Hello everyone! This week the hand-crafted promoter brings you a double-feature; a mother/daughter, each with unique crafts, unique shops, but both making beautiful handmade crafts to offer to you.
We'll start with Mother, Susan of
MOMeveryday on Zibbet, a wonderful seamstress and quilter, bringing us baby blankets, burp cloths, aprons and much much more!
Name: Susan Snyder - MOMeveryday
Craft: Sewing
Favorite material (or medium, whatever you want to call it!): Flannel and cotton fabric
Most Popular Seller (whether it be online or at shows): Reversible tote bags and quilted burp cloths
Bright and adorable for any little one, for any decor!
What got you into your craft?
I started MOMeveryday after years of sewing as a hobby. I realized that I loved to make things and I was creating more items than I was needing for gifts at any given time, so I decided to try selling them both online and at shows.
How did you learn your craft?
I have been sewing since I was a kid. My mom and my grandmas all liked to create handmade items and I grew up trying lots of different styles – crochet, embroidery, cross-stitch, tatting, sewing clothing, knitting… I was also in 4-H, so I had projects that needed to be completed by specific deadlines and I received valuable feedback from the judges.
Reversable to a bright and beautiful blue!
What about YOU? Who is the artist behind those wonderful items?
I am a stay-at-home mom of 4 busy kids. I absolutely love being able to be available for my kids and husband because I don’ t have the typical 9 to 5 job. Working from home gives me the flexibility to volunteer in my children’s classrooms, go on their field trips, help out friends by being available to watch their children when needed, and to be home at the end of the school day. When my kids were small, I didn’t always have time for a lot of crafting and creating, but any project I did get to work on felt like a vacation from the day-to-day activities. It was the one thing in my day that I did that actually stayed done, since changing diapers, cooking, and cleaning all just needed to be redone in an hour or a day.
Bold and water resistant for the most studious scholar, homework, or just a day at the beach!
What is a typical "working" day for you? How does it usually start and end? How many hours do you spend crafting? How many hours do you spend on other things? What about distractions? I know we all have them! Do you usually accomplish all you wanted to?
My typical working day is never the same! I get the kids off to school and then I try to come home and get to work. I usually try to sit down at the computer and check in on my online shops and catch up on email etc. before moving on to more tangible aspects of my sewing. At any given time, I usually have several sewing projects in the works and they are all at different stages of completion. With 4 kids, a husband, and 3 additional kids that I watch at different times throughout the week, there are lots of interruptions and distractions! I try to be flexible and just work on my sewing whenever I can. Since, I always have more projects actually in progress or ideas for them in my head, I never feel like I have enough time to get everything done that I want.
What happens when you Oops? Everyone has them. Do you get frustrated and destroy/start over, or do you go with the flow and see what comes out in the end?
My reaction to an “oops” varies. If it is a problem where I miscut the fabric, then that piece of material gets reassigned to a different project where it can be made to work. If I sew something wrong, it can typically be taken out and redone, so it just makes more work, but it is fine in the end. One oops that was very frustrating was a completed quilt sewn with prewashed fabric that I washed to begin the ragging process. The darker fabric in the quilt bled onto the lighter fabric and “ruined” the quilt. After being really mad that all that work was wasted, I decided I would just have to drastically mark down the price and be clear to any potential customer what the issue was. It turned out that someone still loved it and they got a great bargain!
Short, sweet and simple for any busy cook, for chores, for anything requiring things close at hand!
What is your design process like? How many tries does it take to be happy with the final product?
A lot of my products have come about by trial and error and evolution. Sometimes the idea comes from a pattern that I just work with until I get it to my liking and other times it is an idea in my head that I have to create a time or two to work out the kinks.
What is your greatest roadblock, be it government regulation or that little frustrating thing that just likes to sneak up and stop you in your tracks? Broken needle? Jump ring jumping out of your pliers? Yarn knots? Cats? Dogs? The family hedgehog rolled about in your yarn basket?
I think my greatest roadblock is space. I don’t have a room dedicated to my sewing so I do my sewing in the living room. That means that I can spread out when I am the only one home, but once the family is back home, I either have to pick everything up or everyone has to work around me. Plus, I usually have the unfinished projects stacked to one side of the room, so even when I’m not working, I see them.
Warm, snuggly, portable, and the tiny handprints are too adorable to deny!
All important pricing... Do you have a formula? Do you wing it? Do you feel your work justifies your prices?
Pricing is very difficult for me. I am never sure what to charge for my time. A rough formula that I seem to have for my prices is to multiply the materials by three. I absolutely feel that my time and the quality of the product justify the price.
And of course, is there anything else you'd like to say to our "viewers at home"?
Handmade products are a great way to show someone you care. They are unique and lovingly fashioned.
You can visit Susan at her shop at
MOMeveryday on Zibbet!
We move on to Susan's daughter, Mackenzie, who also has her own shop,
KIDeveryday on Zibbet, bringing us wonderful loom-knitted baby booties, hats and scarves, so let's get to know her, shall we?
Name: Mackenzie (Kenzie)
Craft: Loom knitting
Favorite material (or medium, whatever you want to call it!): Yarn!! I especially like the “fun” yarns like fun fur or the really fluffy and soft yarns
Most Popular Seller (whether it be online or at shows): I haven’t had a ton of luck selling anywhere, but I have had one sale online and I’ve sold some things at craft shows. I like going to craft shows (assuming we are actually selling).
Colorful, fun, furry and warm!
What got you into your craft?
My mom has been sewing ever since she was a little girl and as soon as I could I started too. But I always wanted to learn how to knit. Then one year for Christmas I got my four round looms and I’ve been knitting ever since.
How did you learn your craft?
I basically taught myself and with help from my mom (who learned right along with me). I started with basic hats and scarves and have changed patterns that I’ve found to make other things – like the baby booties.
Bright, fuzzy and the perfect size for all!
What about YOU? Who is the artist behind those wonderful items?
I’m fourteen years old, in 9th grade. I also love reading and hanging out with my friends. I love anything crafty and going to yarn or craft stores is very dangerous. There’s just so many exciting yarns!
What is a typical "working" day for you? How does it usually start and end? How many hours do you spend crafting? How many hours do you spend on other things? What about distractions? I know we all have them! Do you usually accomplish all you wanted to?
I don’t usually get to have a full day of just working on my knitting because of school. However once I get home from school and I’ve finished my homework I go straight to my knitting. (Unfortunately these days, I get a lot of homework so I don’t have much time to knit.) Distractions… hmmm… well I usually have the T.V. or music on while I’m knitting but that doesn’t necessarily distract me because the knitting occupies my hands and I can still listen to the song or show that I’m watching. Sometimes it takes me awhile to get motivated to knit (because I feel like if I’m not selling my stuff then why bother making it) but I don’t really have any major distractions. And as far as accomplishing what I want to – well no because since starting high school, I just haven’t had enough time to knit like I used to.
So snuggly looking I wish I could wear them!
What happens when you Oops? Everyone gets one sometime or another! Do you get frustrated and destroy/start over, or do you go with the flow and see what comes out in the end?
It frustrates me when I make a mistake when knitting because that usually means I skipped a peg so there will be hole in whatever I’m making so even though I really don’t like it, I take it out and start over.
Simple, warm and comfy to be sure!
What is your design process like? How many tries does it take to be happy with the final product?
If I’m trying a new pattern then I’ll try it once or twice with some “practice” yarn and then if I like the way that turns out I’ll go on to using the fun yarns and making some to hopefully sell or use as a gift for family or friends.
What is your greatest roadblock, be it government regulation or that little frustrating thing that just likes to sneak up and stop you in your tracks? Broken needle? Jump ring jumping out of your pliers? Thread knots? Cats? Dogs? The family hedgehog rolled about in your yarn basket?
My biggest roadblock and greatest source of frustration is knots in my yarn. I can’t stand it. My fingers usually just tie bigger knots when I try to untie the knot so I’ll go sweet-talk my mom into untying them for me. And recently my little brother has decided he likes rolling the skeins of yarn into balls of yarn so they don’t tangle as easily. It’s very helpful.
Perfect for those chilly days where the cold tries to sneak in!
All important pricing... Do you have a formula? Do you wing it? Do you feel your work justifies your prices?
A formula for pricing… what, never heard of such a thing. ? No basically I just wing it. My parents help me a lot in this section so I don’t under price my work.
And of course, is there anything else you'd like to say to our "viewers at home"?
Thank you for including me as a feature on your blog. I really appreciate it!
You can visit Mackenzie at her shop,
KIDeveryday on Zibbet!
I would like to thank Susan and Mackenzie both for their stories, and a look inside their crafts. It's not every day one gets to see a mother and daughter who both love the work they do enough to offer it to the public! Mackenzie, out of all the responses I have received thus far, is truly an inspiration to anyone who wants to start working and selling their hard work, especially since she's starting early; only fourteen! I'll bet at least a portion of what she makes is getting tucked away for later!
It's a reminder to all people who make hand-crafts, at any age, that just because it's handmade doesn't mean it's just a kid's game or something old grannies do after they have not much else to do but look after a pet. Lots of buyers may hunt our shops down, but too many ignore the little shops we have, and head right to a big store.
Just because we're crafters doesn't mean we're rolling in money, everyone. We have dreams to save for, we have bills to pay, and we're all human, working with our hands, doing what we love to make ends meet, or manage to afford that little extra something special that isn't a day-to-day necessity. Don't ignore us, support us!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, all my US readers, and thank you for reading my little corner of the web, thank you for reading about the extraordinary people I have had the opportunity to ask questions of, and thank you to those of you who have made it a point to purchase at least one hand-made gift or decor or whatever this holiday season.
A HUGE thank you all of you who have been responding to my call out on Zibbet and MadeItMyself. There's still lots of opportunity! I will keep featuring until I have no one left.
I went to a wire wrapping class with a girlfriend, just to keep her company – right! I also come from an artistic family, so after relocating from UK to US, it was a natural progression.
How did you learn your craft?
I only had one formal class – wire wrapping – the rest is gut feeling, going with the flow, karma, whatever you want to call it. I am not afraid to mix colors and shapes and try different things
I am an almost 45 year old married woman, just celebrated our Silver Wedding Anniversary in October. I am ever so slightly mad, in a good way, and have lots of ideas popping up all the time, I find myself gazing at other people’s style choices and wondering what I could design to compliment the look! I am an ex-accountant from the London advertising scene and have found these basic skills have stood me in good stead running my business for the last 7 ½ years. I have a small family in England and Sweden and try to get back to Europe at least once a year, usually to escape the harsh MN winter!
I don’t like to think of it as work, because I love my art so much, but basically I catch up on emails that have come in whilst I’ve been sleeping, then set about my day. If I am feeling artistic and there is a fair approaching I work on designing items and getting those photographed, priced and in my books. Then, or if not feeling too artistic, I do stock control and re-order staples that I need from my suppliers, then I might go out and hunt around in estate sales and/or antique stores for re-usable vintage pieces. I am constantly monitoring women’s fashions in local stores/boutiques and also checking on color and style trends for 6-9 months ahead. I also spend a lot of time marketing, book-keeping and looking for art fairs to apply to attend. It is constant and I’ve never enough hours in the day.
Start with e-mails and finish with the sun going down and a large gin & tonic!
Varies, according to mood, but on average 3-4 hours a day
Of course, there are tons, mainly “real life” – working form home it is difficult to discipline yourself. There is always something “homey” to be done...sigh!
I have a large personal collection of jewelry. Of course, I can re-model pieces pretty easily, so there is not so much waste, and with the price of precious metals that is a good thing!
“Real life”… it gets in the way sometimes and whole weeks can disappear into the void – luckily that is more in my off-season (Jan-March)… Also have two cats, one of whom loves to join in the creative process…
An emotional subject, and one I, like most artists, struggle with constantly… I price as much as the market will stand, and as I attend many art fairs locally, have a good idea where that is for most items. The trick is to get your supplies at the “right” price. Some people will not pay my prices, but I was not aiming my products at them anyway, know your sales demographic and stick to it. I do not believe in spreading myself too thin, if I do a sale, then it is a genuine sale, not just cheaper made products. And, yes, my work justifies my prices 100%
Jewelry, good and well designed jewelry, is an art form in it’s own right. It’s a beautiful thing that deserves love and attention in it’s creation. All of my pieces are originals, made only once, even the earrings. The necklaces and earrings are “born” and are all named, with whatever they remind me of. Some are harder to let go then others, but I hope they bring pleasure to the wearer for that was my true intent!
