We recently connected with Ann McDonald and have shared our conversation below.

Ann, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I started Half Moon Designs as a business page on Facebook. Mainly I wanted something to write on the forms for craft fairs. Slowly, my sales moved from craft fairs to online sales. I`ve been incredibly fortunate to have had a wonderful customer base. Eventually, I tried my hand at making TikToks of different items I`d made. One of those TikToks was a short clip that I had my eight year old film for one of my burrito wallets. In only a few seconds, I showed how I wrapped the handmade wallet in tin foil and put it inside a brown paper bag. After hitting the upload button, I left to go to dinner with my family. Later that night, I checked my video only to be shocked! A thousand views! I`d never had that many. How exciting! Checking a few minutes later, two thousand. Then three, four, five! That small clip went on to have one hundred and fifty thousand views. Upon returning home, I sat down to check my messages on my business page and my in-box was completely filled with customers wanting the viral burrito wallet! Quickly I got to work, making more wallets and stocking up on supplies. I personally answer all my messages and fulfill the orders. I`ve been incredibly lucky to have a supportive family and I am fortunate to be able to do what I love every day.

Ann, 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`d always been creative and much to my disappointment, I was never able to draw. Even as a counselor in an adolescent inpatient facility, I loved introducing new crafts to the kids. After leaving the social work field to stay home with my youngest child, I began sewing small projects. When the pandemic hit, like others that sewed, I began producing masks to donate. I went from sewing every so often, to sewing daily. After quarantine ended, I kept working on new projects.

One day I attempted to follow a pattern for a handbag that was marked for intermediate sewists. A circle bag that was much more difficult than I imagined. My poor circle bag was nothing like the pictures in the pattern. I became determined to make that bag. So I watched YouTube videos, I read blogs, joined Facebook groups with others that made bags.

After working hard to learn different techniques, I began sharing my projects on social media. Friends and family asked to purchase them. Eventually I began my own website.

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

When I first started I thought that I could start my page and it would grow on its own. After seeing no interactions and losing the interest of existing customers. I found that if I posted daily, I saw better results. The more I posted, the more interactions I saw. In order to grow an online presence and market my product. I needed to be active.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In the beginning, I made tumblers and other small crafts. I mainly sold in craft fairs. I was disappointed to find that many of those fairs I participated in, I was only one of many making and trying to sell the same items. In order to stand out, I needed something that was more unique. I had always loved to sew and had already started making handbags.
Once the pandemic hit, I moved from direct sales to online and broadened my market.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://halfmoondesign.myshopify.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youvebeenmooned
• Other: Tiktok SnacksNSquats