It’s time to shine my spotlight on another talent that I met on Periscope. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and meet Colette, the talent behind A Touch of Blu Designs
1. How long have you been crocheting and who taught you? I am a self-taught crocheter. I have been crocheting for just over 2.5 years.
2. I to am a self taught knitter. Wow, only 2.5 years, I wouldn’t have guessed that. The name of your company is A Touch of Blu, is there some significance to that name? My favorite color is blue, various shades. I wore so much of it, in some form or another, that “Blue” became my nickname. A Touch of Blu Designs came about when a friend and I were preparing to go out. In her mind, I was missing some final component to make my outfit complete. “You know, how you always do it. Just that little touch of Blue you put into stuff.” So when I was contemplating business names A Touch of Blu, minus the ‘E’, kept circling through my head.
3. I like that, I should have Orange in my title somehow. LOL How long have you been in business and what do you offer? I have been in business under the name A Touch of Blu Designs for 5 years. I initially started out as a jewelry designer, making custom pieces for friends, which I still do on occasion, by request. Crochet has been my primary focus for 2 of those years. To date, I offer wearables, from Winter gear to shrugs. However, my passion, is creating dolls. While I offer a variety of skin tones, I find a majority of my orders are for Brown and Black dolls.
4. You all totally blow my mind with these dolls. I can’t even imagine making a doll. During those 5 years what challenges have you faced as a small business owner? The biggest challenge I have faced as a small business owner is making myself visible to those outside of the fiber arts community. People are always amazed when they see my crocheting a doll in public. ‘Oh!! I didn’t know that you would crochet a doll! I thought that was only for blankets and scarves.” Referrals from returning customers has fueled my growth this last year.
5. Well I have seen you more on social media, so that should help with the exposure. if you could change on thing about your business what would it be? If I could change one thing about my business, I would change the time it took me to get started. I had always wanted to learn to crochet and it wasn’t until I was in my mid-30’s that I decided to bite the bullet and learn. I appreciate the growing pains, as I think they’ve only served to make me a better artist.
6. All that matters is you learned and are thriving. What is next for AToBD, do you have plans for the furture? My plans for AToBD evolve daily. I would love to be able to create full-time, but until that happens, my plans are to continue to improve upon my techniques. To get comfortable putting myself out there to gain the growth that I want to see. I am eyeballing a few local craft fairs for the summer so if you are in Southeastern Michigan, you may spot me.
A touch of Blu
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. I wish you all the best in your business. Fiber family you all can follow Colette on Instagram
GG
Love your style. Keep up the great work! I enjoyed all the May scopeaday on periscope. Thanks for sharing, inspiring and just being you.
Aww thanks for reading, participating and the kind words
Loved this!!!!! She does really cute and unique designs!❤️❤️
Yes she does! So much talent
Awww. Y’all certainly know how to make a chocolate girl blush! 🙂 Thank you for the feature GG, it’s been well received.
Thank YOU!
Well deserved!! I am happy you liked it!