The Crochet Chronicles
Hooked & Happy: Interviews with Yarn Lovers
Otto von Bismarck said that, "Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others". In a series of interviews with veteran artist in the crochet industry, I want to educate my readers about what it is really like to own a small crochet business and give you the wisdom that these experts of the artistry have to offer. They are not only pattern designers and masters of crochet creating beauty with a ball of yarn, but also experienced entrepreneurs, business men and women, who have seen many ups and downs in this industry through years of owning and operating their own small businesses in the crochet industry. They can give the up and coming artist with entrepreneur dreams valuable insight and teach you with the wisdom only experience can give you. Paying careful attention to the guidance offered by those who have tried and succeeded is a great way to keep the frogging to a minimum because as we all know, in making a path for ourselves it isn’t always a straight line. These artist and entrepreneurs can show you how to get back up when you fall and keep going forward to find your success in this hand made world, both online and selling at shows and festivals where you are up close and personal with your buyers. They will provide tips that can point you towards success.
Here is a preview of what I've stitched together for you in this week's interview with a crochet legend and the owner of Little Luvin Stitches, Nathan Knightes.
- Introduction: Introducing Nathan Knightes, a veteran of the crochet industry.
- Interview With Nathan Knightes
- Summary of the interview.
- Preview of next week's interview.
Introduction:
Whether you are taking your crochet business on the road to shows and festivals or the online entrepreneur needing tips for the best software to build a website, Nathan has the answers. He has been in business for 25 + years and has built a successful business with his wife Marissa. Whether you are an established crochet business owner, or you have been selling at festivals and shows for years, getting advice from someone who has been in this business for 25 plus years can be a game changer. Craft shows and festivals are wildly popular venues for handmade crafts and crochet art is sought after by a growing audience. These events hosts thousands of shoppers and hundreds of vendors, but without the proper guidance you can still find yourself scratching your head at the end of an exhausting day of browsers and no buyers. Every passerby could be a potential buyer, and for that reason you need to arm yourself with as much knowledge about your audience and the ins and outs of selling at these events as you possibly can. It's not as simple as setting up a booth and letting the customers pour in. There is planning and arranging that can take weeks before the actual event takes place. What better way to educate you about selling at these events, than by offering the advice of a veteran of the handmade crochet industry. Nathan Knights, while nourishing a full time career, spends most of his weekends, along with his wife Marissa, selling at crafts shows, festivals, and comic cons all over Florida and Georgia. He has crocheted since he was a small boy, taught by his grandmother in front of her favorite daytime “stories”, and taken that home spun education and turned it into a growing crochet business. Not only do they sell their amigurumi plushies, mystery boxes, and learn to crochet, Plushie Luv In A Box at festivals and shows, they also have their own website,littleluvinstitches.com, full of inventory and an Etsy shop with sales in the thousands. In a series of exclusive interviews with Nathan, his wife Marissa and surprise guest along the way I am going to hand you knowledge from some of the brightest and most talented crochet artist in the industry. This valuable education will give you insight into what you don't see when you visit an event and what you can only learn through trial and error or through those who have experienced these things before you. Follow along each week to gain the knowledge these seasoned entrepreneurs are offering so that you can call yourself wise and avoid the pitfalls of the uneducated.
Interview with Nathan:
Let's get right into my interview with Nathan and see what someone with his vast experience in this industry has to offer.
Interviewing Nathan
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QUESTION # 1 -
What is your best selling item at craft shows and festivals?
ANSWER -
Nathan - “My best selling item at my shows would certainly be chicken and snakes right now. This will change throughout the year which makes it difficult as a handmade artist to ensure you have another variety of an item but not so much that you get stuck with inventory when it changes!”
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This should let you know that the handmade industry is always changing and you have to keep up with the latest trends to be successful. I have created a great trend tracker that will help you with this and keep you on track with what your customers are looking for. Trend tracking can create profit and prevent profit loss so don’t forget to leave me your email address and I will send you this handy pdf file download for free! CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS FREE RIGHT NOW!
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QUESTION # 2 -
What is your favorite part of selling at shows?
ANSWER -
Nathan - “Favorite part of festivals and shows is seeing my vendor friends and also meeting new people whether it be new vendors or people who stop by our booth. I love to chat so it is great to be able to connect with others.”
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Maintaining great business relationships is part of this industry and is essential to your success as a small business owner. These relationships not only boost morale and make these events fun to work, they also lead to new opportunities and creative inspiration. If you are like me you couldn’t possibly remember everyone you meet at a show so it’s a good idea to have a list of these contacts and to jot down a tidbit from your conversation to remind you who this person is and how the connection was made. To help you do this I have created a handy contact list that includes a blank note section where you can remind yourself who they are and how you connected with them. You can get it for free by leaving your email address and I will forward it to you. You don’t want to be without this helpful contact reminder list at your next show or festival.
Click here to get your free contact list today!
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QUESTION # 3 -
What ITEMS, other than inventory do you bring to every show and why?
ANSWER -
Nathan - “Oh we have bags of other items we bring.
We bring Ryobi batteries to provide power for our electronics from the iPad, mifi for the internet, cell phones, glue guns and so much more.
Bungees
Tape
Mini printer
Paper bags
Plastic bags
Business cards
Square reader
Hooks to hold our bags
Pens and paper to record sales
Cash box
Change so you can make change
Stapler
Zip ties
Glue sticks
Crochet bag
Snacks and drinks or lunch
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Don’t worry. No need to save this list. I have created a pdf download for you that includes not only the list that Nathan just gave you, but also a convenient checklist that will allow you to add your own items. By printing one out each week that you have a show to attend you can be sure that you always have everything you need to bring to each show Click here to get your free Artisan Market Checklist today!
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QUESTION # 4 -
How long does it take to set up your booth for each show? And how long will it take to tear it down?
ANSWER -
Nathan - About 2-2.5 hours to set up and 1 hour to break down
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*QUESTION # 5 - How has your business evolved since the beginning to now? What's changed and has it been for the better?
ANSWER -
Nathan - Our business started on a $200 investment and we continue to see growth in thousands each year. Last year our business got to the point that we needed a LLC so we could protect our personal assets from different business liabilities. Also we have had to invest in hiring team members to assist us in various areas. We keep growing and are hoping this is the year we hit $100k in sales
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This is why a business plan is a good idea. It gives your small business a realistic view of where you started and where you want to go. I have created a business plan template to make this process as easy as possible. With my free template you will have the guidance needed to successfully create a usable business plan to cultivate sound decisions and increase your odds of success. It is important to determine your financial needs in order to manage your business finances properly. So don’t miss out on this free template to get you started on your business plan right away by sending me your email using this link or by signing up at the bottom of this article or you can click here to get your free business plan template today!
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QUESTION # 6 - What is your #1 Do NOT for craft SHOWS? And your #1 Do for shows?
ANSWER -
Nathan - Do NOT an argue with customers or get sassy with them when they make comments. Just smile and let them move on.
Do NOT mark down your prices because some people say it is expensive. Not everyone can afford handmade and that is okay.
I had to learn this myself. Think of it this way. Some people shop at Bargain Grocery Stories, Some shop at major chain stores that carry everything like a store that starts with a W, while others choose to shop with the large chain grocery stores.
We all have the right to choose where we spend our dollars, and remember not everyone can afford to shop at the major grocery chains and that is okay.
DO
Have items in every price range.
I had a mother with 4 kids and she only had $10 she could spend on her kids for them to play with. She looked around the festival and she had just said to them I'll go to Dollar Tree and we will get 4 toys for you all because you were all good today. She came to our booth and she was able to shop our 2/$5 bin and spend $10 on her 4 kids. I made a $10 sale while many vendors lost that $10. _____________________________________________________________________
You want to price your items to sell while not pricing yourself right out of business. Keep in mind how much the supplies cost to make the item and the hours you spent making it. It’s a good idea to give yourself an hourly rate for the work you do to make each item. Then you can use a simple formula like supplies + hours x hourly rate. So if you spent $10 on supplies, your hourly rate is $10 hour and you spent 3 hours making it, your formula would look like this: $10 + (10x3) = $40. (these figures are not suggestions, they are just used for the purposes of teaching you this system.) I have created a great Pricing Formula Worksheet that will help you price your items using this system. You can't go wrong by pricing your items this way because it gives you consistency and fairness to your pricing system. Click here to get your free Pricing Formula Worksheet today!
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QUESTION # 7 -
What advice can you give to the new entrepreneur that is thinking about selling at craft shows and festivals for the first time?
ANSWER -
Nathan - As a new entrepreneur I highly suggest you invest in good products as soon as you can. For me that would be a good canopy tent. I have had 3 cheap tents before I decided to buy good quality $300+ tents with zippered walls. Rain is never your friend. When you have rain and no sidewalks your items will get soaked and products ruined. When you have a canopy with sidewalls but they don't zip, then when the wind hits the sidewalls they flap and they flap hard. If anything is in the way it will fall over. Therefore a zippered sidewall and a good quality canopy is the best option for you. I have seen cheap canopy's crumble under the strength of the wind even with their owners trying to hold them down. Invest in your business by getting a good quality tent. If you want to take a look at what I recommend click on this link and see what I personally use at our shows. I may receive a small commission if you purchase through this link, but it will not cost you anything extra and it lets us keep creating content with these pro tips for getting your crochet business going and becoming a success story.
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The handmade crochet business has plenty of room for new entrepreneurs and you are lucky to have the wisdom of others to teach you the do’s and don'ts of this business, rather than having to experience what can go wrong yourself. Nathan loves to teach and enjoys passing along the wisdom his experience has given him. Margaret Fuller said “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.” So I say to those of you considering a crochet business adventurer of your own, light your candles in the knowledge of those that have experience in this industry and follow what you are taught to avoid standing in the rain with months of hard work getting ruined under your cheap tent.
Until next time, keep crocheting, never stop learning, and always love what you do and do what you love!
Check out our website littleluvinstitches.com and pick up a cuddle buddy or get some creative inspiration. Also don’t forget to see what our Etsy shop has to offer. We have small business digital printable planners and planner inserts available now! Along with our Plushie inventory and learn to crochet with Nathan when you purchase Plushie luv In a Box!
JUST A REMINDER:
Our Website - www.littleluvinstitches.net
Etsy - www.littleluvinstitches.etsy.com
Don’t forget to send me your email so I can send you all the great freebies mentioned in this article. These printable planner inserts will help you stay organized and can be inserted right into your planner with editable canva templates so that you can easily change the print sizes and customize for your business needs. If you want to purchase the full version of these great inserts visit us on Etsy and take a look at all the business tools our digital section has to offer!
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