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| Kristina, owner of Aubrey Lee's Bowtique with her daughter and husband. |
We said we'd go back to CA when she had recovered, but my daughter has since started school in Reno and I have established clients in my photography business that I started 2 years ago, so we're at odds about staying. Hm, we'll see what happens I guess!
Since I was so used to working full time in a fast paced environment, I had trouble adjusting to not "working" (even though caring for an injured adult who cannot walk is "work" in itself), so I started my photography business. It drives me crazy to not be busy doing something...anything. The money that I make after taxes, supplies, props that I buy from others for my photography projects, ext goes directly into a fund to help pay my mom's medical bills and a college fund for my daughter.
MWL: What made you decide to start making props?
Kristina: I started making hair bows for my daughter when she was a baby and I have tons of extra ribbon, so I started selling bows to get rid of it. I was very successful with Made to Match Gymboree bows especially. Eventually, I ventured into tutus, hot fix rhinestone embellishments on shirts, pillowcase dresses and more. A couple of years ago, I was building my photography portfolio and shooting for free. I didn't have a lot of extra money to spend on props and many of the props i came across while shopping were things I could make myself for much less, so I did. I already have many of the supplies needed to get started. My prop collection was growing, but I wasn't booking many babies to put the stuff on, so I decided to add some of those items to my shop and people immediately started swiping the items up. I don't make many bows etc anymore because I'm way too busy with the prop-making and my other love - photography.
MWL: What kind of props do you specialize in?
Kristina: My upcycled sets are my most popular items by far. They're unique and adorable on babies AND the added bonus i that I'm doing my part to save the environment by re-purposing old sweaters, jeans, shirts etc.
MWL: What inspires you when you're making your creations?
Kristina: Textures and colors. I am drawn to a sweater if it has a neat pattern in the knitting, if it's bumpy, super soft or a beautiful color.
MWL: Your craft area: OCD or organized chaos?
Kristina: A little bit of both. HAHA! It started out OCD, but I ran out of space to store supplies, so shelves and drawers have items together that I would prefer having separate. But it's not the end of the world I suppose.
MWL: Tell us 3 things that would be in your dream craft room.
Kristina: A super fancy sewing machine/serger combo. A clone of myself so that we can create MORE items. And a massage chair so I can take a relaxing break when my neck starts aching from looking down for too long.
MWL: What is your favorite item you've made?
Kristina: I have lots of favorites, but the one that pops into my mind first is a little teal hat and pants set with suspenders and little shabby patches.
MWL: Are there any other crafts that you'd like to learn how to do?
Kristina: Eventually, I want to learn how to crochet. I'd also like to upgrade my cheap sewing machine to a nicer one and actually learn to sew more than just a fairly straight line.
MWL: Do you have a vendor crush? You can tell us!
Kristina: I have lots of vendor crushes! The "hookers" for sure. I've always been good at just being able to look at something and make it myself, but crocheted items are like my kryptonite. I can't just dissect it with my eyes and figure out how it was made like I can do with other things. I'm sure I could crochet if I gave it a try. I might get addicted to yarn and spend all of my time crocheting though! I don't have space for yarn and I don't have time to crochet!
MWL: What advice would you give other vendors?
Kristina: Advice...as a photographer, I look for items that won't break the bank AND are unique. So my suggestion is to make your items affordable (without compromising the cost of your time, of course) and different from items other vendors are offering. The prop market is heavily saturated, so you have to stand out from the crowd if you want to be successful.
Kristina has done so well selling extra props (she can usually make 2 upcycled sets out of one sweater, so she keeps one and sells the other) on Facebook that she has somewhat put the bow-making business on the back burner and has stopped listing her items on eBay and Etsy. Her business has grown from 129 likes to 715+ in just 6 months and she couldn't be happier that she's providing fun stuff for others to use in their photography projects AND keeps herself busy. She says, "between her props, bows, photography, ballet, Girl Scout Daisies, and both my daughter and I playing softball (and I coach her team), I also work at a flower shop." She did say she likes to keep busy right? Just call her Super Mom... or Wonder Woman. "Because I DO make people wonder... 'Is she a photographer? A crafter? A Psychologist? A floral designer?'" says Kristina. Among all of that, she does have more fun stuff in the works. New concepts and designs will be introduced into her shop soon, and we just can't wait to see what she comes up with next!
