Conversations with Gabi Ruble

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabi Ruble.

Hi Gabi, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
From a very young age, I loved making things and had the desire to have my own business. I never set up a lemonade stand, but did attempt to open a slime shop on eBay, which didn’t go well – I never made a single sale, but kept dreaming of a successful business.
My gramma was the one who originally inspired me to learn how to crochet, but I never stuck with it for long. During COVID, I got hooked on crocheting because I saw cute little crochet bees on Pinterest and decided I simply had to have one. My crocheting was not great at first, and my bees looked nothing like the picture. They were lumpy, and the eyes were lopsided since I cut them out of felt. I didn’t give up and made at least seven bees of different sizes as I attempted to re-teach myself how to crochet.
As I learned, I moved on to projects outside of bees. I purchased a few different colors of yarn while simultaneously using what I had. After crocheting for three years, my collection had grown exponentially, and my family encouraged me to sell what I was making. I was unsure about starting another business after the first one had failed, but made a website anyway. To market my products, I signed up for my church’s vendor event. I made business cards and was supported by so many people. Since that first event, I have been to four similar ones, and I look forward to more in the future.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been some bumps (and potholes) so far, and I’m sure there will be many more to come. In the first few years of crocheting, I didn’t even think about selling what I made. I gave my finished products to people around me. Eventually, their homes ran out of space and my home started filling up too so I had to get rid of them somehow. My first vendor event was a great solution, but my website still has not received much attention. Despite being up for over three years, it has only received a few sales. Learning curves also come with the website, as I am still getting the hang of completing orders and keeping it up to date.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I love crocheting and putting a smile on people’s faces by bringing their ideas to life. Crocheting is what I am most known for, but I also make handknit blankets, homemade greeting cards, and pipecleaner flowers. When deciding what to crochet, I get a lot of inspiration from my favorite characters, animals, and things I see on social media. Just by looking at pictures, I can make up a pattern to replicate them. I love this challenge because it is more than making endless rows and making the same thing over and over. Most of what I make is one of a kind, there are very few of each item. Each of them are unique and complex, made with care, much thought, and love.
I have made many things in the six years I have been crocheting, but I think my favorite project so far has been the five main dragons from “How to Train Your Dragon”. I made up all of the patterns myself and spent over 40 hours in total crafting them.

Pricing:

• Custom Pets- Starting at $15
• Large hand-knit blanket-$120
• Hand-knit lap/baby blanket-$40
• Other custom orders-price varies

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tinyturtlestreasures.square.site/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiny_turtles_treasures/