We were lucky to catch up with Grace Avery recently and have shared our conversation below.
Grace, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I come from a family where most of them are artistic and hold art related jobs and hobbies. I personally have been creating things with my hands for as long as I can remember. My first memory of wanting to learn to crochet was on Halloween when I was around 7 years old. Every year after Trick-or-Treating, my family would make my godmother’s house our last stop. We would visit and hand out her candy and one time while we were there, she was crocheting a blanket. I was watching her intently trying to figure out how she was doing it. I tried to do it myself a few days later without much success.
A few years later, when I was in middle school, I decided to try again. At this point I was already taught how to knit so I had some experience with fiber arts. I remember instead of following a simple pattern or tutorial to teach me the basics I went right in and followed a YouTube video on how to crochet a teddy bear. The video was a step-by-step video, and I remember sitting on my couch following along with the video every step of the way. I remember using bright blue yarn for the bear and sewing thread at the time. From this point on I could not stop crocheting.
Looking back at my crochet journey I am not sure that I would have changed anything about how I learned but I also acknowledge that not everybody can learn how to do something easily by simply watching a YouTube video. The thing with learning something like crochet is that it takes practice and not everyone crochets the same way. I have watched many different people crochet and there is always something unique about each person’s technique. Whether how they hold their crochet hook or even use a different size hook, everyone has their own technique. Another thing I would say is that learning the basics is important because once you know the main few stitches and techniques then you can create anything you want from a shawl to mittens to a stuffed animal.
There are a lot more resources out there now than there were when I was first learning. So much has changed in the crafting community since 2020 which was the insurgence of crocheting for a lot of people and because of that there is just so much more out there teaching you anything you would want to know. There are tons of great tutorials on YouTube but there are also various blogs and pattern books that can teach a person how to get started in the craft.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA but I am now going to school in Raleigh, NC at NC State University studying textile design. I come from a tight-knit large family who are very involved with art related things in one way or another. I originally learned how to crochet in early middle school, and it was a hobby. A couple of years later, I started my business by making things for close family and friends. The very first thing I remember someone specifically asking me to make was my aunt who wanted a set of characters from her favorite Christmas movie. Everything kind of snowballed from there. I continued to make things for family and friends until early 2020. In early 2020, I participated in a local vendor show for high school students to display and sell their work which I did with a classmate. After this everything for me went dormant due to the pandemic so I focused my attention on building my stock for my business. At this time, I focused mostly on crocheting food and dolls for kids. This is also the point that I decided to start listing some of my things on Etsy.
In 2021, I was lucky enough to be chosen for a scholarship event for high school business owners where I was able to make and sell my work at the largest vendor event in Pittsburgh during the holiday season, Handmade Arcade. For months leading up to the show, I crocheted my heart out by making new things to sell like hats, scarves, shawls, more food, and so much more. I had a great time at this two-day event, and I feel that this event really solidified in me that I wanted to continue to sell what I was creating. It also gave me a great platform to learn about other businesses like mine and interact with a mentor through the scholarship.
At this time, my business took a back burner because I was finishing high school and moving to college in North Carolina for college. During the first few weeks at college, I was interested in getting involved in clubs and organizations, which is how I found Student-Made. Student-Made is a student run organization that allows students to sell their art on the campus’ Student-Made website as well as at on campus pop-up selling events. This inspired me to start working on my business again. I joined the organization my first semester and this current semester will be my fifth selling through them. Student-Made has given me many more opportunities to get the name of my business and my products out there in the community. I really enjoy selling through them because there are Student-Made branches in so many different colleges across the US and it blows my mind that there are kids in different states than me playing with the lovey that I created.
Today, I mostly focus on crocheting loveys of all different animals. This has been something that has brought me immense joy to see people’s reactions to them. I love knowing that when most customers are buying my products, they are buying it not for themselves but for someone they know who would love it. I still have my other creations available on Etsy but for now focusing on the loveys. These are what I enjoy creating the most and if you do not love what you do then why keep doing it? There are so many ways I can expand my series of animal loveys in the future which is something I look forward to doing.
One thing I pride myself on within my business is that I only use my original patterns for my creations. I do not want to profit from someone else’s hard work. I will take inspiration from others, but I will never straight out copy someone. Because I use my own patterns it can take me some time to figure out a pattern for something new but also finding the best materials for the product as well. I know I went through multiple diverse types of yarns before I settled on what I now use for the lovey blankets.
I know that I still have so much to learn when it comes to running a business, but I am trying the best that I can to learn from others. I want to continue to create things that make me happy but also what makes other people happy. One of my favorite things about selling my items in person is seeing people’s eyes fill with joy and excitement when they see my items. That shows me that all the hard and frustrating times I have had are worth it because my creations are bringing others so much delight.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect for me is to see how my art is making other people’s lives happier. The joy they show when they think of someone who would love and appreciate a handmade piece of art is inspiring. I like the conversation that it sparks and the questions they ask. It allows me a platform to engage with my customers to learn more about them and who they are thinking of buying for from my collection.
I grew up in a community who encouraged volunteer work which taught me the importance of being a selfless person. I saw how things impacted others’ lives and as I have gotten older and bogged down with a rigorous school program, I do not get to volunteer as much as I used to, but I still feel that I am impacting someone’s life with my art in some small way.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think one thing that non-creatives will not understand is the time it takes to make the products and the thought process of trying to create something new. The products I make do not come out of thin air. Over the past few years, I have started to convert everything I make to just things that are only my original patterns. Creating these original patterns takes time and effort that I do not think many realize. I usually make at least one prototype of my idea and write down exactly what I am doing as I go along. Then I make at least one more prototype following the instructions I wrote down to make sure I did not miss writing down any steps when making the first one. These two prototypes do not see the light of day and do not get sold. Finally, after those two prototypes, I might feel ready to make some to sell. The thing about creating art is that there is no guarantee that it will sell. Sometimes they do and sometimes they do not and when they don’t. It is a struggle for artists to overcome the disappointment if something does not sell because you feel like you wasted a lot of time and benefit from that time.
Along with this, there is the age-old issue of pricing of products. Non-creatives sometimes have a tough time understanding how artists price the products they make. All Artists have the issue of trying to calculate what to price their products so that they profit from the sale. I think I have always had to underprice my products because I know my audience and I know that if I price my products like the loveys at their true price then they would never sell. Even at the low price I have them right now I have still been told in the past that they are too expensive or that they could find one cheaper online. It is hard to balance the actual worth of the product and the price your customers are willing to pay.
Contact Info:
- Website: Student Made Store: https://www.studentmadencstate.com/shop Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GracesYarnTales
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracesyarntales/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087141461041
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-avery-21998a296
