Best sellers on etsy interview – The story of Joyce Overheul
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It is time for another Bestseller on the Etsy interview. Today I want to introduce Joyce Overheul. She is from Nieuwegein, Netherlands, and is the owner of the VliegendeHollander Etsy shop.
She has more than 200 patterns there. You can find all sorts of different designs from food to robots, monsters, hats, animals, pillows, letters, funny crochet, and much more.
You can visit her shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VliegendeHollander.
Joyce sells crochet patterns on Etsy to raise funds for her art projects.
She is a very versatile woman. She photographs, writes, cooks, and designs crochet patterns; even her 21-year-old cat has her Facebook page.
She has done a significant number of exhibitions all over the world, in the Netherlands, Los Angeles, Portugal, Iran, Nepal, Honk Kong, Germany, Pakistan, Mexico, and more.
You can see her art here: http://www.joyceoverheul.com/.
Joyce Overheul studied Fine Art at the Utrecht School of the Arts and later on earned her master’s degree in Artistic Research in 2012 at MaHKU.
Her artistic practice mainly focuses on the use of social experiments, documentary-styled video projects, performances, fabric objects, and photography. Overheul doesn’t confine to just one medium of work but prefers to see which medium suits each concept best.
How did it all begin? Tell us your story.
Joyce: My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was 6 or 7 years old, ever since I’ve been a knitter. When I was in art school, I became interested in crochet, since you can easily create large 3D shapes with it.
I learned how to crochet via YouTube, it took me about a week before I could create my first amigurumi. It was a little fish, which I gave to my cat for a toy. Soon after that, people started approaching me if I could crochet hats and scarves for them, and slowly I started to make and sell my own designs.
First, I only sold the scarves and cowls themselves, but then someone from the USA approached me. She wanted to have the cowl but was a bit shocked by the high shipping costs (shipping from NL to the USA is crazy expensive), so she requested the pattern instead. From that moment on, I started selling crochet patterns. 
What inspires you?
Joyce: I like all kinds of animals, weird things, and nature. I keep a little notebook with all kinds of crochet ideas, and every time when I want to make something new, I just pick something from the book.
I also like weird crochet items, like the poop or the pair of kidneys I crocheted. I like it when you don’t have to take life too serious.
How does your every day look like?
Joyce: So, since I’m not only a crocheter but also a visual artist, I have to divide my time between my artistic practice and crocheting. I mainly work from home, but I also do artist-in-residence projects abroad. Last January, for example, I was an artist-in-residence at a gallery space in Tehran, Iran.
I start my day by checking my email, my Etsy and updating my to-do-list. There’s always something to work on, lol! My art takes up most of my day, and if I have some spare time in the evening, I like to crochet. I don’t crochet often during the day, only when I have to take photos in daylight. My days are often very full, so it’s nice to end with something relaxing.
What is your favorite yarn?
Joyce: At this moment, I’m a huge fan of Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran! All my current designs are made with that yarn. It’s an acrylic yarn, and their colour palette is beautiful.
I also like it that everyone from around the world can purchase the yarn. I used to work with a Dutch yarn you could only buy in stores in The Netherlands, but customers sometimes ask me where I get my yarn, so I want to work with something they can purchase themselves too.
Joyce has shared some amazing free patterns with us.
You can download Stewie Griffin from Family Guy, Super Mario and Bullet Bill from Super Mario just click on the picture here:
I am so grateful I can interview such a fascinating woman. Joyce really is one of a kind. And just in case if you were also wondering, the man with the crown is not the same man whos photo Joyce took with a little umbrella between his but cheeks.
Which VliegendeHollander pattern do you like the best? Did any of them surprise you?
Thank you for reading, and make sure you check the VliegendeHollander shop.
Enjoy crocheting, and have a beautiful day.
Katja
Hey thank you for the awesome post! I have never heard of Joyce before, and I’m glad you have shown some light on her! I love the designs of these Crochet Patterns! I find it so interesting that her inspiration is written down in a book, and then picked out when she feels like crocheting! These would make some good Christmas gifts as well!
Thank you for the comment. I agree you can find a lot of interesting patterns to make for Christmas. She even has Christmas Ornaments Pattern. You can check it out, I am sure you will love it.
Have a nice day.
Wow – Joyce’s work is amazing. I started crocheting when I was trying to lose weight. I did an arm knit blanket and helped it kept me busy when i would otherwise be snacking. I loved the ability to produce something. I haven’t done anything in 2 years, but really want to get back into it. I see your site has step by step tutorials, so going to check that out, because I really need some help and guidance to start again. It would be nice if we could ask you questions if we need help with the tutorial – sometimes I just want to be able to talk to someone about what I’m doing right vs. wrong as once you get into it, there are minor nuances that start to surface.
Thank you so much. I am happy to help. You can contact me here, in comments, or follow my Facebook page. I am gathering a helpful community that supports each other.
Crocheting really does help you in many ways. I like to relax with it after a full day; it helps me because I have to concentrate on one thing only. I haven’t think of it, but I think I snack less too. 🙂 Hehe isn’t that a fun way to lose wait 😉
Have a nice day. I am looking forward to hear from you.
How odd that I should come across this blog about Joyce Overheul today. At the moment I am on holiday and staying in a caravan park. I was chatting to a woman this morning and she was telling me all about the crochet she is doing, and where did she learn it buy on UTube.
It made me wonder if she has used some of Joyce’s patterns and when I see her I shall ask her.
She knows I am an artist but with the extreme wind we are experiencing here, it is totally impossible to paint although I do take many photographs that I can use later to inspire a painting. She then suggested that I take up crochet and after me reading this inspiring interview with Joyce, I shall do so.
I do know that I still have all my crochet hooks tucked away in a drawer which I had intended to use to make hats for cancer patients. Now will do so.
Thank you for your comment. I am glad I inspired you to start crochet again. I would love to see your creations. You can share them with me on my Facebook page.
It is really nice of you to crochet hats for cancer patients. I am sure it brings smiles to their faces too.
Have a beautiful day.
Joyce is a very good person looking at this interview.lthink that when one starts anything from a young age, the possibilities of being successful is very large and this is the case with Joyce. My mum had also learnt from a very young age to knit and she has already become quite established. Maybe someday you’ll also interview her here. Nice work by Joyce and you.
Hi Henderson!
Thank you for your comment. Nice to hear about your mum. Maybe I will interview her in the future. Thank you for your suggestion. I will contact you.
Have a nice day.
Oh, great. Another awesome best seller here on your Etsy interview. Joys sounds cool and I like the work she has put in. She is really massive and has become quite international as well. I didn’t get to see any of her works like you usually do though. Is this something with the website or you didn’t just add any. I hope to see more reviews.
Hi John.
Thank you for your comment. I was focusing more on the crocheting patterns, you can see them in the pictures, but I did post a link to her site where you can see her art (http://www.joyceoverheul.com/) She says, she keeps those two things separate.
Have a nice day.
Hi, Katja.
Thanks for introducing Joyce Overheul. Though I was not really aware of her fame but the patterns shown in your article make us aware of her reputation in crochet world. Too pleasant to watch the designs.
While reading your article I kept on remembering my Grandma who was a superwoman of crochet and always wanted me to learn the basics, but being a boy, I was interested only in using the caps she made for me. Now I think, that I lost a big opportunity to learn this beautiful art. Maybe my daughter can do justice, so I am bookmarking this page for her, thanks again.
Warm Regards,
Gaurav Gaur
Thank you. You can still learn, and you can enjoy crafting with your daughter 😉 There are a lot of men that crochet. I am glad you like my post. You can read my article on How to crochet and if you have any questions, you can contact me, and I will be happy to help.
Have a nice day.