Hi, Ali! Thank you for taking time to interview with us.
We are hyper excited about your brand-new small business selling tee shirts, signs, mugs with your Cricut machine.
There are many people who have started using Cricut and it seems that we have many questions.
Hello! First, I wanted to let you know I am Aly with a y. (Don't feel bad I went from Kindergarten-4th grade being called Lisa by my bus driver and never even corrected him- Haha)
Thank you so much for picking me for an interview! I am very excited. I thoroughly enjoy your blog and have learned a lot from all of the information you post. It has been such a help to me starting out my small business.
I have never used a Cricut, can you tell me what it is and what it does?
Cricut is a brand of cutting machine. I have the Cricut Explore 3 but there are several variations out there. It makes intricate cuts flawlessly and opens up a whole new world for creativity with its designspace app. The app is where you can pick from designs made by Cricut or made public by others or create your own. Once you have picked or created your design you load your machine with whatever material you are wanting to use, and it will cut it out for you. There are so many opportunities for creative projects.
What can be made with a Cricut?
There are so many options for what you can do with your Cricut. The ones I use most are Permanent and Removable Vinyl, Heat Transfer Vinyl, Faux Leather, Stencils, and Cardstock. You can even cut chipboard or thin wood! For example, Permanent or Removable Vinyl is used for making sticker decorations. So, car decals, decorated tumblers, wine glasses, and water bottles, practically anywhere you want to slap a sticker on. Heat Transfer Vinyl is what I use most for pressing T-shirt designs. It doesn't stop at clothing though, you can use it on hats, towels, ceramic mugs, and even wooden surfaces. Faux Leather is very fun to work with. That is how I make my earrings and other jewelry. There are always new ideas coming out as far as what you can do with your Cricut.
You create unique designs to print for your small business, what designs do you have available for purchase?
I am always adding to my stockpile of ideas and designs I plan to make. Right now I have prints of several of my original watercolor paintings for sale. Painting is my go to creative outlet and what I enjoy most. I am non-stop adding personalized shirts for special occasions, holidays, birthdays, concerts, you name it I'll make it. Of the custom shirts I create I am always excited about the coloring shirts for kids. I sell them with washable markers included. My kids love showing off their creative side with their coloring shirts. I also have been creating custom coffee mugs and kitchen tea towels as well. As of right now I have a few designs I have made by request from customers such as logos for another business, custom shirts, and designs. I am currently learning the ins and outs of creating my own Vectors and SVG files for cutting. I'm rather picky with my work so I have yet to post any for sale. I am in the process of learning a new software and getting the proper equipment for creating designs as we speak, so I am very excited for the new creative opportunities this will bring me.
Can you tell us about a recent project? How did it turn out?
I was recently asked by a customer to create a set of custom t-shirts for an upcoming concert. It was such a fun project because I was able to design both a front and back on the shirt and her requests were designed around where she would cut the shirt to give it some more flare than just a regular t-shirt.
I understand you just opened a Shopify and an Etsy shop. Can you tell our readers your experience with each platform? Does one seem easier to navigate? Are you seeing more sales on one or the other?
I am rather new to online sales having just made my accounts mid-March. With having no experience in setting up a website I would say Etsy was a bit easier to set up because of the detail they give in explaining what you need to set up your shop. That being said, they are rather similar in operation. I do have to credit your blog for a lot of the tips to setting up my Etsy. They were invaluable to someone just starting out.
If our readers want a custom design, how can they reach you?
You can find me on Facebook- Aly Peterson and Etsy and Shopify as LoveAlyDesign. I am hoping to have more options online soon as outlines for custom products but I am always interested in doing any design you can dream up for clothing, coffee mugs, tea towels, watercolor art, and decals. I am always up for a new experience.
Magnolia & Willows Artist spotlight plans to revisit each Artist in one year, do you have anything you would like to tell future you?
I hope that one year from today I will be able to look back and see all that I have learned and improved on with each project. I love looking at my previous art and seeing it evolve with the different tricks I have learned for each craft.
I am so glad to have interviewed you at the beginning of your small business journey. There is a large movement toward small business and custom items. Can you tell me what plans you have for the future of your company?
I hope to grow my portfolio of art as well as designs for custom items. I am really looking forward to diving into the graphic design aspect and creating SVGs to sell for other crafters to use. It would be very exciting to see others be able to create things with my designs.
One more thing, what do you do when your not creating and designing?
I am a mother of 4, so they keep me rather busy. I have 6-year-old twin boys, a 3-year-old boy, and a 6-month-old girl. I spend the majority of my time with my kids and my husband, Dane and our beagle, Elmer. Most of my creating revolves around nap times. Aside from art, I enjoy gardening and cooking. We are a very outdoor oriented family so we are really looking forward to the nicer weather.
We thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Aly from LoveAlyDesigns. If you are looking for a unique gift be it a Tee shirt, Onsie, Art Print or cool coffee mug for that coffee bar; you can find her at www.Etsy.com/shop/LoveAlyDesign.
Magnolia & Willows hosts Artist Spotlight on our blog. We do not earn commissions from any sales, we just want to shine a light on some awesome artists, business owners and artesian.
It is cool to hear from them how it feels to create a business and what that business means to them.
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Magnolia & Willows has candle love and small business love. 🕯 💕.
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