Palm Beach Gardens fiber artist Jennifer Noelle Hernstadt discovered crochet at an early age. When she was 8, she purchased yarn and hooks at a neighbor’s garage sale, determined to teach herself the handicraft typically popular with an older crowd. “I ended up stringing the yarn around my bedroom like cobwebs,” she recalls with a laugh.
Hernstadt hails from a family of artisans, but it wasn’t until she moved from San Francisco to Miami Beach in 2016 that her creative interests were really piqued. “Everyone was wearing these cute bags to the beach, and I thought, ‘I could make those myself,’” she says. She began sewing one-of-a-kind canvas totes festooned with Florida icons like crabs and flamingos and sold the bags under the name JeNoelle via her website, Etsy, and local markets.
In 2018, inspired by a close friend who crocheted blankets, she decided to learn the craft once and for all. She immersed herself in tutorials and completed her first project (a belt), followed by a tsunami of blankets. The following year, she and her husband relocated to Palm Beach Gardens, and when COVID hit, she spent weeks sewing face masks.
Around the same time, she also began making amigurumi (crocheted Japanese stuffed dolls) after receiving a book on the subject from her mother for Christmas. “Kawaii Crochet [by Melissa Bradley] was the cutest crochet book, with photos and instructions for making plants and food and other things with sweet little faces,” Hernstadt says. “My mom told me, ‘I know you crochet. Maybe one day you’ll be able to make some of these.’”
It wasn’t long before Hernstadt nabbed her first local retail client, Southern Belle’s Cakery in North Palm Beach, after chatting with owner Jamie Fago one day. “Jamie asked
me to bring in some samples, and I came back with some of the amigurumi hearts I had made,” she says, adding that Fago decided to place an order for the heart-shaped plushies, which quickly sold out.
Hernstadt began needling everything from cupcakes and ice cream cones to unicorns and tooth fairy pillows—and Palm Beach’s venerable art and philanthropic communities took notice. In October 2023, she crocheted a life-size dessert table for Pink Waves, a charity art exhibit supporting women artists. One of 20 local artists showcasing their work during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Hernstadt created an all-pink installation featuring macaron towers, donuts, cookies, flower vases, and a giant cake that left audiences stunned.
Since then, her fiber art has been showcased at numerous art venues and charity events in the area, including The Society of the Four Arts, the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, and the National Alliance for Eating Disorders’ annual Valentine’s Day fete.
The artist also hosts workshops for the public January through May at Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta, The Peach in West Palm Beach, and The Cozy Cottage in Lake Worth Beach. Each workshop (which typically cost $45-$50) focuses on a project that can be completed in one session, and participants are provided with a crochet kit that includes yarn, a crochet hook, and a copy of the pattern. Hernstadt also posts free patterns and tutorials
on her website and YouTube channel.
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