We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vynique Moon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vynique below.
Alright, Vynique thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
So back in early 2020, I was scrolling on instagram and on my explore page, I was seeing people make these beautiful clothes with crochet and knit. I had a lot of yarn already because I braid it into my hair as a protective style, so I thought it would be cool to learn to crochet so I could start making my own clothes. So I went out and got some crochet hooks and started watching tutorials on youtube. And then the world went into lockdown and while I was finishing up grad school at the time, I didn’t have anything else to do but focus on crochet. I was getting good feedback on the stuff I was making because I was posting it online, so I decided to make some of the stuff available to purchase and things kind of took off from there as I got better and learned to make more things. I first started selling on Depop, so I didn’t have to fuss with shipping or tax or anything like that, which was helpful. I still have some things on Depop, but I now post my art on my own website! I made sure to do research on the logistics before I debuted my website. I’m still figuring out the website design element of it, but it’s been going fairly smoothly. I am still working on marketing to a wider audience, but since I’m the only person working at my business, it’s a lot to juggle everything.
Vynique, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
niq moon was started by me, Vynique Moon during 2020. I taught myself to crochet just before the pandemic started and I’ve been going ever since.
This brand has evolved far beyond what I could have imagined when I started and I’m so happy with where it’s at and where it’s going.
I started my business making simple designs for scrunchies and bandanas, and slowly over time, I’ve branched out into more accessories and clothing with more detailed designs. I love creating new, unique pieces whenever the fancy strikes me, but to keep my business sustainable, I’ve decided to move more into pattern making with small to medium sized drops of ready to ship items from time to time.
I want to continue to grow as an artist by making pieces that are true to my vision while still making sure the people who have followed and supported me on my journey are satisfied with my work. I’ve actually been going through really difficult time lately so I haven’t been able to make anything in almost two months. It’s really clarified for me that I want to focus on the process of making instead of always worrying about the end product. I will always have my favorite go-to designs that I will continue to make, but I’m now more interested in working on more elaborate pieces in addition to patterns.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
So most of the traffic for my business comes from instagram because that’s where I’ve been documenting my fiber arts journey the most. My account started growing quite a lot during 2022 and I gained thousands and thousands of followers and had a lot of engagement. In mid-2023, that all came to a screeching halt for no discernible reason. I hadn’t changed my content or my posting schedule. I stopped gaining followers, my engagement plummeted, and I even started losing followers by the hundreds. It was so demoralizing because I was working SO HARD, but no one was seeing my posts and it really hurt my business. I thought about giving up several times, but I love making too much and I love my business. So I kept up with it, branched out to other avenues of marketing, and after a little over a year, I started gaining followers and engagement again. It was a horrible time for my business, but I pushed through.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Having a distinctive style. I’ve been told several times that people can always tell when something is mine because it’s so distinct! I love that. That feels good.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.niqmoon.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byvynique
- Other: tiktok @ is niqmoon
Image Credits
Vynique Moon