Meet Danelle Sandoval | Crochet Artist & Instructor

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

Hi Danelle, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I was a stay at home mom married and pregnant with my 4th child. One day randomly my husband decided he did not want to be married to me any longer as he had found someone else. I became single mom of 4 all under the age of 8. I was devastated and did not know what to do. My oldest was in school so before and after school care plus day care for three little ones was going to way too expensive and my husband chose not to help me financially. I did get a job working for a day program for adults with specials needs. I felt like I was paying so much in day care and not getting to see my children enough hours in the day so after long and thoughtful consideration I chose to quit my job and I decided to start a Youtube channel to teach others how to crochet. I did not expect for my channel to blow up but it did. I soon had 35k followers and every time I uploaded a new video I seam to make a sale on my websites. That really motivated me to grow my business even more and start making items to sell locally at craft shows. I also chose to write up my patterns and start selling those online for others to be able to create and start a business as well. I raised my children on my crochet business. My youngest is now 19 and I am still creating everyday.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My most favorite item to make is character beanies. I have been told many times that my hats look very professional almost like if they have been machine made. I make sure each one is made well and if I make a mistake I will not be happy until I fix that mistake. I am most excited when I seen children get really happy to have a cute animal beanie. Seeing their smile is why I love what I do. Growing my business was not easy. It is a lot of work. You have to learn how the algorithms on the internet work. There is more and more competition every day as Crocheting has become very popular. Somedays you can get great orders and other days not so much so it can be very challenging. I over come that by not giving up. Creating new patterns and making videos to show the new items I am offering. Also by opening up in person classes to teach other locally how to crochet. You always have to think of ways to grow and keep others interested and coming back. I have learned many lessons along the way. From how to price my items to what sells online versus what sells better in person. Sometime I can make an items that won’t sell and then other items I make I just can’t keep in stock. I have also learned that just because I work for myself doesn’t mean I have to work all the time. That I can take breaks and vacation and enjoy my family outside of work however the best thing about my work is I can take it everywhere I go and enjoy working on an items since Crochert is relaxing and fun!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my friends were visiting I would definitely take them to the mountains. I love to fish and I love to crochet and sit by the lake and enjoy the scenery while im crocheting. I would take them to a coffee shop by the name of Summer Moon. They have the best coffee and it’s a great place to sit and create. I love going to the zoo and parks. I would love to take them to eat Mexican food at El Azteca or even for some pizza at Dions. My most favorite place thought would be the mountains Estes Park is amazing!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to shout out my three boys, my daughter and my Mother. They have each believed in me. My mom was why I started my YouTube channel. She was moving to another state and was sad I would not be able to show her how to crochet so I told her I would make YouTube tutorials for her and that’s when my business blew up. She has always believed in me and says she is proud of me. My children also are amazing as they stood by me, supported me and even went with me to craft shows to help set up and make sales. They also started to crochet and my youngest son used to sell his crochet items at shows along with me. They tell me how excited they are for me and encourage me when I want to give up. These five have been the most amazing people in my life when it comes to supporting my Crochet business!

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Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dzcrochetcreations
Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/designers/dz-crochet-creations

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PeachasNBeans

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/DzCrochetCreations

Image Credits
Dz Crochet Creations