We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kaitriona Phonhrath. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kaitriona below.
Kaitriona, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
In today’s society, we are constantly juggling work, school, extracurricular activities and obligations, making time for friends and family, maintaining self care, and the list goes on! It can be challenging to maintain life balance when you’re a full time student also working full time and running your own small business. To start off, in order to be successful you must feel confident and motivated to work towards accomplishing your goals. Setting small daily goals and achievements for yourself can help train your mind to push through working towards bigger goals.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, and the lockdown took effect, I was able to take a much needed mental break from my busy everyday responsibilities. I am a full time student enrolled at the University of Houston, and I also work full time as an associate banker at JPMorgan Chase. I am also the head of diversity and inclusion at my branch, and I was spending a lot of time completing tasks for work on my free time outside of work. Aside from school and work, it was difficult to manage school, and working full time. When the lockdown took effect in Houston, I had the opportunity to stay home and evaluate my life and what I see myself doing in the next few years. I started to realize that I didn’t have any hobbies, and it was hard for me to answer questions like, “What do you like to do outside of work for fun?” During the lockdown, TikTok had become the new popular social media platform. I started to use the platform educationally in hopes to find a hobby and hopefully find my passion. In college, I was apart of a Greek sorority, and it was common to receive custom gifts with your name, class, and sorority on it. It was always a difficult task to try and find an embroidery shop or a custom print shop that could customize my gifts quickly at an affordable price. That’s when I got the idea that if I can teach myself how to use an embroidery machine, and how to professionally personalize gifts on my own, I can save the trouble of paying someone else to do it for me! I invested in myself and purchased an embroidery machine, a Cricut maker, and a commercial heat press. The Cricut maker can cut all types of materials and fabrics, and the It’s efficient. Not only does a Cricut do tons of different things, but it does them way more efficiently than you could possibly do by hand. It will save you time, save you from aching hands, and can even save money and materials by efficiently spacing the designs it cuts on your material. Once I bought the materials needed to start crafting, I began making small personalized gifts for family and friends to gain some experience. I received so much great feedback from family and friends, and many suggested that I start selling my personalized gifts as a side hobby.
In October of 2020, what started off as a new hobby turned into an opportunity to make some extra money as a college student. I created my small business, and called it Stitchedhtx. Stitchedhtx is a custom vinyl and embroidered handmade creations shop, and can create many types of personalized items such as T-shirts, blankets, stickers, decals, party decorations, and much more! Within the first month of starting my online business, we received over 30 custom order submissions! I used my social media presence and Greek affiliation to attract many orders for custom Greek gifts, and through word of mouth, my business began to increase in order submissions rapidly. After almost 2 years of active business, I have been able to expand my products and services and create special requests for my clients. I have recently worked on custom shot glasses, glass etching, custom tray sets, and even acrylic signs and calendars!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a crafter is when you get great feedback after your client receives their order. Many people don’t realize how much time and attention to detail it takes to make a personalized item from start to finish. It’s the best feeling to be recognized and appreciated for your time and passion into a project! For me, witnessing your own growth as a creative is one of the most rewarding parts of being a crafter. The most fulfilling part of my work is when I can make a new concept come to life. I’m most motivated to produce when I have an original concept and the want to bring it to life. I develop a certain technique by going through this process of design and experimentation.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Non creatives will probably look at some projects and think, “how hard can it be?” When I attempt to create something new to me, I tend to think the same thing! However, it’s not as easy as it looks in most cases. For example, when I was researching about the ins and outs of embroidery, I knew that it would be a big learning curve for me. They say it’s as easy as taking the artwork, running it through the program to create a stitch file, loading it into the machine, hooping the garment, and choosing the thread colors because they don’t want to give you overwhelming or frightening information. After that, simply press a few buttons to put you “in business”! I know they’re only doing their jobs, but I’ll tell you the truth. It’s extremely easy and likely to ruin a piece of clothing due to embroidery errors. I’ve had to replace many shirts and expensive jackets due to small mishaps in the embroidery process. Embroidery is an expensive hobby, but after many hours of trial and error, and you finally get that perfect stitch, it feels rewarding to know that this embroidered jacket is going to be worn by someone, and they’re going to love it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfKCSL-VxSqqa6ytje9e3_j2JwG6_cHgNzvssEeUNd7QUGqQA/viewform
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stitchedhtx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stitchedhtx
Image Credits
photo 1: Custom embroidery on a sweatshirt for a sorority gift photo 2: custom satin robes with glitter vinyl on the back photo 3: custom waterproof doormat photo 4: custom Christmas sets photo 5: custom blanket as a Christmas gift photo 6: custom wedding gift set photo 7: custom jean jackets for a wedding performance photo 8: social media/contact info for a nail spa photo 9: christmas matching family t shirts photo 10: custom embroidered sorority gifts photo 11: custom don julio bottle with glitter and rhinestones photo 12: custom shadowbox with photo outline and flower heart