Student Crochet Goods Knits Its Way to UMD
A sample of Jolivi clothing put on display from the NextNow Fest (Ashley Ankapong/The Black Explosion)
On a sweltering Friday evening in September, customers curiously scan the pop up shops assembled in front of The Clarice as part of the University of Maryland’s 10th annual NextNow Fest. Jolivishops was amongst those pop up shops.
Jade Miles, a junior mathematics major, started a crochet business called Jolivishops last spring. She originally had no intention of making it into a business.
“I was wearing a crochet hat and a crochet bag I just finished, I was so proud of it,” Miles said. “A girl stopped me like, ‘Oh my God, your hat is so cute can I buy one?’, that was the first sale I ever made.”
Miles’ love for crocheting started during the COVID lockdowns when she used it as a coping mechanism for her anxiety. Now she crochets a variety of items to sell such as hats, bags, tops and car charms.
My favorite piece would be the crochet flowers, especially the lavender sprigs,” says junior history major Holland Schmitz.
With Jolivishops, Miles wants the fashion to be ethical, sustainable and intentional.
“I'm not about making stuff to sell,” Miles said. “I wanna make things that people actually value, and not just throw them in the waste line,”
Miles says that the impact she wants to make as a Black owned business is to show that Black people have a space in the crocheting industry, and to create Black joy.
I like making stuff. I like making people happy and going to events and seeing people light up when they see my stuff,” Miles said. “That fulfills me.”
Although Miles is currently putting her focus on school, she still plans to have pop up shops and have her designs be more accessible to those who create their own crochet pieces. Miles also hopes to expand from creating crochet pieces to one day owning her own boutique.
“I love vintage pieces, rug making and upcycling clothes and I want to try knitting,” Miles said. “I just can’t imagine narrowing myself to one art form.”