Small Craft Business: Wordless Wednesday

Small Craft Business: Vendor Tuesday: LYS

LYS = Local Yarn Store.


Check out your local listings. Yelp is a good place to start. Find your local yarn store, and check out what they've got. JoAnn Fabrics doesn't count as an LYS. It has to be an indie place. 


Feel new stuff. Look at new colors. Try something made of cotton or bamboo, or both. 


Buy local, and support an independent business.

Vendor Tuesday: Fancy Tiger

 Fancy Tiger is a local craft shop that is quickly becoming legendary. We can all take  a lesson from Jaime and Amber. They have amazing style and a great sense of what the community wants and needs. Their shop offers classes, supplies, and they host the most popular craft show of the year here in Denver--Holiday Handmade. 


If you are in the Denver area, I command you to shop there, just once. ONCE! You will be converted quickly. If you aren't in the Denver area, I command you to shop at an independent, local craft shop this holiday season. Just once! 


Buy local. Buy handmade. Save the economy, one crocheted slipper at a time. 

Vendor Tuesday: Michael's

I love Michael's.  I just love it. I love that they have a little bit of everything. I love that they have awesome coupons going all the time. I love that they have an APP for my iPhone, so I can have my coupons with me ALL THE TIME and the cashier can just scan it right from my phone, done and done.

I've been spending quite a bit of time there, recently.

What's your favorite local craft store?

Jeezy Crotch

Statistics! How I love them. I love looking at the stats for my blog, grabbing a tissue, and weeping. 

I kid, I kid. 

What I really love is when the "Search Keywords" stats really bring it. Like, today, for instance. In the past week, the top search terms for my blog were:

• crafte-blog.com
• rex smith
• soapcrone denver
• 80's style leather pants
• cool craft business
• free crochet slipper
• frog dissection sweater
• groovygrrl.blogspot.com
• jeezy crotch
• mini chalkboards

Let's have a look at them, shall we?

Crafte-blog and groovygrrl.blogspot both warm my heart. Someone KNEW my blog and searched for it. Thank you, random people! I love yoooooou!

I wrote a post once about Rex Smith. Said post also features Kip Winger, who often shows up in the search terms, as well. I think it's funny, and you should read it.

Soapcrone Denver warms my heart as well, because it means my soap company and my blog are somehow connected. Love it.

Cool craft business? I'll take it. Free crochet slipper? Not here, sorry. I do have a photo and link to a pattern for crocheted slippers, but it's not free, and it's not even mine. 

Frog dissection sweater? I'D WEAR ONE.

Mini chalkboards? I'm sure they are adorable, but I don't remember featuring them. 

Jeezy crotch. JEEZY CROTCH?  Really? REALLY?     For which pervert is this a search term?

Roller Derby is Crafty

Skull Headband

 Roller derby is the fastest growing sport in the U.S., and possibly the world. Following trends like this can be good for your crafting business. I did a search on Etsy for "roller derby" and found these great examples of handmade items that support the roller derby community.


The headband above is an example of derby culture. Skulls, weapons, icons for lightning or pain--these are all motifs that have been adopted by those who participate in roller derby culture. The headband is crafted beautifully, and it comes in different colors, so the derby girl can match it to her team's colors, if she wanted. What icons do you enjoy and use, that you can repurpose for a different community/culture?

Skate T-Shirt

This screenprinted t-shirt is another example of original art and handmade quality. (My daughter actually has this shirt--grandma bought it for her.) Do you draw? Can your drawings show "derby love?" 

Customized Helmet Panties

 These are called helmet panties. They are used during game play to indicate two particular skaters: the pivot (stripe) and the jammer (star).  This artisan is serving the derby community directly by manufacturing an item that is necessary for game play--the helmet panties are required equipment for a team to compete. Could you manufacture something needed to play the game? Could you do it better than the standard? 

Funk Blockers

These items are called funk blockers. They are made of fabric and are filled with a dessicant--a substance that absorbs moisture. Roller girls sweat a lot, and much of this sweat becomes trapped inside pads and skates. This entrepreneur is helping the derby community solve a very important problem--getting rid of the stench! What can you make that will help solve a problem?

Customized Beanie

This crocheted beanie is showing some love for my favorite team: The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls. Because it has "my" team's colors and their initials, I automatically want it. WANT WANT WANT! What can you make in team colors? (Update: I bought it at a bout. The black yarn has silvery stuff running through it. Awesome!)




Find the trend and fill the need. What other trends are you noticing around you?

Featured Crafters: Things I Think are Cool

Crochet slipper pattern from Broken Hallelujah

Roller derby hair clip from Marmalade Creations

Custom alphabet pillows from Hilary Cosgrove

Crocheted mug sweater from knotworkshop

Knitted frog dissection from aKNITomy

Featured Crafter: Maria Konstantin

Crochet beads

This week's featured crafter is Maria Konstantin. Her Etsy shop has the most delightful crocheted items. Maria is from Bulgaria, so I have edited her responses for clarity. Enjoy.

Where do you sell your crafts?

I sell my creations exclusively online in my Etsy shop: www.MariaKonstantin.etsy.com. I totally love it and I spend every spare minute working on my products and my shop.

Rose brooch

What was your inspiration for your business?

I was always obsessed by crochet and knitting. I remember it was back in December, 2008, when I lost my day job, which made me look for opportunities to help my husband with supporting our family. So one day I came across Etsy and it was like, wow that is my thing! To create and make money out of what I love to do the most. Later, I got a new day job, but I just could not give up on my shop. Now I try to balance between my two jobs, which is not always easy to do.

Flower garland

What do you love to create most?

What I love to create the most are the crochet beads and making necklaces with them. But I must say those beads were not the products that I started my shop with. I was always thinking of necklaces that are made out of fibers, textiles, cotton thread - soft materials, mostly pure cotton and I wanted the best part of the necklace to be NO metal parts. So I came up with the idea of the cotton crochet beads strung on crochet cord or ribbon. I think they are perfect for little ladies.

Amigurumi fruits

What are your favorite materials? What is inspiring you right now?

Like I said before, cotton thread is my favorite material and the round wooden beads too, which I use for my crochet beads. What inspires me are the colors that I see around me. If a certain color pops in front of me I always start playing with color combinations in my mind. Lately I get inspired by fruits, too. That is why I started making my crochet amigurumi fruit necklaces. I just love them!

Lilac ruffle wrist warmer

What piece of advice do you wish you had, when starting your business?

At the beginning of my Etsy adventure I wish I was told that pictures and descriptions are very very important for selling online.

Thanks for participating, Maria! Readers, she obviously has some great photography skills--what photo tips do you have to share?