Today we’d like to introduce you to Akeer Martin.
Hi Akeer, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started crocheting at the age of 6 years old. My oldest sister taught me the basics, and I started doing it as a comforting mechanism to deal with the abuse I was experiencing as a child. I called it my escape to my own little world so I could feel safe. At the age of 14, I would read books and crochet at the College Park library, so much so that the manager at the time in 2005 asked me to become the arts and craft instructor and teach crocheting. I’ll never forget she told me to come up with an amount that I wanted to make, so with me being so young at the time, I had to get my parents involved. In 2006, I went into Dfacs, and I remember spending the night at one of their transfer locations on Cleveland Ave, wishing I could just crochet a blanket to keep warm because the blankets they had were super thin. So, over the years, life kind of happened, and I became a mom at 17, and I put my gift on the back burner for some years. Then my dad got sick, and we made amends(2021), then he passed away from brain cancer in October 7, 2022. I had just graduated with my degree in Criminal Justice, and his passing just woke something up in me to the point where I felt like I was missing something and couldn’t stop seeing visions of outfits I would come up with in my head. I just felt like I wasn’t living up to what God has for me. So, I started putting a plan together, coming up with a business name for my crocheting, starting social media pages, getting my LLC and website, and more.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it hasn’t sometimes I would get discouraged because I’ve felt like you had to know people who know people. I had a lot of people who didn’t believe in me around me (family included). Being a single mother, I prioritized that first, so I stopped taking my gift seriously at a point at a time in my early adult years because I then felt safe from what I experienced in my childhood. I felt like I didn’t have to crochet to be in my comfort zone.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in crocheting any and everything. I’ve been doing it for 27 years. The top things I crochet right now are outfits, cover ups, purses, a lot of women’s clothing and accessories. I will be coming out with classes, men’s and kids’ clothes. I’m most proud of not giving up and not becoming a product of what I’ve been through because I’m a happy and peaceful person. I’m not on drugs, and I don’t have a record. A lot of people who been through similar things aren’t fortunate enough to get to say that. I’m a happy and bubbly person, and I thank God for it because people would see me and wouldn’t think I’ve been through abuse until I tell my story.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see myself owning several catchbyhook stores in Atlanta, Houston, Miami, and New York. I see myself on the path the man above has for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: Catchbyhook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catchbyhookllc/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@catchbyhooksm
