If there’s anything quarantine summer taught us, it’s that hobbies are important. Whether you became a plant mom or picked up a new craft—we all definitely felt inspired this summer. To senior, Abby Reyes, this extra free time was exactly what she needed to turn her long-time hobby into her very own macramé business.
Abby first began making macramé in the summer of 2018, never really thinking it would turn into a business. “I started looking for décor for my apartment and came upon some macramé wall hangings,” she said. “I was like ‘let’s do it’ and eventually I just kept making more wall hangings. I made them for friends and family but really fell in love with how relaxing it was.
Her talent at macramé didn’t go unnoticed. Soon enough friends and family began asking her where they could buy a piece of her own, but between school and involvement, Abby never really had the time. It wasn’t until quarantine when suddenly there was too much time!
Soon enough Abby put her marketing degree to work and made her dreams into a reality. “It was always something I said I’d do for years and then I finally sat down and got to it,” said Abby. She started looking into the best place to sell her products, eventually deciding on Etsy. This soon became the birthplace for Knotted by Abby, but singlehandedly making her own business didn’t come without some bumps in the road. Abby does everything herself from making the plant hangers, trying new designs, researching trends, branding, advertising and photographing her own hangers. Running her own store while being a full-time student with an internship may be overwhelming but somehow Abby makes the best of it by finding comfort through her designs.
“I realized how much work it really was. When you first think ‘I should sell this’ it all seems so simple but it really wasn’t. It’s not just taking pictures and posting them on the internet; there’s so much more to that. You had to brand yourself, learn how to optimize your searches on Etsy, make products. There’s so much marketing to it that I never realized. That was where I got stuck the most. As a marketing major, I know all this information, but when it came to applying it I had to figure out how to do it all myself,” Abby said.
Since the launch of her store, Abby has sold products to people from all over the world making her work pay off. “I had told my friends and family about the store but my first few sales were just random people from all over. That was the most rewarding moment because it wasn’t just people that wanted to support me but strangers that really loved my work.”
The future of Knotted by Abby doesn’t end there. She hopes to expand her designs and colors by creating more playful designs, and she is inspired to create more plant hangers due to her ever-growing plant collection!
“If there’s one thing I’d say to anyone that’s starting their own business it’s to make sure you’re passionate about it,” Abby said.
Want to see more HCFSU? Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest!