We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Angie Stocker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Angie, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I truly wish that I had trusted myself and my talent when I was younger. Becoming an entertainer seemed so unrealistic and unattainable growing up in Springfield, Illinois. How would I start? Who would even see me? I ended up focusing on things that would send me down the “traditional” path of a 4 year college, only to abandon that for an acting conservatory. Even after that, I was still not confident in my abilities, and continued to try and make corporate grown up life work for me. After a few years of that I finally decided to get real about what I want…turns out, I wanted the spotlight all along, I was just too afraid to say it! Now that I’ve finally started to put myself out there, I realize that holding back my desires only held me back from realizing them.

Angie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I originally started Highly Crafty as a YouTube channel in 2019. I wanted a way to bring together comedy and my love for crafts, so I decided to invite my comedian friends over to get high and do crafts with me. A big part of being a stand-up comedian is networking by hanging out at bars and shows. As a mom with two little kids, I couldn’t network that way, so Highly Crafty became my way to connect. I decided to wear cannabis themed clothing in my episodes, but I quickly discovered that there was a SERIOUS lack of fashionable options for stoner-centric clothing. I decided to take matters into my own hands, and that’s how Highly Crafty became a retail business. I wanted to offer up fashionable clothing and accessory options. I also wanted to create fun home and party decor that went beyond typical cannabis culture. In addition to being a retail website, www.highlycrafty.com has a blog that features all sorts of helpful information and interesting reads. I advocate for the plant by educating people on all the science that they may not know exists. I also do Black history posts and touch on cannabis tourism. I believe that cannabis has been given an unfair reputation, and I want to do my part to help change that.

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

I have had so many big ideas that never panned out, it started to feel like I could only fail, until I changed my perspective. Yes, I’ve had 3 failed attempts at Etsy shops, but I still kept reinventing until I got something that fit-RESILIENCE!! And sure, my dream wasn’t to go on endless auditions that I never book, but I have an agent who believes in me so I keep going-RESILIENCE!! Maybe my website only gets one visit per day, but if I don’t put myself out there, who will-RESILIENCE!! I think anyone who is an artist/creative/entertainer/entrepreneur will find a way. We’ll get rejected a million times and just keep coming back for more because we KNOW that we have something the world needs!

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

When my work resonates with someone! Whether they come up after a show, or leave a comment on a video or just compliment something I made, it shows me that they connected with me. It can be lonely and create feelings of isolation when you’re creating and it’s not being received how you had hoped. That’s why it means so much to have the outside validation-I know I love my work, but to know that others do feels like a warm fuzzy hug.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.highlycrafty.com
• Instagram: @highlyangie @highly.crafty
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/c/highlycrafty