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

Alright, Jodie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

When I was a kid, I didn’t think about owning a business but I was obsessed with creating art. My story is a little bit different in that I have a rare eye condition called Rod-Cone Dystrophy. This condition is degenerative and leads to significant vision loss, slowly over time.There’s no cure for my eye condition and I’ve learned to embrace the vision loss and appreciate the vision that I do have. For context, my vision with glasses is 20/600 with many blind spots and much of the vision loss is located in my central vision. I use magnification on my devices and I use magnifiers to read standard print. Color blindness and light sensitivity is also an issue for me but I’ve found that most websites use descriptive color labels and I work in my office with low lighting, in order to reduce visual strain. Because of my vision impairment, it has taken me a long time of trying various art mediums to find one that fits me well.

My sister, JoAnn Houle was just featured in a previous article and she recommended me for your article. We grew up creating art together as little kids and she’s always supported my artistic endeavors. My eye condition is hereditary but luckily, JoAnn did not inherit it. I think it was meant to be that way because she paints and draws, and I feel that painting is easier when you have good color vision. I painted a bunny on canvas as a gift for JoAnn one year. She said she liked the green streak on the bunny and I’m not sure where that green paint came from. I decided that I really didn’t like painting because mixing colors was difficult for me. For me, I don’t need good color vision to select yarn so I think it was meant to be that she would be the painter and I, the Amigurumi artist.

JoAnn bought me an Amigurumi cat years ago as a birthday present and ever since, learning to crochet was on my to do list. In 2019, I received a free box of yarn that started my crochet adventure. I made scarves, blankets, baskets, placemats, jar covers and even a cat bed. I didn’t know how to make an Amigurumi cat but I was determined to learn how. I started with a cat and then another cat and kept at it until I was making all sorts or animals. It wasn’t easy at first but I watched Youtube tutorials and bought Amigurumi books to learn this style of crochet.

I didn’t go to college until I was 25 years old because I really had no clue what I wanted to do for a living or what I could do as someone with declining vision. I earned my bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of North Dakota. I wanted to eventually earn my master’s degree in counseling and help others cope with their disabilities and struggles. I was a single mom and like many people, I needed to get a job in order to pay my students loans. I worked for places like Amazon, in a highschool as a paraprofessional, a home health aide and I even tried working as a landscaper since I love plants. All of these jobs had one thing in common that I struggled with and it was time. Even with accommodations for my vision loss, I was slower than my peers and accommodations didn’t make me faster at my job. This was a very difficult thing that I struggled with.

My vision really took a bigger decline during the pandemic and I had to stop working my registration job for a clinic. My husband suggested that I take this time off, to create a business since I could go at my own pace and I could be in control of the accommodations that I made for myself.

I started Jodaisy LLC in the fall of 2021 with a focus on Amigurumi animals. I sold a few animals but I found that it felt difficult to start selling with just Etsy. I was starting this from the ground up and I needed to explore other options, in order to sell my art.

My husband helped me sell at my first craft fair and that changed everything. Selling in person gave me the confidence that I needed. Putting my art out on a craft table was a bit vulnerable and scary to me but I received positive feedback from customers and that changed my perspective. It was the first time that I sold many animals and I was hooked. After that, a local coffee shop purchased Amigurumi plants and animals and I really liked the idea of someone selling my art because selling in person was difficult with my level of vision loss. My family and friends suggested that I sell in local stores and once again, I doubted myself. I wasn’t sure that I could keep up with a permanent location. I started in a store last summer called Royal & Rust, in my tiny town of Fertile, MN. I needed this opportunity to see if I could keep up with a permanent booth location and it was very successful. I really started to crochet even more in order to keep my booth fully stocked. I learned that I could crochet enough for my booth with some animals leftover. I sought out a second location to sell, last fall. My other booth location is in a store called Midtown Marketplace in my hometown of Grand Forks, ND. As of today, I’m still selling at these stores and no longer selling on Etsy.

I think the vision loss struggles in college and in the workplace really motivated me to find my passion. So even though I wished I would’ve started sooner, I think all my hurdles happened for a reason and I’m grateful for how things have worked out. The timing seems right to me as vendor market style stores are becoming more popular too. I didn’t become a counselor but I’d like to think that I am brightening peoples day with cute yarn animals. To me, it is my way of helping others have a better day and maybe my story helps them in some way. I don’t have it all figured out but I love learning and I’m giving my all to growing my business.

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 got into Amigurumi because I thought crochet animals were adorable and I honestly just wanted to make one for myself at first. I had some experience crocheting and I thought, I should learn how to do it. It was much harder than I thought but I kept learning and I was very determined to figure it out. I learned how to read patterns and that’s where I started to make so many that I didn’t know what to do with them. It naturally turned into a business for me and Amigurumi animals is what I specialize in.

I think my vision loss sets me apart from other crocheters and other business owners. I’m determined to succeed despite the hurdles that I face by having Rod-Cone Dystrophy. My art will continue to evolve as I lose more vision with each year and in a way, people will be able to see how Rod-Cone Dystrophy impacts an Amigurumi artist. I have some insight as to how my vision will deteriorate because my older sister Shannon, my father and my grandfather also have the same eye condition. It’s not just about creating art for me. Vision loss is not an easy thing to cope with and it took me several years to accept my diagnosis. My hope is that my story and my plushies will shine some light on Rod-Cone Dystrophy, vision loss in general and help people who are struggling with their vision loss. My art can be appreciated by the sighted and for someone with complete blindness. My vision loss affects me with everything that I do and I’m just continuing to push through the barriers that can come with having a disability. I’m drawn to art that is inclusive and I feel like my art ca be enjoyed by everyone.

What I also want for people to know is that there is a learning curve to designing patterns and I’m still learning from other artists. Each animal that I make is a learning opportunity and eventually, I’d like to create animals that only I’ve designed. So far I’ve designed my bees, bears, cats, pickles, bunnies, jellyfish and a few more. I’m most proud of creating my own patterns. It takes a lot of time to create a pattern but it brings me the most joy to be able to design them.

I still love to draw animals in a cartoon style and so that is where I start with my pattern process. Once I have the drawing, I start creating the design by trial and error. It’s taken me a long time to get to this point and I still have a lot to learn. My animals are a direct reflection of my happy and playful personality. I get inspiration from my daily life, my interests and also from my childhood. I feel like I’m living out my childhood dreams right now and I’m really just a big kid at heart.

I was asked by a customer, if it was silly that they wanted to buy an animal for themselves. It’s not at all silly, in my opinion and I tell them that I started making them because I too, wanted one. My hope is that teenagers and adults find my art and that it will bring out the kid in them. So far, my customers have bought them to put in their car as a travel buddy, as decor for their lake home, as desk pets and to simply enjoy them.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve always considered myself a positive person and to just jump over the hurdles that come my way. In 2021, I worked for a company that was not able to provide accommodations that I needed. I felt like a burden at this job and it was hard on my self worth. I am very good at advocating for myself and asking for what I need but despite this, the employer always has the final say on what they want to provide for me which can be difficult at times, especially when it doesn’t help me in the job.

I kept saying to myself, I wished I had control over the accommodations that are provided. I chose to leave my job because it had an expiration date. While I was at home now, I was still wondering whether or not if I could work. It was such a struggle to work for someone else and the list of accommodations that I would need was becoming longer with each year.

I qualified for disability at this time but that’s not what I wanted. I wanted a job that gives me purpose and where my disability doesn’t feel like a burden but after everything I had been through, I was questioning whether or not that job existed. I felt like I was forced to change and to look to create a job for myself. My husband was and is my biggest supporter. Since I was home, my crochet skills were improving. I wanted to learn how to make a cat and my kid was reading patterns effortlessly. It didn’t make much sense to me and she helped to decode each step. This was a major shift in my understanding of reading patterns. I started to make animals and eventually I had a whole bunch of them. I asked my husband if I should try sell them and he told me to try and just see what happens. I took his advice that I should start a business and I formed Jodaisy LLC in the fall of 2021. I was spending most of my time creating and it was less strenuous on my vision. If my eyes were tired, I could feel for the stitches. If I needed to enter information on a spreadsheet, my computer had magnification software that is built in. The best part was that I could go at a pace that was comfortable for me and it brought me a lot of joy to be in charge of my accomodations. I was thrilled to have a job that I designed, just for me.

I feel like I’m still just getting started on creating a job for myself and a business. I’m no longer sad about the jobs that weren’t designed or meant for me. I feel like I got forced into this direction but it is where I am supposed to be. My business is tiny and it’s just me running it but everyone has to start from somewhere.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I started out selling on Etsy because it was financially affordable with really no start-up funds. I was funding my business from the ground up. To be honest, Etsy didn’t work for me. I found that it was difficult to drive traffic to my shop and I wasn’t able to create as much because I was spending a lot of time working on listings and trying to take good photos. I know other people use editing programs but that just isn’t for me. I struggle with color and I really couldn’t tell if the lighting was good or bad. I decided to try a craft fair but I still needed my husbands help. My vision is too poor to drive a car so he helped me get to the craft fair. I also needed his help running the cash register because I made mistakes when counting paper money and coins. He helped me at my first craft fair but even the lighting in the location was blinding and I usually worked in low lighting. While he ran the register, I spoke with customers about my yarn animals. It was a nice balance but I valued my husbands time and I didn’t want him to spend his free weekends, helping me to run my business.

One friend said that I should find local gift shops and ask them if they would sell my art. I felt more confident about my art but I had never thought a local store would buy my art. It’s that self doubt in me but I told myself maybe I should just try and see what happens. The local coffee shop purchased a few animals from me and I really liked someone else selling my art. This boosted my confidence and so I started to look for more places to sell my art. A local craft market store opened for business last summer and they were my first permanent location. They charge booth rent and they sell the items for me. The location was just a few blocks from my home. I was hooked because I could just pack up my big tote and walk over to the store, to stock my booth. The independence that I felt was the best part. It tested me because it helped me to figure out how many animals I could make. I realized I could make more than could fit in my booth. We go to Grand Forks to visit my family and to stock up on groceries since was live in a tiny town. Since I needed a second location to sell at, Grand Forks, ND was a natural choice to set up another booth. I love selling in these stores because I can focus on creating and I don’t have hardships with selling because they are doing it for me. I feel like these stores were designed for someone like me.

I liked the idea that people can visit these stores, feel my product and feel the softness of the yarn. A part of me thinks that Etsy is oversaturated and I think my shop got lost in sea of options. I think I needed this to really find out what people thought of my art.

With each new change, I’m testing my limits as an artist but also as someone who has a vision impairment. As my business audience is growing, I have thought about branching out to opening my Etsy shop but I don’t feel like I am ready to add that to my plate. I always tell people there’s only so many animals that I can make in a day so everything that I make is in limited numbers. I like that though. Its not manufactured and its all made with my hands. The two stores that I sell at are Royal & Rust in Fertile, MN (where I live) and the other location is at Midtown Marketplace in Grand Forks, ND (where I grew up). The nice thing about these two stores is that they do offer shipping options. I share booth photos to Facebook, every time I restock each location. It’s simple as telling the store which animal you like and then coordinating the shipping with that store. Right now I am balancing the two stores but I’m also thinking about the future of where my business is going. I’m thankful of where I am and I’ll continue to share my updates on Facebook, as they happen.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @jodaisyllc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JodaisyLLC
• Email: Jodie.erickson@jodaisy.com
• Tik Tok: @jodaisyllc