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

Alright, Sharyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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 learned how to crochet as a little girl. My mom used to crochet afghans for our family and other immediate family members. She taught me and my twin sister how to crochet when we were somewhere between 10-12 years old. I remember really struggling at first and my sister picking it up so easily. It definitely was something I had to work hard at but grew to really love. In grad school when I was pursuing my MFA I began to crochet garments like cowl scarves and winter headbands as a way to make a small side income to the little I was making as a GA and local brewery bartender. Eventually after much coaxing and encouragement from my professors I wound up making my thesis work in fiber by crocheting. It wasn’t until I finished grad school that I rebranded my work and began to focus more on home goods with a specific style, color scheme, and mission in mind.

I don’t know that I wish I would have sped the process up any. Crochet to me is not just something I do to make money but it’s part of my childhood experience and memories. I still often make blankets as special gifts for family and friends when they have babies and it’s really a gift in many ways to me as much as it is for the person that is receiving it. I wish I would have believed in myself a little more when I first started out and didn’t complicate things so much. I came to really appreciate the simplicity of simple stitches and variances of them to create beautiful texture. Sticking to those simple stitches and finding ways to change them slightly has really been essential to what I make. I’m currently a full time art teacher and mother to an almost 2 year old. I also actively coach a women’s rugby club in my city so my time is spent in a lot of other places. Because Lily & Pine is added into all of that I don’t always have the time I’d like to dedicate to building the brand more or investing more time in what it could be. That’s not to say I’m unhappy with where it’s at but I definitely think growth and development could be more fruitful if I had more time and energy to give to it.

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 back background and context?

Firstly, I’ll just introduce myself. My name is Sharyn Bosley. I currently reside in Columbus, OH but I grew up in the beautiful Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. I come from a small town in basically the middle of nowhere. I grew up learning how to crochet from my mom who instilled the craft to me and my sister along with sewing and other small crafts. I often made myself blankets or blankets for family and loved ones as gifts for special occasions. When I got into grad school I made a small brand called “SB crochet” where I made cowl scarves and headbands along with some hand printed cards. I would sell them at my school’s student art fair each year. What I found however was that a lot of makers in Columbus were creating very similar things, whether they were knit or crochet, it was all the same yarn brand, color ways, and only varied slightly in style. I felt a bit like a cog in a wheel.

With that, there became a point where I wanted to pivot what I was doing and I began to have a desire to make things for the home instead. I wanted to make things that could be part of something bigger. I have a huge heart for hosting and hospitality (another thing gained from my mother) and I love to have people over for dinner and game nights or even breakfast and some coffee. When I decided I would make things for the home though I struggled with nailing down what that could be. I could make pillows, blankets, table runners, placemats, coasters, trivets, etc. But my concern with the larger things like pillows and blankets was time commitment to make and then subsequently cost. I also struggled to find a material that I really thought would work well for what I had in mind and didn’t cost me an arm and a leg.

When I first made the jump into home goods I just had so much vision it was overwhelming, but I had a really great conversation with a friend that brought me to the start of what L&P was going to be. We had a really great conversation about the life of Jesus and His ministry leading up to his death and resurrection. Specifically how he sat at tables with people across all backgrounds and walks of life and shared meals. He broke bread, had conversation, loved people, grieved with them in great loss but also celebrated with people through great joy. This really brought me to just how important the table really is and how much it was a staple even in my own childhood. Every night we sat down as a family and had dinner together and we all stayed until the last person was finished (well most of the time- I was a slow eater, so a lot of nights it wound up being just me and my mom at the end). But anyway! Sitting with someone at your table and having conversation, even if it’s just over coffee, can be such a profound moment in time. There are so many moments and memories made over breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. This is what really brought me to hone in on making things for the table. I wanted to create goods that would be subtle and yet beautiful, neutral in tone and inspired by the beautiful nature I grew up in yet unique in design and style. I wanted to make things that would last for families and bring love and light to the many moments that might be shared with them and I wanted them to stand out amongst the many macrame or other crochet designs that were already out there.

Something that makes my goods unique is that they are all made from 100% cotton rope. People often come to my booth at a market and are surprised that it’s all crochet, when you see neutral rope, many just assume it’s macrame. I use the cotton rope because I want my goods to be sturdy and to be able to stand the test of time in someones home. The trivets should be able to hold many warm meals at your table, not just one. Everything can be washed and dried over and over so that even when you spill some coffee with that friend you haven’t seen in forever, nothing is deemed as “ruined” and nothing is crafted to be so fancy that it doesn’t feel like it could have a place in your home.

A lot of my designs are inspired for my love for quilting. As I mentioned, my mom taught me how to sew as well and I still make small quilts from time to time. My coaster designs are a take on 1/2 square triangles that you find in basic quilt patterns. Through Lily & Pine I’ve been able to bring a lot of my loves and passions into one place. Hospitality, crochet, sewing, all through these small goods. I love seeing people use them in their home and getting to know that they are sharing in such special moments with people all over.

This brand has really been a growing process for me and I’ve learned a lot over the past 2 or 3 years that it’s been in existence but I still have so much further to go. I don’t really know what the future of L&P looks like or if it will ever be more than what it is now but I am okay with that. The brand to me isn’t really about making money or bringing in revenue, sure that’s a nice bonus, but at the end of the day my joy really comes from being able to bless people with something beautiful for their home, something that I hope will last them for many years to come.

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

Personally, the most rewarding thing about being an artist and creative is just allowing other people to experience what I make and then get to take a piece of that with them if they choose. The make the goods that I do because I truly enjoy the opportunity to bless people with something to have in their home. Seeing people’s responses to my work and the excitement they have when they find something they love really is something that brings me joy. It’s also just nice when people appreciate the work that you make. It is an encouragement to me that oh, maybe this hasn’t all been a waste of time, people really do enjoy this stuff.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I spoke about this a little earlier, but I pivoted and essentially rebranded my entire business once I finished graduate school. After seeing a lot of makers in my city making very similar things from design all the way down to yarn brand and color choice I wanted to change it up. I knew I wanted to continue to crochet because I loved it but I had to sit down and really think about a lot of things. What was it that I wanted to make exactly? What materials would I use that would be cost effective for me and the consumer? What kind of designs would I be able to create to help me stand out? It took me a while to figure it out (I graduated in 2018 and started Lily & Pine in 2020). Even now I am constantly trying to see what designs work best or who my niche market and target customer might be. Everything I’ve done so far has been a lot on my own with some bits of advice and inspiration from a few friends who have their own small businesses but a big thing I’ve also learned is my business is not the same as someone else’s so it’s not a one size fits all scenario. Something that works for one person doesn’t always work for another. I think owning a small business really is more about constant pivoting than anything else!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: lilyandpinecrochet