We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelly Mccrea a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kelly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
One of the most meaningful projects I have worked on involved creating two tufted pieces. The first piece was a 3×5 tufted mirror frame that I made and is now hanging in the lobby of Honey Beauty Studio in downtown Olympia. The second piece was a 3-foot tufted version of Baker’s Dozen Tattoo’s logo, a business in downtown Olympia. Both of these projects are so meaningful to me because I never imagined having something I created displayed in a local business. I have been tufting for about 2 years now, so having people reach out for commissioned rugs is wonderful. I am grateful for the relationships I’ve made through this journey and the fellow business owners I’ve gotten to know.
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 a textile artist based in Lacey, Washington. In 2022, I discovered rug tufting online and became fascinated by the creative process. This led me to try it myself. After collecting all the necessary materials, I started making random rugs for my home, as gifts and gained a lot of practice. Encouraged by friends and family, I began selling my pieces at local art events and online. My products include tufted rugs, hangable art, bags, and tufted keychains, all aimed at bringing a cozy and fun element to your favorite space, whether that’s on the floor or the wall. I enjoy using lots of colors and nontraditional shapes when creating the rugs. While I love the actual tufting portion, carving and shaping the rug after it’s been created is my favorite part of the process. With tufting, you can create many different things, some 2D, some 3D, some a mix of both. The creations seem endless.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect for me is meeting and connecting with other people in the artistic community. Before I started sharing my tufted art with the world, I wasn’t sure what my artistic passion was. I enjoyed painting, drawing, and DIY crafts, but I didn’t feel passionate enough about them to pursue them further. However, once I started tufting, I realized that it was something I wanted to share with others and sell as an art form. This made me realize that textile art was my true passion.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I’ve gained a lot of my audience from in-person events and from others sharing my posts. At every in-person market, I have a tabletop sign with the QR code to my Instagram account. I’ve gained anywhere from 5 to 20 followers at each event from having that at my table and would recommend it if you have any social accounts for your business. In Olympia they have an event twice a year called Arts Walk. I participated in the Spring Arts Walk and was shocked by the turn out. I didn’t remember Arts Walk being such a big event but it was and it was a lot of fun! I was surprised for the amount of followers I had gained and how many people had commented on the sign.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://berrycozytufting.com
- Instagram: berrycozytufting
