Meet Larrolyn “Larri” Patterson Parms-Ford | Music Educator | Mariola Craftings Founder | Assistant | Secretary | Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Larrolyn “Larri” Patterson Parms-Ford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Larrolyn “Larri”, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I first started crafting it was just to send Christmas gifts to my friends and family. I didn’t work for the beginning of the pandemic and needed all of my funds to go to my housing at the moment. My roommate had some yarn though as she had just picked up crocheting, so I went to Michael’s and picked up a knitting wheel and started making hats. I think I sent out about 15 hats and 30 or so Kandi (beaded bracelets). A lot of my family members sent messages to me saying how great the beanies were and that I should consider creating a store.

At the time, I was also making flower crowns for myself to assist in my teaching style. I was teaching K-3 music before the pandemic and though I was a bubbly, high-energy teacher, I still needed a way to make sure my kids would always look at my eyes. My mom calls me her flowers and rainbows child, so adding more flowers to my outfits seemed like the natural step. I watched a few youtube videos on how to create a flower crown and made about 30! Some were themed like an autumn one for Halloween that included acorns and cranberries and a spring one that included grapes and butterflies. Those became favorites with a few people though and I ended up giving those and 10 others away.

After my teaching mentor asked me to make a spiked flower crown for a photoshoot, I decided I should give my hand at crafting and made my Etsy store, Mariola Craftings. At first, I thought, this won’t do too bad but I also won’t lose anything. I’m a musician, I always have been! So crafting was outside of the “things my family expected of me” roles. I had a lot of fun crafting though and even though it isn’t my main means of profit, it is my funniest!

Even coming up with the name of my store was fun. I knew it had to include my middle name, Mariola. It’s the name of both of my grandmothers put together, Mary and Viola. My grandmothers are amazing and spread love to everyone they met. I wanted my crafts to do the same. After that, it was easy: Mariola Craftings.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So I was raised to be a musician. Starting in 3rd grade at Grass Valley Elementary School in Oakland, CA I have been playing the saxophone. I even went to Mills College to continue my education in Music Performance for Vocal and Saxophone Jazz improv, but everyone knows the saying “Not everyone makes it in ____”. Weirdly enough, I don’t think I ever thought I was going to be a musician professionally. I just knew I wanted to do something with music. My professor, Dr. Bernstein, suggested I attend Teachers College, Columbia University to become a music teacher since I was pretty good at assisting my classmates in music theory class and that had never crossed my mind, but I could see it. I could see myself teaching kids how to play and read music so I went to Teachers College and got my degrees in 2019 and became a music teacher and then 2020 happened. To say I was devasted would be too small. My kindergartners and 1st graders were just started to really understand the steady beat, my 2nd graders were working on performing as a group and my 3rd graders were going to perform at Carnegie Hall and then nothing. On top of that, at the time no one really needed extra music teachers and I ended up losing my position. I tried finding a new school with no luck and ended up working for Amazon only to figure out that an injury I had in 2018 left my body a little more broken than I remember and I had to voluntarily quit.

I felt bad, really bad for the first time in my life. I think a lot of people know me as a happy-go-lucky person. I’m usually super energetic and excited but I found myself in some deep sadness that I couldn’t shake and I cried. A LOT. Looking back at it now, I’m actually very thankful for that break. It might not have happened in the best way, but I needed it. I was giving my all and then some to teaching, which left me in the hospital a lot but without any answers on how to get better. The pandemic gave me time to actually focus on my health. I went to all of my doctors’ appointments for the first time in a very, very, very long time and actually worked on making my body better. I got a need therapist and talked through a lot of issues that I kept in. I currently still do not have a permanent position, but for the first time, I know my physical limits. I also know how to assert myself. I spent a lot of time accepting whatever came to be believing another chance might not ever come. I know that isn’t true now. I have a support system that reminds me of that anytime I need it. I’ve learned to not be so toxic positive and instead realistically look at things.

I don’t think I would have been able to open Mariola Craftings or be so open about my struggles before 2020. I decided they weren’t real and worked to just be content. I’m not here just to work, I’m just here and that’s okay. Mariola Craftings is me sending love. It’s me sending happiness. It’s me giving. It’s a transition from my old ways to this healthier new Larrolyn that is working to come even better.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
You know what’s wild, I can’t really remember what I did before the pandemic. I lived in New York and went to as many musicals as I could but that was about it. I like One World in NYC, you can see all of New York. It’s absolutely beautiful. Also, Fogo De Chao has so much yummy meat. I don’t even eat meat like that but it’s still a perfect date spot. Amourino’s for a gelato flower, it truly brings the child out of you to see a dessert so beautiful. It’s really helpful to have so many musician friends though, if I ever want to see a show, I normally just open my Instagram and scroll for a while. Someone is doing something somewhere LOL.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
OH MY GOODNESS, I’ve heard the “It Take a Village” mantra so much throughout my life, but it really does take the whole community. I started Mariola Craftings while I was in New York, on the other side of the country from my family in California. Even so, my parents supported me. Sending me cash for more yarn and flowers. (You wouldn’t expect to spend hundreds of dollars in crafting stores until you did, and I did MANY TIMES) My mother, Carolyn, expanded her camera-taking skills and would take pictures of every item I sent her just so I could add more pictures to my store and social media pages. My father, Larry, would come up with ideas on different beanies and yarn items for me to try.

My mentor, Kisha H., who is the whole reason I make my most popular item, the spiked flower crown, really pushed me to go fully into whatever I try. If she hadn’t, I doubt I would’ve opened the Etsy store in the first place. Even today, she checks in on me. She has this astounding ability to bounce ideas off of people. She knows the beauty of having a great thought partner.

My roommate Aisha J. was my complete inspiration to keep trying the new things I was watching on youtube or reading about it who knows how many books. She was also learning different things to craft and seeing her succeed made me want to try more. We would watch crafting videos all day, from as soon as we woke up, during our regularly schedule Animal Crossing time, even during dinner.

Also, so many of my friends would shout me out on Facebook and Instagram, which was amazing for my business! I always felt comfortable sending my friends gifts and asking for how they looked just so I could work on my products, but I never expected them to send me cash back for them. I would tell them, no this was a gift, but they wanted to support me in that way and I really appreciated that. My twin, B Noel, friends from my college like Tess S., Susana, and Jordan L. Even friends my middle and high school, Kristina and Karyn, Courtney, Zakiya, Traci, Taja, Haley Slamon, a friend I made through other friends Nepi. There are so many people who really were like this is amazing and you are doing it and yeah, nothing but positivity and helpful feedback.

I even made a business friend who runs another small business, Glitter and Brimstone. I admired her and her amazing artwork from afar and soon found that we had some things in common. We got to have a few amazing chats that were helpful for my business too.

I know I’m forgetting some people because there have been just so many people who saw what I was doing and were like hey let me see more, have you tried this, what is this, tell me more. It’s been amazing!

Website: mariolacraftings.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariolacraftings/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrolynparmsford/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MariolaCraftings

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=a5PDcH9JKM6k7_MdpYv8xg

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_COM9iC_r4FqTix4_EsUWg

Other: On Tiktok, you can find me @LarriMariola and @MariolaCraftings

Image Credits
the horizontal photo in red, Bruce Gilbert 2019 the scarf on a black mannequin, Carolyn Parms 2021 Me outside and Me with King Bowser, Aisha Johnson