From Passion to Product: The Story of Karrie’s Krafts
Custom Designs, Personal Touch: How One Entrepreneur Turned Passion into a Business
I recently reached out to my cousin to inquire about interviewing her regarding her new business, as I have become an admirer of her designs and creativity. Karrie has successfully transformed her passion into a full-time enterprise, combining a DIY aesthetic with a genuine retail experience. Together with her husband, Mark, she has transitioned from a career in trucking to pursuing their talents full-time. Below are some of the questions I posed to her about this exciting new venture. I hope her journey inspires you to take a leap of faith, turning your own motivations into a rewarding and profitable endeavor.
1. Inspiration & Beginnings: What inspired you to start Karrie’s Krafts, and how did you get started in the business of creating custom-designed items?
We were living and driving over the road for a living and I got tired of not being productive. I decided to start crocheting again (my granny taught me when I was a kid, but after she died, I quit doing it) and started with making our grandbabies' blankets. It took off from there and now I do a little bit of everything.
2. Product Range: Your shop offers a wide range of products, from blankets to jewelry. How do you decide what new items to create and offer?
I have random moments of inspiration for most items, but I look through Pinterest, Etsy, TikTok, Facebook, etc. to find what's trending right now. I also seem to have a natural eye for color coordinating and design. I use my grandbabies and nature as a lot of my inspiration and our love for our country also. We try to include everyone and everything into our designs. Local events are another biggie for what to make. Currently, we're gearing up for the huge rock crawling event happening in Farmington this week. We also have the holidays coming up that we try to have products for as well.
3. Design Process: Could you walk us through the typical design process for one of your products? How do you bring an idea to life?
First, we have to decide what item we're going to work on, i.e. laser engraving wood or tumblers, sublimating tumblers, earrings, license plates, etc. Then I use several different software programs to design with. If I'm doing sublimation, I work in Canva and if I'm using the laser I use Lightburn. Once my design is "ready", we typically do a trial run if it's a design that has a lot of small details. And we have been through soooooo many tumblers learning everything lol! The lightburn files we have to use for the laser are SVG files and they can be very tedious at times. After we have "approved" our design, we send it to the laser and engrave it onto the item. When we work with the tumblers, we have to use special cleaners to clean the dust off and shine the metal and then have to wash the cleaner off. When we work with wood, we typically cover it with masking tape, then engrave it, blow the excess dust off, then do a process called weeding to get all the tape off. If we're going to paint it, we paint before removing the tape. My husband does all of the woodworking inhouse, including building all of our frames by hand and staining them. Our new wavy flags have been cut, glued together, sanded and "waves" cut into the wood with a special tool, then he tapes everything off and stains them and finally we both engrave by hand the stars. He also torches the wood to give it an amazing look! I then try to get good photos and videos of the finished product and post to social media.
4. Challenges & Rewards: What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a female entrepreneur in this industry, and what are the most rewarding aspects of running Karrie’s Krafts?
I don't have the most motivational personality out there, but I love that I can work at my leisure! The woodworking is very therapeutic for my husband, and I love being his biggest cheerleader! Our granddaughters, Lydia 8, Charlee 4 and Addi 1 all love helping him and he's awesome at teaching them and is so patient with them all while letting them help and actually getting it done! The best part is that I get to see my babies every day and they get to help create items that they can be proud of. They're learning some work ethics and how good it feels to sell something that they made. That's definitely the most rewarding part, the happiness and excitement on people's faces when they receive their items or come across an item that they really love at a craft show. Knowing that someone has something that I made in their home is indescribable to me. I just love giving others what they want! It's definitely challenging for me to NOT purchase too much stuff! I think Mark would like to throttle me sometimes lol! When I see something, I think would be cool, I just go diving in and that's not always a good thing. My other challenge is social anxiety and doing the craft shows make me a nervous wreck for about the first 4-6 hours. Once I realize I'm fine and have nothing to fear (what if nobody likes my stuff, what if they think it's too expensive, what if I see someone that doesn't like me) I do just fine and actually have a great time with it.
5. Target Audience: Who are your main customers, and how do you connect with them? Do you find that certain products resonate more with specific groups?
Our biggest customer base is definitely the blue-collar community. We have done a lot of business with towing companies, rock crawling groups, car show organizers, car lots, oilfield service companies and small businesses. We've found that local businesses and organizations tend to stick by other small businesses and it's like a little support community. We all seem to give to local businesses before big corporations. Our hats have been our biggest hit for sure. We have sold a lot of Richardson hats with custom designed laser engraved leather patches affixed.
Questions About the Business Identity:
6. Mom n Pop Feel: Is this how you’d describe your shop as having a "mom n pop" feel? Or is there a better way to describe it? How do you balance that with the demands of running a modern business? What does that dynamic mean to you?
I would say for right now that's what we are. We'd like to see it grow into a small store front and larger online store. I love that we can have the kids here and still accomplish what needs to be done. I don't want to ever get away from being with the kids.
7. **Female-Run Business**: What does it mean to you to be a female-run business, and how does that influence the way you operate and interact with your community?
Honestly, I don't really think of it like that because we pretty much do everything together. I'm so goofy when it comes to interacting with people that I prefer to just do my designing and staying behind the scenes as much as possible.
Questions About Customization & Trends:
8. Customization: Customization seems to be a big part of your offerings. What’s the most unique or memorable custom order you’ve created?
Engraving the End of Watch memorial piece for the fallen officer was probably the most memorable piece. I've had to do some serious design and customization on this week's 4x4 event. Their logos were pretty challenging and took me a few days to perfect.
9. Trends & Inspiration: How do you stay on top of design trends, and where do you draw inspiration for your creations? Do you find that customer requests influence your designs?
Pinterest, Etsy and TikTok are my 3 biggest inspirational sites. Yes, for sure. I love getting requests because then I can challenge myself to create the perfect piece.
Questions About Future Plans:
10. Growth & Expansion: What are your plans for the future of Karrie’s Krafts? Are there any new products or services you’re excited to introduce?
I'd love for the business to grow enough that we can have a small store front with lots of return customers and organizations. We're currently making some super cute BOO signs for the front door and they're going to be a huge hit, I think!
11. Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs: What advice would you give to other women or moms looking to start their own business, especially in the creative and crafting industry?
Find that niche and research, research, research!
Personal Touch:
12. Balancing Work & Life: As a female entrepreneur, a mother and Grandmother, how do you balance the demands of your business with your personal life?
My daughter and granddaughters all help so I don't have any problems balancing it. I'm living my best life right now getting to spend every day with my babies and my man.
13. Community Engagement: How does Karrie’s Krafts engage with the local community or online communities? Are there any causes or charities you’re particularly passionate about?
We try to participate in all of the local craft fairs, car shows, benefits and downtown events. When we do benefits, we always donate a custom-made piece of some sort, and we also try to sponsor events by donating trophies. We're very passionate about kids, service men & women and our country.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about this new Entrepeneur. You can contact her via Facebook: Karrie's Krafts on Facebook
You can visit Karrie’s shop here: Karrie's Krafts