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

Nicole , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The idea for my business sort of started by accident. My son, who is big on crafting himself, wanted to make a hat for a friend of his. His friends father has passed away and he wanted to make a hat for his friend to bring him comfort. I didn’t know where to begin with even attempting to make a hat. We went to our local craft store to see what children’s products they may have so he could do it on his own. We came across a loom knitting kit which seemed easy enough for him to do with minimal supervision and help.

Once I got him set up with his project, every now and then he would ask for my guidance. As I started helping him, I realized how relaxing and therapeutic it ended up being. The kit came with multiple sized looms, so I chose to use one for my own starter project. Soon we were knitting together which was an added bonus for quality time together.

I ended up sticking to it and found it was a great way to release stress, frustrations, or just have moments to myself to think and decompress. The projects that I’ve created were also very rewarding to make. Especially once people began to show interest in my making items for them. I enjoy that I can create custom items for myself and others and I can add my own twist to knitting and other crafts that I make..

The company name was inspired by my son.

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

Again, I got into this sort of my accident. I make custom knitted hats, scarves, headbands, earwarmers household items and holiday decor.

I like that any two products arent the same and can be customized to my or my customers liking. When you receive something that is handmade, you can be guaranteed that the maker took their time and put their hardwork, love and dedication in what they are making.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is easy to use but can be very difficult to fully grasp the audience you’re looking for. I’m not a social media guru and I don’t have a milliom followers, but I always just started out by word of mouth. Connecting to people I already knew and sharing with. Having friends share my pages and products with other. Making sure to connect to other crafting pages. Being intentional about what I post and when.

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

The best source so far has been vendor and craft events. Friends recommending me to anyone who may want or need items or gifts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/NikkyRich
• Instagram: @sweetbeanknits