Listen to Story
34 year-old Jennifer Cirka has created her own niche in a market thickly woven with a host of talent. Out of her Orchard Mesa home …she has taken a uniquely American needlework art, crocheting, passed down to her by her Grandmother, to lofty heights. She has hooked a hobby into a somewhat profitable venture and a small splash of notoriety. It all started after she decided to stay home when her daughter was born. Being a mom, being at home, being a little bored and fidgety, these were all factors that contributed to Jennifer’s crocheting becoming more than a pastime. Her big break came when she submitted a freelanced pattern for an Easter hat she had made for her daughter, Heather. That little hat? It made the April Cover of Crochet World! Yep, big time for the former Postal Carrier and stay-at-home Mom. Now, Five magazines and a book of her own patterns later?…Jennifer and her Crochet Canine, Cash, are looking to the Future. Jennifer has started her own company and sells her patterns online. Jaybird Designs, a name born out of one of many nicknames Jennifer sported as a kid in school, is where you can find her unique patterns. The Website…”jaybird-designs.com”. Locally? You can meet and talk designs with the Savvy, Cerebral Crochet Entrepreneur at Tangle on Main Street in Grand Junction. She teaches a few classes there. The future is bright for this young mother with a great laugh and knack for making money the old fashioned way…Crochet!
Jennifer Cirka with all the National Crochet Magazines her patterns and designs have appeared in, including one book dedicated to solely to her Jaybird Designs.