We recently connected with Acela Troffer and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Acela thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

When I started Rhapsody red T-shirt Quilts, I did so to make “spending money” to support my quilting hobby. I though that not only would I be quilting and getting paid to do it but I would be making money to pay for the personal quilting I did. How could you beat that. Turns out there was a better reason to help people with t-shirt quilts. What I learned as I got deeper into my business is that the catalyst that kept me going was the stories my Clients told me about why they were having t-shirt quilts made. The memorial quilts get to me the most although the most memorable to me was an older gentleman gifting a t-shirt quilt to his daughter for his grandson. He was a fortunate survivor of a horrific airplane accident and not only was age getting the better of him but he had health challenges from the accident. Knowing his time was short, he wanted to provide his daughter the t-shirt quilt that highlighted his life. His way of the grandson learning and getting to know him without him being present. Makes sense and makes your heart hurt.
The family had even more excitement about the baby since the daughter (mom to be) had a history of challenges with pregnancies. This pregnancy was being viewed as a “miracle.”
As long as this background is, the t-shirt quilt process was as well. The family was all willing to pitch in. Seeing things like this make you realize there are definitely families out there that are very close. The “Client’s” sister was the person that placed the order and whom I spoke to on the phone. A brother sent the payment. A nephew not only brought the shirts to me, he made a trip to Conneticut to retrieve the last of the shirts. The final payment came from yet another name. It was all a team effort or in this case, a family effort,
This quilt carries such meaning. I’m not sure all the emotions that lead up to it’s creation and the memories in the shirts will be able to be completly expressed to the child as he grows up but it will be priceless!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Rhapsody red T-shirt Quilts is an Orlando home-based business focused on preserving memories through quilts, making t-shirt quilts and memory quilts out of old and worn but treasured and sentiment filled t-shirts and clothing. Who doesn’t have t-shirts stored away that they don’t wear anymore but…..they can’t bare the thought of giving them away or worse, throwing them away. Our goal is to preserve memories generated from ever so precious life experiences.

T-shirts often trigger memories dear to us. They remind us of times spent with loved ones and of our personal accomplishments. You love them, they’re worn, faded, have holes, and maybe…. they don’t fit anymore. They sit in the back of a drawer or in a box at the back of the closet and wait for their opportunity to shine again and make you smile.

Simply put: You provide the t-shirts, I create an extraordinary, handmade quilt that is uniquely yours.

And who doesn’t love snuggling up under a quilt to watch a movie or read or just take a nap?

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

You often hear “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” I’m here to tell you, it’s true and it’s complicatedly not true. I do love quilting and look forward to it and to helping others who value the art. I fairly quickly learned that running your own business and being financially successful takes much more than being good at your craft.

It takes being diligent with finances, being consistent and strategic with marketing, understanding the tech behind having a website, selling without being salesy, being confident about your offers. So much. And you realize quickly, you need to spend more time ON your business rather than IN your business even if creating your “widget” is what you know and love. I had so much to learn and still do about social media and tech.

I can’t tell you that there is a formula that made sense to me how to stick with it. I just know that if I wanted to get to the other side I needed to get through the fire. It helps to have a friend or family member who’s shoulder you can cry on. And I believe the best thing is to get involved with local business organizations where you can 1- get your name out there and 2- meet people going throughy the same thing you are. You will develop a support system.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I came from corporate America, having worked for a multi-million dollar corporation most of my life where professionalism is a must. With today’s small business and social media, casual and “talking like you’re talking to a friend” is king. My written style was so very formal and free of personal opinion. I had a very hard time and still do several years later making my communication casual.

Although I am not a perfectionist, I lean in that direction. Getting away from that and fighting the suggestions of “done is better than perfect” and “being scrappy” has been a difficult journey. I understand the thought process and theory behind not living in analysis paralysis and I also believe showing thouroughness is important. I sway between the two while I have learned to be ok with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rhapsodyred.com
• Instagram: @rhapquilts
• Facebook: @rhapsodyredquilts