We were lucky to catch up with Aryn Reed recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Aryn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

Showing my customers and clients kindness is one of the main reasons I started Sunshine Stitching LLC. Sometimes it’s the little moments like watching a child find their favorite animal as a plushie on my table or it’s seeing an adult play with a toy and reminisce about their childhood.

What I try to do to show all of my guests that I appreciate them is to firstly, make them feel welcome at my booth or on my website. I always welcome folks to squeeze my plushies (with clean hands) and encourage them to play to find out if the item is right for them.

Every person who comes into my booth, regardless of if they make a purchase will receive a free sticker to remember the experience. Because who doesn’t love free stickers?!

I always make sure to include a free gift in every single order that is placed on my online shop too! It’s something small, but it lets folks know that I appreciate their order, and that each one was packed by me with love.

Here’s a more specific story:

One holiday season, I had a young parent come by my booth at an event. Her kids each picked out a plushie. When she went to pay, her card declined and she was nearly in tears. I could see the panic in her eyes as she was about to tell her kids to put them back. Instead, I upgraded the plushies to a larger size and handed her card back. I told her to have a good holiday season and to pay it forward. I’m not sure where that family is today, but I think about that mom a lot.

That’s one of the joys of small business ownership. I can recoup those losses and remake a plushie myself, so I’m able to gift things to guests as I see fit. I get to make my own rules.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Aryn Reed (they/them) and I am the owner of Sunshine Stitching LLC. When I was little, my grandmother taught me how to crochet and it quickly became my favorite hobby.

Over the years, I stuck with it throughout college and never lost my love of working with yarn. In 2020, my grandmother passed away. I found myself searching for ways to feel closer to her and that’s when I started crocheting even more! After much suggestion from my first customers, I decided to open an actual business. In early 2022, Sunshine Stitching LLC was born and never looked back.

Sunshine Stitching LLC is an LGBTQIA+ owned business and I pride myself on hand making all of my products. My specialty is crocheting JUMBO plushie animals! If you’ve seen one of my booths around town, you’ll recognize “The Biggest Bee”. While I might be known for crochet animal plushies, I also love making custom commissions!

Sunshine Stitching LLC has a simple mission:

“To bring a little sunshine to your day with a crocheted creation”.

My products range from fun to fully functional and everything in between. Whether you grab a plushie to keep you company or a bucket hat to keep you warm, you’re sure to find something you love!

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

To be honest, I wouldn’t consider myself an influencer or a popular account. But I do have a small community of folks that love what I do and look forward to my silly crochet content.

An important message that I want to affirm is: your follower account and likes don’t make you successful. What makes you successful online is if you’ve found a community of people who care about what you’re doing and think “yay! They posted again!”, when they see your new content.

My advice for building an audience is to not be afraid to be silly and have a good time. As much as we use social media as a marketing and engagement tool, we should also have fun with it! To be honest, my videos where I’m goofing around with one of my plushies to a popular audio get more engagement than a video directly advertising my product. Your presence will build with time and soon you’ll find the “voice” that works best for your company and your product.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My most effective strategy for growing clientele is to just be personable and talkative. I like to start a conversation with everyone who walks into my booth when I’m vending at events. This type of engagement and welcoming environment encourages folks to enjoy the product more and feel comfortable asking me influential questions about.

With each of my orders I also include a handwritten thank you note and a loyalty coupon. I’ve had several folks use this coupon for additional orders or use it to gift one of my products. It all boils down to letting folks know that you appreciate that they chose YOU!

Contact Info:

• Website: Sunshinestitchingllc.com
• Instagram: Sunshine_stitching_cc
• Other: Tik tok! I have the most engagement on Tik Tok @sunshinestitchingcc