Hello, my sweet friends. I hope you are enjoying this series as much as I am. It has been so fun getting to know all sorts of makers and what they love about their work. Are you a maker or have found some makers and think I should feature them, please comment below or email me. Also, we are about a week away from our 25 days of Christmas in July Craft challenge. Come join us for fun and prizes.
Today, I have the special privilege of introducing Sarah Young to you. She has two ETSY shops and creates beautiful artwork and crocheted items. Let's get to know her better.
I grew up in Malden, MA and have lived in Maine and New Hampshire. I currently reside in Manchester, NH.
I’ve been drawing since I was four years old. I’ve only been crocheting about 2 1/2 years. Oh wow, you are new to crocheting, you do such a beautiful job, I'm so glad you started.
I own and run two shops, The Lost Hook and SD draws Studio.
The Lost Hook just came about 1 year ago and I learned to crochet about 2 1/2 years ago. I am largely self-taught, watching YouTube videos and now reading patterns and diagrams. I happened upon crocheting after seeing some crochet creations online. My first item was an orange scarf that I still have. Since then I've branched out to try amigurumi, crochet jewelry, and crochet wear. I really enjoy creating items for kids fashion and smaller, functional items like scarves, cowls, gloves, coasters, and baby blankets.
SDdraws Studio is my first love, as I've been drawing since I was 4 years old. My mother knew I'd be a little artist when I decided to redecorate our living room walls with crayon. I even remember my mom getting me VHS instructional videos on drawing cartoon characters. My first being Dino, the dinosaur from the Flintstones. Since then I've focused on portraiture, pet portraiture and picked up painting as well. I mostly paint landscapes using acrylic based paints. I collect most of my inspiration from nature and try to spend as much time outdoors as possible.
I also dabble in photography!
When I'm not creating, I work full time as a registered nurse. I'm also a Reiki practitioner and beekeeper certified. Wow, you are so talented. You do such great work in all of the areas. Sounds like you keep really busy.
When I was in high school, I originally was on DeviantArt (I know, I’m ancient) and actually scored a few commissions that way. I branched out to create my own portfolio via DeviantArt and learned about Etsy a couple years later. I mostly did commission work for family and close friends before selling online.
I opened my Etsy shop originally back in 2012 and didn’t do much with it. Over this past year, I’ve re-vamped my Etsy shop, updated my listings and learned to apply SEO. I also split the original shop into two shops so that I had a separate shop for my crochet items. I also created a Facebook page. Overall, I would say I decided to start selling online once I saw that people were interested in my artwork. That's great. I am glad people were interested in your work and you started selling online.
This is a loaded question. I’m really not sure. I think the dream for most is to be successful enough to supplement 50-100% of their income through their small business. I try to keep it a day at a time and not set too many long term goals. I’d love to really see both of my businesses take off but the competition is very high and it’s very time-consuming. I try to focus on creating new things and thinking outside the box. I keep up with trends and also create from the heart. Both of my shops are therapeutic for me and that is the big goal. If people enjoy what I’m making, that’s a plus. But I do strive to go above and beyond and really admire others who are successful small business owners. I am so glad that it is therapeutic for you. That is what making jewelry is like for me. It is a good perspective to take it one day at a time.
That’s another hard one! Each piece I make is special to me and evokes a different feeling. To say I still own my very first painting and my very first crocheted item, I think speaks for itself. The sense of pride and accomplishment felt from your first piece can never be replicated and I look back at these items often. It’s humbling to keep them around and see how my technique has improved. I seem to always learn something new too from looking back at my first creations! That is great that you still have those first pieces and that you can keep learning from them.
I’d say know that it’s a huge responsibility, very time consuming, and you will lose money before you earn money. If you still desire to proceed knowing that, then you’ll most likely succeed. It’s a labor of love and very rewarding. My small business’ consume most of my time and take away from my family. You need to find a balance and delegate duties, even if it’s as simple as using apps that post automatically for you or someone to proofread, any bit helps. Really get a handle on social media, it’s a huge component to getting your stuff seen and out there. Try to figure out your key demographic. Be inspired by others and network with other artists within your field. Lastly, you can’t please everyone. Learn to take criticism and how to handle poor reviews. This is all great advice, thanks for sharing.
You can find Sarah online at the following locations:
www.thelosthook.etsy.com
www.sddrawsstudio.etsy.com
www.instagram.com/sdarts_and_crochet
www.facebook.com/sddraws
sdillustrations.daportfolio.com
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