We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kanisha Haskins-Combs. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kanisha below.

Kanisha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

I love this question! My parents did SO many things right. They love me unconditionally, all of me. They both instilled in me a work ethic that has served me well as a small business owner. Seeing my Mom leave for work before the sunrise, watching her turn nothings into something’s for so many years, gave me a blueprint on how not to fail. My Dad has been a DJ my whole life, and at 64, he’s still playing sets and rockin the crowd! Seeing him pursue his dreams and follow his passion continuously for over 40 years has taught me to keep going; it’s okay to do the things that make you happy, because they make you happy.
When I was younger, they nurtured my creativity with time, activities, and experiences; they always supported my creative ideas…even the not-so-good ones. They let me try things, and didn’t judge me if I failed at them. As I’ve gotten older, they continue to support my endeavors. My Mom has been my companion at most of my farmers market & event appearances for 11 years now, sacrificing hundreds of Saturday mornings to help me follow my dreams.
My Dad’s military service allowed us to live in different places (Germany, Kansas, Virginia) which was a master class in adaptability, learning to navigate new settings, and how to make new friends.
They exposed me to different ways of living and being a family, by allowing me to spend time with my grandmothers for summer visits where I learned to crochet, cook, and fell in love with comic books.
My parents weren’t perfect, despite all of my gushing, it wasn’t always easy growing up. They did the best they could with the tools they had, and for me, that was enough. I wouldn’t be the mother, wife, or entrepreneur I am today without them pouring all they had into me. I am so very grateful that the universe chose them to guide me.

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?

I am an upcycler, and an accidental entrepreneur. Since 2012, I have been the hands and face of Earthy Child Inc, a Hampton VA based small business in which I crochet (and sometimes sew) unwanted yarns, fabric scraps, and plastic bags, turning them into stuffed animals, mermaids, beach hats, purses, and more! At 33, I was kind of lost. After spending most of my working life doing customer service and telemarketing jobs, I was having trouble finding work. I had recently graduated from the local community college; hoping a degree would make my resume more appealing. While studying at TNCC, I found a technique for crocheting with plastic bags. My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was a kid, so I had the fundamental skills already; the more I practiced, the better it looked. After I sold a couple of plastic bag purses, I started thinking about how much plastic is literally just floating around…and Earthy Child was born. My husband acquired several lawn refuse bags full of yarn from a resident at one of his properties who was retiring her knitting studio, and that was the beginning of my upcycling journey.
For the past 11 years, I’ve traveled to farmers markets, environmental events, and outdoor pop ups throughout Hampton Roads Virginia selling my upcycled creations, spreading the word about the dangers of our “single use” lifestyle, and helping people find value in things that were destined for a landfill. I have crocheted thousands of items, that now reside on 6 of the 7 continents. Using my crochet needles and 2 hands, hundreds of plastic bags have been transformed and diverted from entering our local waterways and harming wildlife.
One of my best friends and fellow creativeprenuer, Rhashida of Alodeuri, scours thrift stores for vintage items, and she collects all the yarn she finds along the way, knowing I will give it a better life.
I’ve been lucky to find an awesome friend through Instagram who is equally passionate about sustainable business practices, and together we have created a zero-waste circle. Erin aka The Violet Orange, creates beautiful table linens, unique handbags and more in her Rhode Island home studio. She sends me all of her fabric scraps and bits, which I use for stuffing my creations and for small sewing projects. By doing this, we both ensure our footprint is as minuscule as possible. I am so grateful for all of the folks who trust me to give their unwanted remnants, plastic bags, and yarn a new identity.
Throughout this journey, I have grown from a crafter into an artist, with the help of supportive family, friends, and strangers who see value in my creations.
Whenever I thought about quitting, the universe sent more yarn, more bags, or a request for a custom order as if to say “keep going.”
Every time someone stops at my market table, picks up a mermaid and says “she looks like me,” I know I’m on the right track.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think something I struggled with is that it’s okay to pursue a path that’s deviates from the norm. Growing up in the late eighties-early nineties, nobody I knew was an artist. Not a full time artist, anyway. The expectation was to get good grades, go to college, get a good job at a bank or something stable. The thing no one ever tells you is that the pursuit for stability is stifling for people who wake up with ideas and hands itching to bring them to fruition. I need to make things. It’s like breathing for me. When I’m not creating, I’m thinking about creating. What I do is the opposite of stable. Spending 10-14 hours daily crocheting things that people may or may not be interested in purchasing, load it all in the car, set up a storefront on a Saturday morning, and hope for the best is not a recommended retirement strategy. Yet I am compelled to do it again next month and the month after.
I honestly could not do this without my supportive husband and family. They see the value in what I do and push me to keep creating.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

All of the things you love were brought to you by creative minds. Your favorite song, snack, pair of sneakers, mural in your city, outfit, movie…each was the concept of an artist (or several). Beyond the realm of celebrity, we as a society don’t place much value on careers in the arts. I always thought that everyone is an artist, some of us just haven’t found our medium yet. I think we could all benefit by offering artists more opportunities, to hone their skills. and share them with others. Public creative spaces, think art studio-community center hybrid where people can try new projects and techniques would be a great way to bring different skill levels together to share and learn. Even bringing art sets into the library for checkout or hosting beginning classes at different branch locations would be a good way to offer artistic experiences at an introductory level.
Giving folks an opportunity to try new mediums both expands our thinking as a society, and helps us to see the value in the skill sets required to create the art we love and admire.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://earthy-child.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_earthy_child/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/EarthyChild

Image Credits
Alicia “Sunny” Peoples Kanisha Haskins-Combs Darius Swift