Tyler Thompson, Special to The Denisonian—

The neat, time-consuming rows of red yarn slowly transform into elaborately crocheted roses. Fiona Kogan ‘26 sits in her valentine red sweater as she stitches chain after chain of yarn before Valentine’s Day. 

“It’s been kind of my relaxing hobby. It’s almost meditative,” Kogan said.

Kogan, a sophomore creative-writing major from Chicago, Illinois, has been a self-taught crocheter since she was about 10 years old. 

“I probably made hundreds and hundreds of chains. But then, by the time they were perfect, I had the muscle movement in my hands,” she said. 

Beginning with small trinkets such as blankets, scarves, hats and what she affectionately refers to as “very janky mittens,” Kogan has honed her crafts into a deeply personal passion project. Simultaneously, the crafts slowly became embroidered with Kogan’s love for gift giving. 

“I wanted a gift to meet my boyfriend’s parents for the first time. And I figured I can’t think of anywhere where I could get flowers in town. I know that I want to do something that’ll impress them, and so I started looking to maybe find a pattern for how to make a bouquet of flowers. And I did and I wrapped them in newspaper. And that was the first time I made them,” she said. 

Kogan started fashioning all types of crocheted flowers: lavender, tulips and daisies. Similarly, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, Kogan grew her own crocheted flower collection by crafting roses constructed with woolen petals and leaves attached to handheld stems. 

“I think it would just be a really fun gift for maybe a parent or a friend, for yourself, for someone romantic. What I like about these flowers is they last forever, theoretically. That’s how I came up with the name ‘Forever Flowers.’ It’s just because there’s something that you can always have and keep and look at and enjoy. So, I hope I can give that to other people,” Kogan said. 

The “Forever Flowers” were arranged in flower vases and could be bought both singularly and in bouquets of two or more. The flowers were then wrapped in old Denisonian newspapers tied with a ribbon emulating a genuine bunch of flowers from a florist. 

“I think it’s a very cute and unique idea,” Katie Nadar ’27 said. “I bought one for myself because that’s how much I liked it.”

“They are cute and very well done,” Evan Goodgee ’26 said. “It shows how much effort she put in.”

“They are so well made and it’s a perfect gift for my girlfriend,” Charlie Stocker ’27 said. 

Previously, Kogan sold the flowers with little to no advertising, instead opting to just show up to events, like the Doobie flea market, just hoping for the best. 

“I just set up my table. And I had a couple of flowers,” Kogan said. 

However, this year she decided to put up posters around campus in addition to posting on social media in hopes of more sales for the holiday. Kogan sold out of all the flowers within two hours of starting her sale.

With such a successful sale, Kogan just wants to share the love she has for her “Forever Flowers.”

“I hope if someone receives one, they understand that someone is giving this with a tremendous amount of love,” Kogan said. 

Kogan plans on continuing to make and sell her flowers throughout the semester when the opportunity arises.