I've always loved to craft. You can bet that at my birthday parties, my mom ordered kits from Oriental Trading and we put together foam baskets or door hangers. My ability to be pretty crafty has come in handy as a future teacher as well. I LOVE putting together bulletin boards and making sure everything looks copacetic.

Recently, I decided to open up my own Etsy shop as an outlet for my crafting; I was making all of these items and had nothing to do with them. Back in 2014, I was crocheting blankets and hats, and a lot of my friends wanted one, so that prompted me to open up the shop: The Same Old Knit (thanks, dad, for your punny little joke). I sold a few items through crocheting and knitting, but I found that the merchandise I was making was season-specific, people only wanted baby blankets if their friend was having a baby (which isn't often with college students) and large blankets can take months to finish.

The Same Old Knit went on the backburner for a bit and I only made items for people if they asked about it. Then, I was sitting in Music History one morning and was admiring my friend's earrings and thought pretty quickly, I could totally make those. I thought about it for awhile and thought about how my Etsy shop was sitting kind of empty online and thought, why not? I started thinking of new shop names and other things that I could make other than just earrings.

So, Hilltop Knick-Knacks was born. I started with earrings, using beads that I'd had laying around my house for YEARS and some hardware that I order from a few of my favorite craft stores. That same friend who's earrings I admired and who prompted me to just do it was the first person to buy earrings from me. I slowly began making other things, including necklaces that aim to reduce anxiety and stud earrings that I made from supporting other Etsy businesses. More recently, I've gotten into stamping and making cards.

I officially became a small business owner in March 2016 so I can go to craft shows and table at them. That's created its own obstacles, but it's something I'm excited about doing. Having an Etsy shop can be difficult, but I've run into some problems that pertain to just being a college student.

The struggles:

1. You don't have the time to make items.

This is probably my biggest struggle. When I should be doing my class's reading or finishing up my math problems, I want to be crafting or putting things up on my shop page. I feel like I have to set aside special time to even plan out new merchandise.

2. Money constraints.

There comes a certain point of the semester where money becomes sparse, for both me trying to buy materials and for people who would normally want to buy things from me.

3. The buyers.

This kind of goes along with #2, because when you go to college and all of your friends are college students, everyone is broke. So, that means people are prioritizing their funds and using them for important things like groceries or gas.

4. Officially becoming a small business owner.

This creates a whole new beast that you have to take care of. Do I have to get an EIN number? How does sales tax apply in New York State? (Don't even ask because NYS sales tax is so confusing). So, I haven't been selling since I became official because all of a sudden, everything is confusing as all get out.

5. Getting your name out there.

Technically, this can be pretty easy, but you can share your pages and tell your friends until you're blue in the face. That doesn't make people automatically buy merchandise, though.

The triumphs:

1. Stress relief.

Making jewelry or cards is a form of stress relief for me. I love sitting down and figuring out a pattern and just having it work.

2. Creation.

I am a huge believer of letting people create things and I love seeing something go from nothing but separate materials to an end product.

3. Actually selling.

When someones does buy something from you, it's the best feeling in the world. Not only are you getting recognition for something you put a lot of work into, but they seem so happy to have something handmade from someone they know.

4.Craft store runs.

I'm in love with craft stores and I'm not afraid to admit it. When I walk through a Michaels or a Joann's? It just gets me going.

5. Word of mouth.

When someone buys an item from you and then wears in public or gifts someone a card, people ask about it and your shop is suddenly being spread through little webs of people and I love having people contact me because someone else heard about it. It's just cool how that kind of thing works.

So, I feel like it's an obligatory thing to put my shop's URL in this article: etsy.com/shop/HilltopKnickKnacks

If you're a fellow Etsy shop owner, message me and we'll talk!