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

Katera, appreciate you joining us today. Day to day the world can seem like a tough place, but there’s also so much kindness in the world and we think talking about that kindness helps spread it and make the world a nicer, kinder place. Can you share a story of a time when someone did something really kind for you?

I am a college student currently and on my campus last year I did a random act of kindness. I crocheted small hearts and made them into keychains and added a note to each. Each note was different, some said “Love Yourself”, “Be proud of yourself”, “Have a beautiful day”, “You are loved”, “Celebrate all your victories”, and lots more. I placed these hearts and notes all around my college campus. In the library, outside classrooms, in front of the school, any place I thought students would pass. I enjoyed creating them and giving students some encourage. A lot of students really loved them and started posting them on social media telling their friends they found a random handmade heart with a motivation note. Recently, I was a vendor at a local market and a student from my school came up to me and told me she was one of the people that stumbled upon one of the hearts I made. She told me that it really made her day. She showed me the heart that she has put onto her other keys. It has been seven months since I put out those hearts and she has had her crochet heart keychain with her everyday since then and that truly makes me happy.

Katera, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Katera Frazier and I started crocheting in the 5th grade. I learned from an after school program where a woman taught and held a crochet class. I huge shoutout to my crochet teacher for teaching me. My business is called Crochet with Passion LLC. I have loved it ever since I picked up a crochet needle and I have been crocheting since then. It has been 11 years since I started crocheting. When I started crocheting, I made things such as headbands, scarves, wristbands, and pouches. Now I make outfits, tops, earrings, purses, scrunchies, soap savers, and fan pouches. I think what sets me a part is my age and race. Most of the markets I attend are in predominately white areas and usually I am the only black person there as a vendor. I am also a young crocheter and most people are surprised I have been crocheting for 11 years. I think representation is important and I’m so proud of myself for putting my business out there and putting myself out there because black crocheters are significant and I want us to be able to show what we’re proud of and show the world our talents. The main thing I want potential followers to know is that I work really hard on each and every piece I make. I enjoy creating and being able to turn a skein of yarn into clothing and accessories for people to wear and feel confident in a piece that took hours to make. Handmade items have always been near and dear to my heart and it is important for people to cherish that.

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

I love this question. I have been building my audience for five years. Social media has played a big part in that but what has lead to my social media encouragement was the in-person markets. It started there for me. I love interacting with people in person and connecting with people. It is a great way to meet people and talk with the people who support you in the community. From there people started to then involve with me on my social media and spread the word about my business and the things I have made. For the social media side, I have posted every week of new items I make. If I am making crochet accessories and not posting them, my audience will not grow so I take videos and photos of everything I make. Recently, my thing has been taking videos of myself making clothing and putting that on social media. People love to see the artist making and doing something they love to do. I am the only person running my business and I work hard and I want to show that. My advice would be to stay interacting with the people that support you in-person and online. Always think of creative ideas, make them, and post the work you are so proud of.

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

Crochet with Passion LLC took a pivot when I began having wrist problems. It was something I didn’t start experiencing until a year and a half ago. I crochet a lot and I have been crocheting for over a decade and after a while the pain started in my wrist, hands, shoulders, and neck. It instantly made me emotional because crocheting is something I love and I do not want to give that up. What I did was pace myself. I would take more rest days from crocheting to allow my body to breathe and not crocheting. I have two rest days every week and I take that time to read or cook. Ever since the wrist pain started I have found techniques that works best for me to relieve my wrist. I have put large handles on my needles so I am not gripping and clinching the tiny needles. I also do hand stretches whenever I start crocheting, during, and after. Occasionally I will wear my compression brace to help with any pains I may have. But most importantly I take breaks when needed, sometimes crocheting one more row isn’t worth it if it causing pain so I always monitor my body and give it what it needs. Taking care of your body is important and it is something we should be aware of.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.etsy.com/shop/CrochetWithPassionn
• Instagram: @crochetwithpassionn (2 n’s)
• Twitter: @crochetxpassion
• Other: TikTok: @crochetwithpassion

Image Credits
Photo taken by Daisy Pflaum @daisypflaum (Instagram)