My Work and Me.....

I get asked a lot, in real life and on Instagram, about what I do for a living and so I thought I would write a blog post all about it!  

So for those that don’t know,  I run my own Crochet business called TabbyCraft Designs and have done since 2009.  I design and write my own crochet patterns, then sell the finished article. 

How did it all start, I hear you ask?....well back in 2009 I was deep into card making and the blogging world (My blog was called Tabby Craft Designs too, and I used to blog every single day)…I mainly hung out in the rubber stamp world, and I was privileged to be a part of the design teams for some of the world’s biggest stamp companies.  

Anyway, it was really fashionable to use crochet flowers on your cards, but I couldn’t crochet, so this was the perfect opportunity

I needed to learn!

Looking at this pictures it actually makes me really miss my card making days lol....these images I used here are all Magnolia stamps...and I coloured them in with Prisma Pencils. The card started out life as a blank, and then I added all the details that you see.  I used to be on the Magnolia design team, and it was the most amazing experience, and the pinnacle of my Card making career!

 I love flowers, real ones, paper ones, crochet ones....you name it!

I do have to say crochet didn’t come easy at first, I struggled terribly with getting the tension right….I found it really hard trying to copy what the books and videos clips with doing…but then I figured out that it was all to do with my little finger….yep that little bugger was what the problem was…totally unaware, but I used to leave it sticking out like I was drinking tea out of a china cup, and what I should have been doing was folding it in against the palm of my hand lol….so once that little issue was rectified…..my crocheting journey began!

For anyone wanting to have a go, try Youtube...there are some fabulous videos on there...they really helped me, much better than books.  Just watch though, as there are American and English crochet terms..I actully prefer to use American terms, as a lot of patterns you buy use them....but thats personal choice.

I started out with the flowers and before long I moved onto to baby hats, shoes, blankets and granny squares and I would sell them on Etsy…..and that’s how I started to build up my customer base. 

My best selling shoes, to date, are the pink and white Mary Jane's; I think I can crochet those with my eyes closed.


 

 Then one day I stumbled into the world of Amigurumi, which is the Japanese art of Crocheting yarn creatures! Amigurumi is usually worked in rounds like a spiral, and you can either make your creatures in one complete piece or in several and then stitch them together.  So I started buying patterns off Etsy and began making these little creatures! However, I soon got really bored of the patterns that I bought, as I could never find what I really wanted, and so started having a little play at creating my own designs!  

  With lots of trial and error, and so much unpicking of stitches, the first pattern was born and it was for my beloved Mice….and here there are...these were the first two I ever made and I still have them; they sit in my office! 
 

The little mice are what really put Tabby Craft Designs on the map….I can remember making the above top two cuties with some oddments of pink and blue yarn I had left over from another project and I posted them on my Facebook page (which is still going today, you can find me under Tabby Craft Designs) a few of my blogging and Facebook page friends shared them, and it all went from there….

They've evolved a little over time as each time I made them I would tweak them here and there...but I'm finally happy with the design now lol

Then I started to get creative with them and along came the reindeer mice....I love making them look like they are dressing up...I like to do this with lots of my other designs too. I currently have this burning desire to make a hippo in a tutu...so watch this space lol..

...and we had to have some scarf mice....these have been so popular of the years!

Once the mice proved popular, I started creating new friends to join the TDC family....

The bunnies are another of my absolute favourites too, especially this one as I used my favourite Cath Kidston fabric for the flower and ears.

 I was so amazed that people really wanted a little piece of my work in their homes, and to be honest, I still am, absolutely blows my mind! The furthest places that my work has travelled is to Australia and Hawaii....I know crazy, right? Totally overwhelms me that my work is spread all over the world!

However, it did get to the point a few years back, that I really couldn’t keep up with demand at all! I used to have to offer a select amount of order slots each month on a lottery type base, and it would cause absolute up roar every month lol (no joke, it was the craziest thing I’ve ever been a part of) I would also hold Market Nights, and again I sold out in seconds (no exaggeration, anyone from back then will tell how mad it was on Market Nights….just crazy)……it carried on like this for a few years and I felt myself drowning a bit if I’m honest!  

 Then all the new Facebook changes came in, and pages could no longer be seen unless you paid silly money for adverts, which to be honest if you did, you still weren’t seen like you used to be…..it all changed a lot, and pages stopped growing so rapidly. If you shared a page no one saw it (in the beginning a page share used to lead to hundreds of followers coming over, but once the changes came in…no one saw them) At the time it was really scary, we all thought that, that was that and I remember thinking my business was over!  But in hindsight it was a blessing in disguise, I couldn’t have carried on the way I was, I couldn’t keep up with the orders that people wanted to place…my hands and wrists were killing me from crocheting like a lunatic and I would lose my mojo as I was crocheting the same thing day in and day out; I would just burn out on the regs!  

 
 For my business to evolve I needed some time to create new designs and I never got that, so looking back now I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason….you might not realise what the reason is at the time, but eventually it comes to light and it did work out for the better in the end for me.  I know it didn’t for a number of pages and so many closed down and disappeared for good, which was really awful.

I decided it would be a good idea to I’d find other outlets to sell from, so I decided to open my own web shop (www.tabbycraftdesigns.com) I did all the design and wording myself….and I have to say I’m really pleased with how it turned out….especially when I had little knowledge in the web design area at all! I use www.create.net and they have been amazing, their websites are really user friendly and great for people that don’t really know what they are doing lol and they aren’t expensive to run each month/year either  (not an AD just a happy customer)   

Anyway, around the same time too, I started my Instagram account too, back then my @theboythatmademe account was @tabbycraftdesigns and I would share my work plus an insight into my home life too….and for a long while it really worked well! Then when a fell pregnant with Louis, it all got a bit a confusing on there, so I thought it was a good time to move accounts around and start a business one, purely for my crochet work, and I’ve found it so much better! 

Not going to lie, growth of the new page has been slow with the new changes to Instagram, but the followers I have are all genuine followers and I do get a huge amount of business through there still, and my Facebook page where I have a much bigger following, enough to keep me busy anyway! I think sometimes it’s easy to get wrapped up with the number of followers we have or don’t have….I used to let it get to me, but now I think it’s not about  the number of followers you have, but more about the quality of the followers you have….and if they interact with you and more importantly buy what you are selling then that’s what is important.  I’m happy with my work load at the moment, I get to do what I love and still be a full time Mama to Louis…and to be honest I think that is THE most important part about what I’m doing…..it makes me happy!

One question that I do get asked a lot is, will I ever sell my patterns?...and at the moment the answer is no....I'm not ready to put them out there...I worry that people will rip them off and try to sell them on themselve (I've seen it happen a lot)....I've already had people try to recreate my work a few times, and try to sell a pattern from it...but I shut it down straight the way.  I don't tolerate copying at all, I work too hard to have someone come along and steal my patterns.  I have them all registered with ACID, Anti Copying In Design....so if I do encounter a design thief I have proof that I created them first...

Anyways, I’ve also started trying out new little ventures, the Mama bags, and they have been a huge success so far! I’ve been looking for a better supplier for the blank bags, as the other one I used kept selling out and I kept having to wait for more stock to come in….and let’s face it, that doesn’t help me when you have people wanting to order, so I decided to take a step back till I sorted out new bags etc….but those will be back soon, along with some other things too!  I create all the wording for them myself and I have really loved doing something a little different for a change….sometimes as they say, change is a as good as a rest!

 I can honestly say that I absolutely love what I do….it might not be everyone’s idea of work….believe me I’ve had some very odd responses from people about what I do…., but I don't care what others think, I'm very proud of what I have achieved so far, and can't wait to see where it takes me in the future!  I’m very passionate about what I do, and so I put my heart and soul into it and I hope that, that shows when people receive their orders!  I feel ridiculously lucky to be able to do something that I love and make a good honest living from it!  It’s taken a lot of hard work to get where I am today, and I hope that I can continue doing it for as long as people want to own a piece of my work!  I truly love being creative….it’s been in my blood since I was a little girl, and I hope I can pass my love for it onto my little Louis too, he might not want to crochet, but I know he will love being creative in other ways.....he already loves a colouring book!

oooh nearly forgot, here's my work room.... this is where all the magic happens....

If you've been thinking of start up your own business, and you are in a position to do so, then just go for it...it’s the best decision career wise that I have ever made….I love being my own boss….it means I get to carry on being a full time Mama to Louis, and that is so very very important to me! I was worried how I would manage it all after I had Louis, but I used my Maternity Leave to find my feet and I just came back slowly at first just taking on a little work here and then….now I’m running at full speed, and I make it work for us. I tend to work in the evenings, and when Louis naps in the afternoon, so I don’t like any unplanned visitors just calling, as it throws my day out lol (you've be warned lol)...and sometimes I work on a Saturday morning too, which gives Leigh time with Louis on their own to do father and son things….but once that’s done, then I don’t work for the rest of the weekend….and we have family time!  I think it’s important when you do work for yourself, to have time away from your work, and to not let it take over your whole life…it’s all about getting the right balance, and if you can get that right then you’re winning!  

What I will say is if you do go or it, don't forget to register with the Tax Office that you are now self employed...even if you are aren't earning much from it to begin with, still register....it's so easy to do and keeps everything above board.  I always thought that Tax returns were really daunting, but as long as you keep all your reciepts for anything you buy for work, and keep good records of all your sales then its so easy to do, and there is lots of help online if you get stuck.

 So to end, I just want to say a massive thank to anyone that is reading this that owns a piece of my work....you're helping to support my little business and it is very very much appreciated! 

Plus thanks to everyone for reading my rambling too, hope it gives you a little insight into my world of work! If you'd like to see more of what I do then please head on over to my  web Shop www.tabbycraftdesigns.com or to my Facebook Page Tabby Craft Designs or my instagram account again Tabby Craft Designs...all will show you a selection of my work.

Much Love

Tab x