Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Van Niel
Hi Grace, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Ever since I was little, I grew up crafting and trying out new hobbies. I never found one that I truly loved and could do for the rest of my life until I found crochet. I was first introduced to crochet in 2022, during my senior year of high school when I was babysitting my cousins. I took them to Michael’s Craft Store, and we ended up buying beginner crochet kits and we tried to make them, but we did not have enough time that day to try it out. I didn’t touch the kit for over a year until I was in college and wanted to find a new hobby. I ended up teaching myself how to crochet by watching YouTube videos. It took a couple of months of practicing the stitches before I could finally make a plushie. I made a lot of orders for friends and family, and they all encouraged me to start a business, so I finally took the leap in July of 2024.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Something that is important when owning a small business is how to organize yourself and keep track of your expenses. I learned to keep good track of how much I am spending and how much gas mileage I used when dropping off orders or going to buy supplies to save the most amount of money when filing for taxes. In the beginning, I did not have a good organizational system to price my items and was undercharging for the amount of time and materials. I made a Google Sheet of the calculated prices per ounce of the yarn I used so I can weight it when it was finished to see how much supplies costed for that item.
I have always been a determined person and once I want something I work very hard to get it. Part of the reason why I waited to start my business was because I did not have a good phone to take quality pictures. I worked hard during the summer to buy myself a phone that had good photo quality and that I could use to help organize my business better. I had no idea what I was doing when I first started. I did not know if I should design my own website or if it was cheaper to open up an Etsy Shop. I ended up doing a lot of research and calculations to see which one would be the best option for my business to get the right exposure. I have also done a lot of research of editing reels and looking professional but also showing my personality online.
I have also learned how to market myself better and how to make the best reels and content for my business on Instagram. I just recently changed my logo to help with brand recognition and to show the values of my business. It is better to create content that appeals and helps other crochet business creators rather than posting more content that does not give the audience any benefits. I have tried to organize my content, so it is relatable for other crochet small businesses as well as appealing to the people that support me for my art and want to buy it.
Crochet designers will do “Pattern Tester Calls” of their designs they have made to make sure it makes sense to others. It is basically them sending a group of people the instructions using crochet abbreviations to make sure it makes sense to people of different levels of knowledge. I researched what pattern designers want to receive in their feedback and how to apply for them. I finally got chosen for my first pattern tester call in December 2024 and I learned a lot during the process. I wanted to start creating my own patterns but did not know how to do it or how to go about publishing it. I have now been involved in 2 pattern tester calls and have found the way that I want to go about doing my own. Once I found out the most effective way that would work for me, I finally started trying to create and designed my own pattern to be released. I released my first pattern in February of 2025, and I am currently working on my second pattern design.
Pattern testing and designing is a lot harder than I thought. When I first started, I never realized how difficult it was to create patterns and figure out how all of the stitches align to make it shaped the way you want it to be. Pattern designing is a lot of trial and error of finding what designs look better to create the look you want. Pattern designing can also be difficult if you do not have good testers to test your designs. I have found that a lot of the successful crochet businesses have a “niche” with a certain type of crochet whether it is the technique to make something, specializing in a certain type of yarn, or using other supplies to enhance their products. I have decided that I want to try a niche in magnets. My first pattern was a kissing bee free pattern where you can make 2 bees that have magnets in them, so they kiss. However, the tester call did not get the right amount of exposure that I wanted because it was a common idea where many crochet artists make bees, so it was not unique. I knew this was going to happen, so I was not discouraged when I got only a couple of people to apply to test my design. I knew this was going to be a learning experience and wanted to make sure that I felt more comfortable running a pattern tester call before I got to create more challenging patterns for people to test. I wanted to know what the process was like on the designer’s end so I could show others my knowledge and professionalism once I create an idea that no one has seen before. Hopefully, I will reach a lot of people when I figure out the final design for this pattern because it is something new to the crochet world.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I create handmade crochet plushies for my small business. I have made plushies such as positivity pickles, stress blobs, chickens, mallard ducks, dinosaurs, bees, turtles, and Christmas light garland.
I have released one official pattern of my own, which is keychain kissing bees. I am working on another project currently, but I do not want to disclose the idea for copyright reasons.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
As a small business owner, I know how hard it is to get sales and recognition. Recently, I have started to buy more gifts and items off of other small business owners to show my support. I have ordered a lanyard, wallet, and a personalized gift for a gift for my sister. Every time I order a pattern or item off of Etsy, I always make sure to leave a review to help them get more loyal customers. So even if you cannot buy from my shop engaging on my social media such as commenting and liking my posts still helps my business earn more engagement.
Mental health and supporting others are something that I value. I decided to make “Positivity Pickles” and donate a percentage of my proceeds to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a mental health advocate organization. I just recently uploaded these to my Etsy Shop, and I am very excited to see where this opportunity takes me to help support my community.
I also in the future want to donate crocheted bees to a company called “Marshall Honeybee Rescue” where they started a “Bee With You: Comfort for Cancer” organization where people can donate money or crocheted bees to send to cancer patients. I think this idea is wonderful and brings happiness to people in the darkest times of their lives. It was created after one of the people at their bee business got diagnosed with cancer and he carried a crochet bee with him during his treatments from his nieces. I think this is a great opportunity for me to be able to give to others and bring more people joy with my art. I have had cancer take people from my family so this movement in the crochet community really spoke to me and what my values are of helping others. If you would like to help these causes and either work with me or donate reach out through my Etsy Shop at GracesCrochetBuffet. I am also open to any collaborations so feel free to reach out.
Pricing:
- $5.50- Stingray
- $9.50- Stress Blob
- $10.50- Turtle
- $12.50- Positivity Pickle
- $15- Mallard Duck
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gracescrochetbuffet.etsy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_thecrochetbuffet?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562254355319
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecrochetbuffet
