We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elizabeth Ingram a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

I want to be remembered as hard working and dedicated to the community. I hope to be remembered for my compassion and willingness to help others and I hope I can leave a piece of that with everyone I meet. I think we are put on this Earth to serve one another and I hope I can influence people to help others and not forget about those most vulnerable in our community. I want my legacy to be that I truly loved my husband, family, friends and community. I think everyone deserves empathy and I hope to leave everyone I meet feeling loved, heard and supported.

Elizabeth, 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?

From an early age, I’ve felt a calling for service to the community. I remember being in elementary school and asking my parents to help individuals we saw experiencing homelessness. This is a calling I still feel to this day. In high school I started making essential care bags containing hygiene products, water, and snacks to give out. I’ve organized donation drives at many of the places I’ve worked. I’ve reached out through social media to organize food and clothing drives as well. During my senior year at UTSA, I had the opportunity to serve in AmeriCorps Apprenticeship Program-Public Allies and continued to cultivate my passion for community work.

In 2020 my husband gifted me with a Cricut cutting machine for Christmas which has led me to where I am today. I began crafting anything and everything I could. I grew more excited at the opportunity to establish a business that could give back to the community. When I first started, I was selecting various non-profits to donate to each month.

After working with a business consultant,I narrowed down my mission and brand’s identity by renaming to Crafting The Change and selling my handmade items to make care bags for people experiencing homelessness. I truly believe everyone deserves compassion and no one should have to worry about access to water or wonder where their next meal will come from.

While I can make a wide variety of customized products, I specialize in iced coffee glasses, t-shirts, tumblers, and resin items such as bookmarks, paint palettes and coasters. I love to use pressed flowers and lots of glitter in my resin work! While using my creativity to make new products is rewarding, I find the most joy in fulfilling custom orders. I enjoy learning about the client’s ideas and trying to bring their vision to life. After all the challenging work, there is no better reward than hearing how excited someone is when they receive and love their order and knowing that all this will end up helping someone in need.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As people, we are in a constant state of learning and one thing I had to un-learn early on in my entrepreneurship was “My stuff isn’t just stuff”. When I first started my business before creating a website, I began selling my items on the Etsy platform. While this e-commerce platform allowed me the opportunity to sell my handmade items, it did not give me the chance to educate my audience on the business mission of creating care-bags for our unhoused neighbors. I had to make a mental shift about my products and understand I’m not just selling “stuff” but my “stuff” is changing lives. This shift helped me understand the impact my products can make on the consumer (happy customer, happy life hehe) and I had to remind myself that my products are not just “stuff” but a way to give back to those most vulnerable in our community.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I think most people who start a business know it can be a rollercoaster in the beginning. I’ve been very grateful for the support I’ve received from the small-business and art community in San Antonio. The biggest platform for my customer growth has been on TikTok. The first change I had to make was navigating social media from a business perspective. I was so used to sharing personal stories and adventures but I had to make a shift to sharing my products and business mission. Creating a separate social media just for your business is a crucial first step to reaching the ideal audience. Being authentic was another huge takeaway. I didn’t just share my success stories and happy customers but the struggles of learning a new craft and even project fails. This allowed other artist, business owners and even customers to learn from me as well as get to know me more authentically. I try to utilize resources available online to learn about trends and new strategies but it’s a continuous process. Just remember that there is room for you on every social media platform and consistency is key!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.craftingthechange.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craftingthechange/
• Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@craftingthechange
• Email: [email protected]