My Grandmother, My Inspiration
HOW IT ALL STARTED…
My grandmother grew up in modest circumstances in a rural city called Valença, about 2 hours from Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. She raised five children and never worked outside the home. She did not have the opportunity to attend college and never had any formal training as an artist, yet she was one of the most talented crocheters I have ever known, bringing a distinctive and meticulous style into her work. She tried to teach me needlework when I was a teenager but I was not interested back then. Yet little did I know that the passion was in my blood. It took me a half-century to realize it but here I am following the path of my grandmother and showing my work to the world, which was not an option for her back then. I wonder what my grandmother would say about my knitting. I peer over my shoulder toward the past and can hear her whispering, “Bent hook or pointed needles, who cares? Pick some up and get to work.”
Beatriz Greiff (you can call me Bia!)
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
I am from Rio de Janeiro, and have been living in New York since 1990. I studied drama and journalism and had the opportunity to explore both professions. I was an actress in Brazil, and now in New York I work as an International Content Editor at Hearst Magazines, overseeing content sharing for about 25 print and digital editions, including Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, Prevention and Women’s Health.
In 2017, I started my own company, Just Becozy, where I am the CEO, marketing chief, PR director, social media curator, photographer, knitter, buyer, seller, accountant - in other words, I do it all!
YARN
Most of my products are made with 100% Uruguayan Merino wool, produced by farms that allow their free-range sheep to roam the hills, where they are herded by old-style shepherds. The controversial practice of mulesing, a mutilating way of removing wool, isn't practised in Uruguay. The wool is of extremely high quality and density; it lies softly against the skin, with none of the coarseness or itch found in so many wools. Some of the yarns are blended with other fibers like top-quality silk; mulberry silk; and a mix of baby alpacas from Peru.
POMPOM
All pompoms and tags are detachable! The pompoms are handmade from recycled vintage fur coats that have, for the most part, been around longer than most of us. They would go to waste otherwise, but they now have a second life atop our hats.
Some pompoms are made from yarn.