Crocheting has Cedar students hooked
Senior Ash Plaksin’s room surrounds you in little multicolored crocheted creations of their own making. Dinosaurs, octopi, frogs, birds and more sit atop their bedspread and shelves.
Since March 2021 crocheting has become a way to relax and destress for Plaksin after they saw some small dinosaurs and wanted to learn to make them.
“It’s fun. It’s therapeutic. I make little friends and I love little friends,” Plaksin said.
Like Plaksin, crocheting has also become a kind of therapy for senior Nizia Ventura-Ortiz. She has been crocheting and knitting since 5th grade; it’s become second nature.
“I enjoy that I can spend a lot of quality time on my own and do something. It’s my favorite hobby. Just sitting, watching TV or listening to a podcast and relaxing while I crochet,” Ventura-Ortiz said. “It’s very therapeutic. It’s how I relieve all my stress. So it feels really good.”
Ventura-Ortiz and Plaksin have started to profit from their hobby by opening small shops, both based on Instagram.
Plaksin’s shop offers a multitude of crocheted animals, shirts, hats and other miscellaneous items such as potion bottles and cacti.
While they do sell occasionally, Plaksin isn’t focused on expanding. Though they will be updating their prices since they realized they’ve been underselling themself.
“I saw what other people were selling crocheted things for and I did the math of like, ‘Hey, if I want to pay myself minimum wage for this thing, if I multiply that by how much time I spent on it, wow, that’s like half of what I charge,’” Plaksin said.
Plaksin enjoys having a small business, but they don’t want the stress of running a business to ruin the fun of crocheting.
“I’ll probably set up an Etsy or Shopify when I’m 18. I’m not going to put that much more effort into it though. I might go to one of the markets in Athens, but I’d have to stock up for that,” Plaksin said.
On the other hand, Ventura-Ortiz thinks of the store she created, back in August, as a way to spread the things she loves to others who appreciate the beauty and distinctive style of her creations. Her style mainly focuses on elements of nature, like flower bouquets.
“It’s so beautiful to see all the time you put in—how you could use string and make it into something more. It inspires me that when you buy flowers, they don’t last as long, but when you make your own flowers they last forever,” Ventura-Ortiz said. “I just love that they’re beautiful from the beginning to the end.”
Making her creations can’t be rushed though and she is very grateful that her customers understand that good results take time.
“I always tell my customers the same thing. Just be patient with me. I have other orders at hand and I’ll try my best to get yours done as fast as possible,” Ventura-Ortiz said. “All of them so far have understood that this takes a long time and I have other people. They’re really patient with me.”
