Crocheted with Sustainability in Mind

What is your business about?

I sell crocheted goods such as keychains and pouches. Every product is handmade carefully. With a goal to be more sustainable and reduce wastage, I also adopt minimal packaging and incorporate scrap yarns into my pieces (eg: price tag, stuffings)

What made you decide to start your business? When did you start?

I have always enjoyed crafting and after exploring different mediums, I finally found crochet. It all started out as a hobby in 2021 and I realised many of my friends were interested in my crochet pieces. This led to me starting my small business in hope of sharing my pieces to more people.

Why did you choose to take part in SEM?

I thought it would be a good platform to showcase my work and share my products to more people. I think SEM provides a great opportunity for small business owners to have a taste of how it is like to sell their products at retail stores. I believe this experience will be beneficial for me in the future.

What are some of the challenges you face as a student entrepreneur?

Managing time is a big challenge as crocheting takes a huge amount of time. A small crochet keychain of about 5cm in size can take up to 6 hours to make if it has a lot of details. As such, balancing between school work and crocheting is challenging. Furthermore, being a small business owner meant that I take up multiple roles in trying to grow my business such as taking product pictures, editing and promoting which takes up additional time.

What is one tip that has helped you in juggling your responsibilities as a student and entrepreneur well?

Hahaha I think it is still quite surreal to be titled as an "entrepreneur" because I feel like I'm simply enjoying my hobby and I'm still starting small. If I were to give a "tip", perhaps taking sufficient breaks? It prevents me from burning out while keeping me motivated and focuses.

What motivates you and keeps you going in your business?

I believe that doing the things I enjoy is already a motivation and I am very grateful to receive support for doing the things I enjoy. Also, I try to crochet pieces that I will like so that I will not grow to dislike the process eventually.

Yu Rong is a Year 1 undergraduate student from NUS School of Business. Her works are on sale at NUS Co-op@Central Forum under the Student Entrepreneur’s Market (SEM) programme (coming soon).

Instagram: @stitchmybear