Conversations with the Inspiring Michelle Frawley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Frawley.

Michelle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Like many other small businesses, Witty and Crafty began by accident late in the Fall of 2015. I was an elementary school teacher at the time and the prior year, my husband had gifted me a vinyl cutting machine (I had no idea what it was when I opened it!) He thought I would be able to use it for decorating my classroom. Fast forward almost a year and I was using it to make a last minute birthday gift, a personalized beer stein (far from its original intended purpose). This sparked an interest and a realization that the possibilities were seemingly endless as to what I could create. I began designing wine glasses, mostly dog related, and decided to post them on Etsy. It was likely a perfect storm given that Christmas was approaching and personalized wine glasses make the perfect gift. Orders started coming in, more and more each day. I was dropping off packages at the post office every morning on my way to work and working in my office from the time I got home until bedtime. It was overwhelming and exciting all at the same time. A few months later, a friend approached me about carrying my products in her store, Luci’s at The Orchard, but wondered if I had the ability to make hats. I am a pretty determined person and was not willing to tell her no. I was reluctant to buy the machine that I needed because it seemed like a lot of money at the time, but took the leap of faith and bought it. I couldn’t be happier that I made that decision. Hats are now my main focus of my business. I have a wide variety of styles and even sell kids and infant hats! I left my teaching career in May of 2017 and that has given me the time and energy to really focus on how to expand my business and product line.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
“A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.” I feel that this quote is relatable to being in the small business world. There have been things that have tested me along the way, but I like to believe that they have taught me lessons about what it looks like to run a successful small business. Having been a first grade teacher, I knew all about time management and how having a schedule and routine makes your day/life run so much more smoothly. That being said, sticking to a schedule is so much more difficult when working from home. It is so easy to be distracted by other things that need to be done and so, learning how to effectively manage my time working at home was a struggle at first. Craft show season (fall-spring in Arizona) is such a busy time for me because not only do I have to create merchandise for my shows, but I have to keep up with my online and wholesale orders as well. I am a one woman show so juggling it all can be a bit overwhelming at times but I always remind myself that being busy is a good sign! Overall, I would say that the most difficult thing about my journey has been learning how to stay unique and stand out. The internet and social media have been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because, I never would have started any of this if it weren’t for the internet. A curse because, once I spend time creating a design and post it for people to see, like, comment on, buy, there tend to be people who see no issue with using other peoples’ work as their own. In the beginning, I would get really frustrated when I saw others who had seemed to have duplicate my design as their own. Now I use it as a motivation to keep creating and always stay one step ahead. After all, it is in creating a design that my customers love that I find reward. My advice to other women who are just starting out would be to find something that makes you unique and sets you aside from others out there who may be creating products that are very similar to yours. You have to find a way to create a product and brand that keeps people coming back to you as opposed to shopping around which we are all so very accustomed to doing these days.

What should we know about Witty and Crafty? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
At this point in my business, I would say my specialization is most definitely custom hats. When I am selling at markets or craft shows, people recognize me as the “hat girl” and I love that they do because this means that they have most likely purchased from me before and are excited to see my booth so that they can purchase from me again. One thing that I am proud of is that I have a very wide variety of designs and hat styles. So many times, I have heard people say “I love your hats but I hate how trucker hats look on me!” This encouraged me to expand the styles of hats that I carry to ensure that I have a hat type for everyone. I have turned many “I don’t look good in hats” people into “hat people” by providing them with styles that they may not have tried before. I have really worked hard to get my brand out there. Not only do I sell online, I sell hundreds of hats at markets all through the fall and spring as well as in several different stores here in the valley and beyond! My newest addition to my shop is infant and youth hats! They are the most fun to design and I love to see all their sweet little faces being protected by my hats!

Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I seem to have always had entrepreneur blood running through my veins. It started when I was very young and wanted to help my older brother, who was a bit shy at the time, sell his baseball candy door to door. Eventually, when I was playing sports, after my candy had been sold I would volunteer (much to my parents’ dismay) to help other teammates who were having trouble selling all their candy. I would make ornaments, coasters, and bracelets from beads and sell them door to door on my street (my poor neighbors). My parents are both artists and have run their own small business in San Diego for 40 years. I have had the benefit of being able to turn to them when I need advice or to vent about the trials of starting up my own business here in Arizona. On top of those things, I have always enjoyed being creative and crafty. I find pride in being able to say I made something myself as opposed to buying it at the store. Therefore, I find even more pride in designing a product that my customers love as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wittyandcrafty.com
• Email: craftymeesh@yahoo.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/wittyandcrafty
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/wittyandcrafty1

Image Credit:
Omi & Hays Photography

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