Demetria — See Me Because

My parents, especially my dad, are just so inspirational. I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but at the time I was conceived, my parents were in New Orleans. My dad was teaching at Tulane but Hurricane Katrina hit so we had to move. My earliest memories were on the road going back and forth because even with us being in Milwaukee, my dad was still going back to New Orleans to teach until he finally found a new job here. I appreciate my mom, too, because even though she didn't get a chance to finish college, she’s got street smarts and she's intelligent. I'm glad I can see the hard work they put in and I want to do the same, not just for myself but for my kids and my parents, too.

I feel like this is a stretch, but I identify as a healer. I don't want to heal people, because you have to want to heal yourself, so I guess more like a guide or facilitator or like a teacher. I'm hoping that I can have my own art therapy or crochet therapy clinic. I want people to be able to come to a place where they can express themselves and feel safe. Crochet just makes me feel better. The healing part is that I could be having the worst day ever and by the time I'm done crocheting, I feel so much more relaxed. I really enjoy how I can take a ball of yarn that's pretty useless and I can turn it from nothing to something. And I enjoy the way it feels…you can just feel the yarn gliding through, each piece is just a continuous loop. And it's kind of like everything's connected.

Honestly, I want to say people perceive me in a good light but sometimes you're not going to be perceived that way. I just want people to perceive me the way they actually see me, I don't want any biased reviews. All I can do is just focus on what I can do and how I feel about myself. You don't have to live with anybody else. At the end of the day, people can say what they want but when you look in the mirror, you have to face who you are and accept who you are. Like now I love my lips. I love how when I smile, my face lights up and people like it. And I like how my laugh can be contagious sometimes - astronomical, because it’s out of this world.

I want people to know I'm a boss and I grind and I work hard. I'm the CEO of my own company. In my business, I play multiple roles, even though I'm just like one human being. My business name is Crochet Designs by Deme. I am producing a line of crochet clothes called Living in Ombre, which is essentially showing how I'm one person but I'm also transitioning and fading to the next phase of my life. I freehand all of my work so that means I don't use patterns that were written by anybody else, all of my stuff is solely my own. I pride myself in that because it's hard to make stuff without a pattern. Sometimes you might have to start over but I call those beautiful mistakes…they happen for a reason. It’s kind of like leaving my own mark on it, each individual stitch.

I’m just so grateful that crochet has been invited into my life because it's showing me things and taking me places and putting me in new spaces to meet people and share who I am. Getting into my business and being in the art scene and meeting other people, I feel like I do belong. I've kind of found my place in a sense, and it feels really good. When I started off crocheting, I never would have imagined I would be here in my life, ever. I feel like I am a work in progress because I'm still learning…I'm not perfect and I'll never reach perfection. I just want to keep growing in myself and in my craft. I'm trying to be a well-rounded individual…well-rounded like a ball of yarn. I know I will keep going. Crochet has been the greatest blessing. I'm just excited to see where it will take me.

Milwaukee, 2023