We were lucky to catch up with September Carolan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, September thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

A part of me wishes I started my business sooner and kept on going. In 2009, I had a small clothing and accessory line on Etsy. It did really well online and offline, with stores in San Antonio and Austin, TX selling my brand. The time spent with my day job, small business and family made me doubt if whether I could really continue working creatively. In 2013, I went on hiatus and in 2021 relaunched September Carolan Design. The persistence and determination to start new wasn’t without moments of self-doubt. I think about the years I could’ve built up my small business even more, the first time around. Because of that I press on, to make up for lost time.

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 background and context?

I’m September Carolan, artist and owner of September Carolan Design, designing and selling wares of crochet and jewelry. Growing up, I would always see the vintage sewing machine in my grandmother’s room, the balls of yarn she would keep nearby to make slippers and scarves for her grandchildren. It was fascinating to see how a dress was sewn or how a sweater could be knitted. As a teen, I took formal sewing classes. I was well versed in altering the hem of my jeans and skirts since most clothing dragged on the floor due to my short stature. In high school I made the jump from fixing hems to sewing my high school prom dress. Discovering the online community of D.I.Y. Fashion in the early 2000s inspired me to start a clothing line. Handmade dresses using vintage clothing with original skirts in the style of a tutu or petticoat. A lot of time was spent perfecting the technique of skirt making and alteration. By 2009, I opened a shop on Etsy and sold dresses to local alternative clothing stores. In 2013, the shop was put on hiatus. During that time, I used my sewing machine less and began to practice needlework. Trying my hand at embroidery, knitting, and crocheting. Soaking up as much knowledge as I could about each craft until I realized crocheting was my favorite. As news articles began to circulate even more, regarding popular clothing stores using factories to mass produce fast fashion for cheap, I began to wonder if handmade goods could be appreciated and valued again. Within a few years I began to write my own crochet patterns and took the risk of trading in my sewing machine for crochet hooks (not literally) and start over with a new online shop. That’s when I noticed an entire handmade, small business community mainly selling through local markets and pop-ups. Using the experiences from my first shop, I dove into the local market circuit. I’ve learned so much along the way. Discovering the dos and don’ts of vending, seeing what products are the most popular, navigating social media platforms and so on. Through it all, I try to stay true to myself. It’s easy to be influenced by whatever is trending in fast fashion, but that’s exactly what that is, fast. Creating a handmade product takes time, skill, and patience. The result is a handmade item made for years of use and enjoyment. I hope to one day see the value for handmade products be the basis for comparison when shopping at big box stores. Crochet hats and a small collection of jewelry are offered at all my local pop up and market dates. Maybe someday soon I can bring back the sewing machine and expand my collection.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

In 2009, my first online shop had a specific theme and product line. Despite this, I was often given advice to follow what everyone else was doing, be it a trending fashion or completely different style of product from what I was already making and selling, in order to be successful. My inexperience led me to follow some of that advice, it was unfulfilling and made me lose creative focus. When September Carolan Design relaunched in 2021, I made sure to only stick to what I truly wanted to create and only keep my designs original. Nowadays, I tend to refer people to other small business when I’m given a suggestion to make something not on-brand.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

All of the crochet items I sell are made by hand. When researching supplies and materials for producing a new item, it takes a lot of trial and error. Making sure the gauge is consistent for each type of yarn I use, which crochet hook gives the look and texture I’m looking for, how much yarn is required to make one crochet piece, how much stock will be needed once the piece is available at a market, and what is the turn-around time. As with most creatives, I am my toughest critic, so the overall quality of a handmade piece is the difference between a realized crochet piece or a scrapped idea.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @SeptemberCarolanDesign
• Facebook: SeptemberCarolanDesign

Image Credits
Shaun Alvarado, September Carolan