We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nery Tapp a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nery , appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

“Practice makes perfect “ This sounds very cheesy, but is so true to macrame!
Many people tell me they cannot make macrame or that they do not have the ability to do it. The truth is if you consistently practice enough and become familiar with what you are doing, you will get the knowledge to create and make whatever you want. And not just macrame, if you put patience and passion towards what you want or need you eventually will achieve it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I always knew I was an artist, I just didn’t know how to develop my skills. I’m originally from Mexico. In my country, hand crafted art and everything handmade-related is extremely valued. Mamas and abuelas (grandmothers) teach their children at a very young age many crafts and how to cook, paint, embroider, etc. In my case, it was no different. My abuela taught me to sew felt, embroider, and macrame. Thanks to her, I learned all the techniques about this art.

I never took it serious, since my focus was on my house, kids, and husband. Macrame was always a side hobby. To be honest with you, though, macrame saved my mental health during the COVID pandemic.

I started turning my hobby into a business when I made a ton of designs during the quarantine. I showed everything to my family and friends, all of them encouraged me to take it more serious and sell my creations. At the time my house was full of macrame, as you can imagine. So I thought, why not? I didn’t have anything to lose, so I decided to take the risk.

I was shy of selling at first. I didn’t know how to start, but my husband helped me every single step along the way and gave me all the confidence I needed. To my surprise, I actually sold everything!!

I felt so incredibly happy of what my hands could make and that people actually loved it. One of the reasons I kept going even after the quarantine was how proud I felt about myself. I love that I brought such joy to my customers with my art and workshops. I also really enjoy working together with clients on their ideas to make unique, customized and special pieces for them and their loved ones. Macrame brings me so much therapy, joy, and happiness, and I love to pass that onto my customers and my family.

The other thing I love about macrame is it’s an endless art. You can make a small piece of wall art to beautiful clothing, such as dresses. For me, it is a very satisfying feeling when I see the final result after hours and days of hard work.

I will keep doing my art as much as I can and with all your continued support. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me and my little business. Now macrame is part of me and my family.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Being myself, staying authentic, and treating every single customer personably and respectfully has been the core to growing my business.

People love seeing you as a human being, making mistakes, being a parent, being a spouse, so they can feel a connection with you, your work, and finally engage with your history and business. The point is, I don’t see this as a strategy. To me, it is common sense and I want people to see me for who I am, naturally. People prefer to interact with others that have empathy. That is a primary “key” in maintaining and attracting customers – with empathy and creating every single order like if was for myself!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

l strongly believe social media is the best way to reach new people. However, existing clients promoting my work to others has been helpful in increasing new clientele and connections.

I can’t thank those customers enough who keep sharing my work with their friends and family, and talk about how great their macrame piece and purchasing experience was.

Product reviews are very important in growing a business, or improving one’s product. People that have access to my product reviews or have the necessary information from others before the purchase feel more confident to make an order. If they love the experience, hopefully they will share it with their friends and loved ones and for me that’s the best Marketing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ohlalamacrame.Etsy.com
• Instagram: @oh_lala_macrame_

Image Credits
Bri Reynolds