Dragon in Knots

Etsy Shop Name: Dragon in Knots

What you sell: I mostly sell my crocheted creations, which include clothing, accessories, and home décor items. While I offer many of the normal crocheted items, I also incorporate eggs, fruit, and other fun motifs into my shop. Dragon in Knots also contains some of my other creations, such as origami mobiles, cards, and jewelry. One of my overall philosophies with regards to my creations is that they should either be practical or look good, ideally both.

Tell us about your featured item: The Anhaga scarf is a beautiful example of simple elegance. Appropriate for either gender, it was created from a soft, machine-washable, cream-colored yarn that has accents in various shades of brown, creating a shadow-like effect. The name for this piece came from the Old English poem “the Wanderer.” The word “Anhaga” is an Old English word, which means “lone-dweller” or, even better, “he who thinks alone,” depending on the glossary or dictionary one uses. The shadowy appearance of this scarf is, for me, symbolic of someone living in the shadows of society, hidden in his own thoughts.

Do you consider yourself an entrepreneur? Why or why not?

Yes and no. I suppose by definition I qualify as an entrepreneur (or rather an entrepreneuse, the female form of the word), but there is always the nagging feeling that I am just doing this to provide a creative outlet for myself and to earn a little extra money to help with my academic expenses. I plan to continue studying for several more years and then go into an academic career. Dragon in Knots was always intended as a side project and by all appearances, will continue to be so. However, it has definitely been and will hopefully continue to be both a fun and an important learning experience for myself; as well as a way to provide people with quality handmade items, to promote the overall concept of the self-employed artisan in the world, and to battle, in my small way, the growing influence of mega-companies.

Do you feel more comfortable with the business or crafting side of your business? Why?

I am definitely more comfortable with the crafting side of my business. I suppose this is typical of most people selling on Etsy. If we were more comfortable with the business side of things, we would be accountants instead. But on the contrary, we choose to create crafts and artwork. Also, I often feel that I just do not have the tools to keep track of large amounts of business records. My system works on a small scale but would probably need to be updated if I ever needed to handle a large-scale production. I aspire to one day have Excel on my computer...