It's 11pm on a Saturday, you're doom scrolling on Twitter to see an abrupt post stating that I've closed off my Esty shop. ...Is it true?
You check the YouTube channel and come up empty so you head over to the renown "maker marketplace" to see the orange banner of doom in place of the 36 patterns I had listed there. But still, only vague clues have lead you to my website, where I've yet to explain anything because I'm still typing this article. Glancing at your phone, you see that Infiniti Crafting Co updated their stories, only to see this image:
Well Crafties, here it is. After 5 long years of publishing my patterns and handmakes, I've decided to close the doors to my Etsy shop indefinitely.perhaps permanently. There's been a lot behind this that has brought me to this abrupt conclusion. I'll try to touch on it in more detail during Channel Chat 110 but, I wanted to get this out while its fresh on my mind tonight.
This is the first of the posts explaining upcoming changes to how the brand presents online from here on so if you're not subscribed to the newsletter yet, please consider doing so. I want you all to know that this is a matter I've been praying over a lot and this now feels like a logical conclusion and perhaps he beginning of a stronger brand. To shorten my list of worries and such, lately it's been hitting me very hard just how unsuccessful I've been at trying to get Infiniti Crafting Co off the ground. I started my online presence to be a help to the over all vision that I believe the Lord has given me. And I have found great success in building a strong community on YouTube.
Over the years,I've incorporated the fact that I design crochet and knit patterns into my video making, in hopes that I'd attract a pattern loving audience. I've done a lot of pivoting and adjusting too in the way that I produce and present my products also. But each and every year, I manage to break my own heart with the inability of generating a feasible income that would allow me to pay off the debts I've amassed while building this sole proprietor venture. From freebies to paid ads, all that I've done over the last few years seems to have landed me in a huge mess.
Now, given my previous accident, I need to come up with nearly $5k to replace the tooth that got busted out of my face back in September of 2022. I was already trying to save for a new editing computer as my current one is about to become obsolete but obviously, that takes a back seat to my being able to eat and speak properly again. I suppose everything really stressed me out this year once I started reviewing my income for last year to discover that I only made $95 over the span of 12 months. And don't get me wrong, I am grateful to those who chose to support my shop.
I just could no longer stomach the fact that December was my heaviest month, bringing in
$42 dollars of which only about $30 was issued to me due to the fees. I've also made an effort to get people who purchase my patterns from that platform to migrate to this great site that I've built. Only to discover that no one cared to download that file.
I came particularly close to losing my website before it turned 2 this year, nearly by $30. Imagine the gut-punch. Thanks to the ads I've placed on Sentro blogs, that revenue has picked up to the point where I make about $5/month nowadays which is better than the $0.10 in the year prior.
In short, what I'm getting at is: I have a few last ditch efforts up my sleeve for this year to garner more support here on my own platform before I throw in the towel. I love what I do, sharing my craft knowledge with anyone who'll listen but, in the end, if I can't drive more focus and support here, I'll no longer be able to sink 60+ hours into it like I am currently. It's worried me so that my blood pressure has been elevated for the last couple of months and that's no good for anyone.
I would humbly ask that my community of nearly 11.5k Crafties, to consider purchasing a pattern from time to time if possible, or buying me a coffee. Because I couldn't do any of this without the people that read my blogs and watch my videos. Here on my site I receive most of the purchases made here less maybe 3% and it'd mean the world to me to be able to turn this all around and create better content for you in the future.
I think that's all I wanted to touch on about this for tonight. I'll touch on this again in the next
channel chat. So long for now!
Infiniti
