Hooks of Hope 'chocolate covered cherries' GIVEAWAY!

This giveaway is CLOSED. Congratulations to tracyo comment number #4

Hooks of Hope is an adorable store on etsy - but this one, I found to be really different. Kati (& Lynda) own and operate the company, and what they make are what they call "Hooks", essentially wash cloths, blankets, & bags, all hand-made & all crocheted. I found them to be of a high standard & made to last. 

What Kati sent me to review was a set of cloths for either the bath or the kitchen (I opted for the kitchen) & the set was called "Chocolate Covered Cherries, mini deluxe". A mini set means there are three, instead of five. I've always had a 'thing' about dishcloths, I find them disgusting. I always wonder how many germs and bacteria are swarming my dishcloth, and therefore my counter, since that's what they're used for. With Kati's hooks, they're machine washable - definitely a plus, they come in fantastic colors - and another service that Kati offers is if you can't quite see the color that will match your kitchen or bathroom - or whatever you have in mind, she can customize some to your style & taste.

Hooks of Hope have a selection of different 'hooks', baby blankets, dish/wash cloths, bags and even scarves. They're crocheted & are to a high standard. But another reason I fell in love with Hooks of Hope was the fact that Kati & Lynda give 15% of ALL proceeds toward a charitable organization. This year it happens to be "Post Partum Depression" & as a mother, I think quite highly of their choice. What amazes me is the selflessness that comes with what they do. There's an obvious passion to their craft & just the fact that they give to various charities is humbling.

I, naturally wanted some insight into why they do what they do - and here's what Kati had to say:

How did you come up with the concept of Hooks of Hope? Around this time last year, my mom and I were busily preparing for our shops grand debut on Etsy. It all came about because mom and I had this grand idea that we could use our crocheting "habit" to do something great. Why not crochet, make a little money to cover our costs, and donate the rest to charity? And that's exactly what we've done. We chose to name our shop "Hooks of Hope" because we like to think that each of our "hooks" (aka crocheted items) give the gift of hope with every purpose to someone who benefits from the money we donate to charity.

How do you decide which charity you'll donate to? The charity we are currently donating to is Postpartum Support International. We chose this charity because it provides assistance to women going through postpartum depression...a condition that I myself struggled with after the birth of my first son. Hopefully, with even the small amount we are able to give we are able to "give hope" to at least one person struggling through this very difficult condition.

In May we will be choosing a new charity to donate to for the following year. We are hoping that our Facebook and Twitter Followers will help us decide which charity to choose this year and will begin providing them with choices to choose from next month.

Do you have any personal experience with any of the charities you've featured? Yes, I struggled with postpartum depression after the birth of my first son. Luckily, I was able to recognize the symptoms right away and get the help I needed to overcome it. Postpartum Support International is great in that it helps those who may not recognize the symptoms right away know what they are and provides resources to make getting help a much easier process.

How do you come up with the ideas for the products you make?

Coming up with product ideas is probably my favorite part of running Hooks of Hope! I love looking at different color combination's and imagining what they may look like together in a scarf, handy hook set, or blanket. I try to keep myself inspired by as many things as possible when in the "development" phase. Usually, inspiration comes from places you wouldn't typically associate with crocheting. Web page colors, clothing sets, and even booklets I use in my dietetic internship have inspired my color combinations. My boys are also big inspirations and sometimes even help my pick the colors to use.

How long does it take you to finish say - a set of dishcloths? Well...it totally depends on what else is going on in my life! TYPICALLY, a set of dishcloths takes me 2-3 days. A scarf takes about a week while a blanket takes more like a month or more. Usually I have multiple projects going on at the same time which changes the overall production time for each. I do accept custom order requests and those I work hard on to finish as fast as possible so that my customer isn't waiting around too long for their order to arrive. I know that when I order something online I want it so much faster than I typically get it. I try to be conscious of that when working on custom hooks.

I'm absolutely impressed with the generous nature of Kati & her mother, and love that they give so much back!

Win It

Hooks of Hope are offering one reader a set of the Chocolate Covered Cherries mini deluxe (the same one I received - they're beautiful) dish/wash cloths!

Mandatory entry: To be eligible to enter, leave a comment stating a worthy charity or cause you think would benefit from Hooks of Hope.

Extra entries:

+1 Take a look around Hooks of Hope & leave a comment with some items you thought were adorable!

+1 Follow this blog

+1 Facebook fan Hooks of Hope

+1 Twitter follow me & Hooks of Hope

+1 Facebook fan "20 to Life"

+3 Tweet about this giveaway (2x daily)

Win w/ @HooksofHope & 20 to Life a set of choc. covered cherry dish or wash cloths!

http://bit.ly/aB5mjv

This giveaway will run from 3.11.10 until 3.18.10, please leave separate comments for each entry, winner will be selected via Random.Org & emailed. They will then 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be drawn.

**Please note, I received no form of monetary compensation for my opinion/review. I did receive a product from the company in order to give a fair & balanced review and any opinion, statement etc. expressed in said review in solely my own & was in no way influenced by a third party.

Good Luck!