We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kim Roney. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kim below.

Kim, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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 learned how to do macrame and make macrame jewelry by watching YouTube and Instagram videos. The internet is a wealth of knowledge, but it can be difficult to find good quality instruction. I wish that I could have learned from an actual person because it is sometimes difficult to watch someone else do a stitch, or look at a written direction to try to figure it out. Learning the basic macrame stitches were essential and allow me to be more creative when designing my own jewelry. As for obstacles, having time to learn new stitches and designs can be a challenge because it is a lot of trial and error until you can perfect it.

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

I have always been a creative person and enjoyed making things. I am also very driven to work hard at things I love doing. As I grow older I am realizing that being happy in my work is crucial to my own mental health. I also realized after COVID how much I felt disconnected from my local community and how much I missed that connection. Forming my jewelry business has helped me reconnect to my community through my customers and also so many other entrepreneurs. It also allows me to bring macrame to my local community. Many people still think of plant hangers from the 60’s and 70’s, but there is a whole new world of amazing macrame. It is a joy to introduce and share my creations with my community.

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

For me, I think it has been connecting to the community of artists and friends that I have made. The support, mentorship and encouragement that I have received has helped me grow and has helped to make me more successful in my business. It has also been so inspiring to find so many women entrepreneurs along the way. Finding your tribe of people and asking questions of those while have walked the path before you are invaluable.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

That it takes time and a lot of trial and error sometimes to get to a finished product. I am also a perfectionist and sometimes my own worst critic when I am making something because I want it to be perfect. Each thing that I create is one of a kind and I enjoy making new things. In saying that I want people to understand that handmade items take time and artists hard work needs to be recognized through what we charge for our items. When I first started out I was unsure how much to charge for my items. I found a formula that worked for me and I stick to that. All customers might not understand my prices, but I want them to understand that there is a difference between something handmade by a local artist and something you buy from Temu. Helping my shoppers and customers understand this has been a really important part of my journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thewovenbead.com
• Instagram: @thewovenbead
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1G9ZiZsTWZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Image Credits

Querencia Creative and Unruly Women Collective