Hi, I’m SJ.

I believe art is a form of protest. I’ve been crocheting since I was 8 years old, but in the last several years, I’ve focused on refining my skills and exploring new techniques. Interlocking crochet is one of my favorites because it allows for intricate designs with minimal color changes!

My design name, Hey Duke Designs, is a small nod to my family’s history.

During World War II, Czechoslovakia was one of the first countries invaded by Nazi Germany. The Nazi regime’s long-term plan for the Czech people included forced assimilation for a minority deemed “racially suitable,” and the enslavement, deportation or eventual elimination of the rest. Thousands of Czechs, especially resistance members and intellectuals, were imprisoned, executed or sent to concentration camps.

My great-uncle served as an American soldier during the war. After being captured, he was held at Stalag IV-B, a German POW camp. While the camp wasn’t known for executing American prisoners, he was killed in captivity. Our family believes he was singled out because of his Czech surname.

In the decades that followed, particularly during the Cold War and Red Scare, Slavic Americans were viewed with increased suspicion. As tensions rose between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, people with Central and Eastern European heritage often were pressured to distance themselves from their roots.

In the 1950s, my grandfather, also a veteran and the brother of the great uncle who died during the war, made the difficult decision to legally change our family’s surname. It was a response to the discrimination he faced from fellow servicemen, such as mockery and suspicion tied to his Slavic name.

The ability to erase your name and blend in is a form of protection, but it’s also a privilege. Not everyone has the option of hiding who they are in the face of bigotry, as we are seeing in today’s political climate as we watch more and more minorities being targeted in ways that can’t be erased with a name change.

Standing up for justice is personal. The name Hey Duke is a tribute to the identity my family was pressured to let go of.

I believe in equity, justice, and every person’s inherent dignity. So I stand up for racial justice, trans rights, bodily autonomy, healthcare for all, universal income, disability rights, and the simple truth that children are people deserving of respect. I believe no one should have to justify their existence or struggle to meet their basic needs. Throughout history, fiber arts have included messages and important ideas while documenting history in a creative way. I hope my patterns carry on some of that tradition.

Resistance can also mean finding peace in chaos. Choosing to carve out a moment of calm in a world designed to keep us discombobulated is a powerful form of resistance.

Most of my patterns are advanced beginner-friendly, requiring only basic double crochet skills. If a pattern calls for anything extra, I’ll guide you through it, so you can focus on the fun part: bringing your project (and your message) to life.