From watching her sister crochet, to fully immersing herself in the craft, junior Kasandra Ramirez has found herself entranced by the intricacies of crocheting. Something about the yarn, needles, or perhaps the polished finished product, fanned a creative spark into a flame as she now continuously works to improve and grow her crochet business.
“I’ve been doing my little business for maybe half a year now,” Ramirez said. “It’s mostly been small things like selling to my friends and family. I’m also working on making a social media page where I can start selling, as well as an Etsy page so I can sell to a bigger audience.”
Though her business hasn’t quite left the ground yet, Ramirez still enjoys her hobby, and has a good idea for what she wants to continue making and selling.
“My favorite thing to make are small plushies,” Ramirez said. “I also like making big[ger] plushies that take a long time to make; I have one that’s like twelve inches [tall]. I mostly make characters from shows that I like, or different kinds of animals like bunnies, cats, or bees.”
Unfortunately, crocheting isn’t just all cute squishy plushies and homemade bees; there are many struggles in both creating projects and becoming an entrepreneur.
“The biggest downside is that I’m starting to get really bad hand pains,” Ramirez said. “I feel really old now. I think the downside of starting your own business is actually finding people to sell your stuff to—especially if you actually price your things fairly. Considering the time and effort that you put into it, it’ll be way out of people’s price range, so that’s a tough thing to balance.”
Hobbies and interests can often shape people in different ways, whether that is in mindset or behavior, the impact can be lasting.
“It [crocheting] has made me a more creative person overall,” Ramirez said. “Ever since I started crocheting, I [have been] able to just look at things and realize how you can crochet it. It can also get really frustrating sometimes, especially with specific patterns that you don’t understand. I like stepping away from it and taking a break, maybe scrolling through Pinterest and seeing other people’s projects.”
Despite her setbacks, Ramirez has found herself surrounded by support from her family members and friends.
“Our family always supports her by encouraging her to always do her best,” Kasandra’s mother Natalie Ramirez said. “We are very open and honest with her. If something looks great, we tell her, and if it doesn’t quite work out, we will also honestly let her know. I love everything she has made for me; I know she put lots of love and thought into the item. It is incredible how fast she has picked up on crocheting, and it amazes me every day how her dedication has paid off.”
Selling work brings not only a new challenge, but also an increased standard of perfection.
“The first thing I sold, I actually sold in Anatomy; this girl that sits at the same table as me saw me crocheting during class,” Ramirez said. “She asked if I could make her a bee. I was able to make it for her, but with that animal, you have to do a color change in order to make the stripes. I tried like five different times, and every time I tried to do it, it would come out really crooked and messed up. Trying out different strategies to color change until I got the right one that made it almost seamless was really hard.”
Despite the hardships of actually selling crochet projects, if enough effort is put in, the final product will be amazing, and the buyer will be happy.
“It [selling the plushy] made me feel nice because my hard work was appreciated,” Ramirez said. “She ended up loving it [the bee]. It was crazy because the mistake that I thought she would complain about, she actually loved. I guess that goes to show that they [customers] aren’t looking at it as hard as you are.”
Kasandra’s mother shares some comforting and supportive words for her daughter and anyone else with high hopes to continue on a path of entrepreneurship.
“Never give up on your dreams,” Ramirez said. “It’s easy to become discouraged by others, or even yourself, but the main thing is to never stop believing in the amazing things you can accomplish! Entrepreneurship can be a rollercoaster. Stay positive, believe in yourself, and persist through the challenges. Every setback is a learning opportunity.”
