We were lucky to catch up with Caitlyn Tsikretsis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Caitlyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Taking risks is a part of life. Since 2021, I have taken a few risks of my own. Once I graduated high school in 2021, I decided to make the big move to South Carolina. I had been dreaming of living here in South Carolina since elementary school because I always felt like I could be myself there when visiting and I could grow there as a person. Not only did I move to the Carolinas to live there and start a new life, but I also went to college in Charlotte, NC. Another big risk I took was becoming a student athlete at that college. It was very time consuming and was a lot of pressure on someone who had just moved away from family and friends and starting a new life, let alone starting the college transition. After a year and a half of being at the college in Charlotte, NC, I had to decide to take the risk and move forward with pursuing my academics to a more serious level. I had focused so much on my athletics that I had lost my drive for my academics and didn’t really know exactly what I wanted to do for a career path. I took some time to myself to really focus on and decide on what exactly I wanted to do and if my college at the time had that pathway available to me. Unfortunately, it did not so I had to decide if I wanted to pursue my education or my athletics more in college. I looked into transferring schools and looking at my options to change my major and still find a way to pursue my athletics. That is when I took the risk of applying to online college programs for my new major and seeing where life took me. I was accepted into every school I applied to. I felt this was a sign that this was the best decision to make. I ended up transferring to the University of North Dakota’s online program and picked my major in kinesiology and minor in public health. Transferring to online college has allowed me to take more life-changing risks than I ever have. It also allowed me to focus on my education which has brought me into 3 honor societies. These risks included pursuing a bowling career individually and not collegiately, taking care of family, and starting a business. Starting a business was a huge risk as it would help me through my way of college. Since starting my business, I have met so many amazing other business owners, experienced many types of events all over the Carolina from town festivals, farmers markets, and car shows, and I have been able to experiment with new inventory and ideas for my growing business. Without taking all of these risks, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.

Caitlyn, 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?

Being a 21 year old college student, athlete, and business owner has taught me a lot about myself. Growing up, I had always gone to craft fairs and farmers markets and got to shop and meet those who own small businesses. My mother owned a small business for a little bit and I always loved helping her make her product. When it comes to being in college and being an athlete, it’s hard to find a job that can accommodate your schedule. That’s when I decided to start my own business selling sublimation items, with my main product being cups. I feel sublimation is so diverse and the opportunities are endless when it comes to making customized items and that is why I decided to start my sublimation small business. Haysi Handcrafts was a process to get started while juggling school and athletics, but it finally all came together in just a few short months. Haysi Handcrafts is an homage to my late great grandmother who passed in November 2022. Haysi, Virginia is where she resided for the longest time, and where my family is from which is how we got the name ‘Haysi Handcrafts’. Our logo also represents my great grandmother as elephants were her absolute favorite animal. The two elephants making the heart represent her and I and the love she had for everyone around. The process of managing the business is a lot with keeping track of dates of events, hours, inventory, finances, upcoming events in local areas, and much more. I have had to set a schedule for myself to balance my life to make sure I stay on top of making time for classes, studying, working, events, athletics, family, and personal time. I honestly believe that I would be all over the place and completely lost with everything going on in my life, including the business, if it wasn’t for all of the love and support from family and friends. Something I am most proud of is how much my business has grown in just a year from starting at small events with 20 vendors, to being accepted into the Greenville Holiday Fair with hundreds of vendors. It has been such a rollercoaster but such an opportunity and I can’t wait to see where I end up with my business a year from now.

Have you ever had to pivot?

A time I had to pivot life was when I graduated high school and moved to South Carolina from Illinois and started college. It was a big transition. Of course I have my friends and most of my family in Illinois but South Carolina finally was going to be home to me and that transition changed by mindset on how my outlook on life would be. Although I miss my family and friends, I do get to visit periodically and catch up with them. Even starting college and pivoting my educational level was a big step. Starting my college life and heading towards a career is always scary because you feel you might make the wrong decision in the long run. Honestly, I am so happy I made the big move to South Carolina and transferred colleges when I did because I feel like I have grown so much and I wouldn’t have my small business if it weren’t for any of those pivots in life.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Something I find extremely rewarding being a small business owner is meeting amazing people and experiencing opportunities that someone else might not have the chance to. Meeting other small business owners is an awesome way to communicate and learn. My favorite part about working my business at events is meeting new customers and seeing some familiar faces. Some customers recognize the big pink tent and all of our cups and I love to catch up with them. I also love meeting so many new customers and vendors. Because I sell personalized and creative tumblers, you get to hear a lot of backstories on why someone chose the tumbler they did; firefighter wives, a mother who loves the Golden Girls, a little boy who loves fishing, and much more. It allows me to interact to those and get to learn more about the people around you.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haysihandcrafts/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554016562610
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@haysi.handcrafts?lang=en

Image Credits

All photos are taken and owned by myself, Caitlyn Tsikretsis