Starting a handmade business

It was like 1989 all over again. Gameboy. Tetris.

The pieces started to fit, coming together more and more quickly as I moved forward.

I’m referring to the days not too long ago when my vision for sharing my love of creating handmade, practical goods really came together and I decided to go for it.

And by go for it, I mean I had been producing fun, handmade drawstring bags, pouches, travel shoe bags as gifts for loved ones and thought, “Hey! I’d really like to get these in the hands of others that will love them as much as my friends and family do!”

Back story.

I have always loved handmade. In elementary school, I hand-sewed clothes for my Barbies, using scraps of my mom’s lovely fabrics, and she would generously supply me with needle, thread and enough instruction to get me on my way. I would take feminine product cardboard boxes, carefully peel them apart at the glued areas, turn them inside-out, secure them closed again with tape and cut “windows” and garage doors, making buildings for my Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. I made little flip books. I was obsessed with making anything miniature. Obsessed with miniature to the point that I had a recurring dream about a little mouse family, complete with little Victorian-era clothes (think long, pouffed dresses and hats) that lived in a mouse hole that we didn’t have. I would “peek” in on them from time to time (looking back - how rude!) and they’d be doing their little mouse-family daily things, all mous-ily and stuff.

Fast forward.

I have always been fascinated with the action of sewing machines. A mechanical object that one can control with a pedal foot and by moving fabric a certain way underneath a threaded needle that interacts with another batch of thread to hold something together. Why is that amazing to me?! Because it’s just amazing. That’s why. My mother and now ex-husband knew how I wanted to teach myself to machine-sew so badly and they conspired to present me with my very first sewing machine - a Viking Husqvarna Sew Easy 210 Electric. It is a beaut - still have it. Not using it, but still have it. I practiced, pulling it out after my first born joined us on this journey. I remember sewing a Halloween costume for him when he was four months old (he’s 21 now). He was a red, mini M&M. Oh it makes me giggle when I think of how cute he was in that costume. Then the next year I incorrectly measured his waist and inseam, tried making some “silver” pants for him that resulted in waaaaaaaay too tight pants - I couldn’t get them on his chubby little baby legs. It was quite comical but “Moon Baby” wasn’t gonna work. Sigh. You win some, you lose some. I later practiced by sewing a few covers for his throw pillows on his bed when he moved into a bed and out of his crib. Nothing super complicated but I was getting more and more sewing experience under my proverbial belt all the same.

Also dabbled in hand sewing felt renditions of some of my oldest’s drawings when he was elementary school-aged. The banana-looking guy that’s not a banana guy at the beginning of this post is one of his original 2D drawn creations-turned 3D. He labeled colors on each element of the drawing and I cut from felt to match his drawing and specs. Kid characters come to “life”. He and I both really enjoyed that process.

Fast forward yet again. Second marriage. Second boy. Don’t judge. Shit happens. Everyone is happier now.

I hand-sewed many pieces of felt food for my youngest when he was a wee one. So much fun to design and make and then PLAY with! I also loved hand sewing little felt animals. We ended up with quite the little crazy zoo. This also helped me learn a few different hand-embroidery stitches. So fun to experiment with textures and embellishments on the animals. As he got older and could eat cheddar fish-shaped crackers, graham crackers and carrot sticks, I wanted pouches of various sizes to take snacks with us during our out-of-the-house excursions. I needed reusable, machine washable and attractive bags with no sewn-on closures that could potentially tear the fabric over time. I had a very simple design that I was using, inspired by the envelope-style pillow covers I had made years before. This started my venture into figuring out what I can sew that’s useful, fun and something that can be replicated without much fuss. This was about the time I adopted my brother CS6000i sewing machine. Big and fancy - no. Extremely practical for my uses, it worked right out of the box, and was priced right? YES.

Things happen for a reason, you know? More pieces coming together…

Years later, I worked at a non-profit with a very hands-on, artistically-talented young woman. It seemed as though in her spare time, every new craft or hobby she pursued, she blew it out of the water with her ability to adapt and learn. She had started her own business on the side with her mother that included clay-sculpted fantasy creatures, crocheted items, commissioned sewn items, loom weaving, and so many other things. We became fast friends, she shared with me some examples of her recent work and I soon was introduced to her equally talented mother. In a nutshell, an absolutely lovely family, and amazing talents in many areas of the fiber arts. I could go on and on about what they’ve done. Stay with me here…

This friend’s mom decided to move away from machine sewing and focus on carding, spinning and dyeing gorgeous yarns. I didn’t know it yet but she had decided to hand over to ME most of her vintage fabrics, notions, buttons, bias tapes, laces, edgings, you name it - even beading supplies. These fabrics she had collected from all over throughout years of travel and sewing! When I got all of these boxes and bags of beautiful fabrics and extras home, I just cried at the fact that someone had listened to me, decided to make a positive adjustment in her own life and in turn make a huge difference in mine. I’ll never forget what this family did and still does for me. And I love them for that.

I’ve had encouragement from family and neighbor-friends along the way, from people that I really, really value their input. These are the folks that give me energy to tackle new and exciting things and revisit old loves such as sewing. I want to pay this forward and help inspire someone else that may be on the fence about starting something new. If something in particular keeps showing up in your life or somethings that are related peek in and out, pay attention. There may be something to it. There was and is for me. :)

My request to you is to please stay tuned to the prancing chicken farm and friends blog. In the coming few weeks, we’ll be bringing information to you about a new brand and online store, the felted cat, a thoughtful, practical line of bags ranging from accessory envelope bags, sassy individual travel shoe bags, handy tea wallets, and some additions along the way, all made from vintage fabrics, thrift store re-purposed fabrics, and of course made with heart-felt care. I am so glad you are here, my dear reader, and I hope you come back often to learn and share!