We’ve been in our new town for five months. It’s been a great transition for us, but not without its challenges. This has all been an adjustment with a new state, city, home, schedule, and two littles ’round the clock.
Lately I’ve been revisiting my purpose here, you know, who and what I am outside of mom and wife. I’ve gone from running a nonprofit at a historic site to planning activities for a four year old and trying to keep the one year old from putting toys in the toilet. Really, it is so much more than that, though. I love this time with them.
My mind is again wandering to the yummy, soothing goodness…yarn. I’m reevaluating Grassroots Yarn, it’s branding, name, and even mission. I’m considering putting the yarn shop dream on hold and focusing my time on selling hand knit accessories locally and online. I even have a local gift shop interested in selling them on consignment. No need for a monthly vendor fee, just a percentage taken off the top. Simple, which is what I need now.
I started taking marketing webinar classes and recently completed a branding challenge, which was so good for me. It really helped me hone in on my message, but it also opened up more ides for me in regard to collaborating with other fiber artists and makers to help promote their products, help drive traffic my way ( and theirs), and help to foster an inspiration for learning fiber arts. It also brought me back to the idea of a small yarn shop here in Wetumpka, but I need to see if it would be supported here. Turns out I will be meeting with a local knitting/crochet group to discuss the idea. I have no idea where it will lead, but I’m following the doors that are opening to me.
Just this evening I posted my call to action, the culmination of seven days of work on the Brand Story Challenge developed by Jennifer Kem. I feel like I need to work on it more, but it’s not bad for seven days of pondering and typed out in 30 minutes.
Here it is:
When I realized I needed to make a significant change in my professional life, I stopped wringing my hands and jumped in to start a new business. I live to work in what I love, not work to live in a passionless existence. That was my story, and it sounds a little like your story, too. That’s why I’d like for you to follow my journey on my blog.
What I believe about my work above all else is that yarn and fiber art connect people, create a more comfortable world, and serves as a catalyst for beauty and self-care. I love helping other fiber artists become more visible by promoting their work through my knitted items. I showcase the indy-dyer, the hand spinner, and the notions maker in my blog and online store. So if you are interested in collaborating with me please email me and we can see what we can do for each other.
I’m Anna, a knitter and a dreamer. If I’m not putting my hands in yarn, I’m thinking about the next project, the next fiber craft I want to learn. I want to give people the gift of hand knit accessories so that they too can experience an appreciation for and love of all things yarn. If you need more cozy in your life, if you would like to learn more about what I can do for you, please stop by my website. #brandstorychallenge #day7 #mamaknitlove #grassrootsyarn
So here I threw this out into the world and I realized I haven’t written any content here or fully updated my Grassroots Yarn website. Work in progress and all that…
If you found yourself here and you are a fiber artist, leave a comment and tell me a little about yourself. What’s your passion? What’s your art? What’s your “why”? Let’s talk about how we can work together.
Mama Knit Love 