We recently connected with Amanda Murray and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s easy to look at a business or industry as an outsider and assume it’s super profitable – but we’ve seen over and over again in our conversation with folks that most industries have factors that make profitability a challenge. What’s biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

There can be many things that factor into the challenge of profitability in the crochet pattern designing realm but one that I have seen more often than not is saturation. With so many makers creating crochet patterns, it can be difficult to stand out and attract customers. With 1000’s of patterns being added to multiple marketplaces daily its easy to get lost in the mix.

Pricing in this economy can also be a tricky hill to climb when marketing your crochet patterns. Finding a balance between making patterns affordable and ensuring the designer is fairly compensated for their time and creativity can be difficult to navigate. You want to be competitively priced was while not selling yourself short, but often times to be competitive you list patterns for sale for lower than you hoped.

Overall, successfully navigating navigating these challenges requires a combination of creativity, strategic marketing, and an eye for business management.

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.

Hi Everyone! I’m Amanda, or better known as my designer name Love & Stitch. I am a blogger, designer, but most importantly I am a maker. For as long as I can remember I have always loved to be a maker of all the things, never mattered what it was just as long as I was doing something creative with my hands. Baking, Paper Crafting, Soap Making, but most of all Crocheting and Knitting.

I started teaching myself to crochet and knit about 7 years ago and have been hooked (lol) ever since. My love for fiber art naturally grew into a love for designing patterns. As soon as I mastered being able to read a crochet/knitting pattern I was writing my own!

I have never been one to take to things, specially crafts, super quickly. Which is probably why I never made it as the next cake boss. For some reason crochet pattern designing came so naturally to me. This is truly a mystery because I consider myself an awful teacher, but somehow I have managed. I am truly grateful for it because pattern designing has truly brought me so much happiness and being able to share my happiness and creativity with others is the best thing in the world.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building a social media audience can be the most rewarding and highly frustration aspect of any business. The algorithm is in a constant state of change and it can be hard to pinpoint what is working and what is not. And just when you think you’ve got the whole social media thing figured out you are back to square one, lol.

The biggest piece of advice I can give to grow and maintain an audience on social media is to know your audience and be consistent. Be consistent in your posting schedules. This is the best way to maintain engagement with your audience and ensure your content will be cycled through the “system.” Knowing your audience is also a large aspect of maintaining social media visibility. Posting relevant topics and photos/videos to your grids and not straying to far off the path is essential. You want your audience to know exactly what your promoting just by viewing your feed.

Don’t forget to post aesthetically pleasing videos and photos. That is what is going to catch the attention of your viewers. Don’t neglect the quality of your content!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is just that, being creative. Being able to express yourself through creativity is such an authentic way to connect with people, especially other creatives, on a personal level. Sometimes I find it hard to express myself through more traditional means such as through conversation and writing, which has made this interview a tad difficult, lol.

There is so much fulfillment and joy that comes with bringing your ideas to life. For me personally all of my crochet patterns begin on graph paper and then gradually morph into the physical design. The process of watching what I had imagined in my head and on paper come to life in a physical form is so satisfying.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.loveandstitchdesign.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveandstitchh
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loveandstitch
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@loveandstitch
• Other: www.loveandstitchdesigns.etsy.com