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

Hi Kelsea, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I have always been the type of person who likes to keep busy. When I was young, my grandmother would crochet and she would give me a hook and some yarn and I would make the longest chains (which is all I knew how to make at the time). Who knew it would later turn into my greatest passion! I’ve had so many hobbies over the years, from scrapbooking, to making wax melts, and I never could quite stick with any of them for too long. Until I found amigurumi. Amigurumi is the art of crocheting little stuffed animals, and once I successfully created my first one from a kit I got as a Christmas gift from my mom, I was hooked! For a few months, I worked on improving my crochet skills, then I took a look around my home and thought… there’s way too many stuffed animals around here. I figured I should try my hand at selling them. I had a small booth at a craft show with my little display of plushies, and sold about half of them. I got so many compliments and it was truly such a confidence booster that I am good at this craft. From there, I began doing markets more regularly and selling my products on Etsy, as well as started testing patterns for other crocheters and even started creating patterns myself! I also enjoy challenging myself with custom orders from time to time. Did I mention that this is a side hustle and I work a full-time marketing job? It’s a lot of work, but I love crocheting so much I wouldn’t have it any other way!
My grandmother is now 93 and has dementia, but I love sharing my crochet plushies with her. I can tell they bring her so much joy and she decorates her room with them. Although we can’t communicate like we used to, it’s still so special that she knows what I’m doing when I crochet around her. If only she knew that she sparked this passion about 15 years ago!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a crocheter who specializes in amigurumi, which is the Japanese word for “crocheted dolls or stuffed toys.” Crochet With Kelsea offers a variety of plushies in all shapes, types and sizes made with super soft chenille yarn. Chenille yarn gives the plushies more of a “plush” look. I also have over 15 amigurumi crochet patterns for sale that include tons of photos and details for crocheters of any skill level to enjoy. Lenny the Lion is my most popular pattern of all time, although my Fluffy Monster pattern series, which includes Gizmo the Goblin, Mocha the Monster & Sheldon the Sea Monster (plus more to come) have been increasing in popularity. I am extremely proud that I have the ability to create patterns and plushies that people want to purchase, and it’s been a super fun way to challenge myself creatively. I also take limited custom orders, which pushes me to make different things than what I usually would— although I’m hoping to focus more on taking custom orders for plushies made using my patterns. Once I get home from my 9-5 marketing job, my 5-9 job begins and I work long hours to bring high quality, adorable plushies and patterns to people all around the globe! I am so thankful for all of the support I’ve received on my journey so far, and I’m so excited to see where the future takes me!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best thing you can do is shop small and shop local! Support local businesses before turning to large corporations. Small business owners celebrate every little sale they make, while corporations like Walmart couldn’t care less! Think of shopping with small businesses as investing in the small business owner— each sale helps them continue doing what they love. Visit your local markets to not only make connections with your community, but to find some new products that you love! Creatives and small business owners put so much love and care into everything they make, so you get more unique and better-quality items than products that have been mass-produced by a large corporation.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of what I do is seeing the joy that my art brings to others. Whether it is a little kid hugging and naming their new plushie at my market booth, to people smiling when they see my work, to getting a positive review on Etsy, it warms my heart to see that my work has the ability to make people happy.

I also feel a lot of pride in being able to create unique plushies with nothing besides an idea in my head, yarn, stuffing, a crochet hook and my hands.

Contact Info:

• Website: crochetwithkelsea.etsy.com
• Instagram: @crochetwithkelsea