We were lucky to catch up with Heather Ocheltree recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Heather thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I first learned how to crochet 9 years ago after my second son was born. I wanted to make him cute, warm hats and blankets. After trying many different patterns my friends and family started asking me to crochet them items as well.

As the years went by I experimented with different yarns, patterns, and designing my own patterns. I began selling patterns in my Etsy shop and not long after my community started hosting markets. With some encouragement from my husband, family and friends I thought I’d give it a try.

My first market was such a success, with so many compliments and purchases. To put it simply I fell in love. I found my niche and a passion for selling hand crocheted items.

Heather, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

If I were to describe and let you know about myself….I am a blessed and proud mother of 3 amazing kids. I am a wife to an amazing man who supports every crazy thing I do. We live on a small hobby farm where my days are always full of fun and never ending projects. From feeding chickens, gathering eggs, working in the garden, and every day farm chores. All of my animals are inspirations for the items I make for markets. I couldn’t ask for a better way to live my life and raise my family.

Being able to create new crochet patterns and make amazing crochet items to bring to market is my passion. Being able to do this as my job is what makes it all worth it. Starting out small just making random items for friends and family is where the business started. I got to see and realized very quickly that people love items that are handmade. After experimenting with many different items and products it became clear that hats, seasonal items, and animals were the main core of my product line.

It does take a lot of hard work and dedication to be successful. I refer to August through December as “market season”. My family and friends can attest to this as I can be seen at many baseball games, cookouts, and anytime sitting in the passenger seat of the truck, always crocheting my next new item. I make sure to always set aside dedicated time to keep up on social media and keep track of market prep and inventory.

Some of the items I am most proud of are my crochet animals. From my Mabel chickens, large rabbit lovies, or Halloween Ghosts. I just love the reaction they get when someone sees one for the first time or when a little girl picks one up and just has to have it. There’s no greater feeling or sense of pride seeing something I worked so hard on make someone’s day.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of this business is seeing the joy my creations bring to people. Some of my favorite moments through this journey have been at markets when people come straight into my booth because one of my items caught their eye from afar. Their smiles, giggles, and kind words mean the world to me and give me the energy to keep going.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I owe a lot of my business to Instagram. After joining, I decided to find other crocheters to follow. I then stumbled across a few crochet pattern designers who held what’s called a pattern tester call. After they write a pattern most designers ask for a few people to test out the pattern before releasing and selling their pattern.

I started testing patterns for many different designers which led to more exposure. Many of these designers already had a large following and were established in the crochet community. Testing for them allowed for their followers to see my work and own designs which in turn created a larger following for myself. I now consider many of these designers close friends.

My advice for people building their social media presence would be to first make an account solely for your business. It should be centered around your work and products you offer. Next, find a niche in which your business fits into and follow other similar accounts. Posting often about current projects, events and products help customers/followers stay up to date.

Contact Info:

• Website: IvoryFarmhouse.Etsy.com
• Instagram: @ivoryfarmhouseco
• Facebook: @theivoryfarmhouse