Let's give a warm welcome to Erin owner of CraftsEverywhere!
All About Erin
Where are you located?
Iowa
Do you have a job outside of CraftsEverywhere?
I’m a stay at home mom to 4 girls, aged 9, 7, 5 and 2
What’s your dream vacation spot?
Anywhere warm with an ocean and no people
What’s your favorite color(s)?
red
What’s your favorite food/meal?
Brownies are my favorite food, Vietnamese Banh Mi is my favorite meal
What’s your least favorite food/meal?
Lima beans are disgusting
Do you have a favorite movie or TV show?
Once Upon a Time is my favorite tv show, Pride and Prejudice (Keira Knightly) is my favorite movie.
What’s a quote that you live by?
Um…honestly probably some combination of be kind and don’t be an asshole. Lol, those are the two that immediately sprung to mind.
I got one for you Erin! “It’s a beautiful day not to be an asshole”
Do you have other hobbies?
Reading, walking, I like to spin/dye yarn when I have time.
What’s 1 (or more) weird/strange fact(s) about you?
I’m intolerant to a lot of foods, all onset in the last 5 years. Gluten, dairy, corn,
soy, fructose, and allergic to oatmeal which is a super uncommon allergy.
If you had a theme song, WHAT would it be?
…no idea. My favorite song is I See Fire by Ed Sheeran though.
What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve done in your life? Randomly decided to take our kids to the Wisconsin Dells for spring break this year…we barely squeaked it in before everybody got kicked out of the hotel for Covid.
Do you have a favorite holiday?
Christmas but I hate winter
Do you have a favorite season?
Fall
What inspires or motivates you?
My surroundings inspire me and my goals and my kids motivate me
If you could do one thing for the world (people or environment), what would it be?
Make sure every child has clothes and food.
Anything else?
I’m married to Pat, my favorite yarn is Diana Rasta followed very closely by Fisherman Wool Ease Thick and Quick. Favorite
books are anything dragons or vampires. YAF is my jam and Eragon by Christopher Paolini is my most enduring favorite book.
All About CraftsEverywhere
How long have you been crocheting and knitting?
Crocheting 8 years, knitting 2 years
When did you start CraftsEverywhere?
I started on Etsy in 2014
Why did you start? I taught myself how to crochet from YouTube while I was pregnant with my second daughter and my husband encouraged me to start an Etsy shop after I have been selling things to friends and family for awhile.
What’s your favorite thing you’ve made?
My Quinn Cable line probably though it’s difficult to pick one. Those big, squishy cables are my favorite.
What’s a piece of advice for someone just starting out in your field?
Don’t let fear stand in you way. I know so many people, myself included, that held off starting a business because they weren’t sure how to do x (set shipping prices, set up a shop, if their items would sell, if they were good enough), etc. I’ve found that many of those things are simple a learn as you go type of thing and it’s
better to just fling yourself off the ledge!
Does your company have a mascot?
Yarn, lol
What was your most memorable success?
Reaching 2K, 3K and 4K (also probably 5K by the end of the year) sales in my Etsy shop
this year. This has easily by more than double been my most successful year as a small business!
What was your most memorable challenge?
I am an older Etsy seller so navigating the downswing and all the changes a few years ago
was the most challenging thing.
How did or are you overcoming this challenge?
It required a complete business shift and I got almost completely away from crochet
and taught myself to knit and make poms. I also really shifted into pattern design.
What’s next for CraftsEverywhere?
I would ideally like to shift to exclusively designing patterns at some point. That is my end
goal. I have a shoulder injury that flares up this time of year when things are so crazy so it is always a difficult balance of taking orders and not straining my shoulder too much.
The Future for CraftsEverywhere
What’s your latest project?
I just released the Classic Little Hearts Cowl to go with my super popular Classic Little Hearts Beanie, I’ll also be releasing a new beanie pattern before too long called the Interlaced Beanie but I don’t have that one finished yet
Where did the inspiration come from for this project?
The Classic Little Hearts Cowl is so that you can make matching sets with one of my most popular patterns and finished hats. I always wanted to be able to make those little hearts so that was one of the first things I taught myself to do when I learned to knit.
The new beanie is one I was wanting to do a new cable beanie pattern because I love cables and it’s been a while.
Have there been any challenges with this project?
Not with the cowl, that one was pretty straight forward.
The new pattern was too tight the first go round so I did some changes on it and I think I’ve got it now. Of course I used rainbow sprinkle yarn to make it so I can’t actually tell what it looks like! I need to make it in a solid color now to see if I’m on the right track.
Will this be free or paid?
They are both paid.
Where can we find this project when it’s finished?
On my Etsy shop and also on Ravelry
When will it be finished?
The cowl was released a few weeks ago. The hat pattern will be upcoming in probably 4-6 weeks. This is a crazy
time to try to work on and release a pattern!
Go and give Erin some LOVE! Like, share, or check out her amazing Quinn Cable Beanie Pattern. It *may* be on my needles right now.
Remember, supporting Erin is supporting a small business and a local maker’s dream.
Here are the links:
Instagram: @therearecraftseverywhere
Facebook: Click Here
Etsy Shop: Click Here
Comment below if you have any questions for Erin or CraftsEverywhere.
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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