Meet Ava of Handcrafted Happiness! She is a student at Pearl R. Miller Middle School in Kinnelon, NJ, and we are proud to showcase her business as this month’s TREP$ Student Spotlight. Read more to learn how TREP$ helped to build Ava’s confidence in both crocheting and entrepreneurship:
Hello! I’m Ava, and I am the owner of Handcrafted Happiness. Handcrafted Happiness is a business that sells hand-crocheted items like plushies, pillows, and scrunchies. I chose to participate in the TREP$ Marketplace because I have been crocheting for almost 3 years now, and I love to always have a goal to work towards.
TREP$ has taught me a lot over the last 4 months. For example, I learned about pricing my items correctly, making profit, and it has taught me that making and selling products is not just TREP$. TREP$ is the love and compassion that goes into the things you make and sell you for others to love and cherish.
This whole experience has made me a very well-rounded person because of the time and extra hours I put in to make my business successful. I was struggling at first, coming up with the project ideas, thinking I wouldn’t even be able to succeed this year. I came together at the end because of all the love and support I got from friends and family. The struggle was worth it, because in the end, I now have a better crocheting speed and accuracy.
I think that I could have priced my items a bit lower, but I believe that I did pretty well. And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t think she can do anything. I really strived to do my best at, well, what I do best! I do plan to continue with this business as I get closer and closer to high school because I think running an Etsy would be pretty amazing. A start-up is huge, and I think that taking a good amount of money right now is pretty bold, but I will be continuing my custom orders to people at my school as well as people from my community.
