Today we’d like to introduce you to Karla Krause.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I began crafting years ago. I have always loved to give personalized gifts and one day my husband commented that I should sell a few things to pay for craft supplies. I began to really think about it and decided to give it a shot.
I am a one-woman operation making everything handmade at my kitchen table and running my website and social media accounts. It has been fun and sometimes difficult to learn to do everything myself.
I focus mostly on reusable items and love helping others live a little more eco-friendly. Recently, I have started selling wooden crafts as well. I am a self-taught crafter who learned a lot by trial and error.
Why did I start this business? Because I’d like to spread the happiness I feel when making these beautiful things. I love how it has grown into so much more – teaching others that being eco-friendly can be just a simple change. I also love showing my kids that they can make goals and follow their dreams. Because at the end of the day, that is who I am first – a momma.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Balancing life with a small business and being a stay-at-home mom has been interesting over the last few years. My business started out very small and it has stayed that way. At first, I tried to watch all of the trends and make what I was already seeing in booths. That didn’t work very well – I didn’t see a lot of sales. I decided to stop following trends and make things that I am passionate about.
I began to focus on reusable items using scrap fabric and helping people learn about small changes they can make in their own lives. I began to make wooden signs years ago and began to design my own and make them for my business in the last year.
I have been doing more boutiques and online sales in the last few years and growing a little bit at a time. I love that I am growing on my terms and that the future is looking bright.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in sewing scraps into usable products. I love to put them together to make fun zip pouches, lip balm key chains, or wipes. When ordering something like unpaper towels, I offer a color option, but I get to choose the patterns from my stash.
There are many times that I have made a set of five wipes in three different patterns because that is what I have. I love seeing these scraps have new life and meaning. Something that would normally be thrown out is given new life.
Everything I make is unique. I also love to make unique items on my wooden signs. I will make hot mess canvas paintings where nothing will ever be the same. I also love to make one-of-a-kind designs available at in-person boutiques or as ready-made items online.
All my work, unique and one-of-a-kind are a happy byproduct of my choices and my work.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck, good and bad, has been a hand in my life. I don’t know if I think of it as just luck, though. I have wonderful friends and family who have supported me through this journey. They have helped me with my boutiques, writing, my husband and children, and also my self-esteem. When I feel like I should just quit because I haven’t had a sale in a while I will post on social media. With the help of friends and family the word gets out and it always feels like a miracle when I get a sale a few weeks later. I just need to have faith.
I have also had a bit of bad luck. I did my first major booth at a large local boutique in March of 2020. The weekend of the event was the weekend before everything was shut down across the country. I did not earn back the largest fee I’ve ever had and it was a blow to my business and to myself. I wondered if I should just shut down as well. Instead, I started sewing masks (I made 400 in 6 months) and giving them away. I did make money off of them because when I would send them across the country I would ask the recipients to pay what they wanted. I knew they were needed. There are some very generous people in this world.
Maybe it’s not just luck (good or bad) that keeps me going. Many friends and family and others have helped me feel like what I do are needed. I really do believe that if you put good into the world, you will get good back. So that’s what I do – I try to put a lot of good into what I do.
Contact Info:
- Email: mymommylifeof3blog@gmail.com
- Website: mymommylifeof3.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mymommylifeof3/
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/mymommylifeof3/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mymommylifeof3
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mmlo3handmade
