The teeny-weeny cross-stitch kit that started it all

This is an edited excerpt from my book, Craft Club Yarn, published by Hardie Grant Books.

I ran back home and stuck in without any plan and, guess what, my first embroidery attempt was a complete failure. I looked disappointedly at the design I'd made, thought 'well, that didn't go to plan', threw it in a drawer and reminded myself that this is why I shouldn't bother with craft.

It's funny looking back on this moment because it has come to define a core belief I have at Craft Club: that all you need is one small creative win to give you the momentum to keep going. If I had bought a kit instead of trying it out on my own, I know I would have completed it and felt immense pride in what I had created. But I can't change the past, and I'm grateful for the lesson this failure taught me.

Fast-forward four years and I finally plucked up the courage to leave my full-time job. Not long after diving back into university, COVID-19 lockdowns happened and the whole world turned upside down. I found myself alone in my apartment with nothing to do but study and twiddle my thumbs, and I was in desperate need of a distraction. That distraction came in the form of a cross-stitch kit, a teeny-weeny 10 centimetre by 10 centimetre cross-stitch kit, basically made for children. I finished the kit in one evening and it gave me such a buzz. I immediately went back to the store the next day to buy more kits, but they didn't have what I was after. Most larger designs felt stale and made for someone three times my age, so I went back home and started making my own designs.

And so, the domino effect began. One tiny cross-stitch kit inspired me to start making my own pieces. Next came the thought, 'Maybe I should share these with the world?' and so I started my business, Cross Club, with the hope of teaching others to cross-stitch. Months later, I discovered a love of latch-hooking, and the feeling of making my own rugs that I could use and display in my home was incomparable! So, the business took a pivot. I changed the name to Craft Club and the domino effect continued. To this day, I credit my reconnection to creativity as the reason I started my business. And since day one, my mission has been to help others connect with their creativity.

Craft Club Yarn is available to pre-order now – you'll find the link on the home page. I can't wait for you to read the rest.