A Pair of Scissors and Some Yarn

2014 was the year everything really started for me. I started college in February for a BA in Media Arts and Animation at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh - Online Division. My dad was the one that paid my entry fee so I could get in! He was very excited that I found a school that would advance my skills as an artist. I absolutely loved these classes, and it confirmed that I wanted to do art for my career long term. Not only did school work keep me busy, but any spare time I had, I committed to doing bigger art projects that I had never really dared to do before. I know it sounds silly, but crocheting was my idea of intimidation because I had never done more than a chain stitch before. I remember mom teaching me a chain stitch when I was a toddler, and I'd make a row of chain stitches so long it could lap our house...at least that's how I remember it! To teach myself stitches and patterns, I turned to the trusty DIY videos on YouTube. The very first hat I ever made was a cute Hello Kitty beanie with braids. And, yes, I still have it! As artsy as I was, I didn't have a lot of art stuff, yet. Just a lot of paper, a bunch of crayons and pencils, and a pair of safety scissors. My mom also had some old metal crochet hooks that had been forgotten over time and tucked away in a drawer. I loved doing crochet projects, and wanted to be even more daring and try to sell my work at events. I did some research and started setting everything up to officially start my business in July 2014. Crocheted themed hats and toys and accessories were getting pumped out for some upcoming events, and friends and family were booking Christmas commissions already.

In the second half of 2015 my dad got drastically sick all of a sudden. About a week after we got the news from the doctor that he had stage four liver cancer, he died at home in bed watching TV with my mom. I had to take a short break from school and dropped the classes I was currently taking because I couldn't focus on them. Classes seemed to start back up too soon, and that's when my grades started going down a little bit. It was difficult to focus on school when I was still not feeling the best.

Eventually, I started attending a local club at a library, where I donated a crochet toy based on the theme of the meeting every single month to be raffled off to another member of the club. This went on for years. I also started attending about three events a year, where I'd successfully sell my work in an artists alley. The biggest job I've done so far was a 50 piece set of uniform beanies for my old highschool marching band (which had almost three times that amount of students). That was a very busy month!

In 2017 I finally graduated college, but with a degree in 2D animation instead. 3D animation is complicated, and I was working two part time jobs on top of pushing my art business. It was hard but I never gave up on my business, and now it's 2021 and I'm still building inventory, waiting for events to start back up! It's really weird to think about how my business started with just a pair of safety scissors, some scrap yarn, and my mom's old crochet hook. What a journey!