In celebration of Small Business Saturday, here’s a tiny memory I would like to share.
It was middle school and I was fully into figuring out how to sew. Even though my grandma was a seamstress for a good chunk of her life, I went on a mission to experiment and teach myself to sew. You can say years of chilling in her basement surrounded by tons of sewing supplies and fabric (her hoarding genes were clearly passed to me), and sitting on her lap stepping down on the foot pedal of her old fashion sewing machine sparked something – it was that very environment I was so used to that encouraged me to do my own thing when I hit my teenage years.
With that said, my grandparents owned a shoe repair store before they retired. They had loads of shoelaces leftover when they sold the store, so they gave them to me. I started sewing them into wristbands, sewing velcro on the ends (which they also gave me). I made a bunch for myself because there were so many different colors in this huge batch of shoelaces.
I wore them around school every so often (just as an accessory, not advertisement) but some classmates complimented me on them and sparked interest when I explained I made them myself. Before I knew it, I had 10+ orders, and if I recall correctly, I was selling them for about $2.50 – $5.00. I had a little book specifically for writing down orders and I did pretty well for a while. It even got to the point where people asked me to embroider words onto the wristbands. It was the hot thing in the school.
Just like any “fad”, the interest died down, not that it disappointed me. I became a slave to these shoelaces, hah. I stopped making them, and whatever is in the picture above ↑ is all I have left from this tiny business I ran when I was 13.
Sometimes when that memory pops up in my head, it’s kinda like “oh right, that was a thing that happened”. I like creating things for people, which I think may or may not be pretty apparent here. These rag weave tote bags kind of remind me of that short fad I started, but I’m hoping these will be more than just a fad. I enjoy making them – the whole process, from start to finish. Well, towards the end I find myself cursing under my breath because it gets to the point where it’s like “c’mon already, why is this one tote bag not done yet”, but the end result makes the excessive work worth it. I think many artists who truly enjoy what they do understand that feeling.
So, support your local businesses! They’re fantastic. One of a kind is always the best kind.
PS, I still have lots of shoelaces left. If only that business lasted for more than two months, I wouldn’t have such a large amount still in my possession.
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