Let's give a warm welcome to Laurel Taylor, owner of Alabaster Purl!
All About Laurel Taylor
Do you have a job outside of this?
not yet! hoping to find some part time work in 2021
What’s your dream vacation spot?
Either in the mountains of Oregon, on a lake, with no cell service, or somewhere tropical on the beach, like Mexico or Puerto Rico. I’d love to go to Scotland and Ireland someday as well, so that may turn out to be my favorite place, who knows!
What’s your favorite color(s)?
mustard yellow, or wine/maroon tones
What’s your favorite food/meal?
Every day is Taco Tuesday! Mexican food is probably my favorite because it’s so flavorful.
What’s your least favorite food/meal?
I’m very weird about textures – I won’t touch (eat) raw tomatoes or raw mushrooms, but if they’re cooked, I love them!
Do you have a favorite movie or TV show?
More than I’d like to admit, hah! Parks and Rec, The Office, Friends, Arrested Development, New Girl…I could keep going but I won’t.
What’s a quote that you live by?
Bloom where you are planted.
Do you have other hobbies (other than the one you specialize in now)?
I love creating with my hands! Before I got busy with my knitting business, I would always be making…something. Home decor, cards, flipping furniture, baking goodies, up-cycling items. Also, I love puzzles. I’m basically an 80 year old woman in a 30something body.
What’s 1 (or more) weird/strange fact(s) about you?
I love to do impressions!! Sound effects, impressions, accents…Accents are easy for me to pick up on. I think it comes from my background of music (I love singing, I was a huge choir nerd) which emphasizes word shape and intonation. When I was little, I wanted to somehow get into voice acting but clearly that never happened.
What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve done in your life?
lol, I am NOT spontaneous. To quote Jessica Day from New Girl, “I don’t leap, I stake small, planned steps like an arthritic dog.”
Do you have a favorite holiday?
I do love the season of Christmas, but it can also be very stressful for makers.
Do you have a favorite season?
Fall. I love spring as well, but I have horrible allergies, so that’s a mixed bag of emotions haha.
What inspires or motivates you?
My mom! She’s my best friend (well it’s a tie between her and my husband…) and I am most inspired when I am happiest. She also knows how to do everything!
If you could do one thing for the world (people or environment), what would it be?
Eliminate human trafficking.
All About Alabaster Purl
How long have you been knitting?
I learned in 2008, from my friend Jonathan. I was having trouble focusing in lectures, so he recommended I do something with my hands so my mind could focus. It helped so much!
When did you start Alabaster Purl?
I started doing markets in 2014, with a hodge podge of handmade items, but my knits sold best. Because of that, I focused on knitting, and I started getting orders from friends on Facebook and my personal Instagram account. In early 2016, I decided to open the Alabaster Purl business account on Instagram, inspired by a handful of other knitting accounts I had found (Kniftyknittings, Peonyandthyme, Littlefoxesknits, Morthunder, and Brennaannahndmade)
What’s your favorite thing you’ve made?
Merino wool blankets! Oh my goodness, the materials are such a dream to work with. I do a happy dance every time a customer orders one. They’re a joy to make.
What’s a piece of advice for someone just starting out in your field?
Don’t try to beat the algorithm. Believe me, I’ve tried. It doesn’t work, and you make yourself unnecessarily stressed out. Say it works for a week. Guess what. It’s going to change the next week. Post what you love. Make what you love. I don’t make velvet scrunchies because I hate velvet, or bun beanies because I think they’re tacky AF. Even though they’re all the rage (or at least have been in the past) and would result in sales for me, I would hate every.single.stitch. I want to love what I do, not dread it. So don’t be afraid to say no to a custom order.
Does your company have a mascot?
Hah, no. I definitely racked my brain to create a logo or something when I started Alabaster Purl, but I couldn’t come up with anything that wasn’t ridiculously cheesy. I found a font I adored, so my logo is simply my shop name in a pretty font.
What was your most memorable success?
This last October I released the Hope Shawl, thinking it would result in a handful of sales. My patterns aren’t my bread and butter – I focus on selling finished items. So, my expectations were low for this pattern release. Within 2 weeks, it became my best selling pattern, passing designs I had released 2 years ago. It is still my best seller, and has been 1/3 of my overall income from patterns since 2017. My mind is blown!
What was your most memorable challenge?
To keep going. In 2019, I nearly quit. Instagram had changed its algorithm, and my business suffered because of it. At the time, I was driving nearly all of my own traffic to Etsy through Instagram. No views, no sales. I was also losing followers every time I was posting. It’s hard to be motivated to post when you can see your followers dropping like flies. I had passed 8,000 followers, barely, only to lose 250 followers after a bot purge.
How did or are you overcoming this challenge?
It was all I had. My husband and I had moved from Oregon to Texas in April of 2019. I wasn’t working, because we were remodeling a house, and I was taking time to really think about what I wanted to do next. I didn’t have many friends, being in a new town/state. I knew if I quit, my depression would only get worse. I stopped focusing on the numbers (which is so much easier said than done….) and stopped putting pressure on myself to post every day, or to even “stay on brand.” I basically post what I want when I want now. I still struggle with Instagram suppressing my posts – Over a year later, I’m still not even past that magical 10K mark, lol.
What’s next for Alabaster Purl?
I’ve definitely been winging it this whole time, whether being employed full time and this being my side hustle, or these past few years where this has been my full time job. I have so many designs rolling around in my head, or even first drafts have been knitted up and are sitting on my desk. I’m doing my best to plan my year now (it’s the first week of January as I type this) because I function so much better with a schedule. Being self employed has been a challenge for me, learning my strengths and weaknesses. Oops! I mean…opportunities for growth. Setting up deadlines for myself means setting myself and my business up for success. I hope to release 1 pattern a month, maybe even 2 on some of the months! I also am setting up a knitting schedule. I hope to make at least 5 knits a week for market prep, between January and August. That will give me at least 175 items for market season! Breaking things into bite sized goals makes it achievable. September through December will be reserved for custom orders and markets.
The Future for Alabaster Purl
What’s your latest project?
I’m currently packing up my craft room – we are moving in a few weeks! I have put all of my projects aside until we are settled in. I do have several patterns in the works for 2021, including a very simple yet classic design, The Casey Cowl. It’s a garter stitch infinity scarf, perfect for beginners, but a timeless piece that even experienced knitters will love. I was reminded recently that going back to the basics can be beautiful. I have released 2 patterns so far this year – the braided cable headband in a bulky weight, and the Sweet and Simple beanie for Valentines Day – it’s a reversible pattern with a heart texture design.
Where did the inspiration come from for this project?
Casey from PremKnits inspired my love of cables with her Braided Cable Beanie. I have made hundreds of those beanies! I wanted to create a headband version, specifically for my market prep, because some people prefer headbands over beanies. I love that I was able to translate it into a headband for both bulky and super bulky weights.
The Casey Cowl, even though the spelling is the same, is not named after Casey from PremKnits, how funny is that! Instead, it is named after my personal friend Casey. She is a teachers aide, which is such a challenging job, especially during COVID. She wanted to put together a few little videos for her students, including how to repot a plant, how to make a sourdough starter, and how to knit! She first needed a refresher from me, via FaceTime. I knitted up a simple garter stitch swatch, and was reminded how much I love the classic garter stitch. That evening, after our knit night, I whipped up the first draft of the Casey Cowl. It’s a lovely “comfort food” and mindless knit, which I love.
Have there been any challenges with this project?
The braided cable headband was my first pattern release in 2017. I used a super bulky weight yarn, since that is my favorite to use for market prep. When creating this design, I wanted the braid to be perfectly infinity. I COULD NOT make this happen. Since 2017, I have revisited the design, trying to fix it, with at least 50 different attempts. After giving up and accepting that it wasn’t possible, I had a eureka moment. It was while I was knitting up a headband, and it suddenly, magically clicked. I honestly can’t explain it any other way, but I definitely cried tears of joy when I made that first headband with a perfect infinity braid.
As for the Casey Cowl, the only issues I had was buying yarn. My favorite color has been out of stock for months, due to COVID.
Will this be free or paid?
The braided cable headband is available for purchase on Etsy and Ravelry for $5.25 USD. I haven’t released the Casey Cowl pattern yet – hopefully that will happen in the next few months! I need to get moved and settled in first, before I can dedicate some time and attention to pattern writing, photos, test knitters, etc. This design, when released, will also be available for purchase on Etsy and Ravelry for $5.25 USD.
Go and give Laurel Taylor some LOVE! Like, share, or check out her amazing patterns. I LOVE the braided cable headband! It’s soooo pretty. And some day, I’ll be brave enough to knit one!
Remember, supporting Laurel Taylor is supporting a local maker’s dream.
Here are the links:
Instagram: @alabasterpurl
Etsy: CLICK HERE
Comment below if you have any questions for Laurel Taylor or Alabaster Purl.
And THANK YOU so much for reading and joining along on our Maker Spotlight. You can see a new maker right here EVERY Monday. I have some AMAZING makers lined up and I cannot wait to share them with you.
xoxo, Lindsey
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