MOLLA MILLS
Crochet Designer
Molla Mills is a Finnish crochet artist and author. She is known for her unconventional, graphic patterns using multiple colors, and has fans all over the world. Her recent book from Laine Publishing, Crochet Crush, was a big hit and had been translated into several languages.
Molla grew up in a very creative family. Her parents are hardcore DIY people and she grew up surrounded by things that her parents made. When they need something, they usually either fix or modify old things, or make it themselves, instead of buying in stores. Later she trained as a fashion designer and seamstress, and worked in the field for several years, before she went back to graduate school for applied art. It was one of her professor’s who inspired her to make something large with crochet, which eventually led to a crochet pattern book. From a young age, Molla’s hands were usually busy with crochet projects, even during lectures at the university. Crochet was an activity that her concentrate, and her professor remembered that. In her final year at school, when she was looking for a theme for her thesis, she chose crochet. Together with her classmate, who took care of graphic design and photography, she made her first book, which was later published from a craft book publisher and been translated into eleven languages.
Her obsession is making bags. She loves bags can be something pretty to make you happy, but at the same time, they are practical and you can use them every day. Molla loves bags so much that she is also interested in how people carry their items around, and what kind of bags they use. Whenever she goes to new places, she visits museums and looks for the historic bag section.
It’s been over ten years since she became focused on crochet. Molla’s popularity has brought her all over the world, where she’s taught many craft enthusiasts. She enjoys seeing the cultural diversity of people attending her workshops. The recent Crochet Crush release has gained her new audiences through networks of yarn shops around the world, and she is looking forward to traveling again to teach workshops. Her current passion is to make a book that features recycled yarns, by harvesting yarns from vintage sweaters or making strips of fabric from old textiles. We cannot wait to see the future work she creates in her vibrant studio, full of creative energy!
Website: mollamills.com
Instagram: @molla.mills
Photos by Meri Tanaka Jamison