Meet Ally Thomas | Crochet Artist & Potter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ally Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ally, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I was in college, I was a double major in biology and studio art. I took a variety of different art classes, but I mainly focused on ceramics. Once a semester, we would throw a student ceramics sale on the quad. The students participating would all volunteer for hours, but I usually chose to work the entire sale. I loved interacting with the customers and talking about the work, both my own work and my classmates’. This is what lead me to signing up for craft fairs after I graduated. I also moved across the country after graduation with my fiancé while he attended graduate school. As a result, I no longer has access to a pottery studio. This is when I discovered crochet and began learning to make plushies. I now sell both crochet plushies and pottery in my business.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I would definitely say the biggest thing that sets me apart from other businesses is that I make and sell both pottery and crochet plushies. It also makes balancing making products more difficult. Pottery is made in batches so after about a month, I have thrown enough to fill a kiln load. I then have to glaze everything and fire it in a kiln again. At the end, I usually have 50-100 new ceramic pieces whereas a crochet plushie I can start and finish in the same day!

Getting to where I am today has not been easy. And I still have a long way to grow! Craft fairs as well as consignment stores can lead to fantastic sales for one vendor, but be terrible for another vendor. Unfortunately, trying out these different craft fairs and stores cost money and sometimes lead to making less in sales than you paid in rent or in vending fees. This makes it really hard when you’re starting off and don’t have a lot of extra money laying around to spend. I also think after 3 years, I have figured out what products my customers want to see. Just because I think a plushie or a mug is cute doesn’t mean my customer base wants to buy it. There is a lot of trial and error, mostly error, in starting out a business. The biggest thing to remember is nit to be discouraged if you’re starting a business and the sales are not fantastic. Most months in my first year in business were in the red and not profitable at all.

The biggest lessons I’ve learned along the way is that you cannot predict anything and sales are not always within my control. My best sellers change between every market and all of the stores I sell in. This means I need to have a variety of products and test out new products whenever I can. The weather also plays a huge factor in how many people will come to a market. One of my best markets I go to often had about half the normal turn out last month because it was 100 degrees out. That is out of my control and I have to remember that. It is definitely easier to be down on myself and start to think no one likes my products and I should just give up. Just because one market doesn’t do great doesn’t mean my next one won’t!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a huge animal lover so I love taking guests to Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge as well as Denver Zoo and Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. My household is also a big supporter of other small businesses so we’ll go to a craft fair on the weekend and shop consignment stores. One of my favorites is Eclectic Co in downtown Colorado Springs. I’m lucky enough to be one of the 70+ vendors in the store so I get to shop there a lot when I’m working my shifts.

For food, my friends and I like to go to Game Train USA in Highlands Ranch. They have a huge selection of board games you can play while also ordering food and drinks.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe a lot of my success to my fiancé, Henry. I was scared to quit my full time job and pursue my business full time but he encouraged me to go for it. Whenever I’m feeling down and feel like I should stop pursuing this full time, he reminds me that it’s okay and my sales don’t have to be perfect every month. He is my biggest cheerleader and is always there to help me when I need it, especially at my craft fairs!

Website: http://crochetinthemud.myshopify.com/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/crochet_in_the_mud/

Other: http://tiktok.com/@crochet_in_the_mud