Meet Halley Tiefert: Fiber Artist & Actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Halley Tiefert and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Halley, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
I chose this question because I want to talk about reframing the term “giving up.” I simply don’t believe in giving up, and let me explain what I mean by that. Many of us, in our endeavors, think we should give up when we’re unsuccessful or not profitable or if we fall out of love with what we’re doing. But instead of “giving up,” I encourage all to reframe giving up as pivoting–changing direction. Giving up feels like a loss, it feels like rejection, it hurts. But changing direction is moving forward. It’s an action! And no matter what we’re doing, moving forward is important. I think most of us can agree that we are ever-morphing, as people, as brands/businesses, etc. Not to be the Disney girl, but I always look to that movie Meet the Robinsons to remind me about embracing failure as success and using it to keep moving forward. 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started crocheting somewhere between the ages of 8-12. My grandma crocheted constantly but never taught me how so in an effort to impress her, I taught myself. She would inspect my work and instilled in me a pride in it. She never did anything imperfectly–she would rip out a whole project to fix a mistake. It’s that kind of attention to detail that made me good at what I do. So many times I insisted that I just didn’t understand a pattern, or I couldn’t get my tension right–whatever. But I learned (slowly, over many years) that skills don’t always come naturally–they can be learned. And learning that changed everything for me. So that’s how I overcome–I rip back and improve upon my work. I don’t give up on something I want to do or learn. That’s why I’m still acting, that’s how I learned how to knit, that’s why I have a new business plan in the works (keep an eye on Hooked by Halley, big plans for 2021)!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First, I would hope that there was a performance happening at The Windmill in Atlanta–it’s got to be the coolest venue in town and the art that happens over there is always fascinating. We would definitely get some tea at Dr. Bombay’s Underwater Tea Party at some point. Dinner at Taqueria Tsunami is a must–the Asian nachos and pear sangria are my favorites, especially at the Marietta location. And while we’re on the square we’ll probably wander around the area for a while. There are so many beautiful places in and around the city to just walk and explore.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First and foremost, I’d be nothing without Jesus. I owe so much to my best friends and family for supporting me in all my endeavors–my incredible fiance Nichols Cothran and best friend/business guru/cheerleader combos Alex Mobley and Miranda Walton. I am fortunate to have much inspiration in the fiber Instagram community: @ponderandply, @irunthisknit, and @thescrantonstitcher specifically have been so lovely and helpful (especially as I started my knitting journey!). Kallie and Katherine of Essence to Crux have given me so much–in friendship and in art. My acting mentors Quinton Cockrell and Dave Nisbet have had immense impact on me as a person and artist. This feels so much like an awards show so I’ll wrap up with a thank you to my late Grandma, Marilyn, who is the reason I learned to crochet and started me on my path of creating.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hookedbyhalley/

Image Credits
Wes Milton (The Creative Raven) (sorry to add more info, but I’d like to credit the designers of some of my knit/crochet pieces here: Callie Tshirt Dress and Beverly Set by @Gorillaknits, The Cozy Home Throw by @seniyastudio, and The Daisy Crop by @ponderandply (on instagram)).