Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cara Vance. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Cara, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I first learned macrame after seeing a picture of a beautiful wall hanging on Instagram. I was fascinated and really wanted to learn how to do that. It truly called out to me.

So I went to the infamous YouTube to watch hours of tutorials. I learned how to perform each knot separately. Then I moved on to learning how to take those knots and create patterns with them. I eventually moved up to putting full designs together.

When I first started knotting, I started with yarn. It’s what I had handy and I wasn’t in a position to invest into a craft, so I used yarn for awhile. My learning process would have definitely gone faster had I used a proper cord. Once I moved up to cord it seemed to really take off.

An essential skill for macrame that I have is ADHD believe it or not. The inability to sit still and the constant need to fidget makes knotting for hours a breeze! I can hyper focus for 10 hours and not think anything of it. However, this is also one of my obstacles. On an off day it is very hard to create and almost painful to try and force it. So I could always be doing more than I am and knowing this creates an inner struggle. I also have physical ailments resulting from working with horses for over half of my life. I thought I was cool and a tough chick because I’d literally break my back and be riding a week later. My 30’s later came around laughing with the gifts of arthritis and fibromyalgia. So getting my mind and body to work together can be a huge obstacle. It usually results in procrastination and then panic making before a big festival I signed up for months prior. I like to keep it interesting.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I first started macrame 4 years ago. I started with as cheap of supplies as I could manage and knotting along to youtube videos. I had so much support from my family and friends who were all for my new craft. They began buying pieces off of me and then their friends started buying and ordering from me. As I learned more I started venturing into more and more areas of macrame where I could offer more items.

Five months later I was offering wall hangings, dreamcatchers, plant hangers, keychains and earrings. I started attending area craft shows and slowly started gaining a following.

I made more and more friends through craft shows and my online following continued to grow. I eventually decided this was something I wanted to do full time so I invested in the best supplies I could find. I would search the internet for easily 6 hours a day comparing prices and quality of supplies until I found my go to business and my back ups for when they’re out of stock.

Now I attend some of the areas largest events and am busy year round creating macrame pieces for my Knotty Boho family that keeps growing daily. I get to do some of the coolest custom orders and let my creativeness loose.

Working with me you’ll expect me not to stop until it’s exactly what you’re looking for. With custom orders and even with my ‘made-to-order’ designs, you get to decide what it’s going to hang from (ie: driftwood, dowel, arrow, curtain rod, etc). We’ll chat about the design if it isn’t one I’ve already done. Some people just turn me loose and others I’ll have send me examples of macrame that they like via pictures and I’ll create a design off of their personal style. It’s always a fun and unique experience working with custom orders and I make sure it’s perfect before sending it home.

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

The most rewarding aspect for me is being able to do something I’m so passionate about every day and seeing the reactions my work creates. Nothing beats watching and hearing the reactions from shoppers when they first walk into your booth. Even when they’re walking past it. I hear you. And that makes all of the stress and body aches worth it.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’ve always been a creative and my goal is to keep staying in a position where I can do this full time. I want to be able to help support my family and keep us in a good place financially without needing to supplement from an outside job. I never enjoyed working for someone else so I have the drive to keep growing so I never have to again.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.knottybohodesigns.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/knottybohodesigns
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/knottybohodesigns

Image Credits
Anchor Images Ohio