Sydney Johns, a Brookdale student, found a way to soothe her anxiety while simultaneously making money.
Johns runs a small business named “Sydney’s Art Shack” selling custom handmade crocheted plushies and accessories.
“I’ve always been a fidgeter, like I’ll pick at my nails or something, if I’m anxious, and crocheting has become a coping mechanism for me,” Johns said. “If I’m home, I need to be crocheting. I cannot sit comfortably without crocheting something.”
“I’ve always been a crafty person,” she said. “I love painting, and I started with painting sea shells making them into trinket dishes and doing different paintings for anniversary gifts or little ornaments for baby’s first Christmas or people’s dogs.”
Johns started this business when “a friend of my mom’s that had her own T-shirt printing business said ‘this stuff is really good and you should try to sell it!’ She was the first person to encourage me into that business. She got me hooked up with my first craft show, and I kinda just fell in love with it.”
Although Johns loved to paint, it’s not her main product anymore.
“During the pandemic, I decided that while the paintings are fun, they were taking a toll on me, so I wanted to try crocheting. My friend got me into crocheting, and I immediately knew I didn’t wanna make clothes because then everyone would be like ‘can you make me a shirt?’”
Johns then explained that her first-ever crochet project was a cardigan. “It was very ambitious, and it took me about a month to do. It is something I never wanna do again, even if people pay me, so I really wanted to learn how to make the plushies because they are so cute! So, I started watching YouTube videos, and I taught myself. I got really into it, and I started to get good and make more and more.”
If consumers want a handmade plushie from Sydney’s Art Shack she does custom orders through her social media accounts, such as Facebook, but she also can be found at local Monmouth County craft shows.
“Anything that’s more geared toward families and kids is the best show for me because children are drawn to my plushies. Freehold’s Patterson Farms Fall Family Fun Day was the most successful show for me that was around October, so people were starting to get Christmas gifts.”
“The next show I’m doing is the week before Mother’s Day, so I’m making flowers and things like that for Mother’s Day gifts.”
With much enthusiasm, Johns makes sure to add extra gifts to her packages and arrange creative setups at craft shows to show her gratitude to customers. “I’m a customer service girl through and through and a big supporter of shopping small businesses. I love all the attention to detail even in the packaging. I knew when I got into this business that I wanted to do that, and I love adding candy, a little note, or fun tissue paper. I make sure to buy the little gift bags and put their item plus throw in some candy, throw in stickers and a business card just knowing that I am adding that little bit of joy other than just the item makes me happy.”
Loving what you do is so rare, but this is the case for Johns. “This is the first thing that I’ve done where I’ve been genuinely very proud and feel like I’m doing something good. I’m not changing the world, but the recognition is so rewarding. Like when people send me pictures of the kids so happy holding my plushies, it’s so fulfilling in so many different ways. I love doing it. Also when parents tell their kids the kids can only pick one thing from the craft shows, and they pick my plushies, and I’m not the only crocheter there. It’s so cool that something I made is loved and carried on by these kids.”
Not only is the customer service and selling aspect of the business rewarding for Johns, but she also adds that crocheting “helps me with my anxiety and depression.” Additionally, she said she gets satisfaction from “learning new patterns and new stitches… It is so fun because I never thought I’d be able to do it. It just seemed so complicated before I started.”
“Being a crocheter is like being a magician: You wave a magic wand and you mumble words to yourself under your breath, and then boom a plushie!”