Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laurel Taylor. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Laurel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

The biggest challenge any small business owner (especially makers) face is “how do I price my items?” So many makers are undercharging for their products. As a knitter, my items take a minimum of an hour to make, up to days of work!

When I first started Alabaster Purl, I wasn’t charging for my time. It was a factor, sure, but I was charging by the yard, as well as what kind of material I was using. I now charge by the hour, and materials, like any normal business model.

I am a part of many Facebook groups for vendors/small business owners, and have a similar community on Instagram. I cannot tell you how much it breaks my heart to see the majority of them still massively undercharging. Not only are they hurting themselves, they are undercutting the rest of us in the industry. But the worst part, they are training the public that our time is not valuable as makers. Our skill and craft takes years to perfect. Sure, it only takes me an hour to knit a beanie, but its taken me years to get here.

Charge for your time, folks. Know your worth, and add tax.

Laurel, 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?

I’m Laurel Taylor, the knitter and owner behind Alabaster Purl. I specialize in handmade knitwear, merino wool blankets, and designing knitting patterns. My specialty is hand knitted beanies, and selling my product at in person shows. People can see the quality, and try on products to find the right fit. The best part is, they can customize it on the spot – I have a “Pick Your Pom” bar, where customers can (you guessed it) pick which pompom they would like on their beanie. It just takes me a few minutes to attach, and people love the personal touch.

In 2008, I learned to knit from my friend Jonathan, when I was having a hard time focusing during lectures at school. (Hello undiagnosed ADHD…) I quickly found that doing something mindless with my hands helped to calm my mind and focus. Fast forward a few years to 2010 when I was a newlywed, having moved from Alaska to Oregon. I found a lot of extra time on my hands, not having any friends in a new town and state, so I knitted gifts for all of my family members that Christmas.

My business is a “slow burn” as I like to call it, not one of those instant, overnight success stories, but one that grew organically. I started small, like the Christmas gifts, sharing photos on social media. Friends and family started ordering custom items from me, giving me the confidence to attempt to sell at shows. I found a few very small pop up shops locally, bringing a variety of handmade crafts, but my knits always sold best. The natural direction was to focus on knitting – my niche was chosen for me!

In 2016, I finally chose a name, and started Alabaster Purl. Over the next few years, I released a knitting pattern or two, as they came to me. I never want to force my creativity. I also continued to sell my knits at shows, and take custom orders. My goal was to make more items each year, while balancing a job, life… all the things.

In 2018, my husband and I decided to move from Oregon to Texas. Moving is never easy, especially across the country, but it was especially risky and challenging relocating two small businesses. (My husband is a carpenter.) We had to finish remodeling our home first, and finally in the April of 2019, we sold our house in Oregon and made the move to Weatherford, Texas. (Fun fact: some of my knits became part of the closing deal on our house, The buyer saw my bin full of knits when she looked through the home, and put it in writing that she wanted 3 knits of her choice. They even made it onto the contract!)

Moving to a very hot climate, while selling winter accessories, had me full of doubts. What did this mean for my business? Would I still be able to sell at in person shows, or would people laugh me out of the room? Would I have to switch purely to online, or wholesaling to colder climates? I decided to give it one season, finding as many markets, craft shows, and pop ups. I was relieved and excited to discover that Texans were still needing knits. Sure, it’s over 100 degrees for 100 days here, but the winters can still be brutal. The wind shifts and temps can drop 30° degrees in 30 minutes. We can have 85° and sunny on Christmas Eve, but 20° and snowing on Christmas Day. The extremes feel even worse, since our bodies can’t acclimate that quickly. I knew I could still run my small business here. I was unstoppable!

Then spring of 2020 happened – Covid shut the world down. I wasn’t too worried at the time – it was just two weeks, right? This spring shutdown wont affect my winter business. Obviously as the year progressed, and we got closer to my selling season, I became more nervous. Show after show got cancelled. I had to switch to focusing on online sales. Thankfully, those sales got me through, and I didn’t have to shut down my business.

As the world has returned to some normalcy, I am back to focusing on in person shows, and plan on launching my own website this year. It’s time to leave the comfort and security of Etsy and do the next scary thing that seems so big and daunting. Up until this point, I’ve been using Etsy as my selling platform, but they continue to raise their fees to unsustainable levels. I drive nearly all of my own traffic from my social media, so, again, a natural shift has happened in my business.

I’m proud of myself for pressing on all these years: through slow growth, battling imposter syndrome, moving across the country, getting reestablished, shows being cancelled due to Covid, and some of the hardest years of my life for many other personal reasons. I am so passionate about what I do, even if it doesn’t make sense from the outside. Selling knitwear in Texas? People look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them about Alabaster Purl. Do the crazy thing. People will want to watch.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

Like I mentioned before, I’ve been using Etsy all these years. Don’t get me wrong, Etsy is a great starting point. Not having to build a website from scratch is convenient, and the name recognition associated with Etsy can potentially bring SO many customers and views. But, they continue to raise their fees, and their customer service for sellers is horrible (usually better on the buyer side.) They are also boosting the sellers who offer free shipping and buy ads, of course, which eats into profits. If you’re a well established small business, those fees may not seem like much, but if you’re just starting out, your profits are already so marginal. Those ads can feel like a big risk, with no guarantee.

Etsy brings me about 60-70% of my customers for my digital knitting patterns, so obviously I need to keep my patterns in Etsy. But for my physical items, I drive nearly all of my own traffic. It’s time to stop paying Etsy for the convenience of not having to manage my own website.

For years, I was justifying Etsy’s fees because I assumed it was cheaper than having my own website. My busy season is September through December, sometimes January, MAYBE into February. 4 to maybe 6 months of business? That’s not worth managing my own website, right?

Once I started using Quickbooks, and seeing how much I was paying Etsy in fees, my jaw dropped. I could have had about a dozen websites!!

Alabasterpurl.com is still in the works, but my goal is to have it launched before September 2024

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Hands down is in person shows! I reach people I never would if I was just online based. Is it a lot of work? YES. But “just” running an online business is also hard work. Choose your hard! Look at the numbers – numbers don’t lie. I have 20x more sales in person vs online sales. Do more of what is working for your business.

I understand that in person shows don’t make sense for every small business or product. My knits are unique in the sense that they are all handmade, by one person. I don’t drop ship items and slap my label on it. The markets in Texas are much different from the ones in Oregon. There’s so many boutiques and MLM items at shows, that people can walk past my booth thinking I’ve ordered mass produced items. So I really love to drive home the fact that I make everything. Customers are more likely to purchase from me once they realize that I made everything present in the booth. “Wow, you made all of this???” That is the best feeling in the world! I pride myself in producing such quality work, and it’s such a compliment when people don’t immediately know that it’s handmade. Customers feel more connected to the item when they connect with the maker. They’re buying me, in a sense, or at least the feeling they get from talking with me. It’s all about connection.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alabasterpurl.etsy.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/alabasterpurl
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/alabasterpurl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfPAjeQq7Cqy7kFVTaUjS_Q
• Other: www.alabasterpurl.com coming this fall!

Image Credits

All photos taken by me or my husband or mother. All are my property.