When pain knits beauty

When Sue Chigorimbo started knitting in 2018, it was because she was bored and had lots of time on her hands. At some point, knitting was just an outlet for all the chaos that was within her life. But a few years down the line, she is planning to scale up production and bring other crafters on board. In an interview, Sue Chigorimbo, shares the story on what motivated her to start Knits and Krafts by Sue.

BW: Tell us about your life before becoming an entrepreneur.

SC: Well, I have been all over. I started off as an electronic engineering apprentice, then went on to be a banker for about 15 years. I left banking to go to university where I studied e-Commerce. Afterwards, I had a short stint in banking again, this time around in IT. Then I left work to help set up a timber sawmilling business with my ex-husband. That is when my entrepreneurship journey started. This was in 2013. I only started the crafts in 2018.

BW: Tell us about getting the business up and running

SC: At first, I regarded the crafts as a hobby, something I did to pass time. However, when I started posting my work on Facebook, people took notice and began placing orders. It was only then that I realised I could actually make money from this hobby. So to establish whether my products would actually sell, I got a stall at the Hillcrest College Annual Winter Fair. My products were a hit. Knits and Krafts by Sue was born then.

I started off with hand knitting, then decided to buy a knitting machine to make knitted cushion covers. They were a hit, especially in South Africa. This was in 2018. I took a break going into 2019, then started knitting again in 2020. We went under lockdown and I was knitting more. I remember making a face mask and getting so many orders for them.

Then this stalled as I couldn’t courier orders during lockdown, so I had to figure out another way to make money from my craft.

I started writing knitting patterns and uploading them on websites such as etsy.com, ravelry.com and lovecrafts.com. They did well, I still make sales from them, kind of a passive income. Then I started getting enquiries about training and I began virtual knitting lessons via Whatsapp video call, Skype and Zoom.

In 2021, I started experimenting with empty whiskey and wine bottles. A single post on Twitter was the game changer. I moved to explore rope crafts and they were a hit too, especially the bags.

December 2021, I decided to try crochet. I made my first bag and it was sold an hour after I posted it on Twitter. Around the same time, I got a contract with Mercy Corps to train some groups of women from Sakubva, Mutare some of my skills.

I think that is when I really started to take myself seriously as a crafter and decided to run it like a proper business. I later changed my trade name to Krafts by Sue, seeing as my craft had become so diverse.

BW: What motivated you to do what you do

SC: When I started knitting in 2018, it was because I was bored. The sawmilling business had grown and my role wasn’t as demanding as in the beginning. So, I had a lot of time on my hands.

Then I started going through some personal problems and I stopped knitting. My problems became worse, my life seemed to be falling apart. I became depressed. It was so bad that I attempted suicide in June 2019.

After I survived the attempt, I was desperate to keep my mind off my troubles. So I started knitting again. That is how my crafts became an outlet for all the chaos that was within.

Each time I felt like I was falling apart, I would start making something and it helped take my mind off everything I was going through. Knitting and crochet are cognitive crafts. They are also really mathematical, with so many iterations and so you can’t think of anything else besides focusing on counting rows and stitches.

BW: Talk about the untapped potential in that line of business

SC: With crafting, there are so many unique ways to make money. One can choose to create products and sell them. This choice comes with versatility as you’re not limited as to what you can make.

Another way to make money as a crafter is to train others in your craft. Lots of organisations now offer contracts to crafters to impart their skills to various groups of people as a way to empower them.

If you’re a crocheter or knitter, you can also write your patterns and list them online on websites such as Etsy or Ravelry. Crafters flock to these sites on a daily basis to purchase patterns for themselves or as gifts for their crafter friends. This is one brilliant way to earn passive income.

BW: Talk about your most effective marketing initiatives to grow the business

SC: Social media marketing has been the most effective marketing tool for me. It is what drew attention to my work right from the start. Of course I have used other methods like word of mouth, showcasing my work at fairs and exhibitions.

However, social media marketing has wider reach at low cost. In the beginning, I would post only on Facebook, then I moved to advertising on Instagram as well.

I got some leads from the two platforms. The trajectory completely changed when I started to advertise on Twitter. There were more leads, support and motivation. A single tweet gets me leads almost always.

BW: What are some of the key lessons you learnt throughout the journey so far

SC: I have learnt so much so far, the greatest lesson being that comfort is the enemy of achievement. I had always limited myself to certain skills.

Once I regarded myself as a banker and always spoke of how I didn’t see myself working in any other field.

Then when I started crafting, I limited myself to just knitting. I would turn away lots of potential clients because what they needed could not be achieved with knitting. Ever since I took myself out of my comfort zone, I have managed to come up with the most amazing crafts.

Another lesson I have drawn is to always feed your focus. The moment I started to focus on my crafts and not my problems, I began experiencing peace. My mental health struggles started to fade away. I focused on my creations, making perfect pieces to amaze my customers.

BW: Do you have expansion plans for the business locally and internationally

SC: Definitely. The plan this year is to scale up production. I have been a one-man band from the beginning.

Now the plan is to get other crafters on board, work with creatively gifted women from less privileged backgrounds and set up craft centres with our wares around the country.

We are also in the process of establishing international markets and also work with government to offer support to creatives like myself.

BW: What has been the response like in the market and what’s your target market?

SC: It has not been easy. When I started out, there was a lot of ignorance with regards the value of handmade products.

The assumption was handmade should come cheap so a lot of crafters are forced to sell their wares for much less than their actual market value.

The flooding of cheap Chinese imports made it more difficult for us to get meaningful sales. However, with aggressive marketing, the response to my products has been getting better over the years. Now I get a lot of repeat customers.

I think it also helps that my craft continues to evolve, keeping my customers looking forward to the next design.

I offer luxury goods, so my target market is really a niche, a niche of those who have enough disposable income to invest in a unique handcrafted piece. A niche of individuals that appreciate how complex the creative process is and value handmade goods.-ebusinessweekly