Mother Hustler Series Part I

I've been reading this funny term online a lot lately in reference to younger generations: "the side hustle." Apparently a "side hustle," is a non-primary income source people do to supplement their "real job."  To me it's being perceived by employers as "extra money," like a kid mowing lawns to supplement his allowance.  They should be devoted to their one job, but there they are, hustling for money in their spare time.  Like a fun, greedy little hobby. In my experience that isn't quite accurate.  For the last several years I've been running a "cottage industry," full time in addition to my husband's job,  so we don't starve.  It's not "extra money," it's essential income, because one person's full time job does not come anywhere near covering basic living expenses for a family anymore.  I work very hard to earn my hustle money. I'm not unique! I know so many mothers who are operating a home business so that they can feed their children, without having to nonsensically spend their whole paycheck on childcare while they work outside the home. These mamas are creative, resourceful, inspirational, skilled artists and crafters, who have learned how to earn a solid "side hustle," for their family on sites like Etsy. The beauty of this financial predicament so many families find themselves in, is that we are seeing a handmade culture develop that is putting big corporations to shame in the design department. Now I see big box stores desperately copying housewives who sew with their heart and soul  at home. By the time they crank out their copy, the artist has already designed something new and changed the trend. Pretty funny.

This "Mother Hustler," series, will feature such artist mamas every chance I get.  It's so fun to learn what goes on in these artist's homes, and to learn their story.  I thought I'd start off with mine, and can't wait to share interviews with dear friends and other respected mother makers I'm dying to interview.


What do you make?

For the most part, I design and make organic baby clothing, wool diapers, and mommy-nursing pads. Check it out at lovelylyra.com

How did your journey as a maker begin?  How did you pick your craft?

I've been an enterprising artist since I was a little kid.  Growing up in the mountains of Western NC, My best friend and I would make little handmade jewelry pieces and sell them on the counter at her parents' successful bakery.  My mom is a jeweler and would sometimes let us have a spot to sell things in her show tents. I loved making it. I loved that other people liked it.  I loved the little rush of making a sale and earning something in exchange for my work.  My mom taught me how to work with all kinds of different art mediums and I was obsessed with drawing and textiles. I loved visiting traditional fiber artists especially.  Native American wool weavers. Colonial era yarn spinners, knitters, etc. I can distinctly remember squishing wool samples between my fingers at the state fair.

I got in to art school right out of high school and made some pretty dark and intense 2D art before SURPRISE!!! Finding out I was going to be a mommy a little sooner than I'd planned.  My high school/college sweetheart was older... a reclusive writer and a baker. He already had his degree. We decided or rather, I decided, to move to Colorado so we could raise baby closer to my siblings.  It was an intuitive gut decision to be honest.  I had no way of knowing my unborn baby had a rare genetic disability, but by pure serendipity, he was born not in rural WNC where kids with disabilities and their parents languish, but in a town in Colorado that really honors and supports neuro-diversity. He has everything he really needs to meet his full potential here.  What luck! Anyways, when my son was a few years old, and I had long since separated from his dad (yes we're still friends and are co-reering our little dude)  I was surfing the web late at night with my sick toddler tossing and turning next to me, when a childhood friend asked me if I'd heard of this new website for artists called Etsy? I had not. But I would never be the same after that.  I saw a website of limitless opportunity for a housebound mama artist with a sick kid. I took to it like a fish to water.  I experimented with different little startups over the first few years,  I did illustration, made soap, and even blankets for kids with autism, but it wan't until I started designing for moms and babies that I found my true calling. I taught myself how to sew. It was extremely hard for me! I still don't know a single sewing term.  I'm more of an intuitive learner and like to figure out how to make something by looking at how other clothes are made first, and then trial and error.  I just sewed until the seams looked good and the garments held up to wear and tear. Then I knew I was ready to share my work with the world.  I'm a perfectionist, and like to think my work is constantly evolving as I improve with every piece I make.  Yes, even 2000 pairs of pants later, I still get better every time!

How do you balance your kids with working at home?  What does a day look like for you?

I am not as good at multi-tasking as some moms.  I stand in awe of them.  When kids talk at me while I work, I slow way down and make big mistakes! Therefore I have to work with my husband to find times when he can watch the rugrats while I work.  Since he's a musician/music director, he is able to make his own schedule, and stays home a few days a week so I can work.  NONE,  count it, NONE of my 3 children nap or napped, without being held.  I've tried every trick, read all the books... whatever... these are just the babies that come out of me.  I wear the ergo baby carrier like 4-6 hours a day before my babies are old enough to crawl.  Then they never stop going. Sooo there is no such thing for me as squeezing work in while baby naps.  I know that's atypical among mother-makers... but that's just how we roll.  By the time I put my energizer bunnies to bed, I'm spent. I never sew after they go down.  I do computer work instead.

On a typical work day I wake up early, take care of all my oldest's personal care needs, put him on the bus, feed the other two, make coffee, and head up to my nice quiet work-haven, while hubby steers the ship.  I like to listen to music or watch Murder She Wrote while I cut patterns and sew.  That's right, Murder She Wrote. I like to cut my patterns one at a time, but I cut several orders worth of pieces in a row, so I can then sew them all in one sitting. I come down when I hear baby crying for me and nurse him. I usually don't eat. The work time is too short and precious. When my son gets home from school I do his personal care stuff, feed baby, and hang with the kids while hubby cooks, or I cook, then after the kids are down I answer work emails and work on my website. Then I fall asleep.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

What are your goals and dreams for your business?

My #1 goal is to earn enough through my business to make it my family's sole source of income so we can move somewhere more rural.  I'm just not really a city gal!  Unfortunately business-wise I have never been further from achieving that goal than I am this year.  This has basically been a crap year for me on Etsy.  Ever since Etsy went public last year, times have just gotten leaner and leaner for my family.  We blew through our savings trying to wait out all the dry spells....  it sucked. After multiple great years earning a full time modest living on Etsy, and coming within spitting distance of my goal,  things just slowed way down out of nowhere and lead to a bit of an economic death spiral. I felt pretty blindsided.  Even though frankly my product kept getting better and so did my marketing... things got real bleak and stayed that way. For now,  I'm nannying an extra cutie pie to make ends meet, and working on my business a whole lot less. I'm enjoying the extra time with all the kiddos but sad that it means delaying our country dreams even longer.  When I do get into the studio,  I'm focusing on the things I make that moms NEED rather than want.  Like my wool nursing pads. When my kids are all a bit older, hopefully I can get back on the horse and pull off our dreams.  I'll never give up completely.  The urge to create things and have some space to raise the kids in, is just too strong in me!


What is the hardest part of running your business?

Time!  I never ever feel like I have enough time to do what I need to get done, or bring all my ideas to fruition.  I work every second that I'm not caring for a kid, but I'm always behind on my work goals. If I'm meeting work goals, my kids are mommy starved... can't win.  I neeeeed more hours in the day!

I also don't like working against time, meeting tight deadlines when I have more work than one person can do, or waiting ages for an order and going broke in the process.  Time can be pretty cruel to the self employed.

Stay tuned for more interviews like this one with other mother hustlers :)