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

Alright, Erin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We believe kindness is contagious and so we’d love for you to share with us and our audience about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

This was only my fourth weekend vending at a local farmers market. Things are going alright, am I generating a buzz, sort of, am I making a ton of sales, not really. This older woman approached me and asked me how long I’ve been knitting. She complimented my pieces and told me there was such a light she could see in me. She said her mother passed away years ago and also used to knit. “If you’re going to be here next weekend, I’ll bring you something,” she said. I didn’t think much of it because people say all kinds of things to you without thinking it through. The following weekend I return to the market. I am setting up my table when the same woman walks up to me with two bags. “These are yarns and knitting needles that belonged to my mother. I have no use for them and know that she would want me to pass these off to a young knitter like you,” she said as she handed me the bags. I was in shock! I didn’t expect to be gifted knitting tools I needed and with such sentimental value. It made me emotional for a moment. I hugged the woman, this kind stranger, and thanked her immensely for her thoughtfulness.

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?

Knit ‘Em Up Creations us a collection of hand-knit accessories made to bring you comfort with a little something extra. Every item is made to order therefore it is always unique. Our knits include hats, scarves, pillows, baskets, blankets, gloves, baby items and so much more. Custom orders are all accepted as well. I am a self-taught knitter with a creative eye and a lover of all things crafty. I am a teacher by day so my education background helps me focus on the details. Supporting small businesses, black-owned businesses, and handmade businesses is something I enjoy doing and I hope to inspire my customers to do the same.

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

A lesson that I had to unlearn was that you need to work extremely hard and not give yourself a break or give yourself grace. We live in such a fast-paced environment where grinding and losing sleep at night is glorified. Once I started to take the time to actually allow my mind and body rest, it made all the difference. Being a Black and Hispanic woman, my family raised me to work extremely hard. As a business owner I know there will be late nights but I also understand that it can’t be every single night. Knowing when to take a step back has worked wonders for my physical being and creativity.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I definitely still have a smaller social media presence. However, I think it is more important to build a loyal fan base than to worry about numbers and followers. The best advice I can offer to most businesses when it comes to social media is to be yourself. There are plenty of trends to try, but you want to make sure that your authentic self comes through no matter what. I would also suggest finding ways to interact with your audiences and allow them to get to know you. Sometimes I can be camera shy, and for a long time I didn’t want any actual pictures or videos of myself as a business owner on my Knit ‘Em Up social media pages. I was listening to a small business podcast and got the advice of just putting yourself out there. I now find that some of my content that involves me along with my knit products receives more engagement than just my knit products alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.knitemup.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/knit.em.up
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/knitemup

Image Credits
Chazz Patterson (Sniper P Productions)