Year One & Year Two Recap
Wow, another anniversary for the shop: LOVESHORE! It's been a rollercoaster of a year and with each shop anniversary, I like to reflect the past year of growth the shop has experienced. Read along the milestones and journey thus far including a message of gratitude. This is a documentation of the shop’s journey in a transparent perspective that I want to look back on.
Where Do I Begin?
I start off 2020 taking my usual beginning-of-the-year break because Q4 holiday season always kick my butt. I experience burnout during the holiday season and it’s not something that I personally recommend. I plan to change up my routine to lessen my workload soon actually.
During this time, I reflect on the previous year and what I've learn as a shop owner. I also ponder if the lessons help me personally grow as an individual. I outline a general idea of some yearly goals in a personal journal and check off any goals that I've made. Since I didn't have this blog during year one, I'd like to summarize it in a few paragraphs.
Year One (2019)
During the first year of running my crochet shop, I learned A LOT. It was a big learning curve to say the least. I did not know how much I was signing up for. I kept practicing so many different designs of crochet, which is evident on my Instagram feed. I also manage to film a short video during the summer as a campaign video for the shop and tried many styles to figure out what is the brand/image of my shop. A lot of drafts, trial and errors were definitely a creative learning curve.
During the fall, I donated beanies to the student organization, Cambodian Student Society, and did a vendor booth for their Khmer Students Coalition Conference that Khmer Student Organizations host every year. This was in connection to my time spent at this club and as a way of showing gratitude. I had a great time interacting with customers and friends at the event.
Year Two (2020)
After going on my relaxation break, I was designing a new collection for the year ahead starting with the spring/summer collection. I had a plethora of ideas I wrote down and started sketching some designs. Here are crochet drafts of designs that never made the cut including the first sweater I made. Three of the designs are tutorial patterns from TCD DIY (Youtube). I did not release these designs because I haven't figured out a concept that I want for it.
Donation to Knots of Love (Feb. ‘20)
On Valentine's Day, I donated to the wonderful non-profit organization Knots of Love that accepts knit and crochet beanies for cancer patients and veterans. I am now included in their family of donors. :) Visit their website knotsoflove.org to learn more about them. I used Red Heart "Soft" yarn on their list of yarns they accept for donations. The results were very soft and cozy.
The loveshore x festival & bralette collection (March-May ‘20)
One of the first collection I release was for festival season. In California, we have a lot of music festivals including the very famous Coachella. Coachella is a music festival event held every year in April for two weeks of music headliners/performers and the fashion is the highlight of it. Crochet plays a huge role in Coachella fashion. I prepared tirelessly for the spring collection to have a festival theme and a floral bralette theme.
However, the pandemic changed all of our lives in so many ways. I prepared festival clothing only for festivals to be canceled. Bummer. I originally created my crochet shop with festival clothing being the target niche market. As a small business owner, this left me to ponder about the demands for crochet clothing and if I can make a living out of it.
Quarantine gave me time to creatively figure out what I can design and how I can present it. I didn't realize I have a fashion designer instinct in me! Slowly but surely, I crochet my ideas to life. The response I got for it gave me hope that I'm paving a unique path for myself as an indie fashion designer with lots of potential.
A Very Intense Summer (June-August ‘20)
This year has been very intense on all of us. With the rise in the Black Lives Matter movement, amplifying Black voices and switching to supporting small businesses, the entire landscape of the economy changed in an instant. I saw the rise in demand for crochet as Tik Tok kids are getting into crochet as a new hobby during quarantine and everyone suddenly launch their own small business. Unemployment rates in the U.S. is at an all time high and people are finding ways to make a living. Personally, I experienced an influx of orders and a rapid growth rate that I couldn't handle.
In business terms, my shop would be considered a Blue Ocean Strategy. I'll discuss more about the business side of my shop in another post coming soon. I took a month pause for social activism and came back around July. That welcome back came with such a rapid growth rate that I couldn't handle the amount orders I was getting. I started to make around minimum wage and it was something I did not expect at all. Demand was higher than what I could supply. It was in that moment I realized that I can pursue this to be a full-time indie small business. I had to put my boss woman hat on and start figuring out how I can adapt to this rapid growth rate.
The crochet community experienced an exponential amount of growth, a renaissance I mentioned in my first blog post. A lot of crocheters that have been crocheting before the huge wave of new crocheters have some mixed feelings about the sudden hype. Personally, I welcome it. I don't think we should gate-keep hobbies and cause drama over minor things. However, problems are always going to arise in any community. From intellectual property theft to big corporations ripping off of small indie businesses, it's a whole new market that needs regulation.
The Birth of This Blog
I have a lot to say so why not just make a blog, right? This blog has given me the platform to journal my experience as a small business owner and indie designer. I'm learning a lot of new things as I go. I picked up some fashion books to self-study and I also brush up on business news/studies to keep up with the market. I'm also learning to improve and create content for my audience. I have to learn to do it all or at least have knowledge in every section that is required to run this business. Being my own boss is all that I've dreamed of as a little girl and to get to live out my fashion fantasies is very fun. I am going to enjoy it as much as I can.
Preparing for the Interview (Nov.-Dec. ‘20)
Preparing for the Q3/Q4 holiday season is like the SuperBowl of business season. Everyone is bringing their best A-game and there are so many sales/giveaways. It was like one after another. I managed to do one giveaway at the start of the fall season as a gratitude gesture for my first 1k followers. It was super fun! However, I got news that Instagram is limiting giveaways so unfortunately I was not able to prepare another giveaway for the holidays. Other than that, I had to prepare my new designs to release and I did not come to play. ;) My biggest growth rate came around this season and I have been trying to keep up with the demand.
Out of the blue, I received an email from VoyageLA magazine saying that my childhood friend recommended my shop to them to do an interview for their LA's most inspiring stories/local gems series. I felt ecstatic! Just when this year couldn't blow my mind anymore, I got an interview to talk about my shop. So I hit up my childhood friend and we did a quick photoshoot session for the magazine in my new crochet faux fur cardigan. I prepared this faux fur coat as my secret weapon for a very special moment and I’m glad it got to be this. I'll be honest, the orders were burning me out so fast during this period of time but doing this photoshoot brought back energy that I needed. It was worth it.
Photos by: Victoria Sanchez
Yarn: Lion Brand's 'Go Faux Fur'
Here are some new records the shop has accomplished. The shop has shipped to over 28 states and 7 countries!
Some Final Thoughts
So where to next? That's something I have to reflect on when I take my break. As this year is coming to a close, I would like to say thank you. I've tackled on so many changes and adapted in such a rapid pace this year. As exhausted as I was at times, I can look back and feel proud of all the work that I've done. Thank you for believing in my work. Each encouraging kind comments or messages I receive from strangers all over the world really brightens up my day. People don’t even know me but tell me I deserve my success really gets me tear eyed. I’ve come such a long way.
However, this isn't some message that you need to spend your 2020 being productive and wear your burnout as a badge of honor. This year has been dumpster fire for all of us. It’s okay to not be productive or have a breakdown. Trust, I’ve had a few already. There's a lot of injustices and inequality going on in the world that needs to change. Until then, hang in there. As a collective we'll all get through this together with resilience.
With that being said, there will be some new changes that I am going to have to take into consideration to improve my time management and production level next year. These are some small business solutions I must think about. YEAR THREE is going to be full of surprises and new concepts! I'll be documenting the journey as I always have. Thanks for joining me on this ride. I’ll try to make it a fun one. ;)
Years ago I hit rock bottom and felt like my life was going nowhere. But this gave me purpose. Thank God crochet came into my life. Thank you for your love and support. Thank you for being as passionate as I am about this. Until next time! Hope you're all staying safe and happy holidays!
