Starting a crochet business was one of the most terrifying decisions I had to make this year. Uncertainty and doubt clouded my judgement so many times but at the end of the day, what could I really stand to lose? Before starting my little crochet business I made up my mind to face challenges head-on and boy did challenges come!
The very first aggravating challenge occurred when the first printing service provider I worked with messed up my cloth tags. I made an entire rant post about this and at that point, I was very close to giving up. After the tears and flood of thoughts, I got back on my feet and decided to try out something different.
With the help of a friend, I was able to make the cloth tags I currently use for my clients. One would probably wonder why I began with the branding of my business from the jump. The answer is simple, “Product Presentation is Everything”. I say this because it's part of human nature to appreciate the allures of a product before even using the product. One wouldn't be particularly drawn to a poorly or haphazardly packed product but an alluringly packaged product always stands out. Today, I'd like to take you through my post-crafting and packing process.
After the creation of a crochet piece, there are certain things that need to be done to ensure the beauty, durability and acceptability of the crochet piece. First would be the removal of lints using a lint remover.
I got my lint remover just last month but before then I had been removing lints the old fashion way; by burning. Nothing is wrong with burning the lints away if one knows how to do it properly but the downside to this is that there are certain yarns that do not do well with fire. For instance, a high grade acrylic yarn doesn't do so well with fire and when burned, there would be signs.
The yarn (the main ingredient of many crochet projects) comes in various shapes, sizes and texture. Depending on the make and the quality of the yarn, one can either encounter lints or not. For context, lints are those loose fibers that come off clothes or yarn. Hence, lint removal is a crucial process I carry out.
The second post-crafting practise is steam blocking. Previously, I only steam-blocked crochet granny squares because they seemed like the only aspect of crocheting that needed steam but after making my very first crochet shirt for a client, I realized that every crochet project can be steam-blocked. An exception for me would be amigurumi.
Steam blocking loosens up stitches and makes the crochet more flowy without it losing its integrity. For someone whose tension and stitches are always very tight, steam-blocking is something I try to do often.
Again, I recently got my steamer but before then, I made use of a steam iron which never really got the job done properly.
The next pre-crafting practice is the attachment of the tags. This is one of my favourite things to do. The joy and pride that follows this process is second to none. On the front of the cloth tag is my business name in gold and black. Behind the cloth are provisions for necessary information like the name of the item, the size, the price and details of my social media handles.
I try to keep my packaging very simple. First, I place the package in a transparent packaging bag. This packaging bag gives the package a beautiful and shiny appearance which I like very much.
Next, I customarily place a “thank you for your patronage note” on top of the packaging bag using a sticky note. For the meantime, I still use sticky notes to get this message out but I’m currently working on my complimentary cards and hopefully, my next order wouldn’t be sent out with a sticky note but a complimentary card.
However, the sticky notes come in handy whenever a client wants me to write a thoughtful message for the receiver. The last package I sent out was a birthday gift and with it came a birthday message from the client to the receiver.
Finally, I put the package into a bag known as a plastic ‘boutique bag’ and this marks the end of my packaging. For a small and upcoming crochet business, I believe I started off on a good note irrespective of the setbacks.
I look forward to a time when people appreciate crochet items more. A time when I could send out many crochet orders to crochet lovers around the world but for now, we’re a small business that isn't folding-up anytime soon.
Images used belong to me and were taken with my mobile device.
