Emma Friedlander-Friedlander grew up in rural Upstate New York, where she excelled at playing the harmonica in school. After high school, she pursued a career as a teacher, but her heart was set on something bigger. She is passionate about social justice and continually attempts to find new ways to utilize art and craft to make communities and give hope to others. Emma has found a way to combine her love for teaching and her passion for gardening by launching her company called Grow Tall Gardens. Her mission is to bring art and gardening together.
Emma’s love of both crochet and tapestry crochet caught the attention of Fibonacci Crochet, a known blog and online crochet directory that she found through a recommendation. From there, Emma took what she loved about both mediums and launched her first clothing line, called BIG HOARD, with her husband. The store, which now has four locations in New York, Michigan, Texas, and Florida, is all about vintage chic and is dedicated to providing fashionable clothes for petite women. “We wanted to design cute clothes that were also fun and funky and had a vintage vibe,” says Emma. “We are both huge fans of vintage styles and designs and when we decided to start our own crochet boutique, we knew we wanted it to be a place that was fun, funky, and also created quality clothes that were made with quality fabrics and thoughtfully designed.”
Emma’s dream is to turn her passion for crochet into a successful business. “I really want to make life-long friends who enjoy being creative and taking things serious at the same time. I truly believe that everyone on this earth has the ability to be their best self and be a complete person,” says Emma. “I am constantly inspired by the brilliant women of our world and hope that one day, we will have the opportunity to share our craft with the rest of the world through my online crochet store, called BIG HOARD, where women from around the world can come and learn and create with classic and vintage clothing designed by my very own mother, Emma Friedlander-collins.”