We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Catherine Dirks. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Catherine below.

Catherine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

One of my first clients was actually through some stuff I had posted for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Beer Mitts were the item. They were so excited about them that they took them to a locally owned store who ended up ordering several batches from me. It was right around the holidays so it made for a wild ride for awhile. It also helped establish a relationship with that store that lasted until they closed.

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.

I was always interested in sewing, but quilting wasn’t for me. After finding a random group on Facebook and seeing people make their clothes, I decided to buy a serger and start making clothes, mainly tops, but I’ve slowly been trying other things. Then, through other websites, I saw people making gorgeous bags and very slowly talked myself into making and selling them because I love the challenges they bring, especially when I try a new pattern.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Getting new clients is rather difficult for me. I’m not the most outgoing person and I would be fine if I never had to utilize social media for marketing. But I have been working on making myself go to more vendor events which even if I don’t make a lot of sales has generated a lot of contacts and I’ve been able to work on getting my name out there.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I am a tiny, one person business. I actually do this outside of my full time job. Currently we are unfortunately in an economy where people are cutting back on non-essentials and it has really impacted sales which can be very discouraging. I like to remind myself that I can use my time to work on new items or to work on skill building. And at the end of the day, I try to remind myself better days are coming.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SarcasticSews
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarcasticsews/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarcasticsews
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesarcasticseamstress?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc