can give to all the fellow momtrepreneurs out there?

This is by far the hardest thing, I've suffered with mega mum guilt in the past and on many of those occasions I deserved to feel that way but I've come to the realisation that I can cut myself a bit of slack. My girls are really lucky to have me at home full time and if that means that they need to let me work for an hour here and there then that's ok. I rotate their toys so that they feel like they have something new to play with and I let them watch tv when I need to.

My girls are twins so thankfully they like playing with the same things! That is an absolute life saver although they fight like crazy 50% of the time too.

They started preschool a few months ago which gives me a couple of hours solid working time, it's not long but it really really helps.

Other than crafting, do you have any other hobbies you like to do in your spare time?

I like to read and I'm hoping to start yoga classes soon (although I cannot touch my toes) but with two almost 4 years olds I don't tend to have much energy after they've gone to bed.

When you was a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up, and did you ever imagine that this is what it would be ?

I wanted to be a writer when I was younger; in fact I can still see myself doing that in my later years.

Other than that I have always wanted to work for myself making something or other. I make wall art so I am technically an ''artist'' (cant say that without the air quote) which really makes me laugh as it seems so preposterous; I like it though :)

What's you favorite Instagram account at the moment and why?

At the moment it is Damasklove. she is a mum, a craft entrepreneur and a total ray of sunshine! Her stories are always full of humour and colour, who doesn't need that?

Lastly, what would be your dream project?

Woodwork! I am learning about making my own furniture and really want to make my own chair. I am also going to start making hardwood looms too but need to finish editing my diy kits first which should be ready next month.